Review::Sunrise Alley by Catherine Asaro

I don't care what everyone else says-I enjoyed this book

Sunrise Alley by Catherine Asaro

I picked this book up in the kindle version- probably from the publisher-I don't see it here on Amazon. I'm familiar with Catherine Asaro and had not yet read any of her novels.

This novel reminded me of some of Heinlein's middle years - you know after the juvenile and after stranger in a strange and before the really wild stuff he wrote near the end. This is more on par with Friday. Except that the female character in Sunrise Alley has more depth.

Samantha Bryton is a rich intelligent woman who, after having suffered the loss of her father and her husband, has become a bit of a recluse. In the year 2033 where everyone is connected by what they refer to as the local mesh, Sam is trying to shed most of technology. This is a difficult thing for her since she's a leading figure in the development of EI Intelligence and EI Psychology. To say nothing of the basement lab she has in her seclude home.

We find Sam on a secluded beach near her home after a storm jogging and checking out storm damage while remaining as disconnected as she can from the mesh. She discovers first a shipwreck and then the man who calls himself Turner. It takes Sam a while and much conversation before she discovers that Turner is and EI - sentient machine that's been hybrid into a deceased human.

One quibble right away might be that this story early on takes the shape of a slightly contrived plot.

Here we have Turner an EI who, though he died and someone named Charon has altered his brain with an EI, claims he is still Turner Pascal the human.

Since Sam has been a staunch supporter of the notion that EI intelligent machines are sentient and should be accorded the same rights as people this seems all too convenient.

But the contrived nature of this story is also a plot point so it works as it is.

There are a number of twists and turns in the plot and plenty of thrills and danger to match many Hitchcock suspense films. There are some places where are hero's get into tight spots and squeak out of them rather conveniently - again a plot device and that becomes clear soon enough. What isn't clear is the why and that keeps the story going.

The evil character of Charon is shrouded in mystery and there are some twists and turns here but there are plenty of clues about this to make any final reveals work well.

It was an easy read for me-one sitting- and anyone who enjoys science fiction, suspense and even romance will find plenty to keep them involved.

J.L. Dobias

Review:The Door Through Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Door Through Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley

I read this; because it was there. Well, it's written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and its one of the first novels of her's that was published. I loved The Colors of Space but honestly did not read much more than that because her stories seemed predominantly fantasy and at the time I was reading science fiction.

I'm almost sorry I haven't read more of her's- the good thing is that enough is out there I might still have time.

The Door Through Space demonstrates that she had a lot of talent coming out of the gate.

The story starts on the planet known as Wolf. The reader is introduced to Race Cargill former intelligence agent of the Terran Secret Service. He's at the spaceport in Kharsa and in the first chapter we are introduced to the natives much of the political situation and some of the back-story of Cargill all through the movement of a mob chasing a dwarf who appears to be peddling toys. And the reader is introduced to a mystery when the dwarf disappears while Cargill is trying to calm the natives, using his skill at speaking in their language. All of this is in the first short chapter.

Cargill is intent on leaving Wolf on the next Star-ship. He's ready to go and on the ship waiting when he's pulled off by his employer who has one more job for him. This job involves a traitor named Rakhal. Rakhal had been a fellow agent. When he turned native he left with Race's sister Juli and he disfigured Race's face. Race has since been at a desk job and he has no desire or ambition to seek after Rakhal or to kill his own brother in law. The problem is that Juli has come back and she's desperate to have Race find Rakhal and bring back her own daughter to her.

If that's not enough Race finds out that Rakhal has been pursuing the possibility that someone on Wolf might possess a matter transmitter. If that's true then Terran Intelligence needs to be on top of it.

One more time Race Cargill must go undercover to find his niece and try to secure the matter transmitter.

This is a tightly written tale that has survived the test of time and still stands as an intriguing story that keeps the reader on their toes and involved to the very end.

I sure hope Amazon has that download fixed. If not Guttenburg has this in kindle format and its easy to upload it from a pc into your que- I believe that's how I did it.

J.L. Dobias

Review:Containment by Christian Cantrell

Containment by Christian Cantrell

I loved this book and the character of Arik and it would be nice to give it five stars, but that would be lacking honesty.

This is good hard science fiction about a group of settlers on the planet Venus. As such, it is necessary to draw the proper picture of why we are there and how we got there and how we survive there so much of this hard science has to be there to support that. Some of the science seems questionable to me but that's only because I didn't stop to look things up to verify them and I'm just not an expert in many of those fields.

Often the hard science of Containment seems to come at the reader from a distance with detachment. Other times there are moments when Arik resonates with the science. There are long paragraphs about the harshness of the planet and life in the biosphere that contrast to the Arik's feelings because he expresses a few times how he's comfortable within the biosphere that he must live. The exposition often draws on the harshness of the planet almost as though we are portraying the planet as another character, and that didn't work that well with me because I didn't see the plot developing in that direction.

There also seems to be two stories happening. The present and some flashbacks. Again it's necessary, but at times it's confusing.

I had this one curious problem, Containment caused what I refer to in my antiquated thinking as the vinyl record skip syndrome. It's like having that scratch on the record where the needle skips and you have no idea how much you just missed. That's where I'm reading along and stumble into exposition and then suddenly reach the bottom of a page that I can't remember reading. It's a bad habit of mine and I believe many other readers might have something similar. I know to catch it because, as is the case with Containment, the parts I nearly napped through have some plot points that I need to know.

Containment qualifies as a hard science science fiction. The problem with that is that in trying so hard to do this many times hard science becomes hard to read. If the goal is to deliberately alienate readers who hate walls of exposition then it's likely to be successful at that. Most readers will accept a few of those when they clearly drive the plot. But, when a few of them seem to be there just to increase the hard science quotient, some readers end up skipping the important ones later. And, although I can point out many occasions where the exposition does drive the plot forward; for each of those there always two that are questionable.

I would never ask a writer to give up their babies, especially when they are doing hard science because it does tend to create some lovely images. The problem is that they often serve as a match for the dreaded purple prose that other creative writers get noted for. Neither of these are bad, But out of necessity they should drive the plot or character development and serve a purpose that the reader can identify.

Over all Containment is one of those curious books that everyone who loves science fiction might like, but it will always have a variety of reactions from love to mild acceptance to confusion.

Obviously many people do love it, and although it's possible one more good edit might have made those numbers rise, it's just as likely to make it worse. By the numbers (reader response) I can't say that the author made any large mistake in leaving it as it is. It might be a tough read for one out of four readers, but overall it's a tightly written and entertaining read.



