Drawing readers into the story

Having recently reorganised all my books onto mew bookshelves, I can now see them all, and reach them all.  And in the process I've rediscovered several books that I've never read.

I picked one of them off the shelf yesterday and started reading, wondering why I'd abandoned it.  Within a couple of pages I'd realised why I'd abandoned the book.  It started with a confusing prologue.  The character was supposed to be a star pilot, but her approach to interstellar navigation was far too casual.  I wondered how send managed to travel that far without getting killed before. And the book was written in a hip, jokey voice, which is one of my personal dislikes.

I wasn't drawn in by the opening, and the book failed its crucial first test.  And yet this is a mainstream published work by a well-respected author.  But from that showing, I'm not tempted to seek out any more of her work. 

SF falls prey to the curse of experimental writing styles.  Tricks and gimmicks prevent me getting into the story. And often I suspect that those tricks are there to hide the fact that the plot is too slight.  It's as if some authors have a weird mindset that goes "I'm writing SF! So it can't be straightforward.

But I want story, dammit, and if your experimental way of telling the tale means I don't get it I'm more than likely to hurl your book across the roomin disgust.  And then out it in the pile for the next charity shop giveaway.  

I think this is why I'm so fond of Anne McCaffrey's work.  She deals with concepts like brainships and sentient planets in a storytelling style that draws the reader into the narrative.  The SF aspects of the story are revealed effortlessly as part of the action of the tale.

That's what I want those. Milieu, tech, landscape, people, all bound up together in a story that's got something to say, somewhere to go, and moves along smartly.  That's the way to draw readers into your world.