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Last Post 2/16/2013 3:03 AM by  Diablo
My take on the authors. Please no mean comments, these people are working hard to entertain us.
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Ithaqua
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1/23/2013 11:35 PM

    My take on DL authors.

    I have read 106 DL books so far and I can tell the author most of the time without looking it up. Here is my breakdown:

    (Note, I mean no insult. I am in a creative business as well, and I know people work hard at what they do. Even if it’s not to my taste, it doesn’t mean it or the creator is bad.)

     

    Laurence James: Not fair since he wrote the early books. Guessing isn’t hard. But…Graphic sex and child killings. A very “western” vibe.

     

    Mark Ellis: Good solid stories, gets the genre and delvers. Sadly, too few books.

     

    Mel  Odom: Workable takes, not a favorite, not disliked.

     

    Alan Philipson: My favorite author of DL. Very good stories, knows the characters and delivers page turning stories. Even the books I thought I wouldn’t like (Shadow Earth) became favorites. Just wow. We need more from him, though I know it’s unlikely to happen.

     

    Terry Collins: Ok, I can’t pick out his books. They seem to work alright, not memorable for any outstanding reason. This is not a bad thing…it just is what it is.

     

    Nick Pollotta: Ok, I have a love hate relationship with this author. His books seem to be written using the random encounter table from a role playing game. “Oh I have THAT many pages to fill…ok, (rolls dice) “The companions encounter a…group of intelligent water bugs! Great! Oh, there are more pages…um…they meet a…a (rolls dice) A giant! A giant what? Hedgehog! Brilliant! Oh crap, there’s more pages to fill…what can they fight? Um…” I also don’t think he is very good at developing the characters, they are stagnant action sequences strung together by a tenuous plot. But to be fair I really enjoy his books, sometimes they just hit the spot for mindless entertainment. Also, he would benefit from reading some of the DL books from other authors. I get the impression it’s just a job and he really doesn’t care.

     

    Andy Boot: Oh poor Andy Boot. I can spot one of his stories as soon as the plot unveils. I think his ideas are bigger than the series allows and so they end up feeling weird in the general context. I believe he is a smart guy and his ideas are compelling, they just don’t mesh well with DL. I feel badly even saying it, but my least favorite stories have been his, consistently. Sorry. I hate saying this because I am not a slack-jawed mouth breather, I have a wide and varied taste in entertainment, but I think his books are too intellectual (for pulp). Wow, does that make me sound stupid. I admire his ideas I just wish he could deliver more on the characters and action. I think he would be better suited to more serious fiction. He writes well, just not pulp.

     

    Edo Van Belkom: Can’t pick out one of his stories. This is not a bad thing in a shared author series.

     

    Victor Milan:  Good DL stories. Some pacing problems but I think he will end up being a favorite.

     

    Chuck Rogers: Well Damned if AP doesn’t have a successor. Hellroad Warriors was everything a DL novel should be. More please! I mean it! MORE! This guy is the future of DL if the publishers care at all. HOLY CRAP is he good!

     

    Rik Hoskins: Alright stories, not great, not bad. Once he gets a few more under his belt he could be really good.

     

    John Helfers: Nick Pollotta without the nonsense. I really enjoyed Downrigger Drift.

     

    Well, that’s my opinion after 2 years of reading the books. I’m stopping at 105. Not forever, but until I get back on my feet and more books are written. I like being able to get through a bunch at a time. I have recommended the series to many people and I’ll stay on the forums. Moving on to Outlanders…

     

     

     

     

     

     

    silentalbino
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    1/24/2013 9:31 AM
    Chuck is the best of the current bunch by a country mile.
    )3az )3aziah
    British Bloke
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    1/24/2013 9:51 AM
    Posted By Ithaqua on 1/23/2013 11:35:19 PM

    Nick Pollotta: I get the impression it’s just a job and he really doesn’t care.

    Right on the button.

    I posted about this very thing a while back. In an exchange of E-Mails NP told me in no certain words that he was paid to write books not read them and as such would only read the back catalogue of DL's if GE paid him to do so.

    Jim

     

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    Maximus
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    1/24/2013 10:51 AM

    Well Ithaqua, you are still 3 behind in the series.

     

    And if you haven't read Milan's latest book yet, and you loved Roger's Hell Road Warriors so much - like the rest of us! - then you are in for a treat. Your estimation will go up even further after you read Milan's latest tome. 

     

    Overall, your author assessments were spot-on.

    Kerrick
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    1/25/2013 9:57 AM
    Good points all around. I just wanted to add that you're especially right about Andy Boot. He has great plot ideas... but they don't work so well for pulp fiction. He really needs try his hand at actual novels where he isn't constrained by an existing universe and can explore his ideas more freely.
    Diablo
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    2/16/2013 3:03 AM
    Wow..
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