A.G. Riddle

Riddle is an acquired taste. A year ago, I would have dismissed him as trash. I know, that sounds harsh. But look at it from my perspective. I read literature. But I don’t discriminate based on genre.

I don’t care if your novel is fantasy, science fiction, or horror so long as you deliver decent prose that respects literature as a medium. The first novel I read from Riddle (The Atlantis Gene) felt like a big-budget movie script.

The rapid pacing and sudden changes put me off. I kept reading because Riddle’s Origin series was part of my book club’s reading challenge for that month.

I must have consumed three or four books from the author before realizing that I was having a great time. Once I discarded my expectations and accepted Riddle’s style for what it was instead of what I wanted it to be, my perception changed. I don’t know if I would recommend the author to other people like me. Who knows how they would react? But I think that anyone who perseveres with this author will grow to appreciate his style in the long run.