> >Which supports the point that I can't seem to manage to express (but > >I'll flail at it anyway): That having a character that I think is cool > >or I can relate to is important to my enjoyment of fiction. > > I'd respond to this with, "Well, duh!" if I didn't know so many people who > seemed to feel that wasn't important. So I'll just say, "Me, too." I do think there is an interaction with the length of the work. It's possible to have a shorter work that is interesting and enjoyable without a strong character, but if a novel that's tolerably long or especially a series doesn't have a good character (or more) the best plot or setting in the world can't save it. When I heard that Zelazny had died, I was really broken up by it. In addition to the distress at the overall loss that the genre suffered was the specific distress of knowing that I would never learn anything else about Corwin. I still get a little sad when I think about it. Ken _______________________________________________________________ Sign up for FREE iVillage newsletters <http://s.ivillage.com/rd/16705> . >From health and pregnancy to shopping and relationships, iVillage has the scoop on what matters most to you.