Introduction - The Four Pillars

About Me

Hello and welcome to Aidan Burns Books. I am Aidan Burns and I like books, I don’t burn them, (common misconception). I am actually ardently against the burning of books in any situations that don’t include the sheer necessity for survival. If you’re freezing to death and all you have for the base of a fire are the dry, tattooed carcasses of trees long dead—go for it.

The Goal

My goal here is to do exactly what art was meant for—objectification. To anyone who has ever told you: “Art is Subjective,” please point them in my direction.

When it comes to books, movies, shows, plays—story-driven entertainment of any kind—there are a number of things that make us gravitate toward them. Namely: characters, plot, language, and novelty,  just to list a few. (Oh, and the secret ingredient: Fun!)

Put more basically, enjoyment of stories boils down to nailing at least one of these Four Pillars. Ideally, several or all of these would be strong in a story, but my argument is that generally only one of the four needs to be strong in order for us to stick with a story.

Are the Fast & Furious movies perfect stories full of great morals, values, and cause for great introspection? No. Am I thoroughly entertained trying to see how the characters are going to make it to the moon and back with the power of family? Hell yeah.

The Four Pillars

As with any structure, the greater the basic foundation, the greater the structure entire. Ideally, much like the great Parthenon, strong pillars, few as they may be, can withstand the unerring trials of time.

1. Characters

There are several things I ask myself as I go through a story and look to connect with the characters in it:

1. Are these characters that I care about? Do I want to see them succeed? Or do I feel myself almost rooting against them?

   
   

2. Do their struggles mirror those I have experienced in my own life and can relate to? Do they come up with interesting solutions to said problems? Does the process of them growing and changing inspire any growth and change in my own life?

   
   

3. Conversely, their story and struggle could be wholly alien to us, showing us another side of life we aren’t familiar with? Can this expand our perspective on our values or how we see the world, or how we interact with others?

   
   

4. Yes, villains are often the most compelling part of any story, but I would argue that is only true insofar as they serve as a challenge, mirror, or foil for our protagonist(s).

There are so many great character-driven stories, so many characters that I would follow going through the mundane trials of everyday life simply because of the perspective they can afford me.

Additionally, the setting itself can be a character. If I am enjoying simply spending time exploring a new world or seeing this one through the eyes of an interesting character, I am content.

Overall, if any one character is compelling enough, generally this is sufficient to keep me going on with a story no matter how weak or strong the other Pillars are.

2. Plot

Great stories are simply drawn-out magic tricks. They take us on a journey, ask us questions, shield our attention from information until it the precise moment it’s needed, and even veil their truths (read: morals) behind the obvious façade they present.

This Pillar is arguably the foundation of stories, and as such, a case could be made for putting it first. However, watching characters we care about go on a great journey is far more enjoyable than watching some drab, sorry despot go on that same journey.

As such, the plot is the key component, but the backdrop and journey are unappreciable without the personal aspect of watching our characters overcome challenges presented along the way.

Even so, an interesting enough world to be immersed in can be sufficient in and of itself. If the story takes me to new worlds or evokes a sense of wonder, I can forgive a lack of strong characters.

3. Language

A magic trick in and of itself, the manner in which stories are told (the voice, writing, narration, dialogue, are all deeply meaningful to a story conveying what it means to. For books specifically, prose alone can propel me through a story. Even in instances where I am re-reading sentences thinking, “I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, but I like the way you say it,” I find the act of appreciating the way the author has chosen to mash words together

There are many different kinds of interesting prose, different voices that come out in the texts and the give life to the stories in a new way. Just like when a rock artist covers a bluegrass song or vice-versa, you realize the language, the tone, has as much if not more to do with how we perceive the story (or song) as anything else.

I have read everything from the melodramatic first-person space opera of the Sun Eater to the absurd fantasy romp of Discworld and have found enjoyment in everything in between. But these more distinct voices will often warrant a read no matter the characters, plot, or novelty overall.

There are numerous ways to convey meaning, but I find that author’s with very distinct ones will always draw my attention. For a great example of how language itself can keep me invested in a story, even were it devoid of any other merit, look no further than this masterclass by Sir Terry Pratchett:

"Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.

Elves are marvelous. They cause marvels.

Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.

Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.

Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.

Elves are terrific. They beget terror.

The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.

No one ever said elves are nice. Elves are bad."

- Sir Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies, 1992

4. Novelty

Never-before seen! First of its kind! Novel!

Why do we like new flavors of foods? Why do we enjoy traveling to some exotic beach or mountain rather than going to the one we’ve seen dozens of times? Novelty.

Humans desire (and I believe benefit greatly) from novelty. This is why many people struggle with stagnancy. Same job, same commute, same lunch, some vacation spots. It’s all an affront to our desire to explore novelty.

Similarly, in the stories we seek out, we are seeking a degree of novelty. True, the market (movies in particular) is over-saturated with reboots, unnecessary sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, but that’s a rant for another time.