J.L.Dobias

Review:The Colors of Space By Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Colors of Space By Marion Zimmer Bradley

I remember reading this a long time ago. Some time after the 1963 edition was published. I decided to read it again and see if it still stood well against time.

Bart Steele is a young Vegan who has come to Earth to study at the academy. He is a product of a human and Mentorian pair, although he lost his mother, the Mentorian, early in his life. His father owns a space shipping business that struggles as it must against the monopoly that the Lhari race has over interstellar flight. The Lhari have made it clear that only Lhari can survive while the warp-drive is active and that all other races must go into cold-sleep.

This monopoly causes Bart and many others to have a prejudice against the Lhari.

On graduation Bart is to meet his father at the Lhari spaceport where he will return home. Bart will never see his father again and will be catapulted into a universe of danger and intrigue. He discovers that his father and several others have died while trying to obtain the secrets of the Lhari and of the warp-drive. Bart is thrust into his father's world while he's become a fugitive from Lhari authorities.

The Lhari are not able to perceive colors the way humans and Mentorians do and this becomes a major plot device or I should say part of several plot devices. This is the only part that my more mature insight has quibbles about during this read. There are some big things that are hinged on this color disability that might not work quite as well as I once believed. One major one is that the Lhari could not tell something was red hot because they couldn't see the red. Since often survival hinges on such things there would likely have been another way for them to discern that a surface they were working on in their ship might be hot.

Most everything else in the story seems to stand the test of time and still seems to work quite well to move the plot along. Since not enough is revealed about how a specific disguise is worked out, it might seem a bit thin but it still works here.

The story itself beyond being science fiction seems to contain a mix of moral elements as regards prejudices and race hate. It becomes a story of a young mans journey to grow to maturity in his thinking and his beliefs.


J.L.Dobias

Review::She By Henry Rider Haggard

She By Henry Rider Haggard.

I suppose were I a scholar of those languages the formatting might be a problem.

This is a great book and a great classic and I suppose if I understood even a shred of Egyptian, Greek or Latin then I might be just as incensed as some others about the butchery of those parts of the book.

As it is I thoroughly enjoyed the story and hope that there are not any plot points that are of great import in all that hashed up gobble-de-gook.

I read She because I had read Atlantida by Pierre Benoit which someone had said was a major rip from She.

So to begin I would like to say that Atlantida doesn't come anywhere close to being the intense classic that She is and to make such a claim actually denigrates the work of Henry Ride Haggard. Whatever Atlantida as it is considerably different and so much less in content that any notion that its a copy deserves only a shrug.

She,Ayesha, is liken to an old Trope in history and mythology and literature. Amongst Aphrodite, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, and Nefertiti-She takes her place. Women known for great beauty and seductive nature whom men will throw down kingdoms and fortunes to their very deaths, to stand beside.

It would seem to some that She of H.R.Haggard is considered the template for further lost world sub-genre. It may be so, although I would argue that it was a new template using an ancient trope.

What's interesting about She is that there are mountains of exposition from one central character, Ayesha, that not only tell the story of her long life but give insight into her philosophy and her ideals about religion. Not only do her arguments twist and sway the narrator but he is also enthralled by her beauty and presence and has perhaps lost a portion of his ability to argue rationally.

The narrator Holly is not a handsome man. He in fact is liken to a Baboon. But the orphan whom he has raised from childhood, Leo, perhaps has a handsomeness that could almost rival the beauty of She.

Of course this wouldn't be a story without the back-story of the family line of Leo. A back-story that may fatefully link Leo to Ayesha.

The story is written in that high and almost florid manner of it's time and might weigh heavy on the readers of this age but I think it still stands well through time with a multilevel examination of several moral and ethical dilemma. Though it often seems that the narrator goes purple the writing is strong and indicative of the writing of the time and the story does not suffer.



J.L.Dobias

Review::Atlantida by Pierre Benoit

Atlantida by Pierre Benoit

Even though this is a bit of a classic I enjoyed reading it.
It reminded me of those old Tarzan movies.

What it is though is more of an example of the old Trope about the beautiful, seductive, feminine character whom the protagonists all fall in love with.

It seems there was once some argument that Pierre plagiarized this from H.R. Haggard's SHE.

Though it does use the same template for lost world and has Africa as a setting and a lovely irresistible woman as the centerpiece the similarities end there.

Where She, Alesha, the centerpiece of H.R. Haggards story is an almost tragic woman trapped in her own tragic love story, the centerpiece of Alantida, Antinea, is more of a sinister siren that would be a complete opposite to Alesha.

Alantida seems in many ways much more short on being an examination of morals and ethics as She is.

It's still an interesting read but as I mentioned it reads more like some of the movies I have seen long ago where the players are under the influence of an obvious though hideously seductive evil.

I would recommend this to anyone who has read SHE and I'd recommend to anyone who reads this and hasn't read SHE to do so.

J.L.Dobias

Review::And All the Stars by Andrea K Host

And All the Stars by Andrea K Host.

I first had a taste of this novel in a sample; before discovering that it hadn't been released. In the bit of the beginning that I was able to read, I was hooked. I don't read a lot of apocalyptic novels or dystopian novels. I can't say with great knowledge that this contains no dystopia, but in my meager knowledge it didn't seem so much. I was drawn into the story by the great writing and story telling. It certainly wasn't the claustrophobic description or the ever-present feeling of being choked by some strange and possibly alien dust.The slow but persistent buildup of the character, Madeleine's, suspicion that she's at ground zero of a possible bio weapon. The eventual realization that she's all alone and that those around her who aren't dead are locked up in any type of safe containment that they could find. No one is going to offer to let her, and the strange dust that's choking her, into their safety.

Some of the earlier pages are difficult to get through for some people-someone I know put it down very early and it's too bad they did. There are some very important plot points in those pages. So, it's important and it does help drive the story and the character. Madeleine has survived the worst of the catastrophe with some injury and is confused and afraid.

Madeleine is your average rebellious teen who seems to be a bit of a loner. She's immersed herself in her art and wants to gain honor in that field at a young age. To that end she's skipped school and gone into the big city for a chance to paint a portrait of her famous cousin Tyler.

Now she's face to face with that very place that parents always warn their teens about and it could be her most fatal move in her rebellion. In her early wandering she contacts her parents and continues to lie about where she is to keep them from worrying.

There is a great sense that Madeleine is already dead. She's just been given a temporary reprieve and it's not yet clear if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Madeleine eventually makes it to her cousins apartment. Her cousin is gone and she's able to get in. She cleans up and while trying to avoid facing the inevitability of her death, she decides that her last act should be the portrait of her cousin even though it won't be possible to have him pose live.

