5 ms·

Crichton's and Grisham's books are both forgettable but quite enjoyable reads. In both cases, their formula is easily learned, and the 2nd and nth books you rea

Crichton's and Grisham's books are both forgettable but quite enjoyable reads. In both cases, their formula is easily learned, and the 2nd and nth books you read just seem to scream out "formula." That's why I've read one or two of their books and don't feel the need to read any more. It's a good formula. It can make very good movies. Sir Walter Scott [1] was hugely popular in his day. Some people do still read him. In 200 years, some analogous paragraph to this will appear for Crichton & Grisham. Following the Modernist movement in literature in the aftermath of the first World War, Scott’s rambling and verbose text (indeed he was alleged to omit punctuation in his writing, preferring to leave this to the printers to insert as required) was no longer in vogue. [1] https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Sir-Walter-Scott/ https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Sir-...

michaelwww 4y ago
I haven't read Grisham but that's how I felt about Crichton's books. His books were treatments designed to made into a movie and read like that.
- notahacker 4y ago
  Ironically Jurassic Park was an exception (made a great movie, but Spielberg must have been very happy to lose the book's preoccupation with details of chaos theory and computer systems in the screenplay)
pfortuny 4y ago
Same about Ishiguro, very surprisingly.
2143 4y ago
I had read a couple of Grisham's works some years ago and found them enjoyable. I thought I had never read Crichton (just not into dinosaurs) until I realised that I have infact read his State of Fear many years ago. However, I have no recollection whatsoever of its story. Another author who uses formula seems to be Dan Brown: everything happens within 24 hours, there's a hero with lots of travel (atleast an Atlantic crossing and back — which if you think about it screws up the 24 hour timeline IRL) a pursuing villain who's low-key psychopath, a parallel storyline... It's quite enjoyable if you're reading him for the first time, but by the time you're into 3rd book you'll start to see the formula and then whatever you're reading instantly loses its appeal. I have decided that, life's too short to be reading low-quality work, and now I try to read classics and other renowned works. Of course, with this strategy you might end up missing good works by independent authors. So, keep an open mind.
6stringmerc 4y ago
Speaking of formula and the beauty in hack work, the craft in O. Henry stories really holds up. I’ve got a collection in paperback that is almost falling apart. Some better than others but talk about using a formula with brilliance on the regular - can’t wait to revisit some now that I think about it.
apple4ever 4y ago
I disagree. Crichton's are both enjoyable and quite memorable. Sure they have a formula, but that's fine for me. I love all his books. (I never read Grisham so I can't speak to them)

michaelwww 4y ago

I haven't read Grisham but that's how I felt about Crichton's books. His books were treatments designed to made into a movie and read like that.

notahacker 4y ago
Ironically Jurassic Park was an exception (made a great movie, but Spielberg must have been very happy to lose the book's preoccupation with details of chaos theory and computer systems in the screenplay)

pfortuny 4y ago

Same about Ishiguro, very surprisingly.

2143 4y ago

I had read a couple of Grisham's works some years ago and found them enjoyable. I thought I had never read Crichton (just not into dinosaurs) until I realised that I have infact read his State of Fear many years ago. However, I have no recollection whatsoever of its story. Another author who uses formula seems to be Dan Brown: everything happens within 24 hours, there's a hero with lots of travel (atleast an Atlantic crossing and back — which if you think about it screws up the 24 hour timeline IRL) a pursuing villain who's low-key psychopath, a parallel storyline... It's quite enjoyable if you're reading him for the first time, but by the time you're into 3rd book you'll start to see the formula and then whatever you're reading instantly loses its appeal. I have decided that, life's too short to be reading low-quality work, and now I try to read classics and other renowned works. Of course, with this strategy you might end up missing good works by independent authors. So, keep an open mind.

6stringmerc 4y ago

Speaking of formula and the beauty in hack work, the craft in O. Henry stories really holds up. I’ve got a collection in paperback that is almost falling apart. Some better than others but talk about using a formula with brilliance on the regular - can’t wait to revisit some now that I think about it.

apple4ever 4y ago

I disagree. Crichton's are both enjoyable and quite memorable. Sure they have a formula, but that's fine for me. I love all his books. (I never read Grisham so I can't speak to them)