PRO reviews?

[easol.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm a bit curious -- what kind of professional reviews does LKH get? As in, from newspapers, genre mags, zines?

I know amazon (which often doesn't mirror the pro tastes) is basically filled with A) snarkers, B) troos, and C) people who consider this literary baloney on white bread, and read it because they aren't too demanding.

So has anyone seen professional reviews for LKH's books, and do they tend to be positive, "hateful" or sort of middle-of-the-road? (Particularly in St. Louis?)

(PS, on a slightly OT note, the ghastly "Talia Gryphon" is coming out with a sequel to that ghastly book)

Comments

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

I know the Kansas City Star did a review of one of her more recent Anita Books, I however wasnt able to get a hold of a copy but I recall that the title of the review indicated a rather lack luster rating

[freyalorelei.livejournal.com]

The few "positive" reviews I have seen are more politely neutral than anything, in the vein of "Fans of Hamilton will be delighted with this steamy addition from the NY Times best-selling author!" I've also seen a lot of reviews from the St Louis Post-Dispatch on the back covers, if for no other reason than they're probably trying to drum up interest for local authors.

They also tend to focus on the sensationalistic aspects, with notes like "sexy," "erotic," and "amorous." (Seriously...that's the only word quoted in a Publishers Weekly review in Danse Macabre. BURN.) Basically she's praised as light, unchallenging adult airport reading fare, at best.

That's the professional critics. In general, professional writers seem to suscribe heavily to the "If you can't say something nice, for God's sake keep your mouth shut" policy. The few who have admitted to reading her (P.N. Elrod, Andre Norton, Jim Butcher) mostly recommend her early works (Butcher still praises her, but then she pretty much jump-started his career, so he's allowed a little blind idolatry), and have been pretty silent the last few years, although their reviews are still used on her books.

[tenaya-owlcat.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a newspaper reviewer, I can tell you that I've given her books a neutral rating, as freyalorelei mentions below. To be perfectly honest, while I've found her recent books to be boring, I haven't felt moved to "slam" on them. I guess there's just nothing in her books that incites me to that kind of review. When I reviewed The Harlequin, I said that there might be a teeny bit of hope for the series, but that on the whole, the book was a whole lotta nothing.

Now, when I reviewed Talia Gryphon's Key to Conflict, I flat-out called it the worst book I'd ever read. So that should give you some frame of reference for what pushes my buttons book-wise. ;)

[missamii.livejournal.com]

I believe there was one professional review posted a few days before release of the Harlequin that basically wrote that the book was ill-conceived on every level. Excellent reading, that one.

Ye gods. Talia Gryphon makes part of me want to roll over die just thinking that some who writes so horribly got published not once but twice. The other half of me is sure that the book will be a rollicking good time. More dumbass Gillian Key and her vagina that's like one of those blood pressure machines in the pharmacy! More vampires that dress like a cross between RenFair actors and Liberace. But lamer! More blatant kissing of LKH's butt like she was some literary big-wig instead of a tired hack! Hooray for editors that have had one too many hits of the crack pipe and green light stuff like this.

[ex-naomi-ja.livejournal.com]

From glancing at Amazon reviews, it seems to me like the same blurbs are being used over and over again on the new books. Diana Gabaldon's comment about LKH's "fertile imagination" seems to be a reoccuring one, as does one that says "LKH keeps getting better and better." Not sure who/where that's from though.

How bad is Talia Gryphon's book, seriously? I keep thinking it might so-bad-it's-fun, like Sunny's books and that tempts me to read it.

[pandorasblog]

Good thread. I've been wondering about this for a while. When Anne Rice's books got worse, I was puzzled at first to see that they still got positive reviews. Then I figured out that the publishers were just posting quotes from, or passages from, older reviews which talked about better books or her work in general. I'd say that, with the likes of LKH, it's a suspicious sign if you see a book jacket citing a review that doesn't mention an author's current book by name. And in AR's case, when I finally did track down one website's review of Blood Canticle, it wasn't entirely complimentary.

Another reviewer perspective on LKH: my boyfriend used to write for Holland SF, and they tore her books to pieces. I think this was the early Merry Gentry stuff...

[moonsinger.livejournal.com]

Look at earlier books and compare the quotes on them. I think her earlier reviews are getting recycled. I have seen some reviews on the Internet about LKH. There was one review of the Harlequin that made me feel like LKH must be wincing someplace as the reviewer gave her a figurative punch to the gut. I can't remember where I saw it, but I'm sure if you did a search for the Harlequin and reviews you'd probably find it. The review was an SF review blog, I think.

[jazzymegster.livejournal.com]

SFX (UK fantasy/sci-fi/horror) mag seems to err on the side of polite, although I don't think she ever got five out five stars in the rating scale. They seem to have stopped reviewing her books though, because I haven't seen one for any of the Merry Gentrys past A Stroke of Midnight (I think), and none for Anita Blake since...the one after NiC (so years, really. My apologies, as my brain appears to be failing me).

[ladymuttly1.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that Mrs. Giggles counts as a professional review, but I enjoy the heck out of her.

Talia Gryphon review

http://www.mrsgiggles.com/books/gryphon_key.html

LKH review-Micah (she seems to have given up on LKH, but this one is a gem)

http://www.mrsgiggles.com/books/hamilton_micah.html

[shikishinobi.livejournal.com]

I have come to the conclusion that the LKH stories are simply suefics, written by suethors and the who cycle of bad writing gone to the public.
If this is correct, we will find that the general rules of the suethor come into play.
1) There is no stopping them.
2) Their motivation comes from their sock puppets (and in this case, their editors and publishers.)
3) No matter what you drop on them, throw at them or drop them into, a fic will soon appear shortly thereafter, and they will proceed like nothing ever changed.
Now that you know the three basic rules, does it go far enough to say the LKH doesn't need reviews and rewards to keep writing?

reviews

[wakarimashta.livejournal.com]

A few years ago there was a review in Entertainment Weekly that was........... (what is the word I'm looking for...)
Lukewarm? Less than flattering?
It sent her into a tizzy.

a review from 2006

[wakarimashta.livejournal.com]

from Entertainment Weekly:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1564594,00.html

but I think there was a whorenita one as well.

[wakarimashta.livejournal.com]

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,442463,00.html

Less than flattering.