I wonder if that's why I can't get into Pratchett. His style just doesn't work for me. He's unendingly flippant, and I think of flippancy as a spice: wonderful on occasion, but terribly tedious as a steady diet.

It's frustrating when there's a story whose elements you're prepared to love, but the style just overwhelms them.

I will try Gladstone at some point, just in case his style is one I like, or even one that's unobtrusive enough to me, to allow me to enjoy the rest.