General Sci-fi round (Group 4) (CLOSED)

[L.N.]

Ryan wrote: "I've read two other books of Scotts, and Alistair has reviewed my book before. Believe those are my only conflicts."

In joining this review group you have agreed to review the novels assigned to you on a two month schedule. This group is now in the review phase and is no longer open for sign up.

GENERAL SCI-FI REVIEW ROUND. As with other review groups, you will be expected to read and give an honest review of the books assigned to you. Assignments will be made after the group sign-up has filled.

Participants are expected to post reviews to Goodreads. The review should be posted to Amazon (US and UK) as well, if the book is available there. This makes having accounts with both Goodreads and Amazon.com a requirement.

Contact the authors you are scheduled to review to arrange to receive a review copy of their work. Note that Amazon has made a minor change in how reviews are displayed. As long as a review that is not verified as a purchase is recent, it will be displayed on the book's Amazon page. Once it rolls off, it will still be counted in the ranking of the book, but the link to show more reviews has been modified by Amazon to show only reviews that come from verified purchases. Authors may consider gifting their book to assigned reviewers so that they will qualify as verified purchases. Reviewers may bypass this limitation by offering to purchase the books assigned to them. All of this is voluntary. Authors may still provide review copies for free, and reviewers can still post reviews to Amazon that are not from a verified purchase. This change in Amazon policy has no effect on Goodreads.

Please post to this topic, both when you receive review copies and when you post the reviews.

If you are going to be late with your review, either post to this topic as soon as possible or message the author and the moderator.

If your book has not been reviewed by the deadline for either round, contact the review group moderator. This is necessary to make certain that the review process is fair for everyone.

Note that any participant who makes no effort to fulfill his or her commitment to this group will have all reviews of his or her work resulting from this group deleted and his or her membership in the Genre Specific Review Group will be terminated.


THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS ARE:

1 Scott Spotson-Bridge Through Time

2 Jonnathan Strawthorne-The Causality of Time

3 M.J. Lau-The Buried Few

4 Alistair Potter-Perax Frontier

5 Warren Moore-The Barrier Key

6 Ryan Troske-The Rising

7 Rubin Johnson-Quantum Chiller


THE ORDER OF REVIEW IS AS FOLLOWS:

17th August 2017 to 17th September 2017

Scott Spotson reviews Warren Moore *
Jonnathan Strawthorne reviews Ryan Troske
M.J. Lau reviews Scott Spotson *
Alistair Potter reviews Jonnathan Strawthourne *
Warren Moore reviews M.J. Lau *
Ryan troske reviews Rubin Johnson *
Rubin Johnson reviews Alistair Potter *

17th September 2017 to 17th October 2017

Scott Spotson reviews Rubin Johnson *
Jonnathan Strawthorne reviews M.J. Lau
M.J. Lau reviews Alistair Potter *
Alistair Potter reviews Warren Moore *
Warren Moore reviews Ryan Trosk *
Ryan Troske reviews Scott Spotson *
Rubin Johnson reviews Jonnathan Strawthorne *

Reviews done *

[Scott]

Me again, Scott Spotson with Bridge Through Time.

[L.N.]

Scott wrote: "Me again, Scott Spotson with Bridge Through Time.

"

Welcome on board, Scott...again ;-).

[Jonnathan]

Jonathan Strawthorne - The Causality of Time

[Jonnathan]

I forget how to attach my book

[L.N.]

Jonnathan wrote: "I forget how to attach my book"

It's OK, Jonnathan, I can find it ;-).

[L.N.]

This group is now closed for sign up...thanks Guys!

[M.J.]

Just FYI, I reviewed Alistair's (terrific!) book, Perax Frontier, already. I'd be happy to review another book of his if it works out best that way :)

[Ryan]

I've read two other books of Scotts, and Alistair has reviewed my book before. Believe those are my only conflicts.

[Alistair]

As noted, Ryan's The Rising is my only conflict.

[L.N.]

Thank you guys... and I think everyone else is new to the round...so we're good.

[Rubin]

Although I've participated in four rounds here, it's been over a year since my last set of reviews.

Back then, there seemed to be an issue of the difference between the Goodreads and Amazon rating scales. For Amazon, only 4 and 5 stars count as positive reviews. It's almost as if one has to add about a half star to a Goodreads review to make it equivalent.

In the OP instructions, it says to post the Goodreads rating on Amazon at the same star level.

Is this dscrepancy no longer an issue?

[L.N.]

