It's fiction. You don't go to a classical music concert and dislike/complain that it takes too long to get to the "good" part. The author is taking you for an e

It's fiction. You don't go to a classical music concert and dislike/complain that it takes too long to get to the "good" part. The author is taking you for an experience, and if it takes 40 pages of setup, then that's the type of experience the author intended. Not saying you should stick with books that are boring, and you no longer want that experience, but stating that 40 pages of setup is a waste of one's time is a very strange thing. It's like one guy I know who watches movies (not podcasts, cinema) on 2x "not to waste time". I think it all comes from the same obsession with productivity which ultimately is as sick as the dwindling attention span mentioned in the linked article.