My new audiobook is Killing Floor, by Lee Child. It was recommended to me, partly to see how he depicts characters. Well, I'm writing fantasy and this is a crime drama, so it doesn't help much. The main character is a detective and portrayed in first person, so while the characters are sharply drawn, its mostly by the main character telling you what they are like from observations. It's totally in character, but it's not an approach that works for me.
As for the book itself, I'm enjoying it when the plot is progressing, but there are spots where I feel like he strolls away from the plot to describe stuff and account for time. So good, but I think the editing could be more ruthless. The paperback has 544 pages so about 180,000 words, seems like some trimming wouldn't be bad.
Do not get me started on his depiction of Georgia or the dramatic scene in the airport that could not possibly have taken place in any incarnation of the Atlanta airport.
I'm not that far into it yet, it's a pretty sizable book. There is a certain stereotype feel to, well, everything, but I like the way the mystery is being set up when he doesn't wander off.
From everything I've read, a first book this long would be impossible to get picked up, but if I had a dime for every "don't do this" thing I see in published work, I'd have a lot of dimes.
I like the books, but yeah, the author should have researched small town Georgia before writing it.
I've read a bunch of his others and I can't say if he made the same mistakes but the plots are fairly tight and it keeps my interest.
I'm progressing through chapter 58, and trying not to let things slow down too much.
I have a title for the second book now if I split it into two (chapters 1-34 and chapters 35-62).
You know, I'm not sure I know the title for this one, Gud. What is it?
The first book I have titled "The Dead Mountain", still not 100% sure about that one. The second book I have titled "Daughter of my Blood", which I think will stick. If I end up with one book, then I'll have to have a title cage-match.
Titles are always the hardest thing about a book for me.
I totally bogart song titles for book titles.
