Yes, academic writing is supposed to be impersonal, detached, objective. That being the case my recipe for saving it may also be it's downfall in a "necessary to destroy the village in order to save it" sort of way. My suggestion is a simple one - more subjectivity and personal comment in academic writing. Almost immediately that will make it more interesting and make the writing more pleasurable to read. And considering that I'm far from convinced that true objectivity is even possible, and that any attempt to achieve it is probably little more than camouflage for opinionating, I find nothing wrong with a change such as this.