MinDonner Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Admit it, we all love it when an author overreacts to a negative review and goes ALL CAPS BATSHIT to defend their precious masterpiece. So here's a thread to collect our favourite examples.A couple I've come across fairly recently:Exhibit A: Dylan Saccoccio. (I'd link directly to the Goodreads comment thread but it looks like the author has wisely if belatedly decided to delete all his posts there - luckily a bunch of them are quoted by respondees). Pullquote:NO. I dont want you to do anything because youre immoral. Leave this up so that every person henceforth can see ALL OF YOU for what YOU ARE. DESTRUCTIVE to consciousness and humanity. What youve done to me, you do to YOURSELF, because if you KNEW anything about anything, youd know we were all connected to each other, and instead of destroying each others work, youd be supporting each other, which is why I will NEVER behave like ANY of you immoral people, and I wont go seeing what youve written or done in the world so I can destroy that. No, I will only defend my work against EVIL.Exhibit B: Stephan J Harper, where the author responds at great length to criticism of his prose by quoting passages and expecting us to marvel at the wordsmithy. Well-meaning commenters try to set him straight, and ill-meaning commenters point and laugh, and the dude keeps on bringing it with the self-awareness of a narcissistic hippo. Pullquote:Lastly - and purely in good humor - your "the writing is at best, workmanlike" were you referring to passages like:""However, what struck me immediately upon entering was perfume. It wasn't Cordeliarather roses. The scent was unmistakable. There were dozens and dozens of flowers in vases of all descriptions filling the living room. Roses grew from metal floor stands and stood in cut-crystal on side-tables and window-ledges and overflowed into the dining room, stopping only when the bouquets had covered her kitchen counters, scenting the air throughout like crazy. Some bear had sent her bright yellow and orange dozens, poised next to red, white and pink dozens. In the center of the living room, two dozen anxious roses blushed lavender by the vacant love-seat. " - CH14 pg.104That's straight out of Fitzgerald and Keats, my friend. Straight out....and VENICE UNDER GLASS is more a lyrical prose poem to Venice than anything else!The book is about teddy-bear detectives, FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seli Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 It is almost a shame that the first one has cleaned up, but probably all for the best. I read some of his comment yesterday, and they were bad. Such a trainwreck that it wasn't even enjoyable anymore. He was claiming that a 1-star review was hurting mankind by keeping them away from the deep truths in his book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbound Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Ahh, author meltdowns. One of my favorite types of scottenfreude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagilki Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 That one that stalked down a bad reviewer and showed up at her doorstep. Was a thread on it here. That was... ... interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Gilfellon Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 You refer to Kathleen Hale. A WOMAN who has a habit of stalking people and being condoned for doing it by her parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Vivian once mailed a dead hamster to Harold Bloom after a lukewarm review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Well one guy stalked a girl across all of Scotland and showed up at her work and bashed her on the head with a full wine bottle. Hard to top that. Dude went to jail, last I heard, thank god. Girl was OK but has headache issues now. Humanity man. I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maarsen Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Some people can't seem to admit that their turgid prose comes across as rather limp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Vivian once mailed a dead hamster to Harold Bloom after a lukewarm review.He probably tentatuvely licked its lukewarm carcass, slit open its abdomen, read its guts as an augury, and said " everytime an author melts down a critic gets a rabies vaccine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callan S. Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 This has got that 'I've never been in the other persons shoes or imagined myself there, but I'm really certain I'm even minded on the whole matter' vibe going on. Then again, I don't like 'funniest home videos' but a lot do, so maybe I'm missing the fun bit here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagilki Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Terry Goodkind keeps releasing books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Honestly as author meltdowns go the second one is pretty standard fare these days. And why I never request anything self published on goodreads. Heck even the first isn't THAT unusual it just got attention. These days to have a real meltdown you have to at least commit a felony. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kojiro Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Terry Goodkind keeps releasing books. Dylan's comment actually reads like something Terry Goodkind would write in response to his critics. Is Dylan Saccoccio an Objectivist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndance Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 This is pure speculation right now nut I've heard on several occasions that after Anthony Ryan's 'Tower Lord' started getting all 1 star reviews the publisher began to get fake 5 star reviews posted to try to help save the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Uh, I know plenty of people, including me, who loved that book. It was very divisive, but fake reviews? from Roc? Cmon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoshi Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I remember a hilarious thread last year about self-published author Raani York. It was over the first book in her Dragon Bride series where Shamila marries a dragon. Would paste the link to the thread but the loading time is ridiculous. Wonder if anyone remembers and has better connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Oh, I remember that one. Heck I may have started that thread. I'll look for it once the site gets more stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kojiro Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I remember a hilarious thread last year about self-published author Raani York. It was over the first book in her Dragon Bride series where Shamila marries a dragon. Would paste the link to the thread but the loading time is ridiculous. Wonder if anyone remembers and has better connection. Is it really a spoiler if it's in the title? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I remember a hilarious thread last year about self-published author Raani York. It was over the first book in her Dragon Bride series where Shamila marries a dragon. Would paste the link to the thread but the loading time is ridiculous. Wonder if anyone remembers and has better connection.Disgusting! Humans coupling with mythical creatures? What kind of sick pervert would write something like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrackerNeil Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 For the life of me I cannot imagine what any author hopes to get out of responding to a bad review. When you put your work out there you open yourself up for criticism, and that's just the way it is. Also, a few negative reviews IMO add credibility to your work. For myself, if I see a book on Amazon that has only five-star reviews I assume the author either paid or petitioned for them and tend to disregard. A wide spectrum of ratings feels more legitimate to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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