|
|
|
|
|
| SFReader Forums > Writing > Brag! > First Story to Get Reviewed | Forum Quick Jump
|
| 
Scott M. Sandridge
Former King of Shameless Plugs
      
Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 700
| Posted 12/29/2005 8:23 AM (GMT -5) |   | "War Child" in The Sword Review has just been reviewed at Tangent Online. Sure, it was a "liked it, but..." kind of review, but it was a REVIEW! WooHoo! [:)]
Man, did I just show my newby streak...[:I]
"Some people yap, others speak ideas"
-- Me
"Treecutter"--The Sword Review Issue 4/July 2005
"The Price of Freedom"--DKA Issue 26/November 2005
"War Child"--The Sword Review Issue 9/December 2005
Various reviews at Tangent Online | | Back to Top | | |
 |
PaulMc
Adept
Date Joined May 2005
Total Posts : 992
| Posted 12/29/2005 8:46 AM (GMT -5) | | quote:
Originally posted by Scott M. Sandridge
"War Child" in The Sword Review has just been reviewed at Tangent Online. Sure, it was a "liked it, but..." kind of review, but it was a REVIEW! WooHoo! [:)]
Man, did I just show my newby streak...[:I]
Wow. Thanks for that, I totally missed that my bonus feature was reviewed last month! (I didn't know they were going to bother with the bonuses.)
So, make that a first review for me, too.
-- Paul McNamee
http://writer.paulmcnamee.net
http://www.dorancoyle.net
"Queen of the Sepulcher" still appearing at The Sword Review - Bonus Features | | Back to Top | | |
|
Scott M. Sandridge
Former King of Shameless Plugs
Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 700
| Posted 12/29/2005 9:00 AM (GMT -5) | | So that's a WooHoo! for us both! [:D]
"Some people yap, others speak ideas"
-- Me
"Treecutter"--The Sword Review Issue 4/July 2005
"The Price of Freedom"--DKA Issue 26/November 2005
"War Child"--The Sword Review Issue 9/December 2005
Various reviews at Tangent Online | | Back to Top | | |
|
Daniel
Carl Jung's Waterboy
Date Joined Aug 2003
Total Posts : 4515
| Posted 12/29/2005 11:42 AM (GMT -5) | | Congrats, Scott!
Daniel
www.pitchblackbooks.com | | Back to Top | | |
|
Edward Knight
Jack of all Trades and Master of None
Date Joined Jan 2004
Total Posts : 1039
| Posted 12/29/2005 11:49 AM (GMT -5) | | Congratulations, Scott.
Edward Knight
Editor
Journey Books Publishing
Amazing Journeys Magazine
http://www.journeybookspublishing.com
http://www.journeybooksonline.com | | Back to Top | | |
|
SC Bryce
Aspiring Hammock Tester
Date Joined Jan 2005
Total Posts : 1108
| Posted 12/29/2005 12:45 PM (GMT -5) | | Nice!
SC Bryce
Contributing Editor and Critique Group Moderator, www.SwordandSorcery.org
Coming Soon: "Rise of a Necromancer," a Dermanassian novella, appearing in "Flashing Swords." | | Back to Top | | |
|
rusty
Acolyte
Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 209
| Posted 12/29/2005 2:52 PM (GMT -5) | | Scott, congrats! I know, there's something so... so.. validating about reviews. Even when they're negative, it's still like "Wow! Someone noticed me."
It's official--you've been noticed!
The Law of the Tribe on Byzarium
| | Back to Top | | |
|
Rob Santa
Sage
Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 1456
| Posted 12/29/2005 6:14 PM (GMT -5) | | Big congrats, Scott. Validating...that's just about a perfect word for the feeling of receiving a review. Even the bad ones aren't that bad when you consider that you've already been paid for the story. So what if it's not brimming with praise? It's just one reviewer's opinion.
And in my humble opinion, I feel like too many reviewers give out the "liked it, but" kind of review. It's almost as if they're intentionally looking for something negative to say. Heaven forbid someone simply write "I loved this story; it was as if the author wrote it specifically for me. I recommend reading it to all lovers of space opera/high fantasy/sword&sorcery and insist they pass it along to all family members and friends." Wouldn't that be a nice change of pace?
