voice

Narrative voice (when it is third person) is a very important aspect of fictional prose.

Its primary purpose is to tell the reader what exactly is going on from an objective standpoint, communicating the scene with only as much detail is as necessary. And that's difficult enough to accomplish without either burdening the reader with too much information (over-description) or by being too simplistic (not answering enough vital questions, leaving gaps).

The voice of the narrative is the most direct the author may be with the reader. By giving the narration itself a character, though (either by accident or on purpose) is risky business. A voice gives everything a specific spin or a delivery to an otherwise straightforward narration. Because of this you may either reel in your audience or push them away.

Best to keep that in mind, comrades.

I usually preferred the "Plain Style" (coined from the character Dunstan Ramsey from Robertson Davies' Fifth Business) myself, with some exceptions as to when a character seems to hijack the narration for himself.

I think it's important for people to experiment with narrative voice and to be aware of what voice he or she is most comfortable.