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As I have no doubt expounded before, it is interesting to read short story collections of novelists I like. It helps evaluate their range and other aspects of their skills. Some authors seem to write better work in the shorter form even though they mainly write novels - that is where the money is after all. Dan Simmons and Sean Williams come quickly to mind. Others like Greg Bear are the other way.
I do like the novels of Jonathan Lethem. I like the way he builds an atmosphere and his strange disconnected characters. I did not like the short stories contained in The Wall of The Sky, The Wall of the Eye. The techniques he uses to make the novels interesting need time to develop. Stripped of that slow development, the characters and settings just seemed random and out of place. Its a fine line - some of the stories may well have worked with just a little more length or maybe even just some more intensity. I was left with a close but no chocolate fish feeling.
I do like the novels of Jonathan Lethem. I like the way he builds an atmosphere and his strange disconnected characters. I did not like the short stories contained in The Wall of The Sky, The Wall of the Eye. The techniques he uses to make the novels interesting need time to develop. Stripped of that slow development, the characters and settings just seemed random and out of place. Its a fine line - some of the stories may well have worked with just a little more length or maybe even just some more intensity. I was left with a close but no chocolate fish feeling.