Rob Santa | | Back to Top | | |
|
Dragon Angel
Lord Dragon
Date Joined Sep 2004
Total Posts : 1066
| Posted 12/29/2005 9:36 PM (GMT -5) | | I rarely if ever trust reviews that are 100% positive. If the person has nothing negative to say, I wonder whether they would be positive about ANY story they read. Which would of course make their opinion useless in terms of a review. Their standards are just too low.
I can only think of a couple stories that I've given a glowing review to. One is on the Nebula preliminary. I guess my standards are high. "A liked it, but" review from me is not something one should cry about.
read free fiction and poetry at http://www.geocities.com/davidolson22/index.html | | Back to Top | | |
|
Scott M. Sandridge
Former King of Shameless Plugs
Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 700
| Posted 12/30/2005 4:35 AM (GMT -5) | | Being a reviewer, I know what you mean by that. The reviewer's job is to tell both what he liked and what he didn't like about a story. If it was all 100% praise, then it wouldn't be a review but an advertisement instead.
"Some people yap, others speak ideas"
-- Me
"Treecutter"--The Sword Review Issue 4/July 2005
"The Price of Freedom"--DKA Issue 26/November 2005
"War Child"--The Sword Review Issue 9/December 2005
Various reviews at Tangent Online | | Back to Top | | |
|
erazmus
Master
Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4546
| Posted 12/30/2005 4:00 PM (GMT -5) | | Okay, I'm not a reviewer but I've been reviewed, so I'm gonna chime in.
The most disaapointing review I've ever had didn't mention me. Let me be clearer.
They mentioned several stories in an anthology I had a story in. The stories by the "big name" authors who'd contributed. They basicly gave the anthology a negative review. The real gems in the book were by relativly unknown writers like myself. They mentioned none of us and said nothing really good about the book. Being ignored was worse than anything they could have said about my story.
I do not entirely understand some reviewers motivations. I'm thinking here of a review Flashing Swords recieved from a well known on-line reviewer whos main point seemed to boil down to "I don't like this type of fantasy". Why read it then? Because the 'zine wanted a review of it?
I could see a negative review because the writer was dissappointed, because the publication didn't deliver on promised goods, because the stories were poorly written or didn't matched the implied style of the publication. But I wouldn't review an anthology of locked door mysteries if I didn't like locked door mysteries. If I did it wouldn't be right to say the book sucked because there were no hard-boiled detectives. I see a fair amount of that sort of review.
Just remember, any review is better than being left out in the cold, unnoticed.
Mike
Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com
"Two Ravens" in Amazing Journeys Magazine #9 Sept. 05
"An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern" in _Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy_ from Fantasist Enterprises | | Back to Top | | |
|
Dragon Angel
Lord Dragon
Date Joined Sep 2004
Total Posts : 1066
| Posted 12/30/2005 5:29 PM (GMT -5) | | Yeah, being ignored is the worst.
At SFReader we are often sent books to review without knowing exactly what type of book it will be. We know it is Fantasy, but what kind? Often we don't find out till we start to read it whether or not we actually wanted the book.
However, in the example you mention, I don't get it either. It's a ezine. It's not like someone sent you a copy. You don't have to review it.
read free fiction and poetry at http://www.geocities.com/davidolson22/index.html | | Back to Top | | |
|
erazmus
Master
Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4546
| Posted 12/30/2005 6:10 PM (GMT -5) | | I forgot to say, congradulations Scott, for getting reviewed.
I think reviews are probably inherintly frustrating, from the reviewee stand point. Even if they gush over your work you worry that the review will go over as sycophantic or hypish. If they pick your stuff apart, well that obviously hurts. The best you can hope for is a balanced review with a positive overall impression. At least those are easy to live with.
I once had a review blurb the plot of my story as a sample of what was contained in the book, but not mention my name in the rest of the (very short) review. That was frustrating though flatering, as the review was positive. (It had to be, it was a "review" for SFBC, which wants to sell the work in question.)
Mike
Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com
"Two Ravens" in Amazing Journeys Magazine #9 Sept. 05
"An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern" in _Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy_ from Fantasist Enterprises | | Back to Top | | |
|
Dragon Angel
Lord Dragon
Date Joined Sep 2004
Total Posts : 1066
| Posted 12/30/2005 7:11 PM (GMT -5) | | Unfortunately, SFBC isn't going to mention your name until you're famous. Sorry. They know that names sell a book (although good writing will keep them coming back)
read free fiction and poetry at http://www.geocities.com/davidolson22/index.html | | Back to Top | | |
|
erazmus
Master
Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4546
| Posted 12/30/2005 9:37 PM (GMT -5) | | Next time I'll get my name on the cover, then they have to mention it!
