Poll: Books and suspension.

[SamuelT]

So, I've been following the (Really well written and drawn) webcomic Gunnerkrigg Court. Since then I've been asking myself if it'd be so awesome if it'd not been a comic, but rather a book. I've stopped writing myself because anything I write down isn't as lifelike and good as GC is in my head.

Also, if there's going to happen in a book, you can see it coming from a few lines. When I read I (Sort of) see the next few lines and words, so if there's a dramatic reveal I can see it coming. I don't know if this is normal or not. So I ask you, escapees. Can books hold the same amount of suspense as other, more visual media?

Edit:

Just so you know, I've been captivated by books many times. It's quite recent that books can't seem to hold my attention anymore. I have read the right books. I just wanted to hear some opinions.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

comics are probably worse for me, at least with a book there are a lot of words in the following line, so I can try to ignore them.
but if it's a comic or manga, I see the picture, that's it.
a picture paints a thousand words.
although if I do read a book, the higher level of detail that I read through makes it terribly easy to guess what's going to happen next.

 

[Dragon_of_red]

Yes, i tihnk that they easily can, whenever there is a comic or thing like that, i sometimes skip a few lines and read onwards, i dont mean too, bt i usually do.

And how cant books hold dudpense, I waited about 2 years still suspensed over the outcome of "The 6 Sacred Stones"

 

[j0frenzy]

Yes. The one I can think of is Josef Conrad's Under Western Eyes (which I just finished reading).

The suspense I am thinking of is at the end of the novel (don't read if you don't want a book from the early 1900s spoiled) where the main character, Razumov who is a spy for the Russian secret police, decides to reveal himself as a spy and responsible for the death of a respected revolutionary. He then reveals himself not only to his love, but also to the people he is spying on out of a sense of remorse for all the things he has done. He is then punished by one of the revolutionaries breaking his eardrums. Then, it turns out less than ten pages later that the man responsible for punishing Razumov was not only a spy for the revolutionaries, but also a spy for the secret police who was working both sides. Effing blew me away.

 

[oliveira8]

Reading good proper books usually helps....Anyway yes they can.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Most assuredly. Suspense can easily build before you see the results of an action. In fact, the easiest way to do this is through a chapter system (something, say, the Goosebumps books used abused).

Besides, what's the best way to keep a reader in suspense?

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

<color=white>I'm a jerk. I know.

 

[Inverse Skies]

Most assuredly. Suspense can easily build before you see the results of an action. In fact, the easiest way to do this is through a chapter system (something, say, the Goosebumps books used abused).

Besides, what's the best way to keep a reader in suspense?

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

<color=white>I'm a jerk. I know.

Dammit! It works! I just had to keep clicking!

 

[Jedamethis]

100% for yes, yay
If they have a good layout, then books could have more suspense than visual media. With a good layout being something like a load of spoilers, but not

 

[Timotei]

Absolutely. Edgar Allen Poe was renowned for making people practically shit bricks.

 

[dududf]

22 - 0

woot books are winning!

 

[insectoid]

Yes, yes they can.

 

[NimbleJack3]

I have the horrible habit of reading a few paragraphs ahead, realizing I've done it, moving back, skipping ahead and then turning the page without realizing I've missed half the words on the previous one. If you charted the path of my eyes on the page, the lines would be everywhere.

 

[Artemis923]

It all depends on the books you read.

Some are so vivid and well described that you can see what's going on while reading. What I like is that every word coming up could potentially be a sword thrust, or a good parry, or even the death of one of your favorite characters.

It's just a matter of what you read and how you read it.

 

[mafyapenguin94]

Well this is singlehandedly the most one-sided poll I've ever seen on The Escapist...
100% of people...
But then again... not a surprise.
OP- I love books. I read every night, and while it's a great way to fall asleep, sometimes I pick up the right book, and I'm up all night

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

So, I've been following the (Really well written and drawn) webcomic Gunnerkrigg Court. Since then I've been asking myself if it'd be so awesome if it'd not been a comic, but rather a book. I've stopped writing myself because anything I write down isn't as lifelike and good as GC is in my head.

Writing a good story is harder than people who've never done it think. It's one thing to think of an awesome story in your head, and something completely different to write it down in a way that doesn't make it suck. It's a skill you can train though, if you're willing to make the effort.

Also, if there's going to happen in a book, you can see it coming from a few lines. When I read I (Sort of) see the next few lines and words, so if there's a dramatic reveal I can see it coming. I don't know if this is normal or not.

That's actually more normal than you might think. Everyone who can read well does it, you're just more aware of it than most. The effect is a lot more noticable in blind people who read braille, who from what I've seen almost always use multiple fingers to read one line while 'pre-reading' the next. It just helps your brain process the text better/faster.

So I ask you, escapees. Can books hold the same amount of suspense as other, more visual media?

Yes, they can. Perhaps even more so. But it mostly depends on the skill of the writer.

 

[LongAndShort]

John LeCarre, Cormac Macarthy and Matthew Reilly all keep the suspension up pretty well. I just think you aren't reading the right books.

 

[Thaius]

Most definitely. I would argue that video games are potentially more so, due to actual interaction on the part of the player, but books have held me in suspense and stressed me out as much as anything else. I accidentally missed my bus stop once while reading through the climax of the second Eragon book, Eldest. I always figured that would happen while playing Elite Beat Agents or something...

EDIT: Read the books written by Ted Dekker, specifically Blink and the Circle trilogy (Black, Red, and White). Those books are freaking intense.

 

[Vim-Hogar]

If you want a specific example, even on the second and third times I read it, I absolutely could not put down the 6th Harry Potter after the point where they leave for the cave.

Edit: 43 votes and still no "no"s... crazy!

 

[coldshadow]

47 say yes and none for no?

 

[TZer0]

Whoa.. 56 votes in and no one has said no yet.

I feel this says a little about these forums.