Poor reviews, expectations, and endings.

[seanan_mcguire]

Moshe posted his review of Deadline. He didn't like it very much, which is absolutely his right as a reader, and some of his points as to why he disliked the book are interesting and thought-provoking for me. Most of the time, I don't link to the negative reviews, both because I try to be fairly positive (biosphere ignition and all), and because

Comments

[hiraeth]

While I agree that every reader is entitled to their own opinion and interpretation of the literature they read, I must say that the ending to Deadline surprised, impressed and thrilled THIS reader.

Then again, that's my own opinion ;)

[seanan_mcguire]

I am glad of your opinion. :)

[alitalf]

My only unhappiness about it all is that the third volume won't be available for many months. I am expecting to enjoy it greatly when it is released, as I did the first two in the series.

[seanan_mcguire]

I hope you will.

[seanan_mcguire]

I've always tried to be very upfront.

[seanan_mcguire]

Agreed. Fact, if you stab me, I will bleed; opinion, that would be a bad thing.

[beable]

This leads me to pondering if it's even possible to review something without inserting opinions into it.

This came up just a couple of days ago with respect to a discussion about the appalling hotel I was staying at for a science fiction convention - the friend I was talking to at breakfast seemed to think that people posting things like hotel reviews should not insert their own opinions into them, and I am more inclined to think that it's impossible not to - when it comes to that I find it hard to believe that people are not biased by having formed opinions.

I vaguely suspect we were talking about slightly different things when discussing the usefulness of a review in which a reviewer has expressed an opinion, but as we were talking in circles and heading firmly into the territory of me feeling like my opinion that the hotel was lacking in many key ways and I wouldn't stay there again was being completely dismissed as unworthy/wrong/bad/incorrect, I changed the subject.

[seanan_mcguire]

The carpet was ugly: opinion.
The carpet smelled of cigarette smoke, despite being a non-smoking room: fact.

It can be done; it's harder with entertainment, though, and I don't think divorcing fact from opinion is always optimal, even when it's possible. Especially with books/movies/TV, opinions matter.

[seanan_mcguire]

Me, too.