- Oddley765
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- Elder Legendary Member
Posted by: ROBERTO jh
Greg Bear is an old-time hard-sci-fi author, winner of the most prestigious awards in science-fiction literature several times over. It'd be quite understandable if you've read the works of other greats, such as Ray Bradburry (who Bear was close friends with) and Larry Niven from the era that you'd find it more difficult to understand.
See, most people this day and age see sci-fi as epic war adventures filled with dazzling explosions. This preconception has seeped into novels as well, unfortunately.
But Greg Bear is from that older time where sci-fi existed to criticise our present day qualms (I know of at least one reader who saw Faber from Cryptum as being allegorical to Richard Cheney). He's from a time where subtle character devolopment, plot and culture actually mattered.
Halo has always had both sides of the coin, which is why I feel its so popular. It can appeal to all forms of sci-fi lovers.
Cryptum was more anchored into the cultural and character setting then most other Halo stories. Some of the..... immature Halo fans, to put it nicely, see Cryptum as a 6 year old would see Shakespear: its boring .
So yes, it does take a certain maturity and frame of mind to enjoy Cryptum. A frame of mind, some of us here, including those in this very thread to pretend to be a connoisseur of literature, unfortunately lack.
Forgive me for being succinct and less eloquent than your response.
I personally find Greg Bear boring. I have attempted to read other books and series by Greg which also resulted in my disappointment, just as with Cryptum.
This opnion from a fan of Stephen Hawking, Arthur C Clarke, Orson Scott Card, Isaac Asimov and John Wyndham etc.
It is NOT just so called immature readers that dislike Greg Bear, his writing style is too boring. Greg's style tends to polarise readers even in spite of his accolades.
Eric Nylund was a far better choice in my opinion.