For me this was a very interesting type of character development. The author,Andrea, builds a believable portrait of how an artist feels and sees things while choosing what eventually ends up on the canvas. We see this development quite a number of times throughout the story. Enough for the reader to wonder if Andrea is applying how she writes to how an artist might be inspired or if, in fact, it's from her own experience with sketching and painting.

Eventually our Character, Madeleine, starts experiencing the side effects of the dust. They are both strange and unsettling, and there is always the fear that she might die. All the time she's monitoring broadcasts about others who are affected, and many of those have died. I found no problem with the notion that much of technology was still active; even after establishing that this is an invasion. In fact it made sense that since this was happening everywhere that it would be more demoralizing to have a constant feed of information telling everyone how bleak things were.

Eventually the side affect that causes Madeleine to have an insatiable appetite is what brings her out to brave the city and seek sustenance. This is when she begins to meet more people and make friends in a way she would never have done if things were normal. This is when the story really takes off.

I found the pacing in this novel to be quite tight. I'm not a fan of seat of your pants action from cover to cover and there were plenty of well place lulls in the narrative that make perfect sense as far as plot and character development. It did seem a bit longer than 205 pages in the e-book, but when I love the characters I love more pages because I usually don't want to say goodbye so quickly once I get to know them.

As has been noted by other reviewers; there are plenty of plot twists in the story to keep the reader guessing. I often catch these in most novels, usually before they are -on the next page. There is one in here though that caught me unaware- the twist makes perfect sense- and you want to kick yourself and few other people when it happens.

Young, old- whatever genre- I think everyone will love this book.(Except perhaps those who are genuinely claustrophobic; as is someone I know.) Trust me. Once you get past that first bit of suffocating but possibly accurate description (I've never been in that situation so I don't know.) things will be easier to take.

J.L. Dobias

Review::Silversands by Gareth L. Powell

Silversands by Gareth L. Powell is one of those delightful surprises that you run across while searching the internet for something else.

I was searching for another author and stumbled upon a link to Silversands.

The story started out slow for me but by the end of the sample I was hooked and had to download the rest.

This is the story of Avril Bradley a young woman who has been orphaned and is looking for her father. A man she only knows from a photograph and her mother's memories. To quirk up the equation, her search has taken her aboard a star ship that travels through a wormhole that has so many random destinations that it's improbable that she'll succeed.

After many jumps and a cargo full of refugees from a failed settlement on another star system they seem to have lucked into finding the ship that her father was supposed to have been aboard. In a strange turn of events something causes a malfunction in their ship, when they attempt to communicate with the other ship. Suspicious and unsure what caused their problem, they are forced to seek help from the settlers on the planet below the ships as their cargo begin to awaken from a long sleep.

This is where the story begins to weave into a convoluted set of political plots and strange events that point to Avril and her quest.

This has some excellent world building that helps drive the plot.

Though I found some of the plot to be predictable it did not interfere with my enjoyment of the story.(I can't really mention more about it without spoiling things) There were plenty of ways for the whole plot to play out and Gareth gives us plenty of surprises.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Science Fiction and is looking for some fresh new ideas and Characters.
There's plenty of room for more stories in this universe.



J.L.Dobias

BookReview: Bookman Histories

I'm a fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy. So, stepping into Steampunk can be both easy and trying. Fortunately I'm not so tied up with the harder form of science fiction.

I think some contemporary authors of Hard Science Fiction take the hard part to heart and make it as hard as they can.

Still, I wanted to do some research before I started into the Bookman Histories by Lavie Tidhar.

First, though, I must admit that I read the sample of the first book on Amazon and was intrigued to say the least.

With a character using the name Gilgamesh I was assuming that someone might lose something valuable and someone would have to go through hell to get it back.

And it looked in this case that the protagonist, Orphan, was to lose the love of his life, Lucy. I wanted to know how that was going to work out.

Since the price of the three volumes together as an e-book was the same as each individual I saw no way to lose by purchasing the Bookman Histories.

I was not disappointed.

In my search to help define Steampunk I was led to one place where there was a notion that such authors as Jules Verne,H.G.Wells and even Mary Shelley could be considered to be influences of Steampunk. Those were good influences and I'm fairly certain that they all figure nicely into the Bookman Histories.

I also found mention of the movie - Metropolis- which was intriguing. I don't have a copy of the movie but I do have one of the novel by Thea Von Harbou which is quite a bit different from the movie. It's been suggested the book was made from the film but there is not enough evidence to substantiate that and its just as likely the book was made to be a film and the screenplay was adapted from the book. It's not so much different though, to make it unqualified as an influence. In fact I found some interesting parallels with the book Metropolis and the first book of the Bookman Histories.

Both Protagonists Freder in Metropolis and Orphan in Bookman have lost their mother.
Both Protagonists fall in love at first sight. Freder with Maria and Orphan with Lucy.
Both become driven by their love and passion, as their motivation throughout the story.
Both are destined to be catalysts for change, even though they would deny it.

Of Metropolis Thea Von Harbou spoke of it being a moral - that the mediator between brain and muscle must be the heart.

The first book of the Histories seems to be the same since it is Orphan who seems to be the heart. His love for Lucy (his heart) is his motivation for moving forward into things he barely understands. He soldier's on in his devotion to the belief he's doing this to help him regain that lost love, Lucy. It becomes an inner conflict between his selfless devotion to undo an enormous wrong while trying at all times to do what, in his heart, is right.

I first read Metropolis when I was around sixteen years of age. It was a difficult read. When I reread it for this I thought it would be less difficult. But, it's written as are many books of its time a bit florid and in a time when purple prose wasn't a nasty thing. Although it's entertaining; it's difficult.

Thankfully the reader of the Bookman Histories will not find this book difficult. The entire three volumes are quite easy to read. Not only a pleasure; but, in some cases a wonder.

There is an enormous amount of name dropping in these books.
They are almost a who's who of famous people not only out of history but characters from the fiction of those times. We have elements of Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G Wells, Lord Byron and many more. If not in their actual appearance,then in the appearance of characters they created. Often they are anachronistically portrayed.

In some ways these books remind me of the RiverWorld series by Philip Jose Farmer. And in other ways they remind me of the later work of Robert Heinlein where there was an alternate world where many of his favorite characters were resurrected.

An interesting side note is that in a scene in the first book, Bookman; Orphan is going through a pile of books and they are named to a tune of around 39 various titles that are all fictitious books written by fictitious characters. These books show up in a variety of real books and are out of the imaginations of the authors of those books. I have no idea if Lavie Tidhar is suggesting that he's read all the books that those come out of; or if he did an extensive search for books and authors that don't exist.

In that list there is one news article mentioned that may have some basis in reality.(It might be a foreshadow of the last book also.)