Tropes are a big selling point for books especially these days, but if you can provide some new twist, some new angle on a dragon-based romantasy that hasn’t been seen yet (doubtful as that may be), then you have peoples’ attention.

Overall, novelty is a difficult thing in terms of being able to carry a story entirely, but it does not have to be major. Perhaps it’s as simple as telling a story from a new perspective; side kick rather than the main hero, or taking a classic good over evil story and setting to the backdrop of a space opera. While this is generally (in my opinion) the weakest of the Pillars upon which I judge a story, it can be fun simply to have a new experience. After all, isn’t that what life is all about?

5. Bonus: The Ethereal Fifth-Pillar-That’s-Not-Really-A-Pillar-At-All

More like adornments, accoutrements, accents.

At the end of the day, stories should be fun. Or put a better way perhaps—enjoyable. Being a subjective medium, what works for one person will not always work for you. I have read books with glowing reviews that I finished out of pure spite, and I have enjoyed immensely stories that were dragged by other readers and critics alike.

So it goes.

The point is to find what works for you.

While I endeavor to give objective scores and grades to this subjective medium, you may find you vehemently disagree. Great! That’s the point. Maybe if you hate all the things I give glowing reviews to, you can find something you enjoy in those I disliked.

Whatever journey you take to get there, friend, I hope you read.

Read big, read small; shallow, wide, or deep. Just read.

6. Other Considerations: Impact / Theme / Expectations

There are so many things that play into our enjoyment of any story. Admittedly, sometimes it is best to simply say “I loved this, and I do not want to overanalyze why.”

Perfectly valid.

But along with these four foundational pillars, there are a myriad of things that can draw us in or keep us engrossed. Things like the overall impact a story has on our personal lives or culture, the themes and morals that we are able to extract and apply to our lives, and even just feeling some sense of met expectations; all these things mix together in a litany of literary levers that lead to enjoyment.

The impact of a story or truly any media is immeasurable, but not ineffable. Whether it is cultural, global, communal, or individual, stories impact us in different ways.

Stories like Hoosiers and Cool Runnings might serve to inspire other underdogs, Lord of the Rings and Dune have greatly shaped the fantasy and science fiction markets respectively.

Meanwhile 1984, The Handmaids Tale, and Brave New World have informed our perception of the dangers of governmental overreach.

On a lesser note, the personal impact side, stories can resonate within us, change our views, change how we view and interact with the world around us, and give us new views on life. A story can stick with us, something a character does in a situation similar to our own can give us to tools we need to show up in ways we had never before considered. In this, stories are a portal to another world where we can learn through the examples of others, fictional though they may be.

Perhaps we are able to take someone’s way of facing challenges from a fictional story and apply it in a useful way to deal with the mundanity of corporate life. Maybe we are able to see parts of ourselves or habits that we don’t like about ourselves and when shown the consequences, are able to lean away from those behaviors that don’t serve us.

Or maybe we can just sit back and enjoy the catharsis of a well-done ending; good triumphing over evil, the underdog winning the championship, the will-they-won’t-they relationship finally ending with a swirling kiss as the orchestra swells.

There is not right or wrong way to enjoy a story, it is simply what works for each of us that matters.

Now with all that said, let’s look into how I will objectively judge stories.

Reviews

Using a fool-proof system (because I said so), I will be grading stories on a scale of 1-100 for each of these pillars. For fairness (and because I believe every story has something to offer on all these fronts) nothing will be getting lower than a 1 for any of these pillars.

Then, using a modification of the atrocity that is the American public school grading system, I will be giving each book a letter grade and a +/- (for fun!) This scale will be A-F (excluding E because who knows why).

A 100 – 81

B 80 – 61

C 60 – 41

D 40 – 21

F 20 - 1

Stories that score at or below a 20 are probably lacking some fundamental components. F is for Failure and while they may not be the worst thing I’ve ever read, they are not something I would revisit nor recommend to anyone.

D’s may have some merit, some bright spots but lack consistency overall. C’s will be good books that I enjoy but likely would not read again (at least anytime soon). These will have recommendations for certain types of people / similar stories. E.g. “If you enjoyed X, this might be for you.”

B’s are getting into the category of must-reads. These have a lot to offer on a lot of fronts and though they may not be the best story ever told, they are worth while and likely worth recommending to a broad range of people.

A’s will be rare, the cream of the crop, the must-reads. But as with all dreams, all outlandish goals, we must strive for that unattainable greatness. So, there it is, the goal here is twofold:

First and foremost, objectify art.

Secondly, and outlandishly, I will be searching for what I believe to be the perfect story.

What has the perfect mix of characters in the right situation, achieving something novel, leaving a lasting impact, and having fun while doing it?

Does it exist? Will we ever know? Stay tuned to find out.