Between 1999 and 2021, I wrote hundreds—maybe even thousands—of film and television reviews. Especially in my early days as a critic, I was rarely assigned the cream of the crop. That means I wrote many, many negative reviews, and I can’t say I never had fun doing so, but I always tried to be honest and point out what I perceived as the flaws without getting personal. Did I ever cross the line? Undoubtedly. Some movies were so egregiously awful, I couldn’t help bringing out my sharpest knives.
Reviews are written for the potential audience of the piece of work in question, not for its creators. That’s easy to keep in mind when you’re the reviewer, and sometimes not so easy when you’re the creator. Some writers, filmmakers, and other creative types never read their reviews—or at least claim to never read them. Novelists in particular seem to fall into two categories: those who obsessively track their Goodreads and Amazon reviews, and those who can’t bear to look at them. A few make the mistake of going to war with their Goodreads reviewers, a tactic that never ends well. (Here’s a handy primer on why it’s a bad idea.)
In the lead-up to the publication of my debut novel Charlesgate Confidential, I knew reviews would be forthcoming and the shoe would be on the other foot. I dished it out for years, and now I had to take it. I was determined to grow a thick skin and not take anything personally. Have I been a hundred percent successful in that regard? I think that would be impossible, but I’ve certainly never responded to a negative review. It helps that the reception for Charlesgate was largely positive, but no creative work is universally loved. With a few exceptions, I’ve been able to laugh off the negative reviews. A small handful of them stung and stuck with me a while, but again, I’ve written my fair share of pans, so I don’t have much room to complain.
I bring all this up because the earliest reviews of my new novel Lowdown Road are starting to trickle in. It’s too early to tell what the overall response will be, but so far, so good. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a wild ride,” and Publishers Weekly praises the “ever-escalating grindhouse madness…razor-sharp dialogue and high-octane action.” As for Goodreads, there’s not much there yet as few people have read it, but am I obsessively checking it every day? I can’t deny it. And if you are one of the early readers and you enjoyed it, feel free to drop your own review here.
News & Notes:
If you attended Bouchercon last year or have registered for this year’s event, you may have an Anthony Awards ballot you haven’t filled out yet. If you’re looking for one more short story to nominate, I have a suggestion for you!
I never post reviews for books I don't like. I don't see the benefit in hammering another nail in a coffin. I also refrain from giving paltry star ratings. Recently I gave 3 stars to a book (no text review) because there were things I liked and things that annoyed me. I figured the middle was a good place to put it in. Lo and behold! The author DMed me, very very upset because I was bringing down the average. I also got a lecture about "writers should not rate other writers except to give them 5 stars". Uh? Talk about over the top... I removed my stars. Still shaking my head though...
I’ve only been writing for a few years and have never asked anyone for a review. Hence the reason I don’t have many reviews. But I got one the other day that got under my skin. Reviewer found a misspelled word “desert” instead of “dessert” and tore me a new one. They had some other choice words as well about my story, which I was proud of. But the misspelled word review got under my skin. At the end of the day as long as people are reading your material and you are getting reviews good or bad at least you made enough of an impression to get a review!