And of course there is Rime of the Ancient Mariner which is quoted throughout.

There are some parts of this trilogy that get a bit gruesome and remind me of the Deathstalker series by Simon R. Greene. Elements reminiscent of the surgeries of Dr. Frankenstein in Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Or Ras Thavas in Edgar Rice Burroughs Master Mind of Mars.

The fun fantastic part is that Lavie Tidhar puts it all together with such wonderful prose and a tight plot that it all works.

All I have to say is, "I want more."
There are plenty of threads left-for more.

Save time and money and buy the whole History its well worth it for the first story, Bookman. The rest is like icing on the cake.

J.L.Dobias

Book Review::The Legion of Nothing

The Web Story

I purchased the E-book version of this:

Truth be told I read this all on the web version which does have a few extra words and missing words on occasion. I have not really seen many spelling problems. So really Jim Zoetewey does an excellent job of keeping his ongoing work on the web in both tight story and excellent grammar. For me though what really helps is that this all take place in Michigan. Being a native of Michigan the story brings a slice of home into the world building.

The Legion of Nothing is mostly the story of Nick and his struggle to live up to his grandfathers expectations while trying to complete high school and stay in his parents good grace. His friends and co-heroes are all too helpful, which is probably really no help until he finally commits to being a hero.

I don't want to call him a reluctant hero. It's just more difficult when all his friends, Haley, Cassie, Daniel, Vaughn, Rachel and Travis have real super powers while he's quite normal. If he can be normal having a grandfather who taught him how to make super armor and a martial arts trainer who is an enigmatic mercenary.

Going out to fight crime the first time seems like a great idea on a boring night. It quickly turns into a dangerous and deadly turn of events that exposes them to a wide range of super and not so super villains who really don't want anyone interfering with their comfortable lives of crime.

It goes without saying that school is going to interfere with their crime fighting work, a lot.

This story has it all along with a cast of thousands that I have to admire Jim for being able to keep up with. If you liked those old comic heroes and or want to see a little something different then this book is for you. There's a lot of that sly humor you get in those books. And Jim does such a good job of description and keeping things moving that you hardly notice that there are none of those pictures in each panel.

Can't wait for the next book. And I won't because I'll just keep up with his web site.
Thanks for a fun read Jim.

J.L. Dobias author of Cripple-Mode:Hot Electric

Book Review::The Kingdom of Malinas

E.J.Tett's first effort at writing is by far one of the better first efforts I have read in quite some time.
She puts together all the elements of story with her own style and class that have not been matched by her peers.
She has tremendous characterizations, conflict, plot and theme nailed down.

This is a well thought out effort for a first book. And it says a lot that although I venture into the fantasy genre now and then my favorite is Science Fiction. This does give me an advantage and disadvantage in that I have little to compare it to.


The only reason I picked up this novel was because I'd been snooping around the SSFchronicle writers forum and noticed that several people there have published various works in various fashion from traditional to self and I have to say that I've up to this point been disappointed with the ones I have tried out.

I came in not expecting much after three other disappointments , one of those is a traditional published author. I'm happy to say that this one surprised me.

It starts out slow and I suppose that it could be argued that its a bit rough around the edges because it's a first effort and its self published. And I suppose that if I were coming from the place of being in a forum of writers I might tend to try to be hyper critical.

Fortunately I come from being a reader of fiction with a 50 plus year background and I have to say that I found the author's style of writing to be be fresh, entertaining, and quite tightly woven. She can only improve from there.

The story begins slowly with our main protagonist Sorrel who is a very strong female character- there are many of those in this story. Her father was a warrior and her brother is one and she wants to follow in their footsteps. Despite the families efforts she will if it kills her and as the tale unfolds it seems that fate is on her side. There is enough in the development of characters to keep me in the story. Her plot seems quite original though I admit that I lack enough exposure to this type of fantasy.

And then:

It's at chapter 12 that she grabs me- one quarter the way through the book. I found the hook that kept me reading this in one sitting. I think its safe for her to say to her friends at SSFchronicles that it does not take a major hook at the beginning of every story too keep your readers happy. She feeds the line out carefully and then hooks you into the story so deep you can't get out until you are finished.

What's really great about this novel is that it's full of characters that can hook any reader. There are almost too may to chose from and yet she pulls it off and this is a first novel; as long as she keeps her present voice she can't go wrong.

What I have a hard time understanding is why there are no reviews here from her fellow SFFchronicle pals there are thousands of people in that forum. Don't they have anything to say? And I won't accept the lame excuse that they could be accused of being partial or having a conflict of interests.

Ms. Tett I think you could teach Ian and Toby some tricks to help them out they need it.

J.L. Dobias

Book Review::Space Captain Smith

Space Captain Smith by Toby Frost.

I always like to say something good about a book before I point out the negative.
It has a nice cover and I was able to read more than a full chapter for free.

Toby should look at the small piece where he introduced Paul Devrin there are a number of paragraphs where he develops this character that almost hooked me. If only he had done this with the main characters or any number of his sidekicks. Sadly he did not and it digressed quickly even with this more evil sounding character, Paul.

There are few books that I don't finish.
I must admit that I only read the part that was available free so I won't belabor any points. I can't give away plot points because there was only one that I sort of noticed here.

I'm one of those people who do not judge a book by its cover or the blurb on the back. Rarely do I read the blurb that might be in the front. What I do; is read the first chapter and if it doesn't grab me I don't take it home.

I tried to give this the benefit of the doubt but perhaps the humor has missed me and perhaps the development of the characters is tied to that humor.

Either way even had I spent the overly bloated price for the e-book I probably would have put it down after the end of the second chapter.

It's likely just me but this just didn't do it for me.

The two stars if for that one bright light in the dark character of Paul Devrin.

Yes Virginia: Pure Science Fiction Can Entertain

Here is an Interesting Review
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Yes Virginia: Pure Science Fiction Can Entertain

I recently read someone’s rant about how Science Fiction doesn’t need all the Gee Wiz science that pervade the modern era of writing. The author bemoaned the fact that readers prefer the Wiz Bang to real science. They state that those who write Science Fiction with real science are writing to an elite audience of readers.

It was a comment meant to make me think. It did just that. I look into what is being proposed.

Yes we can take all of the stuff of science today and fill the stories with only that. That would truly be Science - Fiction or Fact - depending on whether we depict fictional characters or real people. Science - recognizable today - turned to Fiction with the what if- that is common to Science Fiction - adding fictional but believable characters into the what if of speculation.

This made me think of the old discussion about Sci-Fi not being Science Fiction. Perhaps the above would be one of the delineating elements. In the article I read this was one distinction the writer was making, because of a bad connotation put upon Skiffy as they call it.

