What ddaashh Has Finished Reading and Is, In Turn, Now Reading
I took a swing at a second Jo Nesbo thriller, which will also be my last. Why? Well, several reasons.
First, I have some problems with the translation, which at first I thought produced somewhat jarring prose due to a too literal translation of Norwegian idioms. This happens more often than you'd think, as I can attest when trying to put crap written by Frenchmen (or more often Frenchwymin) into English. Granted, for me it's typically nonsensical MarketingSpeak, most of which has come from English ideas and lingo in the first place, but after a certain time immersed in another language and culture, one tends to lose the ear for the simplest phrases and falls into the trap of transcribing word-for-word. Especially when tired, working too quickly under pressure and/or drunk. Or at least buzzed, which is the bare minimum for that kind of work. More likely though, it's because these novels are translated into British English and the Brits have some strange words in their vocabulary and weird ways of expressing the simplest things. No wonder we revoluted.
Second, and more importantly, he killed off my namesake. The main reason I continued reading his novels was to see my name in print every couple pages. Yes, I am that narcissistic. Sorry Jo, you've lost me for good.
Third, since the standard thriller formula is that whoever you think dunnit, didn't, there has to be better reason for keeping you engaged than trying to finger the guilty. Sparkling prose (see above), great action (meh), steamy sex (not so you'd notice)... otherwise what you've got is Mary Higgins Clark with snow.
So, having finished that one, I'm now reading Monster Hunters International by Larry Correia. This one has no pretense of Great Literature and initially I wasn't so excited by the premise, but as it turns out, it is a really fun read. In all honesty, I only grabbed it because of the wonderfully entertaining kerfuffle currently animating the otherwise staid and boring SF/F world. Also, I wanted to help do immense damage to his career by buying his books.
First, I have some problems with the translation, which at first I thought produced somewhat jarring prose due to a too literal translation of Norwegian idioms. This happens more often than you'd think, as I can attest when trying to put crap written by Frenchmen (or more often Frenchwymin) into English. Granted, for me it's typically nonsensical MarketingSpeak, most of which has come from English ideas and lingo in the first place, but after a certain time immersed in another language and culture, one tends to lose the ear for the simplest phrases and falls into the trap of transcribing word-for-word. Especially when tired, working too quickly under pressure and/or drunk. Or at least buzzed, which is the bare minimum for that kind of work. More likely though, it's because these novels are translated into British English and the Brits have some strange words in their vocabulary and weird ways of expressing the simplest things. No wonder we revoluted.
Second, and more importantly, he killed off my namesake. The main reason I continued reading his novels was to see my name in print every couple pages. Yes, I am that narcissistic. Sorry Jo, you've lost me for good.
Third, since the standard thriller formula is that whoever you think dunnit, didn't, there has to be better reason for keeping you engaged than trying to finger the guilty. Sparkling prose (see above), great action (meh), steamy sex (not so you'd notice)... otherwise what you've got is Mary Higgins Clark with snow.
So, having finished that one, I'm now reading Monster Hunters International by Larry Correia. This one has no pretense of Great Literature and initially I wasn't so excited by the premise, but as it turns out, it is a really fun read. In all honesty, I only grabbed it because of the wonderfully entertaining kerfuffle currently animating the otherwise staid and boring SF/F world. Also, I wanted to help do immense damage to his career by buying his books.
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