Long Sun Worth it?

The question baffles me. Alga's initial dismay baffles me. But, I am, in general baffled:) Yes, read it. It is yummy and good for you. Patrick O'Leary

I had the same reaction as alga in the very beginning; I think it's because of the very simple and direct style of writing, and the bright colours (1). The initial feel is rather like a comic book (2); it reminded me strongly of Castleview in that respect (3). Only after reading for a while and observing, watching the events unfold and picking up impressions of Silk's character from his actions (4), does the quality of the writing become clear. Not a comic, but a stained glass window. 1) I'm sure colours are important, but being only a Bear I can't recall the details without going home and looking them up. Let's think: the main appearances of Blue and Green are obvious, so I started looking for Red. There's Blood, and Rose, and probably others. Then there was the orangey colour of the scarf, and I have a feeling yellow turned up too, but that might just have been the (erroneous) colour of the sky on the covers (5). 2) I know there are literary comics, but those aren't the ones I mean. 3) Likewise, no disrespect to Castleview. We must have another go at that some time! I actually understood one or two bits last time I read it. 4) No-one ever tells us a thing about Silk, but we come to know him very well from seeing his actions and hearing his words. This ought to be the textbook example for "show, don't tell". It's a towering literary achievement, a real tour de force. It also explodes utterly the common belief that it's impossible to make a "good" character interesting. 5) The British editions had stained glass windows on the spines, and to begin with they joined up into a bigger picture. But then two of them repeated and stopped joining up. Was this just a bug, or couldn't they afford any more artwork, or what?

So it is. I've read the first book several times now, having started again every time another book came out, but I can't imagine ever tiring of it. Spectacled Bear.