That aside I actually hate that word Skiffy so I’ll use Sci-Fi for the remainder of this article.

The issue I take is that for a reader it’s difficult to find and for the writer to write an as if without extrapolating the Science to some itchy limit, which runs the author head on into a bucket load of Sci-Fi.

I look at what I like to read. Both Science Fiction and Fantasy. I look at what works and what doesn’t. I look at what is strict science and what looks like Gee Wiz or Wiz Bang; and I rediscover something.

When we object to all the special effects and strange (over- extrapolated) notions we usually do so with the notion that these stories are driven by those props. For us; people buy these genre because they have all the fancy gadgets and flashy lights. That’s why the book cover is so important!

What I like in my fiction is stories driven by characters.(I look at the cover-read the blurb in back-if possible I read the first chapter or ten pages- then I decide if I’ll like it.)

Any author who has mastered the ability to place a believable, likeable character into whatever situation will get my full attention every time.

Plots do not drive the fiction. Many plots are rehashes of old reliable plots. Occasionally there is something that looks to be new.

Themes don’t drive the fiction. Themes often are planned but sometimes they just happen.

Wiz Bang and Gee Wiz and over the top science don’t drive the fiction. Those are the props.

Characters drive the fiction. Believable people the readers relate to and become sympathetic with.

When we obsess with avoiding the Wiz Bang, go for the straight science with a pure heart. We fall short, because we forget to develop the character while we painstakingly bring the science to life.

A problem for science purists is a lack of understanding as to how the reader ignores their writing in favor of the Wiz Bang fiction writers. Many times we attribute it to a deficiency in the reader.

We don’t comprehend the Wiz Bang authors skill at creating some really believable people. People who are driven by normal desires and hopes and dreams. People who just happen to be surrounded by gardens of wiz bang.

That Wiz Bang can be altered or removed and the story remains interesting the plot remains true. The reader is reading because they are invested in the characters. They relate to the characters.

So, yes, there might be a distinction between fiction that takes science and extrapolates a what if that stays mostly within the confines of today’s science; and fiction that warps today’s science with what if’s that look like magic.

What the reader likes is not so much effected by either of those. If the reader doesn’t like the story it’s not the science or lack of science; it’s more likely the author’s characters didn’t connect with the reader.

Any fiction writer who peoples his story with weak cardboard characters with no redeeming qualities must rely on the Wiz Bang or the Pure Science and will likely not get the reader’s attention.

Writers of either type will get any number of readers as long as their voice and characters come alive on the page. Everything else is gift-wrapping, around a gift that is the way the author tells the story.

J.L.Dobias author of Cripple-Mode:Hot Electric

Book Review::Writing the Breakout Novel

Writing the Breakout Novel is clearly a book that every aspiring writer should consider reading.

As far as to say that Donald Maass is a definitive source or this is a definitive work would be presumptuous.

There are quite a few definitive ideas in here that I believe every writer should know. And I believe it is presented with an entertaining and authoritative air.

I must admit that I made the mistake of reading The Fire in Fiction first and I don't believe that it is quite as informative as this book is. It in fact reads mostly like mini reviews of some of the author's favorite books.


Yes there are things an author should try to do to be more marketable and those are covered here, but Donald is in no way preachy about these ideas. I believe Donald is quite clear that there is a need for balance and his notion is not to make all writers write the same- but, to make them all write better.

I'm not sure that my writing will ever reach the level of respectability that he holds out for, but I think I can easily see where I need to improve and that's what counts as to how this book works as a tool.

I will definitely recommend this along with other tools to all of my friends and even those who help me edit my work.

I especially like the notion I was able to take away that when questioning things like POV (point of view) and tense that it is not as some would try to make a person believe ; too difficult and not recommended for a new author to go down such a path; but it's more likely that the style around what the author is trying to do just needs to be focused to make it more readable.

And Donald Maass gives examples and ways for this to be accomplished.

It the difference that you see when trying to do a do it your self task at home and someone comes and says.
"You are going about that the wrong way." Then they walk away.

They could have at least shown you the right way- but maybe they don't know the right way.

What Donald Maass says here is let me show you how to make that work.

Two thumbs up.

J.L. Dobias

Book Review::The Fire in Fiction

I found The Fire in Fiction to be helpful only in delineating things I've previously discovered and wished I'd known earlier. Perhaps it even has helped me hone in on the target in some areas I tend to slack off in and I would have loved to have read this five years ago before I did all the research that helped me see the targets the first time.

What it is most insightful of is that it encompasses the mind of a literary agent and what this one likes and expects from his authors. And perhaps some bit of unintentional verification of something I have long suspected. They really do like purple prose as long as it is purple prose that helps develop the unique character that is integral to the story. There's a lot of it in these example that he critiques.

That leads us to the problem that resides in the pages. This book is a serial compilation of critiques or reviews of what appear to be this authors favorite authors. And I would agree with others that it serves little purpose other than to pat the backs of these authors and fill the pages. Much of what is said here could be condensed and I would expect that to be the first thing that would be recognized by a literary agent when editing this whether it is self edited or otherwise. ( and it would be insane to self edit in this context).

Something that would have been helpful is examples of what went wrong amidst all the what went right.

And at least twice we were told certain things could not be covered here as they would take too much time and space which becomes ridiculous when one considers that 100 pages of this could have been eliminated by narrowing down all of the favorable reviews.

The reason I gave this four stars is that it doesn't deserve five and I am taking enough out of it to rate it higher than three.

I definitely recommend this to any author as a refresher on what works for some of this agents favorite writers. There is much to take away and I would also recommend it to the Forums and writers groups who always claim they are helping each other meet the requirements of an agent. This might help them focus a bit on the real as opposed to their preconceived notions.

It's also engaging and entertaining despite the bloat of examples.

J.L. Dobias

Fan Wars:: To Review or Not To Review

I was recently looking once more for someone to review my book.

I've given away 650 plus copies and have one review to show for it. I have two other reviews that were directly solicited by me so this one is my prize possession though it be short and well, not so sure how sweet.

"What a crummy ending, just left you hanging."

Short and to the point and she's right. I probably need to be slapped for that one. I'm writing a trilogy. Oh, and that's not my excuse- this is my first novel- that's my excuse. But really this is not about blame or pointing fingers. So, I should get back to my point.

I came across a critique site and was sorely tempted to leave a calling card. I did that and it is quite fortunate that most critics won't do anything with your work without a bit more than a calling card. I then proceeded to look at this critic's work. It was not bad- not sub par. But, this is the internet we're talking about so there is a lot of leeway for that merit system.

