The emperor's new science fiction clothes
01/12/2003 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 

I’m the type of person who would point at the Emperor’s new clothes and say he’s naked!

Hello everyone

I used the above statement recently when describing a particular attitude I have when I want to be blatantly honest. It’s also something I tend to encourage amongst the team of reviewers we have as well. It might be seen as a skipping of diplomatic niceties but on the other hand you’re not likely to get anything but an honest opinion when you read anything here either.

Whether this will, over the course of time, start to appear as either arrogant, bolshy or even cruel is open to debate. If nothing else, it indicates either a change of attitude in the rest of the world or ourselves. Whether that would indicate that we should change from an honest view or opinion is debatable.

Diplomacy can only go so far when it dictates between saying something was enjoyable or not. A lot of it depends on who you serve: the publishers or those reading/viewing the product. Reviewing anything is representative of the public reaction to reading or seeing it so we tend, like any reviewing team should, to represent the latter and present an honest opinion.

It does raise an interesting question as to whether ‘honest’ and ‘opinion’ should be used in conjunction with each other, let alone their definitions. Opinions are always swayed by personal preferences. To the general reader, all it takes is a dislike to a particular book and the author’s entire works tends to be left on the shelf.

The difference between a reader and a reviewer tends to be the ability to express their thoughts in words and hopefully review a book on its individual merits without prejudice - that means no negative thoughts about a previous book bearing down on the latest from either a publisher or individual writer. Even that can lie in an area of uncertainty as we’re all influenced by our reactions to what we’ve read over the years.

As I can only use myself as example here, you’ll have to put up with my opinions today or whether it has any bearing on my or your personal taste. In my teens, I read Heinlein’s ‘Podkayne Of Mars’ and got bored out of my skull. The same can be said of Bradbury’s ‘Dandelion Wine’ although to be fair, both have pretty lame titles and only picked them up cheap at the time.

Oddly enough, I thought Piers Anthony’s ‘Macroscope’ was one of the best novels I’d ever read as well but never tried any of his other books in case I was disappointed they wouldn’t live up to that one. An odd effect considering I walked through the works of other SF authors without such consideration and eagerly read what they had to offer. You’ve probably all experienced a similar thing, albeit with different books and authors. It is such reactions that sent your perimeters as to whether you pick one or other book off a shelf with a desire to read it or not.

Over the years, I did go back but not to read the same novels. I got a taste for the rest of Heinlein’s books - only the Illuminatti knows what that makes of me! With Bradbury, although I understood his prose, the attitude of his astronauts on first arriving on Mars in ‘The Martian Chronicles’ didn’t leave me in much doubt that he wasn’t an SF but a fantasy writer and not to my taste. Oddly enough, when I reviewed a Piers Anthony book a couple years ago, I felt it light read and practically confirmed that I’d made the right decision nearly 30 years ago, at least where my own tastes lie. Then again, as you’ll no doubt have noticed here, I tend to define my reasoned opinions and don’t exactly come to them lightly.

All this really indicates is whatever you use for your own yardstick for good, bad or indifferent fiction is determined irrespective of age but solely on the first book you try by a particular author. If anything, such thoughts help determine levels of what is acceptable or not to your personal taste whether you’re consciously aware of it or not.

From that stage, you either have to be an element of courage or glutton for punishment by giving an author a second chance or find something else to read. I think I fall somewhere in between both states as I tend to read without prejudice if the idea takes me as interesting. Whether that applies purely to an entire genre has never been put to a vote, although it might be interesting to see where the dividing line is between preferences of SF over its grey cousins, fantasy and horror.

Again, I can only use myself as an example here and your yardstick might be swayed by other things. When it came to horror, I read some in my teens and even discovered Stephen King before he became really famous. I’ve always felt that ‘Carrie’ and ‘Firestarter’ were the best SF he ever wrote. Being scared or grossed out on a regular basis didn’t seem much of a direction to go.

Fantasy, when it was purely quest material with the possibility that deux ex machina would be used to resolve any problem quickly lost any hold that it could have on me. If an author can pull a rabbit out of hat to solve a plot problem then I tend to see it as a form of cheating on the reader and not given a fair chance to antiscipate the plot if I choose to.