Rubin wrote: "Although I've participated in four rounds here, it's been over a year since my last set of reviews.

Back then, there seemed to be an issue of the difference between the Goodreads and Amazon rating..."

I have always rated the same as I do on goodreads, if it's 5* here then it's 5* on Amazon as well. I can't be dealing with all the faffing around.

[Scott]

In the rare moments when I'm genuinely split as to a book, i.e, I really, really feel it's a 3.5 or 4.5, and I don't want to load all my chips onto one rating, I will split the outcomes. i.e. 3 on Goodreads and concurrently 4 on Amazon, or 4 on Goodreads and 5 on Amazon. But I don't do this too often, only when I don't feel comfortable applying the same rating all around.

[Rubin]

Thanks for replies re: ratings. It's not often that I remember splitting ratings, but I recall it had been an issue since Amazon considers 3 stars a negative rating.

stars    Amazon     Goodreads
*****  Love it        Amazing
 ****   Like it         Really like it
  ***    OK              Like it
   **     Didn't like   OK
    *      Hated it       Didn't like it


Looking back, I see that some of my reviews gave 4 stars on Amazon, but only 3 stars on Goodreads for books I liked.

I'm looking forward to digging into some new scifi.

Thanks!

[Scott]

Posting to alert other authors that the list is now up. It appears that the mere act of the moderator setting up the list (editing her own post) doesn't alert the members of this group.

[L.N.]

Oops Scott! I do apologise. The round is now open for reviewing. Enjoy!

[Alistair]

Hi Jonnathan, Warren,

I have my two two novels: The Barrier Key and The Causality of Time

Looking forward to some interesting reading. :)

Cheers, Alistair.

[Warren]

Awesome. Looking forward to your feedback!

[M.J.]

Just downloaded Scott's book and am about to dive in!

Alistair, shall I review something other than Perax since I reviewed that one already?

[L.N.]

M.J. wrote: "Just downloaded Scott's book and am about to dive in!

Alistair, shall I review something other than Perax since I reviewed that one already?"

He has another book he has thrown in. I will give you the link to his second choice book, which was The Box of Tricks.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Alistair]

He has another book he has thrown in. I ..."

Good catch! Thanks M.J. Thanks L.N. :)

[M.J.]

Got it! Looking forward to another great read!

[Scott]

My review for Quantum Chiller, a fun and exciting read!

https://www.amazon.com/review/RHT4JTJ...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R12JY...

[L.N.]

Thank you for your links Scott. Enjoy round 2.

[Warren]

I've just finished reading The Buried Few. It was not at all what I was expecting, but given how I read it basically all in one day, I'd say that speaks highly of its content!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[L.N.]

Thank you for your links Warren. Go and enjoy round 2 =).

[M.J.]

Here are the links to my review of Scott Spotson's Bridge Through Time:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/R3JGLC3...

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3TDW...

[M.J.]

And here are the links for my review of Alistair Potter's The Box of Tricks:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/RQW9W6L...

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2RC8...

[Scott]

Thanks, M.J.! Glad you enjoyed!

[L.N.]

Thank you for your links M.J...and with that, you are done. See you in another round soon.

[Rubin]

Here are the links for my review of Alistair Potter's Perax Frontier. It was a fun read.

goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
amazon uk link : https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-...
amazon link : https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

[L.N.]

Rubin wrote: "Here are the links for my review of Alistair Potter's Perax Frontier. It was a fun read.

goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
amazon uk link : https://www.amazon.co.uk/..."

Thank you for your links Rubin. Go and enjoy your next round =D!

[Alistair]

Rubin wrote: "Here are the links for my review of Alistair Potter's Perax Frontier. It was a fun read.

Hi Rubin,
Thanks for the 'differential' weighting on Amazon, and thanks for the grammar 'catches' in the text. Hard to spot them all.
Cheers, Alistair.

[Alistair]

M.J. wrote: "And here are the links for my review of Alistair Potter's The Box of Tricks:

Thanks M.J. Glad you enjoyed it.

Cheers, Alistair.

[Alistair]

Rubin wrote: "Here are the links for my review of Alistair Potter's Perax Frontier. It was a fun read.

Hi Rubin, me again! (And anyone else applying this specific grammar 'rule' to their review.)

A little niggle that I felt I should clarify concerning the 'tense change' in Perax Frontier that you commented on. This has been pointed out to me before. It's a first person narrative, and I slip into present tense when the FPN character is describing things in detail. I was confused by the reaction of others, as it seemed a neater and more natural solution (choice) than sticking in past tense. I tried shifting it to past tense, but to me it seemed a lot clumsier and less intimate.

