the reviews begin

[swan_tower]

With Doppelganger starting to make its way out into the world, I took some time today to do what any sane first-time novelist does: I googled myself again. Which let me cross paths with this delightful review by Sue Burke on the website Fresh Fiction (review header -- "Brilliant debut fantasy novel with a shocking ending"):

A fully realized new world, Ms. Brennan's first novel is a brilliant read. The conclusion is a humdinger I never saw coming and literally stopped reading and said "Wow!" when it hit me. With likable characters, good world building and a story arc that keeps you wanting more, everything fits together nicely and comes to a satisfying conclusion for characters and readers alike.

That's the tail end of the review, following a few paragraphs about the early plot of the novel. In a similar vein, I don't think I ever actually linked to this other, equally delightful review I found a while back, from a woman named Jenica who read an ARC of the book. Relevant pull-quote:

In sum, the characters are engaging, the concepts of magic, goddesses, souls, and religious history are familiar but never derivative, and the society they live in is an interesting take on high fantasy. A wonderful read with a really satisfying resolution. And, just maybe, there's more?

So far, so good. Haven't gotten any trade-publication reviews yet; if those turn out half so well, I'll be pleased.

Comments

[jimhines.livejournal.com]

Wow. Those are some impressive reviews. If the rest are half as positive, this book is seriously going to take off.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I certainly hope so. But, with typical writerly insecurity, I'm going to be hard-hit by the first negative review that comes along. Funny how one negative tends to carry approximately the weight of six or seven positives -- maybe more.

[jimhines.livejournal.com]

When I was doing the whole psych major thing, I remember reading that it was about 10:1 to 20:1. One rude or mean comment could wipe out 10-20 positive comments. Or it would take 10-20 to undo the damage of that one negative. Either way, it carries over pretty well to writing....

Writers are nuts. Any sane person would take the good and simply enjoy it. Us, we use it as an excuse to worry about something else.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I had a feeling I was downplaying the actual ratio. I can easily believe 10-20.

<resists the urge to go and count up the nice reviews so far banked against the first bad one>

[unforth.livejournal.com]

Those are great reviews! Can't wait to read it...:) (maybe some postive friend reviews will help get past those rare negatives - if indeed there are any of those!)

[d-c-m.livejournal.com]

Yay you!!!!