Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?
I have a lot of "favorite" authors, but I'll choose one for this purpose: David Gerrold, author of (among other things) The War Against the Chtorr series. I love that he creates real, flawed characters. Yes, sometimes they are just mouthpieces for some philosophy, but generally they are real people, with their own motivations and problems, just trying to survive. I love that he created a future earth, under attack from *somewhere* - and how he describes how the ecosystem changes, bit by bit. I love that he's also funny - real humor, but also puns and limericks and jokes. I love that he created a world that I still go back to to re-read, and still wait in hope for the next book (he's been promising it to us for ten years or so).
4 comments:
Read Charles Dickens. His weird character are so real. I feel he is the originator of flawed characters!
Here is my BTT post
Try Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.
Perfect characters are boring, really. Give me a tragic, tormented, flawed character any time.
Mine's up.
cjh
Being well written and simple to read is a key for me This weeks post
Post a Comment