Although her passiveness makes me think about Molly's passiveness. Granted, Molly eventually grows a backbone, but still. You're right, though, the character has to make decisions of their own, and as a romance reader and writer I HATE damsels in distress. Hate them. With a fiery, bloody passion.
I don't blame you for wanting to read it, just to learn (and hey, I'd like to know if I'm completely over-analyzing this). I've done the same, picked up books I assume I won't like, just so I can learn from them.
See, I don't mind people working for other people's goals, and/or being manipulated into WORKING for those goals, but the characters still have to make choices that matter. I see what you mean. Hell, even in my own novel, I've got characters who are manipulated, but they aren't fully aware of it. I think it's a common plot device. But there's a fine line, you know?
It warms my cynical heart to read your comments. I've read so many crappy books, not just lately, and I'm so tired of reading the BS praise from other writers about them. It's unfortunate that we've all become so careful--I locked a recent rant that I wrote myself--since we never know who's going to read our opinions. It just seems that so many books get published, churned out really, because the editor/publisher thinks the concept is cool. I don't think they even read the manuscripts all the way through anymore. They certainly don't appear to edit them.
You know, it takes a LOT for me to rant about something, because like you said, you never know who's going to read the review (though I always assume the writer and/or editor and/or agent will read it eventually). And I'm careful anyway to make sure sound objective and/or clarify my problems so that whoever reads the review knows the problems are MINE, if that makes sense.
With you working in a bookstore, I can see how you get so frustrated. I know there's an audience for every book, no matter crappy we think that book might be, and I try to remember that with each review.
Though this book may have been a disappointment, it does give me hope for my lesbian-protagonist paranormal mystery getting published.
I wrote this huge essay about the use of sexual violence and abuse in speculative fiction. It's too informal and angry in its current form, but I'd like to revisit the idea. Rape and abuse are realities and important to address in fiction, but the frequency with which they are used as plot devices and short-hand character development (what's she like? oh, she was raped) reach ridiculous proportions.
Also, totally tired of lesbians as abuse survivors. Healthy lesbians ftw.
Thanks for the review! I like your reviews because you are so thorough and evenhanded and it looks like you read and like the same books I do. I think this is the first totally negative review of yours I've read and I appreciate the fact that when something doesn't work, you don't pull your punches.
I found it interesting that the Junobooks blog had links to 3 "good" reviews. But the 3 were all by the same person, Harriet Klausner, who does not write bad reviews for anything ever.
I follow that blog semi-regularly and I've noticed them linking to Klausner reviews, which makes me cringe. But I don't know of a nice way to tell them that a great review from Klausner doesn't mean jack.
Hmm...
And thanks. I really hate writing negative reviews, because I a writer wanting to break into the publishing world, and the last thing I want to do is piss someone off. So I try to tread very carefully, or at the very least, not type up the review when I'm REALLY in the mood to rant.
Which, given the nature of the above review, if I'd REALLY been in the review to rant, well, that would've been scary. :)
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As for the other issues at hand, I have a feeling reading this (or anything like it) would just serve to piss me off.
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Although her passiveness makes me think about Molly's passiveness. Granted, Molly eventually grows a backbone, but still. You're right, though, the character has to make decisions of their own, and as a romance reader and writer I HATE damsels in distress. Hate them. With a fiery, bloody passion.
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(The comment has been removed)
See, I don't mind people working for other people's goals, and/or being manipulated into WORKING for those goals, but the characters still have to make choices that matter. I see what you mean. Hell, even in my own novel, I've got characters who are manipulated, but they aren't fully aware of it. I think it's a common plot device. But there's a fine line, you know?
Reply
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You know, it takes a LOT for me to rant about something, because like you said, you never know who's going to read the review (though I always assume the writer and/or editor and/or agent will read it eventually). And I'm careful anyway to make sure sound objective and/or clarify my problems so that whoever reads the review knows the problems are MINE, if that makes sense.
With you working in a bookstore, I can see how you get so frustrated. I know there's an audience for every book, no matter crappy we think that book might be, and I try to remember that with each review.
Reply
I wrote this huge essay about the use of sexual violence and abuse in speculative fiction. It's too informal and angry in its current form, but I'd like to revisit the idea. Rape and abuse are realities and important to address in fiction, but the frequency with which they are used as plot devices and short-hand character development (what's she like? oh, she was raped) reach ridiculous proportions.
Also, totally tired of lesbians as abuse survivors. Healthy lesbians ftw.
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Awesome. :)
Can't wait to read that essay! :)
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I found it interesting that the Junobooks blog had links to 3 "good" reviews. But the 3 were all by the same person, Harriet Klausner, who does not write bad reviews for anything ever.
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Hmm...
And thanks. I really hate writing negative reviews, because I a writer wanting to break into the publishing world, and the last thing I want to do is piss someone off. So I try to tread very carefully, or at the very least, not type up the review when I'm REALLY in the mood to rant.
Which, given the nature of the above review, if I'd REALLY been in the review to rant, well, that would've been scary. :)
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