Thanks for the comments -- I'm not certain whether the previous post & this one led anyone to thinking I've read all the books*. I hope I've not given that impression; my observations are based solely on the complaints of the fans, and sort of a deconstruction or working backwards from there (and extrapolation on how my own fandom -- BtVS -- reacted at the risk of Joss doing anything remotely like that to us**).
Okay, here's explanations:
* I never found a copy of the 1st book in the bookstore, never bothered to remember to order it from Amazon, back when LKH was on her third book, I think. I did find the second book. Got about two paragraphs in, and said, "let's sure hope UPN picks up Buffy, because I'm not up for this." (Heh.) I think it was more a matter of the fact that vampires/hunters are among my less-favorite genres, so I really only had room in my head for one series.
** Joss veered dangerously close, I'll admit: he gave us the Fury-Noxon Spike vs. Anti-Spike debacle for all of season six, including a rape attempt on Buffy. To say the fans went batshit is pretty much an understatement. I can see the season's progress, in hindsight, but at the time, it was a shocker.
The key, I suppose, is in that second note: if you can see the progress in hindsight, even if a character acts 'out of character' for a scene or period of time. If you find out she was just pulling one over on the bad guy, if you find out she was drugged, she didn't have all the clues, whatever. But your point here:
it ended very confusingly and abruptly, so I want closure. Us bitter fans are a bit like scorned lovers -- we were dumped, for reasons never satisfactorily explained to us
pretty much sums it all up. We do all want closure with characters we admire/enjoy, and sudden abrupt change in personality sure ain't it. The vindictive and combative stance LKH takes with any fans who even remotely question her is only fuel on the fire. To me, that sort of attitude seems so counterproductive as to be pathological. I just don't get it.
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Date: 8 Jan 2007 05:23 am (UTC)Okay, here's explanations:
* I never found a copy of the 1st book in the bookstore, never bothered to remember to order it from Amazon, back when LKH was on her third book, I think. I did find the second book. Got about two paragraphs in, and said, "let's sure hope UPN picks up Buffy, because I'm not up for this." (Heh.) I think it was more a matter of the fact that vampires/hunters are among my less-favorite genres, so I really only had room in my head for one series.
** Joss veered dangerously close, I'll admit: he gave us the Fury-Noxon Spike vs. Anti-Spike debacle for all of season six, including a rape attempt on Buffy. To say the fans went batshit is pretty much an understatement. I can see the season's progress, in hindsight, but at the time, it was a shocker.
The key, I suppose, is in that second note: if you can see the progress in hindsight, even if a character acts 'out of character' for a scene or period of time. If you find out she was just pulling one over on the bad guy, if you find out she was drugged, she didn't have all the clues, whatever. But your point here:
it ended very confusingly and abruptly, so I want closure. Us bitter fans are a bit like scorned lovers -- we were dumped, for reasons never satisfactorily explained to us
pretty much sums it all up. We do all want closure with characters we admire/enjoy, and sudden abrupt change in personality sure ain't it. The vindictive and combative stance LKH takes with any fans who even remotely question her is only fuel on the fire. To me, that sort of attitude seems so counterproductive as to be pathological. I just don't get it.