The quest plot repetition, in retrospect analysis, indicates the same sort of familiarity to why people are drawn to romance novels or soap-operas, which although I understand doesn’t hold me for long either. Mind you, where fantasy holds to an SF rule structure then it isn’t fantasy but that’s a different story and has been documented elsewhere on the website.

Science Fiction, on the other hand, covers a far wider range. Practically some form of all the other genres exists in it, which is probably why I tend to think the grey cousins fantasy, horror and, in some cases, alternative realities are an extension rather than separate genres. It has such a wide range that there is usually something there for everyone if you spend long enough looking around rather than just labelling by a few examples as if that’s all that SF encompasses.

As such, the main essence of SF has held me far stronger than its grey cousins. I don’t think that’s likely to be an opinion that any SF fan out there reading this is likely to disagree with. Whether we all look and wonder how readers can specialise solely in the grey cousins is debatable. Usually, it’s a matter of viva la difference and each to our own.

This doesn’t mean to say I’m demeaning you if you prefer fantasy or horror, just a recognition of what attracts my interest the most and why you probably won’t see me assessing such genres as something I really think my opinion would have the right frame of mind to enjoy. With reviewers who have such interests that’s never been a problem...assuming they're still with me after they’ve read this column (hi, chaps and chapettes. Thinking of you. :-)).

From an editorial POV and for the record, it doesn’t tend to enter my thoughts when I assess story samples in my slush pile as I judge everything by its individual merits and whether the material would find a market. That’s probably the main difference between being an editor and a reviewer if you ever thought there was a grading system and even the boss thinks I’m a consummate professional while I always used to think consommé was some kind of clear soup.

Whether what I described above is an opinion or personal taste is debatable. I tend to look upon it as where my own personal interests lie. After so many years and much reading, it does allow me a certain amount of latitude in letting me know the difference between good and bad SF not to mention the difference between poor and good writing.

Generally speaking, a good storyteller should be able to get you to buy into any reality their writing. This doesn’t mean that regardless of ability that they can’t write the odd stinker or the readership can’t be informed of that opinion if you think you have one in your hands. Even when that happens, we don’t demean or attack the author who wrote it only the book as an example of not reaching expectations.

Something that tends to come up with the briefing of any new reviewer we take on here apart from the honesty factor is the reaction to reviews. A lot of the time, publishers don’t worry too much whether the book gets a good or bad review just as long as their product is noticed. Publicity is still better than no publicity. A good review gives them something for their advertising department. Readers don’t always follow the reviewers’ opinions and will often check out the book to see if the reviewe was right or wrong. If they find their opinions match yours then you will influence some but not all the time.

If you think the reviewer’s taste matches your own, you might well follow an opinion. If the reviewer’s taste is diagonally opposite to your own then any book getting a poor review would be the very reason why you would want to buy the book. From an odds perspective, any publisher is likely to sell more books or whatever product is reviewed than not. The worse that can ever happen is being indifferent to the material cos that means no one will be expressing an opinion or giving a damn.

I’m also saying that with a sharp reminder that we still have a pile of books to still be reviewed but that’s only to be expected when so many are released. We believe in giving a proper review rather than just announce a book’s existence, especially as there are already sources doing such a job already. Considering how the number of publishers sending us books to review has risen in the past year, I can only surmise that someone somewhere out there is agreeing with my sentiments...or at least wanting to see a lengthy assessment on a somewhat popular website.

What that boils down to is the reader him or herself, which is what I guess you reading this, has the ability to make up your own mind as to whether an opinionated review has legs or not. Reviews are, by and large, individual opinions rather than product endorsements. As much as we’d like to be bribed to do such things, I think our personal bloody-mindedness would get in the way of such enticements. With reviews, you want a snapshot opinion of what’s out there and whether you want to look a bit closer especially when there’s so much to choose from. The emperor definitely walks naked here. No airs. No graces. We just want to tell you what works for us and leave it to you to make up your own mind to give the product, be it book, video, DVD, whatever a chance to be bought off the shelf.

I’m the type of person who calls a spade a spade unless it's got long prongs and then it’s a fork.

