Gardner, John (Vol. 5) - Gardner, John 1933–
Gardner, John 1933–
Gardner, a medieval scholar and a prolific novelist, is often cited as one of America's most brilliant and exciting writers of fiction.
The previous Gardner novels I've read [that is, before Nickel Mountain]—The Wreckage of Agathon, Grendel and The Sunlight Dialogues—were interesting (particularly from a technical standpoint) and, in some instances, engrossing; but they all had a disturbing bloated quality. For one thing, Gardner's language never seemed to let up. Sheriff Clumly of The Sunlight Dialogues couldn't simply wince; he had to wince "as if he bit into a lemon."… In addition to the inflated, often awkward, prose, the reader had to contend with the author's incessant preaching. Gardner has been called a "philosophical novelist," and to some extent he is, if by the term one simply means a novelist who explores various ideas and concepts. All well and good. We appreciate such exploration....
[The entire page is 4811 words long]
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