Momentem, by Jerry Lee Osborne

I glanced over at my bookshelf last week and noticed a paperback on the shelf that didn't look familiar.   It was large format, all white but for the title and author's name.   I couldn't remember putting it there, but none of my family members knew how it got there either.   I hope I didn't borrow it from someone, as I don't recall to whom to return it.

What do you do when you find a novel mysteriously sitting on your bookshelf?   You read it!

Or try to.   I made it to page 90 (out of 218).   Even this took me the better part of a week of on and off reading, putting it down as a side effect of my lack of enthusiasm.

The plot:  Dutch scientists invent a miraculous drug (momentem) which enhances sensation, cures disabilities, and generates huge amounts of cash from distribution through traditionally illicit drug channels (although it is itself too new to yet be regulated or declared illegal).    Characters deal with varied aspects of this situation.

The problem:  stilted writing.   I don't precisely know how to describe it.   I imagine that if a high functioning autistic person wrote dialog, this is how it might sound.   But that might be pejorative to autistic folks.   I don't want to be rude to the author either.   The writing was just so stilted.

Another way to describe it:  imagine you read the wonderful Elements of Style but then go overboard with terse business style writing in the dialog and descriptive sections of your inventive novel.

So I just gave up.

Oh, and also because the author misspelled Zilker park Zulker.