It's been a turgid week so I'm grateful for anything that'll lift the spirits and SciFiNow duly obliged. In their latest issue (#49) they've given The Demi-Monde: Winter a terrific review, Four stars, the much coveted 'Must Read Now!' imperative and some great comments - 'a great, balanced first novel that is a fascinating, edgy read': I couldn't have ask for much more.
Of course, Lynsey Kay Potter - the reviewer - had, as all good reviewers should have, some interesting and constructive criticisms. She thinks that I'm a little light on the background description of the Demi-Monde which is a pretty fair comment: much of this was jettisoned when we were editing for pace and hopefully I'll be able to re-instate it when we do the 'Author's Cut' e-book.
She's also a little cheeky in suggesting a modern history revision guide as companion reading, but thinking about it maybe she's right. My belief is that the teaching of history in schools is short-changed. The cyclical nature of history (which I explore in DM:Spring) means that the past is an excellent guide to the future, and by failing to teach kids about horrible events like the Holocaust and the purges of Stalin we make similar events more likely to happen again. So if the DM persuades readers to delve deeper into the background of the book that's good news.
All-in-all an excellent fillip, with only one niggle: it's Rod Rees not Ron Rees!
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Amazon Vine reviews should start to appear soon: mine is now up at http://amzn.to/gP8i8j (although the edit that takes out the typos has yet to make it past the Amazon scrutineers for some reason).
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Thanks for the great review, Steve, I'm pleased you enjoyed the book. I've never read any of Sheri S. Tepper so I'll have to check her out pronto. I trust that when you read Spring you'll find it a trifle less hackneyed -I've a few surprises up my sleeve.
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