Poet or Storyteller?

From The Ethical Assassin by David Liss

"In Florida, August is perpetual, relentless, refusing to unclench its fist, and despite the looming sunset it was close to a hundred degrees."

Wow - what a sentence! It takes me there, helps me to feel the heat, understand the climate and the setting. What a sentence. Now I'm ready for some story.

But unfortunately, that isn't what I get. It continues "The heat settled in my body, dull and enervating, and it accentuated the smell . . .It was more than a smell, but a thing, heavy enough to weigh. . . A putrid miasma whirled and eddied . . . I don't mean hot-garbage-by-the-curb smells . . ." Etc.

I read a couple more pages, but it feels way too much like MFA writing. People who are in love with words sometimes forget how addicted the rest of us are to a good story.

A good story that is well-written is truly a delight. But when a writer can't let it go, has to pound in my head how good the writing is . . . well, give me a storyteller any day of the week.