Dr. John A. King reviews Ben Bova's The Hittite and finds it marred by repetitive plot points, particularly the kidnapping of the protagonist's wife and children told over and over. He calls it "half bollocks" and says the editor should have cut the redundancy.
Hey, had someone tell me that I only ever review books that I like. Well, that's because if I don't like them, I just stop reading them. Here's one. Here's why. Ben Vova's The Hittite. I'm going to give it a, um, I'm going to give it probably like a half bollocks on this one here. Look, I like Vova's stuff as a science fiction writer, um, but it's a craft issue for me. Like, his editor should have done a better job. I only need to be told so many times that my wife's disappeared, she's been taken, and my kids have disappeared. Like, I think as an author you have to remember that your reader is sitting there holding the book in hand, reading the bloody thing, and they're not stupid. They're not going to forget in 15 pages the fact that your wife's been kidnapped and your kids have been kidnapped and you've got to find it. I don't need to be told that 5 or 6 times because it's just bloody boring. Especially when it's— you gotta show me, not tell me. First time, tell me because it's important for the thing, but better off to show me, you know. Um, but yeah, yeah, it just didn't do it for me. So I'm gonna give it a— I think I gave it half a buy. I think I did full bollocks on that one. I, I wouldn't read it. Um, yeah, whatever. Love you.
