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bear by san

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bear by san

I hate Peter Watts with the kind of blind passion that Salieri would have recognized.

mood: nauseated green with envy
music: Tina Turner--The Bitch is Back
I made the mistake of reading the web-page published excerpt of Peter's new novel, Behemoth, here. I'm not sure when his pub date is, but I may not be alive to read the book, because reading his prose makes me want to chew my wrists open.

I will never. In a million years. Write that well.

Good god, his sentence-level work is amazing. Total confidence, total muscularity, no scaffolding at all. I want to write like that when I grow up.

And if you haven't read Starfish and Maelstrom yet, what the Hell are you waiting for?

This guy's like John Brunner. Except he doesn't pull his punches.

Posted on Jun. 19th, 2004 at 08:33 pm | | Leave a comment | 13 comments | | Flag

Comments

(Deleted comment)

matociquala

Silly thing. When I figure out what I'm doing, I'll send you a postcard....
Posted on Jun. 19th, 2004 09:52 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

sartorias

I agree that's wonderful prose, but what do you mean by scaffolding? Would that be what I think of as grandstanding, overly conscious prose flourishes that draw attention to the prose itself, and not to the story?
Posted on Jun. 19th, 2004 08:59 pm (UTC) | | Thread | Reply

matociquala

Scaffolding is all that.. stuff... that bogs down prose. The things that indicate an auctorial lack of confidence and rob momentum from the narrative, like unnecessary prepositional phrases and waffling about and making very sure the reader understands stuff, rather than getting out of one's own damned way and telling the damned story. *g*

I'm very unhappy with my own prose right now. *g* I think it shows.
Posted on Jun. 19th, 2004 09:15 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

Envy, self-doubt, schadenfreude, I know that territory well. I've got a summer home there.

I'll never write that well either, likely.

Kenneth Rapp
Posted on Jun. 19th, 2004 09:26 pm (UTC) | | Thread | Reply
(Deleted comment)

matociquala

at the very least, it would stop him writing... *g* God, I love his work. *g*
Posted on Jun. 19th, 2004 09:55 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply
(Deleted comment)

matociquala

Brain and brain? What is brain?!
Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 07:35 am (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

princejvstin

I haven't read him yet, but I've now added Starfish to my amazon wish list.

Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 04:34 am (UTC) | | Thread | Reply

matociquala

*g* It's a mass market paperback! You can buy lots!
Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 08:31 am (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

renenet

I'm not sure when his pub date is

Not to cause you emotional or financial (hardcover) distress, but it's out right now. (Sorry, occupational hazard.)
Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 11:37 am (UTC) | | Thread | Reply

matociquala

But I hate hardcovers! They hurt my wrists! *g*

Sad, huh?
Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 11:44 am (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

renenet

Okay, I'm kind of laughing at your pain, but only a little bit. Do hardcovers make your wrists hurt more or less than chewing them open upon reading Watts's prose? Either way, a very bad combination for your poor wrists, so let's just pretend the book doesn't come out for another year. Your to-do list for the intervening period will include a) working your way out of this dissatisfaction-with-your-own-prose business, b) acquiring a nice sturdy pair of leather wrist cuffs that you can't chew through (they may need to be studded), and c) acquiring a paperback copy when it comes out. </bossy>
Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 12:10 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

matociquala

Uh huh. You're just trying to get me kitted up so you can chain me to the computer. *g*
Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 12:14 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

renenet

The computer, you say? Well, if that's what you like.
Posted on Jun. 20th, 2004 01:59 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply