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Message: <blockquote data-quote="takyris" data-source="post: 3119868" data-attributes="member: 5171">First off, Icy Cool: As you said you didn't read all the posts in this thread, you may not be aware that I answered many of the questions you asked. Feel free to ask follow-up questions after reading.You and I were the ones conversing. I took "anyone" to include me, which is why I believed I should explain why I had the ability to make such a statement.As is writing. This is where you and I disagree. Many people buy and wear poorly made shoes, just like many people buy and read poorly written books. Many surgeries result in infections and complications after the fact because of sloppy work by the surgeon, but in the mind of the patient, it's still a success.The other key thing to note here, as I've seen several notes about romance novels and "Aha, but don't some people think all fantasy is bad?", is that you have to judge each novel within the context of its intended genre. When I read a mystery novel, I don't complain if it's the same plot I've seen countless other times. When I read a romance novel, I don't complain that the conversations go on longer than they would in a fantasy novel. (And yes, I do read both of those genres as well, although neither as much as fantasy.)By fantasy-novel standards, Eragon is bad. Now, people have made the good point that it's being sold as YA-lit, which demands different standards, and it's entirely possible that by those standards, it's merely mediocre. Heck, it's possible that Eragon is a very good book -- from the context of "Books to be read by children with no previous exposure to fantasy literature." That's a discussion worth having, I think. Trying to figure out what audience would be right for a given book is useful.I think what really aggravates me about the "there's no real standard" argument is that it largely invalidates conversation. We might as well just have a poll for each book ("Did you like it?") instead of a conversation thread, since any discussion of character, plot structure, setting, and voice is just subjective according to your theory.A question for you, Merilon -- and I mean this seriously. I'm not trying to shoo you away, and I want that clear:You've said that the only meaningful standard of judgment is the reader's personal opinion.You've said that you yourself haven't read the book.Why are you posting in this thread?</blockquote>

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