Why is it often better for a writer to not put things into perspective?

Why is this so choppy?

How can a book about a man running around the whole world be so boring?

How did this writer become an archetype for female travelers from China?

Why is it so much fun to read Medieval travel stories that are at least partly untrue?

Did conservative ethics turn this great adventure story into such a slow read?

Is this guy our average Joe from the Middle Ages?

Was this guy an evil proto-colonialist, or was he a sort of likeable dreamer?