One of the problems I had when publishing my book The Testing of Archie Rathbone was deciding an appropriate category. When I saw that it had received another review on Amazon, it was with the usual trepidation that I started to read. It was a five star review, so perhaps I shouldn't have been so nervous, but I was delighted with what I read, though it did raise that same question of genre again:
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining, 5 Oct 2012
This review is from: The Testing of Archie Rathbone (Kindle Edition)
After reading the reviews on this book, I was a little bit wary about trying it. Using strange or humorous names for some of your characters worked well for Douglas Adams & Charles Dickens, but nowadays I tend to think it's often a lazy device used by writers who are trying (usually unsuccessfully) to inject a bit of comedy into a rather limp offering.
Well allow me to eat those words, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. It's hard to pin down exactly what genre it would fit into, it's not comedy (though it does have some amusing twists), and somehow it doesn't quite fit the fantasy genre. It does however have an unusual, eccentric plot that keeps you entertained from beginning to end, is well written and full of interesting characters (like the tailors Bolt, Upright & Clench). If I tell you that the main character Archie Rathbone starts the book, trapped on a desert island that is (view spoiler)[ contained within a can of tuna (hide spoiler)], you'll understand what I mean when I say "eccentric". Sounds daft, but this really is a very readable book, and I'm looking forward to reading more of this author's work in future.
If anyone has read my book, or reads it after seeing this post then I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have as to how it should be categorised.
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining, 5 Oct 2012
This review is from: The Testing of Archie Rathbone (Kindle Edition)
After reading the reviews on this book, I was a little bit wary about trying it. Using strange or humorous names for some of your characters worked well for Douglas Adams & Charles Dickens, but nowadays I tend to think it's often a lazy device used by writers who are trying (usually unsuccessfully) to inject a bit of comedy into a rather limp offering.
Well allow me to eat those words, because I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. It's hard to pin down exactly what genre it would fit into, it's not comedy (though it does have some amusing twists), and somehow it doesn't quite fit the fantasy genre. It does however have an unusual, eccentric plot that keeps you entertained from beginning to end, is well written and full of interesting characters (like the tailors Bolt, Upright & Clench). If I tell you that the main character Archie Rathbone starts the book, trapped on a desert island that is (view spoiler)[ contained within a can of tuna (hide spoiler)], you'll understand what I mean when I say "eccentric". Sounds daft, but this really is a very readable book, and I'm looking forward to reading more of this author's work in future.
If anyone has read my book, or reads it after seeing this post then I'd love to hear any suggestions you may have as to how it should be categorised.