I discovered another feature here--The critic was offering to exchange site links and the review for a free copy of the authors work. This is of particular interest because it may just infringe a bit on the ability of the critic to give a fair critique. This made me a bit leery. Then I chanced across something interesting. It was a mention of a bad review and seemed to be the critics defense of a recent critique that she had given. I thought that strange. Thinking perhaps that some of her readers and fans had not appreciated her critique.

I was almost appalled to find that it was, in fact, the author who had taken umbrage. And there was a link to his rebuttal of her review.

I of course had to follow that and found the makings of a range war. Here I found the rebuttal and a link to the critique and another link to the critics defense of her review. I read all of these trying to figure out what I could about the situation, well that is what the blogs are all about, Right? It's not like I'm intruding where I shouldn't. I read these through thoroughly and thought that someone might have been breaching etiquette.

It only became increasingly clear there was some sort of breach when a fan of the authors defended the author and, by claiming their own authority in the writing business, besmirched the reputation of a critic who they thought was unprofessional in defending their review.

Now I normally hesitate to comment on blogs--mostly because each and every type of blog needs to have the commenter sign up for a new account. If I did that every time I wanted to comment I'd have an eight and a half by eleven sheet full of usernames and passwords.(oh wait I do have that.) The point is; it takes a bit to move me to comment.

I felt something a bit unsettling in: a writer refuting critic's critique and expecting that the critic would not respond. My thought being that writing a critique of a critique of your own work seems a bit of a mistake and would invite an immediate and direct response.

I tried to leave a comment at the writer's blog (tried 3 times before I suddenly was finding myself locked out of any ability to type in the comment field) Each of the three times I finished and hit enter and the screen would refresh and nothing more. So I finally left the author a rather heated comment in his email that if I were prone to paranoia that I might think he was sitting there moderating the posts and repeatedly deleting mine.

Of course his response to that was an apology and a rather concealed comment to me that he placed on his blog about an email that intrigued him and the fact that someone might get into the middle of his range-war without knowing the facts. Then there was something at the end about letting sleeping dogs lie.(I paraphrase here and might not be doing justice but this is part of my point that I might some day get to.)

His favorite fan came to his aid again and promptly suggested i should mind my own business and that I had too much time on my hands.(I have so much time when working 40hrs a week and writing the second novel.)(And, yes I know, Hornets nest and all I should have brought the flying bug spray.)

Needless this led to a short dialogue- email wise as it took a long time before I could make WordPress understand I already had several WordPress accounts and didn't need another since I've no intention ever of using WordPress for my personal blog. They won the argument so I have several plus one.

In the ensuing dialogue the author made a point that the critic could not have read the book and made the comments that they had made. To back that up there were apparently several other readers who read the review who apparently talked him into writing a rebuttal of the review. And that if I read the book and her review I'd see that clearly myself.

Now this critic also made the mistake of giving away too much of the plot-- which in itself seems strange for someone who is accused of not reading it. But in reading the review I'd have to agree that a lot of plot and ending were out there.

So I read the book- I enjoyed it- not so sure I'm convinced that it proves anything about whether this other person did or did not read it even based on having read the bad review the review of the review the defense and then the book. Some people just have specific opinions about things and that's what the review process is all about.

So, back to the point.

What is criticism about and when might it be appropriate to critique a critique and who has the right to tell either the critic or the writer to shut-up and listen.Here's an interesting link about criticism in general.

http://scottberkun.com/essays/35-how-to-give-and-receive-criticism/

Even more so this one on reviews. I specifically recommend both of these to people in forums in the hope they might learn a balance in whatever it is they claim they are doing when they invite new works to be reviewed by other members. They could stand to teach some of this, but sadly they don't.

http://www.lavc.edu/library/bookreview.htm

Anyway I've tested many forums and writers groups on line and one thing that you learn quickly is that when allowing others to critique in a forum- the writer should be a pillar of quietude and nodding acceptance to any and all criticism.

I believe Forums take it too far with these rules because this should be the one real place that a person can actually discuss more about the review or critic process without getting publicly shamed. Most forums discourage any sort of questioning and a good critique for value in learning needs to have a flow of information both ways.

But for lack of better ways to control things this is the code of ethics forums use and although I don't agree (that proven by the fact I've at least twice been banned all the way down to my IP address) They will continue to be that way because they can.

I believe those rules have no place in forums because it promotes internet bullying.

Conversely I do think that such rules or guidelines should apply to real critiques of our finished works that have been offered out there.

Putting your work out there invites the risk someone might not understand or like what you write and that they may actually take the time to tell you that.

If the critic points out a deficiency you can fix then that should be helpful for you. If it looks more like they are attacking then it's time to go to the next critic.

As regards such knee jerk reactions as our own readers might have to such a horrible criticism, though it is flattering to have such fans, the writer should discourage, not promote, defensive discussions. We should help the fans understand that not everyone will like the work.

And as to letting sleeping dogs lie. I thought they were dead and just figured someone should give them a decent burial.

Egregious Ghostwriter

A Shattered Memory by Alan Halsey

A Shattered Memory by Alan Halsey.

A twisting suspenseful edge of your seat thrill ride!

I picked up this book because someone gave it a bad review.

There's a bit more to it then just that but that should sound intriguing enough.

This story starts out a bit strange and I might compare it to a Philip K Dick novel-for anyone not acquainted with him he did the original book the Blade Runner movie is based on. He did a lot of novels that played on themes about the mind and consciousness.

The second chapter of Alan's novel takes us into the life of Carolyn. And I confess at this point I almost put the book down. I'm glad I didn't. There was something about the pace of the first two chapters that bothered me but they are important to the story. And once I read the third chapter I was hooked.

From here on its almost like reading two books waiting for the moment that they both hit the supper highway and collide head on.

The story of Carolyn , Jerry, Samantha, Bill, Ley, and Derick is a carefully crafted tale that needs special attention to the details. As it evolves it is reminiscent of the Suspenseful mysteries of Robert Ludlum and Trevanian. The reader quickly gets the impression that there are more to these characters than meets the eyes. As the bits and pieces evolve before their eyes they can only be drawn further into the story.

As I mentioned there were speed bumps on my road to this good read. And I would warn that there is what I consider rough content that you have to read through because there is important exposition and foreshadowing within those pages.

But, I have this to confess. I know that the author spent a considerable time writing this novel- years- and I shamelessly devoured it in less than half a day because I couldn't put it down.

For all you suspense and mystery readers this is a must. You won't be disappointed.

J.L. Dobias author of Cripple-Mode: Hot Electric

DMCA::The Quandary, The Decision, The Weirdness of the whole concept.

