For a while now I've thought about the various impressions books leave you with when you get done reading them as compared to the impression you have of them after some time has passed. There are some books that when you immediately get finished with them you either love it or hate it but after some time goes by your opinion changes slightly or even drastically (without having reread the book). Possibly due to some reflection on what you read, some new insights in your personal life, possibly even after discussions right here on TBBS.
For me this happens frequently but most notably for me the books I recall having this occur with are:
Do Comets Dream: This one I came off of with a good deal of disappointment primarily because when I purchased it I was under the mistaken impression that it would be a more philosophical type book that made you think, when it wasn't I was none-too-pleased. Shortly after having completed it I decided to take a step back and evaluate the book on what it was, rather than what I wanted it to be and found that I could appreciate it much more this way. I know this book tends to fall in a lot of people's "don't like" list but for me this is just an average book now.
Demons of Air and Darkness: This was the very first DS9 book I had ever read, and at the time I read it I had actually not even seen the show. I knew a little bit about it (the show) but that's it. I only bought it because I wanted to read all of the Gateways books that were set in the 24th century. I liked it when I read it but having had no DS9 background and absolutely no knowledge of anything like the DS9-R at the time I was unaware of just how great that book really was. So time passed I got around to watching the entire series and reading the Relaunch books that came before it and found that this book was MUCH better than I originally thought it was.
The Good That Men Do: This book, like Demons I had not yet seen the show it was based on yet. But I had seen more of Enterprise as of reading this book than I had of DS9 before reading Demons. And I had seen TAtV, so I knew what I was getting into for the most part. Upon reading it I came out luke-warm on the events within. I agreed with (and still agree with) the notion many have said here that the whole conspiracy was too complex and a bit hard to swallow. This book though, the more I think back on it the more I like it. This is not based on having finally seen all of Enterprise (which I have now). There is something about this book that I can't put my finger on that just seems to 'work' for me even given the "crazy plot". In fact it is this book in particular that made me want to start this thread in the first place because as time goes on I have found a fondness for it that is very damned close to putting it in my top ten favorite Trek books.
Before Dishonor: This is the one book on this list that goes in the opposite direction of the others. When I first read it I though it was a wild ride and decent enough even given it's completely over-the-top silliness. This one, however, as time goes on (and no, NOT because of the various threads we've had here) leaves a VERY bad taste in my mouth and stands in stark contrast to TGTMD where it is very much pushing for bottom ten spot. Now, of course the various discussions that have happened here that have pointed out even more ludicrousness with this book haven't helped my opinion of it either.
So, I'm curious if any of you have this sort of experience? And if so what books and what caused your change of opinion on it? I'll request that any spoilers you need to post to please put them in a spoiler block.
For me this happens frequently but most notably for me the books I recall having this occur with are:
Do Comets Dream: This one I came off of with a good deal of disappointment primarily because when I purchased it I was under the mistaken impression that it would be a more philosophical type book that made you think, when it wasn't I was none-too-pleased. Shortly after having completed it I decided to take a step back and evaluate the book on what it was, rather than what I wanted it to be and found that I could appreciate it much more this way. I know this book tends to fall in a lot of people's "don't like" list but for me this is just an average book now.
Demons of Air and Darkness: This was the very first DS9 book I had ever read, and at the time I read it I had actually not even seen the show. I knew a little bit about it (the show) but that's it. I only bought it because I wanted to read all of the Gateways books that were set in the 24th century. I liked it when I read it but having had no DS9 background and absolutely no knowledge of anything like the DS9-R at the time I was unaware of just how great that book really was. So time passed I got around to watching the entire series and reading the Relaunch books that came before it and found that this book was MUCH better than I originally thought it was.
The Good That Men Do: This book, like Demons I had not yet seen the show it was based on yet. But I had seen more of Enterprise as of reading this book than I had of DS9 before reading Demons. And I had seen TAtV, so I knew what I was getting into for the most part. Upon reading it I came out luke-warm on the events within. I agreed with (and still agree with) the notion many have said here that the whole conspiracy was too complex and a bit hard to swallow. This book though, the more I think back on it the more I like it. This is not based on having finally seen all of Enterprise (which I have now). There is something about this book that I can't put my finger on that just seems to 'work' for me even given the "crazy plot". In fact it is this book in particular that made me want to start this thread in the first place because as time goes on I have found a fondness for it that is very damned close to putting it in my top ten favorite Trek books.
Before Dishonor: This is the one book on this list that goes in the opposite direction of the others. When I first read it I though it was a wild ride and decent enough even given it's completely over-the-top silliness. This one, however, as time goes on (and no, NOT because of the various threads we've had here) leaves a VERY bad taste in my mouth and stands in stark contrast to TGTMD where it is very much pushing for bottom ten spot. Now, of course the various discussions that have happened here that have pointed out even more ludicrousness with this book haven't helped my opinion of it either.
So, I'm curious if any of you have this sort of experience? And if so what books and what caused your change of opinion on it? I'll request that any spoilers you need to post to please put them in a spoiler block.
