You may recall that I received a book from a friend that no one here recognized: Liege-Killer by Christopher Hinz first published 1987.

Surtac went so far as to begin a read, but found something about it not to his liking. I understood that too from my start. I am happy to report that now at page 400 of 535, I was pleasantly surprised by about page 150. I haven’t finished, I’m not ready to say I recommend it, but at least it’s been a far more engaging read than I was expecting. 

But that’s only a piece to this post. I saw the friend in question last weekend, and had a chance to discuss his SF reading history and preferences with him. Very interesting, because in talking I thought he seemed to be a guy who, like me as a teen, prioritized plot and ideas over writing quality. That doesn’t work well for me anymore.

But then I got home and did some research. I am wondering how to make sense of this, and also whether it should affect my reading plans..

His favorite SF books and authors are the following:

Dune
LotR
One series by Piers Anthony
Stephen R Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series
The incomplete trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss starting with The Name of the Wind
The aforementioned Liege-Killer

My reaction to this was some puzzlement. I have always held Dune and LotR in high esteem, so he’s starting off as a reader of some high quality SF. And Liege-Killer is turning out to be let’s say a readable if not first-rate SF thriller. I love the Rothfuss books, even if I and most of his readership remain annoyed that he promised a trilogy and it looks like he will certainly fail to deliver that. 

But Piers Anthony? I recall reading some truly awful  SF by him. Is it possible I have underestimated and underread him?

And I have never read the Donaldson books. Why? Because I have always had a rough impression that they were not good. However recent research has shown that a) some people love them, b) the writing is regarded as quite good and c) the negative impression I have had is probably due to the darkness and lack of likeability of the protagonist, which I understand is often why those who dislike the series feel that way.

I must insert this data point which has followed my reading habits forever: some of these books came out in the 1980s, a decade in which my professional training caused me to miss most cultural developments. It is why I only discovered CJC in 2006. I never experienced Michael Jackson’s solo career, only the Jackson Five. Etc. Maybe this is rearing its head here too.

So does anyone have any comments/analysis of this person’s reading choices? And what can you say about the Piers Anthony and Donaldson?