Mike
Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com
"Two Ravens" in Amazing Journeys Magazine #9 Sept. 05
"An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern" in _Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy_ from Fantasist Enterprises | | Back to Top | | |
|
Scott M. Sandridge
Former King of Shameless Plugs
Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 700
| Posted 12/31/2005 3:15 AM (GMT -5) | | quote:
Originally posted by erazmus
Next time I'll get my name on the cover, then they have to mention it!
Mike
That's the spirit!
And thanks to everyone for all the congratulations. [:)]
"Some people yap, others speak ideas"
-- Me
"Treecutter"--The Sword Review Issue 4/July 2005
"The Price of Freedom"--DKA Issue 26/November 2005
"War Child"--The Sword Review Issue 9/December 2005
Various reviews at Tangent Online | | Back to Top | | |
|
Rob Santa
Sage
Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 1456
| Posted 12/31/2005 3:27 AM (GMT -5) | | I'm not entirely certain I agree with the idea that a review must contain both positive and negative comments. Certainly, if the book/story is magnificent but is filled with typos, then that must be mentioned. But to feel "required" to mention something negative merely so that the reviewer doesn't sound like a fawning fan is the same as saying something positive about the worst book ever written. It is entirely possible for a story (whether short or novel-length) to hit the mark precisely. To point out a minor flaw would seem not just unprofessional but malicious. I feel the major aspects of the writing should be discussed in a review (plot, style, characterization, copyediting, etc.). Glowing praise is possible for any story with no need to criticize smoething very small.
Example: Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" is generally accepted as a great piece of writing. I agree. It is an outstanding book, and I've read it dozens of times. However much I would praise the characters, the action, the immersion in a violent and different culture, I would greatly criticize a huge chapter regarding a very minor character. The character is the girl Sonny is messing around with on his wedding day from the second chapter. It is revealed she is having sex with Sonny because he is - ahem - larger than your average man (geez, he's larger than your average water buffalo for cryin' out loud) and - ahem again - so is she. He's the only man who can satisfy her properly. Later in the book, she moves to Las Vegas, meets a doctor, eventually sleeps with him, and he discovers why she was so shy about it. He's a skilled surgeon, and the treatment he gives her is a surgical procedure to [gnawing at fingernails for appropriate way to word this] make a certain part of her body smaller. It's not a quick chapter, and it's necessity is totally superfluous to the rest of the story. In short, the entire chapter could be cut from the book and it would improve the writing. This is a negative criticism going hand-in-hand with glowing praise that has a valid reason for being in the review.
By contrast, "Aztec" by Gary Jenning is my favorite novel. I've also read it dozens of times. At 900 pages, you'd figure I had something negative to say. But I don't. I could praise this historical fiction
epic til the cows come home. This does not automatically make me a doe-eyed reader unable to find flaws. Any small errors are overshadowed by the masterful storytelling and should be ignored for reviewing purposes. Perhaps another reader would take issue with some element of the plot or the development of the characters. For that reviewer, something negative would get mentioned, but not in mine. I'd say "five stars, a must read."
Which I believe is the heart of reviewing anyway: it's just one person's opinion. After all, look at how many of us are talking about the movie King Kong and having wildly differing opinions (though united on the bug scene - atrocious).
Rob Santa | | Back to Top | | |
|
Dragon Angel
Lord Dragon
Date Joined Sep 2004
Total Posts : 1066
| Posted 12/31/2005 12:03 PM (GMT -5) | | I'm not sure anyone suggested that negative comments were required. When I read a piece the negative aspects stand out to me like a sore thumb and I would feel remise in not mentioning them. Of course, there is a secret in how you present them. You can make them sound minor or negligable very easily.
read free fiction and poetry at http://www.geocities.com/davidolson22/index.html | | Back to Top | | |
|
ScrewMoonshine
Adept
Date Joined Aug 2005
Total Posts : 885
| Posted 12/31/2005 12:47 PM (GMT -5) | | Rob, I find it hard to believe that you've read a book with no significant weak points. I consider myself fairly well-read, and I've never read a book without an obvious crack in its armour. Books are sizable enough endeavors that they are necessarily flawed, if not in objective terms, at least in the mind of at least one reader. Negative points, for me at least, seem to stick out in even the best of novels.
