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| Huck Finn |
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| Biggles |
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| She, also below |
This is not a plea for infantilization, but are we truly less visual today than we were as children?
Surely this generation is even more visual than past ones, in an age of illustrated blogs, of movies, television, computers, advertising and computer games.
Thinking back as a young reader of fiction, visual elements such as illustrations, made novels crackle with life and seared them in my memory.
Treasure island, She, King Solomon's Mines, Huckleberry Finn, Biggles, yes, even Famous Five...
The more I hear that graphics and novels provide a sensory overload that people cannot cope with, the more I feel such protestations are just a rearguard action.
The novel must and will change, even if change means borrowing from reading's exciting beginning for children, an experience that left an impact for a lifetime.
Maybe not all fiction benefits from visuals as well as others.
I suppose it depends upon the subject.
But for me at least, the ancient world such as Egypt, offers a rich opportunity for visual impact with its artefacts and ruins.
A few of my novels have introduced photos, such as 'Egypt Eyes', an adventure thriller which is written as a series of blogs with photos by an Egyptologist, and also 'The Egyptian Mythology Murders'.
Of course today's publishers will prefer to stay clear of graphics which could add considerably to the cost of printing, although the lower cost of e-books should make this more attractive.
What do you think?