DMCA::The Quandary, The Decision, The Weirdness of the whole concept.

---------I posted the first part of this elsewhere----------------------------
Periodically I search the web for anything Cripple-Mode and I'm always giddy to find things new pointing to my work.

I found this.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/100695125/J-L-Dobias-Cripple-Mode
-Hot-Electric(as of this writing the link had been deactivated.)

The person who posted this shared it on their twitter account with a link to the document.


It may be the book equivalent of certain music free sites.

Now I --am-- offering a special edition of this e-book on SmashWords so it's not like this is stealing business. (this is not that edition and I'm not sure if he made his own. If so he used the wrong cover and the full rights to that one don't belong to me.)
I don't know this person, yet. Looks to be my biggest fan.
I'm on the fence as to how to treat this. A major upset is that on SmashWords I can keep track of how many people download my book. (ie: I have the illusion of control.)

Hopefully other authors already are watching this site and others.

J.L.Dobias author and copyright holder of Cripple-Mode: Hot Electric.

---------------Since that time.------------------------------

Anyway I decided I can't sit on my hands so I filled out their DMCA required document and submitted it with a mostly polite request to take it down.

Within an hour it went down- to all appearances anyway. They submitted that the pertinent information is now in their copyright or copyleft filter database so this should not occur again.

I have no idea what happens to the poster though I did ask them to go gently as I have no intention of pursuing anything in that direction myself. This type of site is what I would term an attractive nuisance.

My decision was motivated mostly by the notion that no action sends the wrong message and there are other authors out there having this same problem and possibly some who have yet to discover it. And though there is a possibility there were a hundred some people who read my book from there I have no way of knowing how many read it and how many just took a quick look.

The bottom line is I did not expect this to happen the first year with my first novel.

Diogenes:The Internet:Writer’s block: a prelude to a rant

Diogenes:The Internet:Writer’s block: a prelude to a rant

I recently embarked on a search. Likened to Diogenes search for an honest man. Except that I’m pretty sure that that would be at best an Oxymoron being that Diogenes was a Cynic that eschewed all things man made. and since my search was confined to the internet… Well, you can’t get more man made than that.

The entire construct of the internet is a man made thing down to the very construct of all the rhetoric. I say rhetoric in the most simplistic notion of it being any exchange of words between people.

Words, words. There is a never ending flow of them across the great divide of wire and air and bits and nibbles. What there is not is a flow of intelligent information. Things of real consequence seem to be jammed up into the system. Log jammed by the rush of too much runoff from the flood of viscous unceasing storms of opinion.

Into this maelstrom I dove looking for some answers to simple questions about publishing. There are any number of sites that will suppose to tell you they will unravel the mystery and put to rest the myths so many have been victim to. If only there were some truth or light to that very claim.

Sadly, no matter where we land we must take salt with us.

In this instance- having written and published a novel- it has taken little time to discover that the hardest part is not in the writing but in the marketing. To this I was led to believe that I should hold myself responsible because I did not patiently await, as the rest have, for the arms of traditional publishing to save me from such folly.

There is no end to the folly one might encounter through such deviation.

Thankfully I take responsibility and this search is not for justification but mostly for clarification. At first I found a wealth of knowledge amongst some of my own favorite popular traditionally published authors. I could list some sites, but I chose to make the reader search. In many cases these authors are still reliant upon their publishers and are sticking their necks out, or so it seems, to make these claims.


Many if not all, when they chose to, will relate the same story. The benefit they obtained in traditional publishing was that they received a check up front with promise of potential for more royalties after the initial royalties were able to pay the up frontage. Most will explain they never saw another dime. Some will mention that the three readers that did buy their books are some of their most ardent fans. The important and next reveal is what I was looking for.

They all were quite upfront in saying that the majority of the marketing was left to them. Though the publisher does offer some, it seems mostly contingent on what they have available in the budget. Guess what. A new author does not garner much in budget for these ‘standard’ services.

I felt a bit of weight lift there knowing that I was not doing any less or more than the traditionally published author. Now though comes the wrinkle.

The traditional publishers would prefer us to believe differently and have gone to some extent to obfuscate this in hazy claims to always giving marketing services.

It did not take long to run across some interesting ‘Professionals’ who reside in the most insidious part of this internet, The Forums.

There are many professed insiders who have ‘worked’ in the industry as editor-agent-or somewhere within publishing. They have found it necessary to continually remind us of the myths of the industry.

I will only list this one and I’ll try not to let my opinion guide which one.
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20586
It’s a good article and sounds quite believable but suffers of vague fogginess in several areas one of those being the marketing end. There seems to be information missing to refute the actual claims in the alleged myth.

Personally after reading several of these I tend to go with the published authors that I know and the understanding that there is more truth in the truth we leave out of our explanation.

I did manage to come across one author whom I would like to share. This author seemed to have no problem with debunking the same myths and it makes a precious counterpoint to the people in the other half of the industry.

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/myths-about-traditional-publishing

To highlight the frustrating and the sometime useless nature of the web I’d like to share this one. These make me wonder which planet these people are on.

http://www.fonerbooks.com/selfpublishing/

I’ll grant this is old, but even then the only thing worth noting is the graphic at the top which makes some sense.


This article seems to suggest that anyone publishing e-books away from the traditional publishers is yet another scammer from some there-in named African country. Not to mention calling most self publishers plagiarists.I'll grant that he may mainly be referring to people scabbing things off the internet and charging for it which is a whole other ball of wax.

For those who need balance there is this one:

http://brightonpublishing.com/TvsNT.html

I’m not sure which way they are leaning or what they are selling.

The only certainty I have found is that by the strength of your salt, the reader has to try to discern what might be the truth. And I for one have found it to be hard to gain that from inside the internet.

What I did find is more questions to ask as to more good reasons there might be for self publishing.

One of those is control of the final look and feel of the book. I’ll leave two interesting posts on that thought.

If its about control…

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/05/traditional-publishing-self-publishing.html
Another view on control-makes you want to read the book
http://hannahmosk.blogspot.com/2011/04/so-heres-thing-invincible-summers-cover.html
I confess the second post made me want to read the book.

For a number of good reasons Diogenes would not be surfing the net today to find his honest man. But, if the honest man were there caught in the log jamb who is to say if Diogenes might or might not try to bring him safely out and away.

Passive and Active Voice -The importance of understanding what it is.

NOTE: I obtained this with permission to re-post from the author. It was posted in their blog in a writers forum. It comes as little surprise this user's account was blocked and the blog posting was removed. Forums are not suited to freedom of speech. It might be a bit harsh and opinionated but I'm not sure it should have caused them to remove it and it's author.
What do you think?

