Because I'm lazy, I didn't seek out actual information on Mr. Beagle, and as a result, I had the impression - based on my exposure to the tropes of "The Last Unicorn" and the tone and style of "Come Lady Death" - that he was more of a Tolkein-era writer. This was reinforced by the awe with which the editors have evinced when referring to Mr. Beagle. He does come from the generation between my parents and grandparents, so he's not "young", but he is more modern and contemporary than I thought he was, and my expectations were tailored accordingly.
Because of this, his story-telling style hits my brain in a different way. I started Barren's Dance expecting more of that drawing-room sensibility of Lady Death; I painted an internal picture of Gandalf as the narrator; I came at it with the presumptions of an English sensibility when I listened to his geographical descriptions.
Since I weighted my expectations with all of this baggage, the story felt lighter, more progressive, and less reliant on modern pop-culture to me. For example, I didn't associate it with "Pokemon", because my mindset was back in the age before that garbage existed. It felt very forward-thinking, since I was assuming it was written so long ago.
Of course, now I can understand that I was coming at it as if it were an old classic, and it makes me wonder: would some of you have been less put off if you had approached it in a different way? We tend to brace ourselves when we know a story is "like" another story or genre; we expect a certain "something" when we are told that something is cyberpunk or steampunk, and something else when we are told that something is sci-fi versus fantasy. This is part of the problem when people start bringing up the old "is it/isn't it" argument; expectations vary, and people feel cheated when those expectations aren't met. (Or they feel overly enthusiastic, depending on what those expectations were!)
I could elaborate, but I've already babbled on too long, and I'm informed it is now lunchtime. So....