In which reviews are endlessly fascinating

[rolanni]

Dragon is Exile has now entered the Review Arena, by which I mean that reviews are beginning to appear in various venues, in anticipation of the June 2 manifestation of the Hardcover Itself.

We have, first, a review from Publishers Weekly, which is a very good venue in which to see your book reviewed.  Publishers Weekly -- aka PW -- is the weekly industry news magazine for the publishing industry.  It also reviews books (though not, by any means, All The Books).  Booksellers use PW reviews to choose stock; some libraries also choose new books from the PW review lists (though I hear nowadays more librarians are depending on Library Journal and not referencing PW -- is there an acquiring librarian in the house?  Can you tell me if this is correct?).

So, anyway, a PW review is a good thing, and a good PW review is doubleplusgood.

The whole review will appear in tomorrow's (April 13) edition of PW; I'm just going to excerpt some shiny bits here.

In Lee and Miller’s sprawling and satisfying 18th Liaden Universe novel (after Trade Secret), the spacefaring Clan Korval settles into its new home on the crime-ridden planet of Surebleak after being exiled from Liad.

Space opera mixes with social engineering, influenced by Regency-era manners and delicate notions of honor. For established fans, it’s like spending time with old friends; however, many ongoing story lines are still unresolved by the end of the book. Newcomers are advised to choose an earlier entry point to the series.

*stands back and considers the above*

Not bad.  Not bad, at all.

Oh, and about that "Newcomers are advised to choose an earlier entry point"?  We hear that a lot.  Mostly established fans, who have been reading along with us, are of the opinion that newbies cannot possibly comprehend the action in any new book you'd like to name (including those volumes that Steve and I wrote deliberately to be portal books) unless they start with Agent of Change and go forth, systematically, until they arrive at the new book.

They are, let me hasten to say, perfectly reasonable and within their rights to hold and express this opinion.

However.  Because this is How They've Done It, they don't have the perspective of a Brand New Reader coming to the universe for the first time with New Title Of Your Choice.  (I also lack this perspective -- but my perspective isn't that of a reader, either.)  Among other things, this insistence on starting from the beginning reveals a touching tenderness for the sensibilities and story-sense of new readers.

Steve and I, however, like to think that most people who seek out SFF as their reading drug of choice are tough, savvy readers, with an excellent sense of story and character, who can therefore come up to speed with frightening quickness, no matter how strange the terrain.

Occasionally, we're vindicated in our belief, as in the following review, from Otherwhere Gazette:

The 18^th book in the Liaden Universe®, Dragon in Exile, is as gripping as the rest most likely are.  Readers of the series will buy the book as a matter of course.  However, there are people (such as this reviewer) who have never read anything in this series.  The good news is that this book can stand alone quite well.  The bad news is that people (such as this reviewer) who pick this book up will now be on the hook for seventeen more books.

The new reader will be introduced to a complex cast of characters who will interact based in part on seventeen books worth of prior history.  However, the authors do paint their characters quite well.  It is quite easy to believe in and root for the characters without knowing the back story.

For folks who like their plots spare and their characters few, perhaps this is not the book.  But for those who like high adventure and fascinating cultures and plots and characters so intertwined that the book should be written on a mobius strip; here’s your book, the first of eighteen that you will buy.

You can read the whole review here

*smiles fondly at the above shiny bits*

I particularly like the moebius strip comment, because that's exactly what writing these five (well, OK, two, so far) books feels like, from here.

So! Today around the Cat Farm is Terrorizing the Cats (also known as vacuuming), washing dishes (gave that a miss, yesterday, in order to work with Padi), and packing what I hope will be the last box of papers to go to the archives.  Also, writing.

It's a clear and sunny day here at the Confusion Factory.  If it's not too windy, I may even go for a walk.

I hope everyone's enjoying a pleasant Sunday.

Comments

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

17 more books is only bad news if you have limited funds. (Or possibly if book reviewing is your career and thus reading time for yourself is also limited).

And there still exist some libraries for those with low funds.

And I came in with Carpe Diem and still suffered not too much from coming in at the resolution of a cliffhanger.

[catlinye-maker.livejournal.com]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who finds 17 hitherto-unsuspected books to be a feature, not a bug!

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

I can't remember where I came in, but it wasn't at the beginning. I'd picked up one - maybe Carpe Diem - and one of Catherine Asaro's Skolian series. For awhile after reading them, I kept confusing them. It was very strange. So I got another one of each series. Then stopped reading Asaro and started collecting all the earlier Liaden books, then discovered the short stories, etc, etc, etc. It's hard when picking up a new Liaden book to even tell if it would be a good entry book or not anymore. I think at least in part it's because I always prep for a new release by re-reading (at least) several previous novel arcs, so I'll be back up to speed by the time I get to the new material :)

Just having finished the latest Foreigner, there was so much summary over the first few chapters that I'm pretty sure she intended that one to be a good entry point, but for me it was just irritating, as in preparation I'd just re-read the previous 4 books. But it's a minor thing. I know these summaries are needed.

[otterb.livejournal.com]

Applause for good reviews!

As I was reading Dragon in Exile (have only read the online sample chapters so far) I wondered how it would play for new readers - you dropped in enough backstory to be noticeable to a long time reader, but not enough to be annoying, and I thought it would probably be enough for someone new to find their way.

Reviews

[bookmobiler.livejournal.com]

I also liked the morbius strip. "(O)n the hook for seventeen more books." was also an interesting comment.
No snow in East Winslow? Is that even legal?

[shana.livejournal.com]

My library uses Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers' Weekly and Booklist. Plus, since I'm the one who orders fiction, I order SF by authors I know regardless of whether they are reviewed or not.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Excellent in the review department!

Happy cat terrorizing...

[readinggeek451]

My library uses the same, plus the New York Times Book Review. (I order most of the fiction, including SF, although my boss--another SF reader--has final say.)

[margotinez.livejournal.com]

I came in with Scout's Progress, which was perhaps a good choice for me as a math major in college and career software analyst. Not that I could ever match Aelliana's math skills, but I loved suspending that reality for the satisfaction of hers. It also served as my aunt's entry point, and she was a math teacher and computer teacher (among other subjects) during her 54 years teaching. Both of us have been devoted followers since. When I started feeling well enough in rehab to take up reading other than the daily newspaper, I went to Agent of Change, and am now in my 5th book rereading in prep for Dragon in Exile. Ever fresh, ever enthralling. Who could ask for more? Thank you.

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

Scout's Progress is still one of my favorites.

[thewol.livejournal.com]

Here's one for you: I had never ready any of the Liaden books. Then I found and started following your blog, liked what I was reading there, and decided to start reading your books. I went to the Wikipedia article to find out which was the first book in the series, got it, really liked it, then systematically worked my way forward through your back catalog, finishing the last book just about the time you published the first Theo Whately book. That put me at the point where I've been reading them as they are published ever since.

I was going to start about 4 books back on Foreigner, but couldn't stand it and read Tracker practically in one gulp. Between you and CJC, I'm jonesing for one universe or the other pretty much all the time.

[jilltanith.livejournal.com]

My library also uses these, although these days the reviews are collated for us by the Baker & Taylor site, which is also, now, the source of our leased books.