This is unfortunately common in sci-fi and related genres, where characterization and other aspects of literary craft take a back seat to nifty ideas and plot.

This is unfortunately common in sci-fi and related genres, where characterization and other aspects of literary craft take a back seat to nifty ideas and plot. Good characterization is a complex exercise that requires that the writer spend a lot of time dissecting the motives and mindset of each character, as well as an ability to exercise a kind of multiple personality disorder while writing and view each scene from each characters' perspective. Lit-fic has the opposite problem: excellent characters, beautiful prose, but ho-hum ideas and/or plot. VERY few works manage both craft and meaning.