Passive and Active Voice -The importance of understanding what it is.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have a small problem identifying misplaced usages of either Passive or Active voice and that in many cases I am guilty of not paying attention to them. One certain eventuality is that in a critique forum it will come up and rear it’s head.

This is why it is clearly best to be prepared to accept my ignorance, regret my lack of diligence, and be thankful that I came forewarned and forearmed. Except remembering, in this forum I’m not allowed to shoot the ignorant messenger.

When addressing the issue of Passive and Active I first assumed I was being too sensitive to what was occurring. So, I did what I always do- research. Then I had the forethought to remember that I could address this best in a blog. Anger leads to the dark side and the ignorant are allowed to hide behind the rules, which were made to protect the forum from utter chaos.

I found some interesting articles and then I found some corresponding evidence on the web.


I was quite surprise when, for a change, wiki-had some extra help and guidance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English…...

There is also an older article of enlightenment:
http://chronicle.com/article/50-Year…...
And lastly my old fav Grammar girl.

Some gems of note I found:
Many language critics and language-usage manuals discourage use of the passive voice.
This advice is not usually found in older guides, emerging only in the first half of the twentieth century.
In 1916, the British writer Arthur Quiller-Couch, criticized this grammatical voice.

This would mean that there is a lot of literature prior to 1916 that doesn’t even know of this guideline - and there is evidence even within the work of George Orwell, who thought he agreed with the guideline yet violated it as though it didn’t apply to him.



———Now days we have people who sweepingly proclaim these gems.————

Sometimes passive voice is awkward and other times it’s vague. Also, passive voice is usually wordy, so you can tighten your writing if you replace passive sentences with active sentences.

Most writing authorities agree that the active voice is both more engaging and easier to read than passively-constructed writing.

———-making the guideline.their rule of thumb——-

————————-Here’s my favorite—————————-

A recent study suggests that less educated people—those who dropped out of school when they were 16—have a harder time understanding sentences written in the passive voice than those written in active voice. We should stick with active voice if you’re writing for the general population.

——Can we think of a more creative way to say talk down to the reader ————-

——not to mention: we’re arrogant enough to believe we’ve trained them to expect things this way.—-

this guideline is partially based on this faulty example ::to paraphrase:

Strunk and White mis-apply the passive voice to several active voice to a tune of three out of the four.
“At dawn the crowing of a rooster could be heard” is correctly identified :

“There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground” no sign of the passive anywhere.

“It was not long before she was very sorry that she had said what she had,” also nothing passive.

“The reason that he left college was that his health became impaired,” not here.


——back to the issue at hand————

As some background I will point out the observation that in a critique forum we have a huge portion of us OCD people some of whom are obsessed with the flavor of the day. Choppy sentences were being targeted. Many followers were gained. The villain was Purple Prose. Riders were assembled for the posse. Tell becomes a victim to show. This goes on.

To be fair there are those of us who are obsessed with punctuation and grammar and spelling for the good of all. We are the do-good-ers who pave the way for a happy substantive edit. Although, sometimes we get just a bit over eager while forgetting that the victim (er… subject? author?) is intelligent enough to take a few examples and run with it. We the mighty ones are not happy until we squash all the offenders and repeat offenders with our red and blue. Sometimes happily creating a wonder that is bloated twice the size allotted for the original piece.

The problem is that our obsessiveness leaks over into the area of style. And style has guidelines not really rules. And there are exceptions that sometimes (check the above articles) even the style guide misses or fails to identify properly. This all leads to the author spending too much time fixing things that stand because we were jarred by what may have been a few legitimate lines of, in this case, passive passages.

What ultimately scares me here is that there are programs that help us authors to identify these offensive passages, which are based on faulty guidelines. So, It falls upon the us all to carefully go through and discover, which are offensive and, which stand as they are and, which are smack dab in the middle of the guideline that says we should use a passive here. I’ve seen many of us, in our enthusiasm, rewrite them all on the pretext of erring in the directions of caution.

What makes things difficult is there are rules that prevents the author from determining if I the critic who pointed out the problem even know all the guidelines or just some or if I am parroting what’s happened to me. There is no way to determine or verify this so it devolves on the author to realize that as he makes this seemingly more readable for me, he might be offending the intelligence of another. And I am hidden behind a notion that the author need make no changes if he so chooses. But, since he came for my advice, which I’ve so graciously given to him, he likely will do my bidding even if I haven’t done all our homework.

This, tied with backwards rule that I as a new person, one who might well need to learn more about these style guidelines, cannot post for critique until I have 30 post and those 30 post can easily be critiques of someone else work even though I’ve possibly never critiqued before. Basically I will learn the guidelines while critiquing and after giving 30 I’ll learn more from those who were, at best, self taught the way I am. That’s not to say that when I reach a 1000 post or 10s of thousands that I might have done my homework, because I might not realize there is homework yet to do.

This adherence to flawed guidelines as though they are rules does not confine itself to just this small example. It extends into such things as purple prose, show versus tell,use of cliche’s, and onto the length of individual lines of prose. I have heard the whole gamut criticized. Too many long sentences and then two many short choppy sentences and then too much alternating between long and short. That last is clearly wrong yet there is a highly numbered poster who is constantly complaining of that and saying a scene should have the same style of sentence structural length throughout meaning most if not all longs or shorts when clearly its recommended that for the smoothest flow there should be a balanced mix.

So the guideline followers can’t even follow the guidelines.

What makes me deeply afraid here is that this environment is a quick and easy way to remove creative, from writing. There have been other attempts to create mass productive writer shops that would profess to produce many writers of equal high caliber skill. The problem is that they would all speak with one voice and the truly creative part of writing will be lost. Not to mention the lack of proper understanding of the real guidelines and that they are guidelines.

Every writer wishes to come up with the new - never before thought of idea that will hook the reader, the editor, the agent, the publisher. That’s not the only place where writing is creative. In fact some sources will have us believe that there are no new plot ideas. For something fresh and new, personal style and voice are the best place to start and I constantly see those two discouraged and given second and third row seats (often pushed into the nose bleed section) with the hope they will eventually leave the auditorium.

This is not to say that there is no place for a critique forum. It can do wonders to help locate many problems that I can’t see in my own writing. What it will not do is prepare me to publish my own ideas with my own style. It will show me the value of a simple edit by other eyes. There is no way for the forum to complete this edit job on any given work so its not that much help with grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Those will all be fixed during the real edit cycle in the real world anyway.

Most of all it will allow me to stroke my ego by thinking I am helping.

And it’s taught me the value of doing my homework before I try to help everyone else or let them help me.

Nov 8 2012 —Egregious GhostWriter