Serpentine
2007-02-12, 11:27 PM
I've been thinking that I'd like a place where I can just look at what other people think of books, properly set out, without pointless niggling. So, I'm starting one myself.
If you disagree with or want to comment on something someone writes, make your own review or take it elsewhere. I intend for this to just be a quick reference tool rather than a constant argument, or even discussion.
I'd like reviews to consist of a plot summary and the like, so everyone knows what it is, for reasons to be given for why, exactly, you do or do not like it, and would prefer that both good and bad points be mentioned, regardless of your overall opinion of it.
I suggest that you rate, say, "plot" (storyline, originality, realism, etc), "characters" (personalities, complexity, sympathetic, dis/likable, believability, etc), "language" (grammar, word choice, ease of reading, interest, etc) and "style" (structure, readability, interest, originality, etc), and of course "overall" (ie, how much did you like it?). "Originality" might be one to put in, too. This way, I hope, people can see what means the most to the reviewer, and perhaps make judgements about what means the most to the reader (eg. is a good plot and believable characters worth nothing to you if it's not well written and well structured?).
I'm thinking five-moon system, where OOC( (ie, 2 1/2 "moons") is exactly average, or perhaps meh - OOC and above would be "worth reading".
I welcome reviews of books, series, and/or authors.
No doubt I'm over-thinking this, but oh well, I hope it'll be useful. Something similar for albums/musicians and movies might be good, too.
To kick it off, here's one I prepared earlier, with modifications. Not as good as I'd like, but it'll do for now:
The Ill-Made Mute Series (sorry, will try to find the actual series name)
Cecilia Dart-Thornton
Fairies, magic, boggles, kings and princesses, flying horses and airborne pirates. Long ago, all a kingdom's children were led away by the piper who took care of their rat problem. Now, a boy with a horribly disfigured face and not so much as a single memory flees from the tower which has been his home, straight into a fairy tale.
I suspect Cecilia Dart-Thornton sat there with a thesaurus and picked out the most obscure words she could find. Normally I really like detailed description, but spending a whole page on a meadow using words hardly anyone has ever heard of to describe a bunch of bloody flowers is far too much. The main character is fascinating, right up until the end of the first book, at which point they become, to quote Monty Python, "dull, dull, dull, so desperately dull!" I don't think I've ever come across a less interesting character. There's one other promising character, but he gets killed off.
The author does explain why some conversations are so formal and old-fashioned, but that doesn't make them any more interesting, and all other dialogue is just as stiff and unrealistic. Then there's the tragic cop-out of an ending which left me highly dissatisfied and convinced the writer had absolutely no plan for the story.
The incorporation of folk and fairy tales into the narrative could be considered interesting, but as it is, it just makes Dart-Thornton look like even more of a lazy, talentless hack.
There are some interesting features in the world, such as a fey wind that creates ghostly imprints of past events on the landscape, and a type of metal that allows winged horses and ships to fly, but these seem to ring a bell from elsewhere and may not be original.
Characters: C
Language: C
Style: O
Plot: OOO
Originality: OC
Over-all: O
To summarize: I want those hours of my life back, Cecillia Dart-Thornton!
If you disagree with or want to comment on something someone writes, make your own review or take it elsewhere. I intend for this to just be a quick reference tool rather than a constant argument, or even discussion.
I'd like reviews to consist of a plot summary and the like, so everyone knows what it is, for reasons to be given for why, exactly, you do or do not like it, and would prefer that both good and bad points be mentioned, regardless of your overall opinion of it.
I suggest that you rate, say, "plot" (storyline, originality, realism, etc), "characters" (personalities, complexity, sympathetic, dis/likable, believability, etc), "language" (grammar, word choice, ease of reading, interest, etc) and "style" (structure, readability, interest, originality, etc), and of course "overall" (ie, how much did you like it?). "Originality" might be one to put in, too. This way, I hope, people can see what means the most to the reviewer, and perhaps make judgements about what means the most to the reader (eg. is a good plot and believable characters worth nothing to you if it's not well written and well structured?).
I'm thinking five-moon system, where OOC( (ie, 2 1/2 "moons") is exactly average, or perhaps meh - OOC and above would be "worth reading".
I welcome reviews of books, series, and/or authors.
No doubt I'm over-thinking this, but oh well, I hope it'll be useful. Something similar for albums/musicians and movies might be good, too.
To kick it off, here's one I prepared earlier, with modifications. Not as good as I'd like, but it'll do for now:
The Ill-Made Mute Series (sorry, will try to find the actual series name)
Cecilia Dart-Thornton
Fairies, magic, boggles, kings and princesses, flying horses and airborne pirates. Long ago, all a kingdom's children were led away by the piper who took care of their rat problem. Now, a boy with a horribly disfigured face and not so much as a single memory flees from the tower which has been his home, straight into a fairy tale.
I suspect Cecilia Dart-Thornton sat there with a thesaurus and picked out the most obscure words she could find. Normally I really like detailed description, but spending a whole page on a meadow using words hardly anyone has ever heard of to describe a bunch of bloody flowers is far too much. The main character is fascinating, right up until the end of the first book, at which point they become, to quote Monty Python, "dull, dull, dull, so desperately dull!" I don't think I've ever come across a less interesting character. There's one other promising character, but he gets killed off.
The author does explain why some conversations are so formal and old-fashioned, but that doesn't make them any more interesting, and all other dialogue is just as stiff and unrealistic. Then there's the tragic cop-out of an ending which left me highly dissatisfied and convinced the writer had absolutely no plan for the story.
The incorporation of folk and fairy tales into the narrative could be considered interesting, but as it is, it just makes Dart-Thornton look like even more of a lazy, talentless hack.
There are some interesting features in the world, such as a fey wind that creates ghostly imprints of past events on the landscape, and a type of metal that allows winged horses and ships to fly, but these seem to ring a bell from elsewhere and may not be original.
Characters: C
Language: C
Style: O
Plot: OOO
Originality: OC
Over-all: O
To summarize: I want those hours of my life back, Cecillia Dart-Thornton!