I think that it's pretty hard to get emotionally involved in most of Nix's stories (at least those that I've read). I think part of it is that he doesn't dig very far into his character's emotions, not in ways that engage readers, at least. So you kind of know, for example, that a character is probably frightened because what's going on is clearly described as terrifying, but the character doesn't react with any depth to show how that particular person responds to fear and to make the reader feel empathetic fear.
In a way, that was a good thing for me because I'm not sure I could have faced the Dead in these books if Nix had managed something viscerally powerful. I suspect, though, that it's a weakness in Nix's writing that distances people from his work. His plots are well constructed, and I always want to know what happens, but I don't always relate to his characters as people.
That said, Lirael introduces one of my favorite characters in the series, and there is a setting that I wish we'd gotten to see more of.
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winterfish
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Date: 2015-06-17 11:25 pm (UTC)In a way, that was a good thing for me because I'm not sure I could have faced the Dead in these books if Nix had managed something viscerally powerful. I suspect, though, that it's a weakness in Nix's writing that distances people from his work. His plots are well constructed, and I always want to know what happens, but I don't always relate to his characters as people.
That said, Lirael introduces one of my favorite characters in the series, and there is a setting that I wish we'd gotten to see more of.