Review Overload
One of the things I like to do with this blog is link to reviews of my work on the intertwitterfacetubewebnet. I try to link to every review, good and bad, though I have been fortunate enough to have only a few bad ones, and even those not awful. But with the recent release of The Warded Man in the US, the web has been flooded with enough reviews to make my head spin. It’s been overwhelming enough just to read them all, much less write little blurbs and link to them here.
Apparently, when Del Rey books send out the advance read copies of the book last year, they did so with a request that bloggers and the like hold off their reviews until closer to the release date. A few people ignored this request and posted right away, but a surprising number waited, and all came in a rush. It’s a heady feeling, and I worry I might overdose on praise and never get around to spreading the link love.
However, as an author of a massive, multi-book epic fantasy series, I know the key to completeing every large project is to break it into chunks and start pecking away, so that’s what I’m going to try to do now.
For starters, Suvuvdu is talking me up again, along with linking to some reviews in their own right and putting up my DRIN piece on ward magic. This is a nice little article that is in no way influenced by the fact that Suvudu is owned by Random House and I got drunk with the whole Suvudu staff one night at NY ComicCon.
OK, maybe just a little. But I know for a fact that everyone posting stuff read and liked the book, so it’s not disingenuous. It’s quite ingenuous.
One of these days I am going to write a post about how to write reviews without putting in spoilers, because this is something I think a lot of talented amateur reviewers (and more than a few professional ones) could really benefit from learning. Much as I love good press, I put a lot of work into pacing my stories so that information is filtered to the reader in a tense and exciting fashion, and that tension is lost when you’ve already read a review that tells you the story arc of all the characters. Some people don’t mid that sort of thing, but it’s a real pet peeve of mine.
Reviews without spoilers:
Really fabulous review on Grasping for the Wind. I can’t believe I took so long to link to this one. It’s the kind of review I read to pull myself out of a bad mood.
Another great review on Rick Kleffel’s The Agony Column. I really like Rick’s review style, and he manages to give detail without spoiling plot, which is always a plus.
Not only is there a wonderful review on Vagabond Voice, but check out the site’s logo! That is awesome.
Really sweet review on Memoirs of a Rabbid HotDog. Not only did she like the book, but she managed to read it while taking care of a new baby. As a new parent myself, I know that a book needs to really hold your attention to manage that.
Quick review as part of Readmorefor2009’s 50 book challenge. The Painted Man is described as “made of awesome”. You don’t get a better review than that.
Another satisfying quickie from Lisa at Wannabe Writer.
Here’s a partial (first 100 pages) review from Jeff at Fantasy Book News & Reviews, who didn’t care for it. This is one of the few instances where I’ve replied to a reviewer, and you can see my response in the comments section. I usually try not to respond to reviewers (good or bad) because it gives the appearance of bias, but in this instance it was an important topic that has caused some minor controversy, and I wanted to clarify a bit. The topic is one I plan to get into in much more detail some day on my blog when I am feeling masochistic.
Gav at NextRead reposted his review from last year and changed the title for the US release. What a guy. Graeme at Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review did much the same thing.
Reviews with spoilers:
This review on inky text has some mild spoilers, but it is immensely positive and I found it really quite flattering. The author really seemed to feel some of the themes I was trying to convey.
The Librarian DOA wrote a review with some early spoilers about a pivotal moment in the main protagonist’s life, but the review was immensely positive and really made me feel good to read it.
The Warded Man review on SFRevu by Mel Jacob has the usual array of character spoilers. I preferred the spoiler-free review they did last year when the book was released in the UK as The Painted Man, even though John Berlyne pulls no punches.
The review on Waiting for Fairies is touching and very positive. As with most reviews in the “spoiler” category, it only gives away an overview of the initial character arcs. Not enough to actually “spoil” anything, but maybe more than a purist who likes to read books cold would want.
This review on The Massive Continuity of Ducks is spoiler heavy, and if you haven’t read the book, I would urge you not to read it. The author is alternatingly positive and negative, but not unfair, though I disagree with some of her points. It plays back to the topic I commented on in the Fantasy Book News & Reviews post. If you’ve already read The Warded Man and want to have a look, you can see the Ducks post here.
That’s it for now. I actually managed to post a lot more reviews than I expected. I only have about a half dozen left. I’ll post those soon.
Last but not least, here is a post from my friend and test reader Netta’s site, Wordwebbing, where she kvells after seeing her name on the acknowledgements page where it belongs. Thanks, Netta!
P.S.
If you’re a reviewer (or would like to be one) and want to do me an immense favor, please feel free to put your thoughts, good or bad, up on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com for prospective buyers to see. Despite literally hundreds of reviews on the web, the major online shopping site pages are quite bare.
I hear you on spoiler-filled reviews; it drives me nuts to have a story spoiled when all I want to know is what people thought of it, not the whole plot of the book!
Anyway, I’ve answered your call to arms (call to keyboard?) and reposted my review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Borders (well, as soon as it ever loads on the Borders site…). If I can think of any other site to stick it, I’ll add it there, too. …I feel like part of a “Warded Man” street team or something. 😉
I totally get what you mean with not revealing too much of the plot in the review. One of the reviews on Amazon just describes the plot…ones like that really annoy me. I think a lot of people just do it to pad their reviews out, rather than to spend effort discussing their thoughts on the product.