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If there is a strong story at the heart of a novel, I will see it through.
Recently I read a book called <u>The Spirit Cabinet by Paul Quarrington</u>. It had won a lot of awards and was about the odd lives of some magicians in Vegas with a bit of fantasy lurking in the shadows. I was really interested in the subject matter, and the quotes on the book jacket swore to the humour of the book.
Boy was I disappointed. Though well crafted with a few hilarious scenes, the characters and the world that they inhabited were so miserable and depressing that the book was agony to read. And yet I finished it. There was such a strong narrative push that I had to find out the ending. Not unlike watching a car crash in slow motion. I wish the book jacket wasn't so misleading, and I wish I hadn't started it.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I found <u>The Lord of the Rings</u> novels tiresome too, and found myself flipping ahead to get through the major plot points.
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Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life
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