Keep in mind that a negative remark doesn't have to be something IN the book. Far more common it to be something NOT in the book. "Negative" does suggest an absense, after all. Maybe this thread could have been developed more...maybe it could have used more comic relief...maybe the atmosphere could have been more vividly depicted...you get the idea. If you offer criticism in the form of "I personally would've liked more of this, but..." almost as an afterthought, it doesn't come out very negative.
And what's wrong with offering something positive about a bad book? I find that 100% negative reviews are all too common, and the vast majority of the time they tell me more about the gigantic chip on the reviewer's shoulder than anything in the book itself. Finding one positive thing to say is (1)even easier than finding one negative thing to say about a good book, (2)keeps the reader from identifying you with the dozens of reviewers who simply have an axe to grind, (3)will not convince a single reader to pick up the book(which a 100% negative review may in fact do; you know, "Don't look at that incredibly hideous creature!"), and (4)offers some consolation to the author, should he be reading the review. What's so bad about that?
Robert Orme | | Back to Top | | |
|
erazmus
Master
Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4546
| Posted 12/31/2005 1:00 PM (GMT -5) | | "The printer has consistently kept the page numbering in order and all the type is the same style, making the book not imposible to read."
One positive comment?
[:D]
Mike
Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com
"Two Ravens" in Amazing Journeys Magazine #9 Sept. 05
"An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern" in _Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy_ from Fantasist Enterprises | | Back to Top | | |
|
Rob Santa
Sage
Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 1456
| Posted 12/31/2005 7:34 PM (GMT -5) | | Aztec (already mentioned), Pillars of the Earth, A Clockwork Orange, The Odessa File, The Princess Bride...right off the top of my head are books I can think of with no cracks in their armor. If, and the important phrase here is "in my opinion," there are flaws, they are greatly overshadowed by the other positive aspects of the writing. Yes, there are some negative points about any piece of writing, yet too many times I feel people may be looking too hard for them. A negative review does not have to have anything positive in it. The story may stink - plain and simple. A positive review does not need to have anything negative in it - why taint a great piece of writing by suggesting the commas are not appropriately used?
More importantly, we are talking about individual opinion. A reviewer can mix the good and the bad, but in the end, he/she should be expressing his/her opinion as best as possible. If I were to write [grabbing one of the titles from the above list] a review of The Odessa File by Frederick Forsythe, I would say it contains one of the most powerful emotional experiences I have ever had when reading a book, it includes some grab-you-by-the-throat historical action, and contains the best ending of any story I've ever read. Is there something wrong with the book? Sure, let's say it's perhaps the over-emphasis on the chapter that involves Simon Weisenthal that may sound a bit like info-dumping. Would I mention it in a review? No way - the book is great and doesn't need a thumbs-down influence to counteract any thoughts of fawning fandom. Start to finish, from the time Peter Miller hears that JFK has been shot to the triple-headed conclusion, The Odessa File is an amazing book. My review would say that a dozen times.
Rob Santa | | Back to Top | | |
|
Scott M. Sandridge
Former King of Shameless Plugs
Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 700
| Posted 1/1/2006 2:06 AM (GMT -5) | | A lot of interesting opinions here. I love learning as I read. [:D]
"Some people yap, others speak ideas"
-- Me
"Treecutter"--The Sword Review Issue 4/July 2005
"The Price of Freedom"--DKA Issue 26/November 2005
"War Child"--The Sword Review Issue 9/December 2005
Various reviews at Tangent Online | | Back to Top | | |
|
ScrewMoonshine
Adept
Date Joined Aug 2005
Total Posts : 885
| Posted 1/1/2006 2:26 PM (GMT -5) | | quote:
Originally posted by Rob Santa
Aztec (already mentioned), Pillars of the Earth, A Clockwork Orange, The Odessa File, The Princess Bride...right off the top of my head are books I can think of with no cracks in their armor. If, and the important phrase here is "in my opinion," there are flaws, they are greatly overshadowed by the other positive aspects of the writing. Yes, there are some negative points about any piece of writing, yet too many times I feel people may be looking too hard for them. A negative review does not have to have anything positive in it. The story may stink - plain and simple.
