A Note on Book Reviews
I don’t review many books on the Peephole these days. Part of that is a kind of professional awkwardness. When I was blogging in obscurity, I could say whatever I wanted about a book. Say it fucking sucked, speak ill of the author’s mother, whatever. Alternately, I could gush about how awesome it was like a giddy fanboy who just saw his first booby. Who cared? It’s not like anyone was reading, and so what if they did? I was nobody.
But now, for better or worse, I have a presence in the fantasy community. Not only are any reviews I write likely to be read, but there’s also a damn good chance that I will eventually meet up with the author at some convention or other, and if I publicly bad-mouth them, the universe will compensate by putting them next to me at a convention panel, or having to share a table in the bar afterward. And odds are, someone would bring up that thing I said about their mother. Who needs all that drama? Better to just have good manners.
In addition to that, I now have a much greater appreciation for how hard it is to write a book. Even a mediocre book requires a lot of work. I feel more sympathetic towards books and authors even when I don’t enjoy them, and am less likely to just coldly trash something.
Experience has given me higher standards about what a good review should be, as well. It should speak of the book and storytelling style, but not give spoilers or in any way repeat the plot. It should offer praise when due, and critique flaws with a cold contructiveness. The reviewer needs to be able to separate the author from the work, and not make assumptions about one from the other. In short, a good review is really hard to write, and I have paying gigs for my writing energies.
But sometimes I wanna do it anyway.
At any given time I have one active book I carry everywhere, and a couple in the bathroom or scattered around the house that I am chipping away at. I used to read 50-60 pages a day on the subway, but that stopped when I started to use the F train as my writer’s retreat, and I don’t have that long commute anymore anyway. Same goes for lunchtime. I used to read a lot in my spare time after work and on weekends, but I work from home and have an 18 month old baby now. WTF is spare time? I barely remember. I used to read when I was sick…
Okay, I still do that. And I had a cold a couple of weeks ago and spent two days in bed. I read about 20 Red Sonja comics and started The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie. It took me 3 weeks or so to finish it, which I did about five minutes ago.
I’ll post my review tomorrow.
Loved this book (plus the 2 that followed) and I thought Glokta was a fantastic character, can’t wait to read your review 🙂
ps. I think Jinx is wondering why you are reading upside down lol
What have you done to me Peat? I just got really, really excited over the prospect of a book review. Curse you and your moreish writing prose!
I read when I’m ill too, and /The Painted Man/ got me through a bad bug. Don’t think I’ve said thanks for that; thankee-sai!
Goshdarn this thing needs an edit button.
{Edit:} “morish writing prose” to “moreish prose”
Aww cute kitty 🙂
I agree with Lisa, Glotka is a wonderful character!!! LOVED him!
Also looking forward to your review, as I am halfway through TBI (at your suggestion) and really enjoying it so far.
A note here: I think it’s possible to write a constructively negative review that doesn’t insult the author but explains clearly and non-judgmentally why the book didn’t work for you. Just as you, the reviewer, have a responsibility to write even evenhandedly and not be necessarily cruel, the author has a responsibility to not resort to histrionics and to accept constructive criticism when it is offered.
But that said: yeah. You write for a living. When someone pays you to write book reviews, they’ll get more of your attention.
I actually like reviews that include a brief synopsis of the plot, just enough to give me an idea if this is a story I would enjoy. I usually find the book blurbs to be rather unhelpful, and sometimes even misleading. Though, of course, it’s crucial that reviewers avoid giving away any spoilers.
I am of a mind that it is nigh impossible to give a plot synopsis without spoilers of some sort. Every synopsis I ever read (or wrote) for The Warded Man or Desert Spear gave away things that reduced overall tension for the reader by letting them know what was going to happen in advance.
A certain amount of that is inevitable, but it’s still frustrating, because ideally, I want the reader to go in cold and experience the story as I have laid it out for them, not with preconceived notions based on a synopsis.