Yeah, I guess I liked what I read but not enough to go for more. I'll probably irritate a dedicated fan of her work with this response, but it's just a statement of my personal taste in fiction.
I read the two Cordelia books. I started feeling like I was reading some well-written character-driven storytelling, as in "what else will this guy / what else can I have this guy do" instead of a complex history involving hard questions richly written. Then I started into one of the Miles ones, and was struck again by the fun characters and at the same time as I went "and I am reading this why?" from a lack of interest in any aspect other than the character.
In short, I like her writing style, and I like the way she does characters, but the plots and world/s she has created ultimately leave me flat; compare with other award winners, like Dune. Even Gateway and Ringworld to me had more underlying oomph about the meaning of L/U/E (and for similar reasons, I think I probably wouldn't read through all the subsequent Ringworld books again).
no subject
I read the two Cordelia books. I started feeling like I was reading some well-written character-driven storytelling, as in "what else will this guy / what else can I have this guy do" instead of a complex history involving hard questions richly written. Then I started into one of the Miles ones, and was struck again by the fun characters and at the same time as I went "and I am reading this why?" from a lack of interest in any aspect other than the character.
In short, I like her writing style, and I like the way she does characters, but the plots and world/s she has created ultimately leave me flat; compare with other award winners, like Dune. Even Gateway and Ringworld to me had more underlying oomph about the meaning of L/U/E (and for similar reasons, I think I probably wouldn't read through all the subsequent Ringworld books again).