Neil, you were so spot on with Trevanian that I don't see how I could pass up McKillip. I'll have to give it a try. Prose, my friend! Prose is the thing! That said, I'm usually the first to cry foul when a writer's prose is excessive, excessively pretty, pretentious, precious, "too much." I suppose it's just like porn - I know it when I see it. Or tea - has to be just right, and to each his own.