Luch wrote:The Infinite is always there.
Yes, the infinite is always there. And as you correctly point out, Lurch, it can be implied or symbolized in one paragraph (or one sentence, or even one word). But taking the route of "eh, a couple hundred more pages ought to do the trick" is surely a futile literary technique to get across the idea of infinity to the reader. Yeah, it might *appear* to move the reader a little closer to infinity. But what's another 100 pages to infinity? Not much. You'll never get there, no matter how gray you get, or how many more pages you extend that one scene. On the other hand, to the
reader, 100 more pages of bathing/eating/sleeping/self-recriminating is a big deal. If the author can't communicate the idea of infinity in 100 pages of characters sitting in one spot, another 200 page attempt at the same exact technique is unlikely to improve the situation. A good writer should be able to do it in fewer pages.
Lurch wrote:There is movement and I can see by your words its not the kind of movement you may be accustomed to.
I know many meanings for the word, "movement," and none of those meanings make AATE any better. I think that reducing complaints to a misunderstanding of
basic English words, like "movement," on the part of the readers is to not give those readers enough credit. Surely you don't actually think that Rocksister is unaware of more than one connotation for this word. Surely.
Many of us have loved Mordant's Need, despite that the first book is almost entirely in one place. In fact, I thought the second book was worse when they started moving through the kingdom. It is not sheer physical movement that is the problem here. It is the lack of
narrative movement. Honestly, it seemed like Donaldson himself lost track of how much time the characters had been where the Ardent dropped them off at the beginning of Part II. The characters kept going to sleep--after waking up just a few pages earlier--with no break in the narrative between naps. Maybe you're at a stage in your life when you need multiple naps an hour, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to read a story about it, no matter how accurately it approximated the Infinite in its slow, aimless plodding toward a resolution.
Lurch wrote:Some where, along ones Life travels, perhaps nearer to the gray hairs stage,,one may begin to consider The Infinite.
...
Perhaps when the Infinite becomes more recognizable to your self..you may find aspects of AATE, if not the whole of The Last Chrons , more insightful and thus interesting.
I'm quite sure that my age, at least, has nothing to do with my dissatisfaction with the book. And I've got a few grays (not that this matters ... I've been thinking about the Infinite since childhood). I don't think any of us here are too immature and disconnected from our spirituality to appreciate this "Masterpiece." If you say you mean no offense, I'll have to take your word for it. Maybe you honestly don't know how you come across when imply this. But if it matters at all to you how you come across to others, please take my word for how it comes across to me: it's condescending. In fact, this is true any time one dismisses reader complaints as some inadequacy of the
reader, (rather than just talking about the book), whether it be age, reading comprehension, knowledge of surrealism, knowledge of basic English words, or not being in touch with our spirituality. Do you even know how old Rocksister is? Do you know if she has grays, or whether it's ever occurred to her to contemplate the Infinite? Without that knowledge, don't you think it's presumptuous to speculate and imply that this is her problem? Maybe she's an old, wise soul who just didn't like the book!