When it was last commented on I researched the issue, finding an online source that observed that it was not to be used in non-fiction, but was an acceptable choice in fiction. Reassured by this, I searched through my bookshelf to find a couple of FPN novels and very quickly came up with 'Mother Night' by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and 'Job' by Robert Heinlein. It didn't take long to find examples of exactly this type of style choice in both novels.

My final conclusion was, that if its good enough for the giants of SF: Vonnegut and Heinlein, it's good enough for me! That's my thought for the day...

Cheers, Alistair.

[Warren]

Alistair wrote: "Rubin wrote: "Here are the links for my review of Alistair Potter's Perax Frontier. It was a fun read.

Hi Rubin, me again! (And anyone else applying this specific grammar 'rule' to their review.)
..."

You can generally expect any deviation from the norm to throw people off. The best you can do is just keep rolling with it. Yes, it will draw criticism, but eventually people will just accept that it's a stylistic choice and back off on it. Consistency is your best friend when it comes to any writing style choice.

[Ryan]

I've already supplied Warren with a copy of my book, but I have yet to hear back from Jonnathan about getting him one. I messaged him 11 days ago.

[Scott]

Here is my review of The Barrier Key

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZE6P8...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R28LH...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've completed my rounds for this group. Thank you all!

[L.N.]

Scott wrote: "Here is my review of The Barrier Key

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZE6P8...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R28LH...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've completed..."

Thank you for your links Scott, see you in another round soon.

[Warren]

Scott wrote: "Here is my review of The Barrier Key

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZE6P8...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R28LH...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've completed..."

The comment in that review about the map confused me, so I went back and looked at the .mobi I sent. It seems the map didn't end up in that file! How did I miss that when I was going over it? Anyway, rest assured that there is in fact a map for my novel, and it should have been there. I'll need to look into why that version didn't show it, but all retail copies of the book have the map at least. Sorry about that, Scott!

[Scott]

I can amend my review to say that I've been informed by the author that there is indeed a map available for readers who buy the book. No problem.

[Ryan]

My review of Quantum Chiller.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2M3QR6...

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R27U9...

[Rubin]

I'm curious. What is the mistake in paragraph 2?
Thanks

[Rubin]

Ryan wrote: "My review of Quantum Chiller.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2M3QR6......"

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the review. I see you've changed your review, but I'm still curious as to what mistake you found in the second paragraph. I've read that chapter so many times, I can't see it. I know how an early silly mistake can cause the reader to lose trust.

Thanks!

[L.N.]

Thank you for your links Ryan. onwards and upwards.

[Alistair]

Hi folks, here's my review for the Barrier Key. Following Rubin's insightful comment about the different rating standards between Goodreads and Amazon, I've adjusted accordingly;

stars     Amazon      Goodreads
*****   Love it         Amazing
****    Like it         Really like it
***     OK              Like it
**     Didn't like    OK
*     Hated it        Didn't like it

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1SHA...

https://www.amazon.com/review/R22KYZT...

[Alistair]

Hi folks, here's my review for The Causality of Time. Again, following Rubin's insightful comment about the different rating standards between Goodreads and Amazon, I've adjusted accordingly;

stars     Amazon      Goodreads
*****   Love it         Amazing
****    Like it         Really like it
***     OK              Like it
**     Didn't like    OK
*     Hated it        Didn't like it

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R281B...

https://www.amazon.com/review/RUFHLJV...

[L.N.]

Thank you for both of your links Alistair. Always quick to finish =D. See you in another round soon.

[Alistair]

Hi folks, following guidance from the moderator(s), and some discussion within this and another review group, I've amended the star ratings on my recent reviews to be the same for both Amazon and Goodreads. I've stuck with the 'mid' point concept rating of 3 stars as being: 'OK' or a 'C' Grade. Strictly speaking this 'up-rates' the Goodreads reviews, but recognises the near universal acceptance of this interpretation of the star rating system. The only downside I can see is if someone star rates based on the Goodreads 'ratings descriptions' and then carries that 'blindly' into the Amazon system, effectively 'down-rating' the novel on Amazon (which nobody wants!). With this possibility in mind, can I ask that as well as requiring the star ratings to be the same, reviewers are asked to recognise and then ignore the disparity of the descriptions, favouring either a personal system or the 3 star mid-point 'OK' of the Amazon system.
Thanks, Alistair.