Netta, thanks for clarifying about your comment. And I think we are all somewhat sensitive about the subject, otherwise the discussion wouldn’t even get going.

Peter, once again, thanks for linking to the review and for the welcome. And yes, this discussion is definitely one worth having.

Have a great week.
Ana

I think the discussion you raised was a good one, and brought out some really interesting comments. I’m glad that happened, as sexual assault is a topic that is important for people to discuss, even though it is difficult and we would all rather pretend it didn’t exist.

I never thought for a moment that you were negatively taking my gender into account in your review. That is an issue that has come up in other reviews, and I mentioned it in that context. I did however feel that you perhaps misunderstood my intent in some places, and felt it was worth clarifying.

Thanks for stopping by!

The comment regarding “source and gender” was not directed at you. No offense was meant, and I apologize if it came across that way.

My opinion about spoilers stands. I am entitled to that, as you are entitled to your own opinion. I also feel that any review that contains spoilers should provide a warning (whether it’s books, music, TV, movies, whatever) so those who don’t wish to read a review with spoilers included have the option to pass. That’s my personal preference, and we can agree to disagree.

The scene in question is touchy for many people for many reasons. Based on my own personal experience, I found the scene and the aftermath both realistic and believable. I know for a fact Peat agonized, researched, and brought his own life’s experiences to the table and did not take it lightly. For me, he nailed it. I trust him as an author to clarify the far-reaching and long-standing effects of such an experience in the series.

Again, my apologies if I come across a bit hypersensitive to the subject.

Cheers.

Thank you Peter for bringing my review for discussion here. As you mentioned when stopped by at our blog, this is a very serious discussion.

I would like to clarify that in my review, I took issue mostly with the aftermath of the scene in question and not with the scene itself, as I say in my review and repeatedly in the comments section. Even though, as a reader, these types of scenes are outside my comfort zone, I generally don’t take issue with them unless the ramifications are not handled well. I was surprised and mystified that there was little to no effect of the scene, physically or psychologically, after this event and it struck me as unbelievable and undeveloped.

I would also like to clarify that my review contains ONE spoiler: that of the scene in question. As I am loathe to spoilers as well, I only included the scene because I felt it necessary to discuss the topic, and because I wanted to generate discussion (which it has!). My reviews are usually spoiler-free.

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to ask Netta what does she mean by “Consider the source (and gender) of one of them”?

Just so there isn’t any confusion, I would like to clarify one last thing: at no point in my review or in the comments section did I say or imply that the author could not write female characters or female-centric scenes because he is a man. I would never say anything like that (in fact, some of my favorite female characters have been written by men! Over at our blog we’ve gone so far as to write an essay on this reverse-sexism and how we are firmly against such preposterous assumptions about authors based on gender). My issue, again, was with the lack of character development after the spoiler scene in question. That has nothing to do with the author being a man or a woman, or with myself as a woman (and yes, there are two book smugglers and we are both women), it is just my issue with the writing which transcends gender. I’m not sure if this addresses the “source” issue, but so far as gender is concerned please rest assured that this did not color my reading experience in any way.

Thanks again, to Peter and to everyone else for continuing with this discussion. I look forward to reading book 2.

Cheers,
Ana