Official Review: Skymerge by Deepak Menon

[Kappy]

Thanks, gali! It's amazing how a few kind words can overshadow numerous harsh words.

[ALynnPowers]

I'm pretty sure that's one of the requirements for our reviews, anyway.

Thanks for the nice review! (Again)

[Kappy]

I'm pretty sure that's one of the requirements for our reviews, anyway....

I'm glad you liked my review. But if you're referring to objectivity, note that it is not a requirement for reviewers on this web site; it is not even mentioned in our guidelines. The guidelines tell us to be honest, but that's quite different from being objective.

I've read quite a few book reviews on this web site and on various other web sites, and I've found that reviewers seldom even pretend to be objective. My reviews are unusual in that respect; I don't think that my opinion is important. The most important issue, as I see it, is whether the author wrote the book well.

[gali]

I'm pretty sure that's one of the requirements for our reviews, anyway....

I'm glad you liked my review. But if you're referring to objectivity, note that it is not a requirement for reviewers on this web site; it is not even mentioned in our guidelines. The guidelines tell us to be honest, but that's quite different from being objective.

I've read quite a few book reviews on this web site and on various other web sites, and I've found that reviewers seldom even pretend to be objective. My reviews are unusual in that respect; I don't think that my opinion is important. The most important issue, as I see it, is whether the author wrote the book well.

Whether the author wrote the book well is a matter of opinion as well.

[Kappy]

Whether the author wrote the book well is a matter of opinion as well.

Ah, yes, but that leads to a never-ending discussion of what constitutes objectivity, and whether we can ever be truly objective. For example, the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy includes a 5,000-word article about Objectivity ...

"Philosophers refer to perceptual impressions themselves as being subjective or objective. Consequent judgments are objective or subjective to varying degrees, and we divide reality into objective reality and subjective reality."

Perhaps we can never be 100% objective about anything, but there are various objective measures of good writing.

[Chris Dutton]

Whether the author wrote the book well is a matter of opinion as well.

Ah, yes, but that leads to a never-ending discussion of what constitutes objectivity, and whether we can ever be truly objective. For example, the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy includes a 5,000-word article about Objectivity ...

"Philosophers refer to perceptual impressions themselves as being subjective or objective. Consequent judgments are objective or subjective to varying degrees, and we divide reality into objective reality and subjective reality."

Perhaps we can never be 100% objective about anything, but there are various objective measures of good writing.

In which case the original topic of the quote is entirely precise and accurate. There is a difference between the two!

[DeepakMenon]

I'm following the many discussions on this post with great interest, and observe that the discussions are now revolving to the areas of 'Objectivity', 'Subjectivity' and 'Perspectives' - perhaps an indication that most readers have different scales for rating a book. I think that all readers would be more focused on one of the first two viz Subjectivity or Objective and then rate the book according to their personal perspectives. There is little said about 'Style', or 'Plausibility' of the story. Fiction, being what it is, always remains divorced from reality to a small or large extent. There are rules and rules for writing what is supposedly good or bad. I remember an essay by A.G.Gardiner about rules, where he stated that there are some hard and fast rules. like the rules of the road which can not be violated without danger of loss of life or limb. He also said that some are social rules which can be violated without loss, but should be still followed as they are equally important as are the rules of the road.
Grammar, as I know well, is like a rule of the road. Yet, in the world of fiction writing, styles often surface which are far removed from the accepted and regulated rules of good writing, viz Virginia Woolf and her style which is classified as "The stream of consciousness'.
My take on grammar is that, perhaps the author is more focused on putting the words on paper, and hurrying through the process leading to publication of what he considers is a great story, and neglects to spend some time checking the grammar after he has finished the book, thereby leaving the quality of the book in the hands of the perspectives of the reviewers, be he or she objective or subjective, and if the reviewers perspective is such that grammatical errors prevent him or her from being lost in the story, the author must then accept a lower rating with equanimity and publish another edition where errors are removed. I dunnit ha ha! Of course, the original review of 'Skymerge' will remain there on this forum, and since there is no directory of affordable professional editors whom an author could contact and commission for copy editing a book, one has to do it oneself and hope for the best, provided anyone bothers to read the book after reading a negative review!
Please carry on your discussions, I am learning a little from each discussions, and developing my own perspective too.
Cheers and all the best
Deepak Menon
Dehradun, India

[gali]

I think all reviews are subjective to one degree or another. Grammatical errors can prevent one enjoy the story, no matter how objective the reader try to be.

An author should respect all views, since it is a matter of taste after all. Nor should an author criticize the reviewer or those commenting on the review, since it reflects negatively on him.

