This is something I've been mulling over quite a bit recently, as I've reflected on my own reading habits. Over the past few years, with a couple notable exceptions, I've migrated away from books where the author doesn't have a discernible voice. In other words, books where the 'voice' seems generic and interchangeable with any number of other books.
My favorite books are by authors with strong voices--Gormenghast, the works of Dorothy Dunnett, Melville, and the like. Growing up, I was into the likes of Moorcock, Vance, Lovecraft, and the like, all of whom have fairly strong voices. More recent authors like P.C. Hodgell, China Mieville, Kage Baker--good voices. I must have always been this way, because as a kid one of my favorite things about Alice in Wonderland was the author's voice.
As I write, I go back and forth on how distinctive (and apparent) a presence in the narrative I want to have as an author. Does the reading public at large prefer the author to be more invisible? Does it matter if one is writing for adults or children?
My favorite books are by authors with strong voices--Gormenghast, the works of Dorothy Dunnett, Melville, and the like. Growing up, I was into the likes of Moorcock, Vance, Lovecraft, and the like, all of whom have fairly strong voices. More recent authors like P.C. Hodgell, China Mieville, Kage Baker--good voices. I must have always been this way, because as a kid one of my favorite things about Alice in Wonderland was the author's voice.
As I write, I go back and forth on how distinctive (and apparent) a presence in the narrative I want to have as an author. Does the reading public at large prefer the author to be more invisible? Does it matter if one is writing for adults or children?