What’s a book you never finished but still think about?
There have been a few books I haven’t concluded, for various reasons, but one in particular to live in the memory is Wings of Steele: Destination Unknown, by Jeffrey Burger. Don’t get me wrong, I admire anyone who has boldly put their work out there for others to read, review and judge. I know how it feels to have my books evaluated and critiqued, and I get how in many ways, Mr Burger has left him vulnerable. It’s what all authors do. We render ourselves and our work vulnerable.
After all, there is no pleasing everyone, certainly not all of the time. I have no doubt whatsoever there are people who have read my books and thought ‘urgh, what a waste of time’. That’s fine. It is not quite where my take on Destination Unknown goes, but I get it.
The trouble I had with Destination Unknown rests in how the female characters were portrayed, and how the lead character is virtually perfect (at least I read him as such). The female characters largely existed to titilate the male imagination, and to boost the egos of the male characters. They felt largely absent of personality, unless you count sex appeal as personality, and they almost all wanted to flock into the arms of the main character.
I can’t speak as to what motivated Mr Burger to write the female characters in that way, but I found it jarring. I found the near-perfection of the main character took me out of the story (to illustrate this, he masters an alien fighter craft at virtually the first attempt, even beating two fighter pilots and their scores).
All of this is, obviously, my personal opinion, and my personal opinion is far from gospel. It was however enough for me to opt out of continuing the story.
Do you have a book you couldn’t conclude? Let me know!
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