Be happy. Be safe. Enjoy the rest of the website.

Thank you and good night

Geoff Willmetts

editor: SFCrowsnest.com

PS For those keeping up with my health. Although I’ve now had my anti-flu and anti-pneumonia inoculations now, I’m still feeling a little worse for wear. Dunno what really is spreading around my home town but it's hitting my sinuses. Not enough to cause a permanent headache but is definitely making me sensitive to high pitched sounds with a slight imbalance when moving around.

  Although it’s not really our place to do endorsements as noted above, I should draw your attention to the effects of Omega 3 fish oil. Having seen its effects and amazement by UK celebrity doctor Robert Winston in the BBC series ‘The Human Mind’, I started taking these oil tablets. Apparently, they replace a missing enzyme in the brain’s synapses and make the brain function more efficiently.

All I can say is, ‘And how!’ It’s like being in the summer all the time and nothing seems to be much bother. Whether it affects everyone the same way is debatable and open for discussion in our letters pages once you’ve been on them for a few weeks. As we’re read world-wide, if you’re unsure whether you should take Omega 3 or not, talk to your doctor first and look around for the best or cheapest priced product.

(Less Serious) Thought For The Month # 1: With the resurrection or regeneration of BBC’s ‘Doctor Who’ in 2005, there’s been some talk about going back to its roots. As I recall, since I lived through it, when ‘Doctor Who’ was originally conceived and shown in 1963 (I knew exactly what I was supposed to be watching when Kennedy was assassinated!), it was to be an educational show appearing in different periods of Earth history. It might be the way to go and if it needs a viewer enhancement then the histories of other places like Skaro and Telos can be examined once more.

(Less Serious) Thought For The Month # 2: Have those of you who’ve seen the 12” figure of the X2 Wolverine figure thought he looks less like actor Hugh Jackman and more like Quentin Tarantino? Maybe it’s the curl on the lip?!!

(Less Serious) Thought For The Month # 3: I was reading an interview with Richard Donner, the director of the new ‘Timeline’ film declaring that SF was grandiose and his film wasn’t like that despite using a dimensional gadget that sent his characters into what could either be an alternative history reality or our reality affected by an individual being in our past. Methinks he really ought to read a lot more varied SF and especially pay attention to Connie Willis who went the Michael Creighton route long before he did. There are far too many instances where SF hasn’t relied on grandiose to find a readership.

PS If you’ve survived this far in the editorial, let me reiterate something from the website newsletter and the above editorial. As you can see from the main page, we have one of the biggest SF/fantasy/horror monthly reviews columns on the Net. Our success has increased the number of books that comes in and our policy is to read everything before giving a review. We roadtest books so you have some idea of what you’re letting yourself in for when all you’ve got to go by is the cover and promotional blurb.

  If you like reading books in the genre, think and can show you can write a decent review and, most importantly, live in the British Isles (sorry, expense, time and distance travelled prohibits elsewhere), contact me below for my ‘Reviews Flyer’ - put this in the subject ebox and we’ll see if you’ve got what it takes. We can’t pay you but a review for the price of a book has to be a good incentive. We have one of the most popular SF review columns on the Net. Think you’re up to writing a review or have I scared you off with this month’s editorial??

PPS: For those keeping track, I’m still about 18 months (early November 2001 now, cos I also went through the short story pile this month, if you’re still thinking I’m just repeating the same message every month) behind with going through the ebook samples. Thank you for your patience but let me know if you’ve sold elsewhere so I can reduce my pile or if you’ve changed address, especially e-mail address.

  This isn’t much of a repeat, just to show you’re not forgotten. Those sending in samples, be prepared for a long wait and read the Guidelines elsewhere on this website. They are there to help you do some of the right things and reduce the number of times I’m repeating myself over silly grammatical errors.

It makes editing a lot easier if any editor has less work correcting poor English which should have been sorted out in the first place. There’s an old editorial adage, if you can’t aim for perfection why should an editor nurse-maid you to that state? If you’re a writer, then you should understand the words and grammar of the job you’re supposed to be writing or are you considering it as mundane and boring as any other job to get right? Fall in love with making every sentence the best you’re ever letting anyone else read it.