eep

[ewein2412]

I was looking up the ISBN for The Empty Kingdom and discovered that it's been seriously reamed by an Ethiopian reader. Very interesting criticism (it's actually a review of A Coalition of Lions, though he doesn't refer to the title). I'm rather taken aback at his notion that my politics are shamelessly Eritrean Apologist.

http://www.amazon.com/Empty-Kingdom-Mark-Solomon/product-reviews/0670062731/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Comments

[nwhyte]

Amazon reviews are one of the more poisonous spaces that I have encountered on the internet. That was one of the reasons I recently deleted all of mine.

The unbiased reader of this particular review will rapidly conclude that the reviewer is projecting his own obsession with Ethiopian / Eritrean history onto your writing!!!

[ewein2412]

a very noble move indeed! You are right, the Amazon reviews are plagueful. And it is so counterproductive for a bookseller to allow negative attention to be aimed at their own "products." It was like pulling teeth to get Amazon to delete a spurious review of one of my books that ranted about George Bush and had absolutely nothing to do with me.

Amazon's comment system is also frustrating, as there's never any notification. You have to be kind of obsessed to keep an exchange going.

I am a real fan of Goodreads. I never reviewed books until it came along--felt I couldn't appropriately ream those I disliked on my blog. But an actual review forum is so much more appropriate and forgiving.

Incidentally, one of the annoying things about this particular review is that it's posted against the wrong book--he's clearly referring to A Coalition of Lions.

[estara.livejournal.com]

I can understand that for you personally, but what if you want to raise support for an author on one of the biggest book markets in the US - didn't they say that Amazon is the biggest independent bookseller in the US?

If I get comments for my reviews I just don't react. As long as I haven't posted anything inappropriate my positive review won't be deleted and any further reader can decide for themselves if it's true.

I think the not so well-known authors who get discovered via casual browsing and recommendations can use all the positive reviews they can get.

[nwhyte]

My own books are long out of print, so I have no personal agenda of promotion. But I don't like Amazon's business methods, which verge on abuse of their monopoly, so people who want to read my reviews can do so elsewhere.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't mean as a writer, but as a fellow reader to support other writers (I don't think an author writing a glowing review about his own book would be taken so seriously).

I don't like their business methods either, although - like you said on the page you linked - as a consumer I recognize the advantages of buying there, but not writing reviews if you want to support another author simply ignores the prevalent powers they have, because people like us remain customers there.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Maybe I should clarify that I never write reviews just because I want to, but always with the aim of getting others who read them to buy - or not buy - a book I have read.