glass houses / stones

[realthog]

No names, no pack drill, but here's from a review of a friend's anthology that's just appeared on one of the sf sites:

If you want a change from Science Fiction and its grey cousins and love purple prose on more mundane subjects then [this anthology] will probably suit you. It's not as if any of the material isn't badly written just that for the most part, it isn't our genre or subject matter. There are some instances where the stories could have done with having done with having a bit more plot chucked at them but when they do, it's obvious the writers did their research to bring the material to life.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Ah, the art of tepid reviewing.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

Ah, the art of tepid reviewing.

It's the juxtaposition of an airy judgement concerning fine writing with the language in which that judgement is expressed. Or do I prefer the inability to treat a book as the book it actually is rather than in terms of its relation to an arbitrary genre?

"War and Peace is not a cook book, so there may not be much to interest you here . . ."

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Yep. One I treasure was a review of I forget which novel, which went on and on about how bad it was but finished with 'recommended for fantasy fans'.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

That's classic . . . and sad at the same time.