Including "Without You," there are fifteen short stories in "The Language of Fear" (plus Axl's intro).
IMO, what makes Del's stories so good is that he (Del) seems to put something in one or more of his stories that significantly hits a chord with the reader.
Like most GNR fans, I got the book to read Axl's intro and 'Without You.'
Sorry, Axl, at the moment I really don't recall what you wrote in that intro but I'm sure I remember that it was extremely well written. ;-pAnyways...
The first story of the book, 'A Tale of Two Heroines' was for me, one the best stories I have ever read ... EVER! ... because I "know" the people/places/situations he was talking about and I loved, loved, loved that ending!!! Other people whom I gave copies of the book, however, did not get anywhere near what I got from reading that particular story (and were surprised and confused by what I got out of it).
On the other hand:
After reading Axl's amazing brilliantly-written intro, I read 'Without You' because supposedly that's what Axl based the
Estranged or
NR or whichever video on. So one would think that story touched him (Axl) in some deep-meaningful way to inspire that video. That story did absolutely nothing for me. It wasn't bad. I just couldn't relate to anything in it. BUT, as a GNR fan, it's a great story because we got an awesome video from it!!!
Like someone else posted, what makes any story, song, etc., good is what 'you' get from it. It's a totally individual thing.
Read the book for yourself. I bet you'll find something amazing in it.
P.S. There's a line from
Prostitute that's also in Del's
Do Sunflowers Have a Fragrance? (from Dark Delicacies III: Haunted). So if there's gonna be a video, I have an idea for a slight alteration to Del's ending.....