Like ronboy, I didn't dive into ITIK for all these years "because of its length." Gosh. What a silly reason to avoid anything!
I've only finished Book I (and all the comments and followup to it), but I wanted to chime in with my praise for the story and HR's skills in bringing it to us. Like everyone else, I appreciate how well the guys' emotional lives come through and involve us. And, yeah, the sex scenes are very . . . explosive.
I'm not sure anyone else (at least in what I've read so far) has commented on HR's technical prowess, though. It's pretty daunting to take on writing in multiple voices and from varying perspectives--but he does it so well that we all take it for granted. We shouldn't.
Also, given the vast quantity of material HR amassed while doing this, it's truly amazing that he keeps the story neatly focused and moving quickly. Not at all easy! There's an old piece of advice to writers: write long, edit short. But it's sooooo hard to do! Especially when, as in HR's case, you have
tons of good stuff to choose from. And, no doubt, there were some really juicy and hot moments--or little side stories--that wanted so badly to be included. But HR wisely set those aside. Not to mention those favorite sentences that every writer falls in love with . . . until he realizes they just serve no purpose and readers won't miss them. So out they go.
Thanks, HR, for doing all of the hard crafting that readers often forget to thank writers for.
And one other thing: Has anyone else thought to thank HR and the guys for making all of this available to us
for free? How can we possibly repay you? Virtual hugs and kisses will have to do.
On to Book II and then Book III.
Ned