Oh, come now. If it were that bad, how could you have finished it?
Obviously, if the author wrote it, he must have found something about it enjoyable or edifying. If you can't figure out what the author was trying to do, that's a good sign that you don't understand the work and therefore shouldn't be reviewing it.
quote:
Originally posted by Rob Santa
More importantly, we are talking about individual opinion. A reviewer can mix the good and the bad, but in the end, he/she should be expressing his/her opinion as best as possible.
Personally, I think reviewers should be more concerned with what the opinion of his readers would be. The idea of a review is to properly inform readers of whether or not they will like a book, not simply rewarding or punishing books according to how you liked them. I mean, I don't know about you, but I usually read reviews to find out if I will like something. I frankly don't give a fig whether or not the reviewer liked it; I'm an empathetic guy, but not THAT empathetic.
Robert Orme | | Back to Top | | |
|
Scott M. Sandridge
Former King of Shameless Plugs
Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 700
| Posted 1/1/2006 2:42 PM (GMT -5) | | quote:
Personally, I think reviewers should be more concerned with what the opinion of his readers would be.
Considering that each reader is going to have his own opinion anyhow, that would be a bit of a moot point. The reviewer's job is to give an as objective opinion as possible with the understanding that others may disagree. If a story doesn't work for me, I would be remiss in not stating so along with the reasons why. But what doesn't work for me may work for someone else, and vice versa, so I always try to keep that in mind when writing reviews.
Often, I find things I like and dislike in the same story.
"Some people yap, others speak ideas"
-- Me
"Treecutter"--The Sword Review Issue 4/July 2005
"The Price of Freedom"--DKA Issue 26/November 2005
"War Child"--The Sword Review Issue 9/December 2005
Various reviews at Tangent Online | | Back to Top | | |
|
Rob Santa
Sage
Date Joined Apr 2004
Total Posts : 1456
| Posted 1/1/2006 6:28 PM (GMT -5) | | Exactly, Scott. It is impossible for any reviewer to suggest a book to any reader other than himself/herself as the reviewer would have no idea what other readers might like. Any work can be looked at professionally be a reviewer who then would give an honest assessment of his/her opinion. It is very easy to find the positive and negative aspects of any piece of writing. The question remains: which aspects are more important than the others? If a book has a gaping plot hole but the writing is fun and engaging, this can be summarized in a review. Readers who dislike problems with plots will steer clear of the book; those than would rather get in the roller coaster regardless of the bumps may enjoy themselves. I feel a review is a presentation of the reviewer's opinions supported by the reasoning behind them.
Since I listed A Clockwork Orange as one of my favorite books, I decided to look up the review right here at SFreader. This is one of the five-star books, and the few dozen ratings from other readers support the review. The reviewer remarked right away that the book is filled with a blending of Russian and English slang, which many readers enjoy, and in fact starts the review with a paragraph similar to what Burgess' narrator in the book would use. The review then goes something like "if the above paragraph sounds awful to you - don't pick up this book." But the reviewer enjoyed it for the reason many people do, in that it instantly immerses us in the thinking of the protagonist. It's a positive element for the reviewer (and for me), but it is easy to see why it would be a negative element for someone who would give A Clockwork Orange a bad review.
What's most important for me in a review is the reasons why the reviewer liked or disliked the work. Negative criticism is worthless without the reasoning behind it, and glowing praise is equally worthless without an understanding of why the writing is so good. I wrote a review many years ago about a Greg Bear novel that I loved for the first 500 pages. Then the ending came and made me feel like I just spent an hour eating the most perfectly-prepared ribeye I've ever had, only to find a cockroach in the last bite. Because of the tremendous let down of the ending, I would not recommend the novel, but the ending obviously worked for thousands of other readers. Just my opinion.
Rob Santa | | Back to Top | | |
| 32 posts in this thread.
Viewing Page : 1 2 |
| Forum Information | Currently it is Tuesday, December 02, 2008 7:40 PM (GMT -5)
There are a total of 85,089 posts in 6,957 threads.
In the last 3 days there were 26 new threads and 154 reply posts. View Active Threads
| | Who's Online | This forum has 1312 registered members. Please welcome our newest member, AdventureMan.
17 Guest(s), 1 Registered Member(s) are currently online. Details
JJAC116 |
Forum powered by dotNetBB v2.42EC SP2
|
| | |