THE OTHER LANDS - DAVID ANTHONY DURHAM
Hail and welcome,
This is the place to chat about the Legend nominated author. What about their writing gives them your vote? What similarities are there between thiers and David's work? What will keep you coming back for more? Please discuss the author and thier work and help others to make thier mind up for the vote.
This is the place to chat about the Legend nominated author. What about their writing gives them your vote? What similarities are there between thiers and David's work? What will keep you coming back for more? Please discuss the author and thier work and help others to make thier mind up for the vote.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Greyweather on -
I just finished with Durham's preceding novel, Acacia: The War with the Mein, and I thought it was phenomenal. It is of a scope so immense you can loose yourself in it, and yet it is told through events so intense and characters so vital that your eyes are riveted to the page.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Guile on -
You know, I have the book but have picked it up twice and struggled to really get into it. I found myself getting a bit annoyed with his style. I didn't find his characters motives and actions very credible and that put me off.
I often fancy giving it another try as well as his carthage novel.
You would recommend I have another bash at it?
What did you like about it? Why did it stand out for you?
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Permalink Reply by Greyweather on
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The difficulty you encountered with the characters is one that I have seen mentioned in pretty much every review of Acacia I've seen. That the characters are too well rounded, to the point that the cast takes on an almost uniform quality. I can only assume that it is only a matter of personal taste that I felt otherwise.
Those that like Acacia, generally do so in spite of the characterization, rather than because of it. So if this is a sticking point for you, I can't honestly say you'll enjoy it.
To me the characters at the beginning of Acacia are a kind of baseline, or tabula rasa. In fantasy, and I suppose literature in general, we are often given fully formed characters whose past is gradually peeled away to enrich our understanding of that character. In Acacia, instead we are introduced to the characters at their beginning, and we watch as they are shaped as the layers of history fall across them.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Guile on
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Cheers, I always feel guilty when I put a book down and give up. It doesn't happen often but it does occur. I will give it another go as you're saying the overall plot deserves it.
Cheers.
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Permalink Reply by Greyweather on
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Just consider yourself warned. The majority opinion (which is to say, not mine) is that Acacia doesn't pick up until a third of the way in.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Guile on
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Maybe I'll start there then!
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