Sometimes negative reviews make me want to read the book much more than positive ones, especially if the author fixed the errors.

Another thing, 3 stars rating isn't a negative review in my book.

[DeepakMenon]

@ Gali - waiting with bated breath for you to read the book! I think I fixed the errors in the 2nd Edition of Skymerge, though some may still remain, and hope you read the 2nd Edition - it has replaced the original on Kindle, but I don't know if I can submit it again on this site. I can send you a copy from Kindle if you wish, but I don't think one can post an email address on this forum - do let me know if you manage to read the book - it is 336 pages long with about 1,05,000 words.
I am a little confused on one point so I wonder if you will read it ha ha. You wrote "Sometimes negative reviews make me want to read the book much more than positive ones, especially if the author fixed the errors".
In the next para you wrote "Another thing, 3 stars rating isn't a negative review in my book."
Isn't language with all its nuances a wonderful Scrabble Board for us all to play with?
Smiles for everyone from India
Deepak Menon

[gali]

@ Gali - waiting with bated breath for you to read the book! I think I fixed the errors in the 2nd Edition of Skymerge, though some may still remain, and hope you read the 2nd Edition - it has replaced the original on Kindle, but I don't know if I can submit it again on this site. I can send you a copy from Kindle if you wish, but I don't think one can post an email address on this forum - do let me know if you manage to read the book - it is 336 pages long with about 1,05,000 words.
I am a little confused on one point so I wonder if you will read it ha ha. You wrote "Sometimes negative reviews make me want to read the book much more than positive ones, especially if the author fixed the errors".
In the next para you wrote "Another thing, 3 stars rating isn't a negative review in my book."
Isn't language with all its nuances a wonderful Scrabble Board for us all to play with?
Smiles for everyone from India
Deepak Menon

Thank you and I may do just that after finishing a few books I have got for review.

By the way, one can submit his book for review again, if he so wishes.


You said earlier that you hope "anyone bothers to read the book after reading a negative review" and I was referring to that point. I didn't mean that the review on your book was negative, since 3 stars isn't negative.

[ALynnPowers]

I'm pretty sure that's one of the requirements for our reviews, anyway....

I'm glad you liked my review. But if you're referring to objectivity, note that it is not a requirement for reviewers on this web site; it is not even mentioned in our guidelines. The guidelines tell us to be honest, but that's quite different from being objective.

I've read quite a few book reviews on this web site and on various other web sites, and I've found that reviewers seldom even pretend to be objective. My reviews are unusual in that respect; I don't think that my opinion is important. The most important issue, as I see it, is whether the author wrote the book well.

I actually meant that it is a requirement for us to state what we liked and didn't like about the book.

I personally don't pretend to be objective. I don't think that's possible, since the review is all about my thoughts on the book. At least, that's how my reviews go. I am definitely not qualified to objectively say whether someone wrote a book well or not; that's all subjective, from my point of view.

[gali]

I'm pretty sure that's one of the requirements for our reviews, anyway....

I'm glad you liked my review. But if you're referring to objectivity, note that it is not a requirement for reviewers on this web site; it is not even mentioned in our guidelines. The guidelines tell us to be honest, but that's quite different from being objective.important. The most important issue, as I see it, is whether the author wrote the book well.

I've read quite a few book reviews on this web site and on various other web sites, and I've found that reviewers seldom even pretend to be objective. My reviews are unusual in that respect; I don't think that my opinion is
I actually meant that it is a requirement for us to state what we liked and didn't like about the book.

I personally don't pretend to be objective. I don't think that's possible, since the review is all about my thoughts on the book. At least, that's how my reviews go. I am definitely not qualified to objectively say whether someone wrote a book well or not; that's all subjective, from my point of view.

It is a requirement indeed (to state what we liked and didn't like about the book).

I agree with you and I think one can't be truly objective when writing a review, try as he might. Reviews are always subjective, and should be, since tastes differ. My review is all about my thoughts as well and a review without thoughts misses the whole point of it in my view. When I read a review, I am interested in the thoughts and opinion of the reviewer, otherwise I will just read the blurb.

[Kappy]

... perhaps the author is more focused on putting the words on paper, and hurrying through the process leading to publication of what he considers is a great story, ...

In any profession, talent will get you nowhere without patience and hard work.

“The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.” (Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace)

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." (Stephen King)

[DeepakMenon]

@ Kappy - Right ho, Jeeves! And of course, if the author is endowed with lots of fund's to hire people to do the editing etc, it will allow him or her to write even more stories without having to be bogged out with spelling checks and punctuation ...

[ALynnPowers]

Wow, this just got deep.