I was recently offered a job reviewing books for a rather large national media organisation. While flattered by the offer, I politely declined the job. You may think this is odd, given I happily review movies for the ABC, but the two are quite different.

 

I don’t mind reviewing movies, because, for one thing, I don’t pretend to be offering anything other than the opinion of a regular movie-goer, not an “expert” opinion in any way, shape or form. The movie industry is huge and except in a few rare cases, I am not friends — or even acquainted with — the writers, the directors or the actors. Admittedly, I’ve done some work on screenplays, but not enough for me to pretend I know anything about them (although I am a demon on plot holes – but that comes from my “other” job). I also have the liberty of choosing the movies I review, so I’m not often forced to sit through something I know I’m going to dislike (i.e., anything with Steven Segal in it).

 

Books, however, are quite different. For one thing, you have to review books that people send you, and these are not always books you actually want to read. For another, as a published author, there is an implied expertise that goes along with any “opinion” I might offer, that I really don’t think I deserve. And then there’s the time problem. I can watch and review a movie in a few hours. Books — and particularly the 150K word-plus speculative fiction stuff this job involved — makes a significantly larger impact on my time if I'm planning to do the work justice. Harriet Klausner, I ain’t.

 

But the biggest reason I don’t want to review SF books is that, in many cases, I know the authors. I like the authors. I’m even friends with some of them. Which is all well and good when they’ve written something I think is fabulous. But what happens if I think their latest work, well, sucks?

 

Do I say what I honestly think and risk losing a friend? Or do I offer an “upbeat” review and risk losing all credibility because anybody who picks up the book is also going to realise fairly quickly that it sucks, and that I’m only saying nice things about it because I know the author?

 

How do I look the author in the eye the next time I run into them at a con? What if the work comes from my own publisher? It’s a brave author indeed who comments “I don’t know how this got published” when you have the same editor as the book you are dooming.

 

I was once asked by a publisher to provide a cover comment for a book that I thought was dreadful, by an author I happen to really like personally*. I begged off, claiming I was too busy to read it, rather than ‘fess up that I thought the work was “amateurish, infantile, over-written, cliché-filled crap”, because I figured that a) I’d really upset the author in question, and b) they wouldn’t put a quote like that on the cover, anyway.

 

By the way, the book in question did just fine and garnered many other fine reviews, which brings up the most valid and pertinent point…

What the hell would I know, anyway?   LOL

 *No point in trying to guess who. I know heaps  and heaps of authors and I’m not saying which publisher, either

 

I anguish over this one, Jenny. I love reading and I enjoy writng reviews, but I'm getting to the point at which I know, or have at least met, about half the authors whose books cross my desk for review.

When possible, I pass books on to another reviewer if it's written by someone I know whose work I don't care for. Yes, it's cowardly, but OTOH a different reviewer might have quite a different opinion and be able to see the good things I missed in a work. And when reviewing a writer whom I'm known to admire, I frequently use a nom-de-plume. Cheating? I dunno:-) As I said, I anguish over it:-(

I feel your pain, Satima. And I don't think it's cowardly. One of the reasons I knocked back this job as they planned to use my "name" as a hook, so there was no chance of being able hide behind a pseudomyn for either good or bad reviews...

You could always look innocently at them and announce you plan to use your other name.

I wouldn't take a reviewing job where I didn't have refusal rights. I will review bad books, but I won't review books by people I know more than very, very vaguely. My feeling is taht's it's incredibly hard to review friends fairly.

Undoubedly reviewer would turn to critic. can you be a critic and a good author? I think you have made the right choice and for the right reasons.

I wish I could do that job. Read books and get paid. Nice. I have no idea whether I'd be a good reviewer, but I have read tons of SF novels. Do you have to send the book back once you've read it? :)

You get to keep the book. But not the friends:)

Jen, you sound like me when I read a writer's blog constantly and love them as a person, but can't stand there book. (Hence the reason I sometimes don't read books of the authors whose blogs I read. Also thankfully, I read your books before your blog, so you still rock.)

And you sound like me when it comes to the movies, lawl.

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