I tried to read an intriguing book (The Invisible Library) the other day, and while I did manage to finish it I'm afraid I'm not upset the library doesn't have the whole series. It was a fun little story with an intriguing concept but it just seemed rather flat and two dimensional. The plot was interesting, the characters well done, the setting curious but I was never thoroughly drawn in. In "Pride and Prejudice," Elizabeth asks if general incivility is not a sure sign of being in love when the lover ignores all societal demands to focus solely upon the beloved, and my answer to that is a certain sure yes when it comes to literature, if I can't go to bed or make supper because I'm reading something, it must be love, right? This one I could put down and went to bed at a decent hour. It probably wasn't the fault of the writer or even the story, but rather a quirk about my own taste in literature. I had the same problem with Harry Potter (still haven't finished the series) and Odd Thomas: the world doesn't make sense. Reading an agnostic view of the cosmos for me is like baking a dessert recipe beloved by someone who doesn't like eggs or sugar or butter or chocolate: I'd rather chew rocks!
Books like "Pride and Prejudice" or "Les Mis" are set in a real, functioning cosmos (our own) so they don't have to worry about much world building and can focus on the story, but a book set in a new or variant cosmos requires a lot more in the way of world building to make it a place the reader can be comfortable, or thoroughly uncomfortable, depending on the genre, but not bored or incredulous. "Wheel of Time" did a good job but I gave up on that series as the plot lost itself in a boundless quagmire. Star Wars did a good job until they rewrote reality with the Disney purchase thereof. Tolkien might take it a little too extreme. Maybe the Invisible Library and Harry Potter and Odd Thomas work well for the majority of readers looking for a fun, intriguing story who haven't put much thought into their own cosmology, theology, philosophy, ethics, morals, and worldview, but for me, it feels like driving a car with a flat tire: it goes but the ride isn't smooth. Some inner sense isn't happy with the philosophical dissonance within the book or world, but if you are used to that in your own life or not attuned to it therein, you probably don't even notice it in said stories.
I love the idea of other worlds, alternate realities, a Language that shapes reality, Victorian England, dragons and dirigibles (a so much cooler word than zeppelin), but there really aren't any immediate answers to the Big Questions, maybe more is revealed in later books but I came away little understanding the physics and metaphysics of the world, which to me are almost as interesting as the overarching story and characters. What makes this world tick? What are its ethical and moral standards? How can a world based on a balance between order and chaos exist without Someone to introduce order? Is the Library simply a mere bureaucratic entity run by utterly selfish individuals without doing any actual good in that reality, do I really want to read a fictional work about the federal government? Lazy or ignorant spirituality/theology/cosmology really turns me off, but maybe it is fine for those without a highly developed philosophical side? I demand a sensible explanation for our own reality and I see no reason not to demand the same of my literature, otherwise the story is pointless, how can I learn more about the 'human experience' from a story that isn't fully human, including a highly developed spiritual/theological/philosophical aspect? It is sort of like modern psychology that only treats the physical aspects of mental health but pretends there isn't a spiritual aspect or people who try to treat their physical or mental ailment solely with spiritual practices. Like it or not, humans are both spiritual and physical beings and both sides of our nature must be addressed, but addressing only one side or the other it throws the entire person, and even culture or nation, out of whack. How else do you explain a society obsessed with denying the physical reality in hopes of appeasing their spiritual/emotional/mental dissatisfaction? It is the same for books.
I can't be happy with a tale unless it is nicely balanced, it doesn't need to be perfect or answer all the questions or even agree with my own theology but it must make sense within itself. It needs to answer the Big Questions of where we came from, why are we here, and where are we going, otherwise it leaves me hungry, sort of like dining on rice cakes at a dinner party and nothing else because someone burned the steak.
