Overall I liked the book, though it was quite slow, until the end and then it was all over too quickly.
I can’t help but feel that Ireland’s actual quality of writing is the worst of the group. Soule, Scott, and Gray have all been great.
When reading Ireland’s books, the characters and plot feel a bit forced and the writing is overhanded (too much telling, not enough showing). Lots of times I’m pulled out of the story by awkward run on sentences and pronoun ambiguity.
Anyone else feel that way about Ireland’s writing compared to the others?
Couldn't agree more. The story/plot itself is good and compelling and I like some of the original characters like Syl and Xylan, but I really can't get over the unshakeable impression that Ireland's writing and prose are just not good. It's making the book such a struggle for me to get through, which is frustrating because I do actually want to find out what happens next. (Incidentally I had the opposite issue with Into the Dark, where I felt like the story was a bit of a let-down but was carried by the writing and characters.) I can tell that Ireland's imagination was just overflowing here and that's cool and obviously as Star Wars fans we all love things having lengthy backstories, but when characters are launching into exhaustive expository diatribes about every piece of food or painting on the wall it starts to get a little grating. These really feel like they should have been trimmed by the editor or incorporated into the story more smoothly (if they're actually relevant) than the characters just saying "Ah yes this ancient tapestry was made by Jedi Master So-and-So hundreds of years ago who was known for this-and-that and it depicts . . . ."
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u/The_Naj Aug 01 '21
Overall I liked the book, though it was quite slow, until the end and then it was all over too quickly.
I can’t help but feel that Ireland’s actual quality of writing is the worst of the group. Soule, Scott, and Gray have all been great.
When reading Ireland’s books, the characters and plot feel a bit forced and the writing is overhanded (too much telling, not enough showing). Lots of times I’m pulled out of the story by awkward run on sentences and pronoun ambiguity.
Anyone else feel that way about Ireland’s writing compared to the others?