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It's like [popular name]: yes or no?
Interesting question- I for one really dislike those kinds of statements. Especially when they litter the blurb.1. For starters, you’re setting expectations, and usually really high. There are a lot of times I’ve been harsher in my reviews and ratings because a book was sold to me in a certain way and didn’t live up to the way it was sold.
2. I’ve generally found them to be inaccurate.
As you said- I want a book to stand on its own merits. If the blurb is written well I can decide for myself whether I’d like it or be interested.
Oh- I just thought of another thing- if a fellow reader or book buddy recommends something as being like something else when trying to describe it, I don’t mind that. Other readers aren’t really trying to sell me anything and don’t have anything to gain by the comparison. Furthermore, I generally find their comparisons to be more accurate.
I generally don’t like it if it’s in a blurb. (I understand it’s a good way to pitch but doesn’t need to go into a blurb!) But if it’s a reviewer it’s a plus (like a book that I read b/c a reviewer said it was like Vandermeer and ... someone...)
I tend to think that the placement of those statements in a blurb is for profit motives. The search on Amazon is fairly primitive in that it looks for a word in the books title, author's name, blurb and tags. Thus if a books says it's like George R.R. Martin's books in the blurb, it will come up in a search for Martin's books, thus possibly getting more exposure and possible sales.
I hate the comparisons, for the reasons listed - it's an obvious marketing ploy, it sets, often, unrealistic expectations, and it can backfire when it doesn't meet those expectations. (It can also backfire when it compares itself to a book/author I didn't like, because then I'm like, "well, not gonna read you.")A lot of times I find the comparison just doesn't hold up - not just in quality, but also in content. Like, for awhile, everything was being compared to Harry Potter or Twilight, because those were big sellers. A lot of times the thing compared to HP had very little in common, except, maybe, magic.
That said, in my own reviews I have, from time to time, done a "this reminds me a bit of X book", but, as has been said, I don't mind it from actual people because it's less about getting money, in those instances, and more just an honest opinion.
CBRetriever wrote: "I tend to think that the placement of those statements in a blurb is for profit motives."That's more than obvious. But, as Sarah said, it's setting far too high expectations. The publisher will surely benefit from it (especially if it's hyped up by massive marketing) but it might hurt the author in the long term by unfulfilled expectations. And, should we not care more for the author, as readers?
For search... yeah, that's likely as well. I, personally, believe more in the "also bought" and complex recommendation system (which is an interconnected web or something) rather than search vulnerable to such baits.
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Edit: and yes, as Rachel and Colleen say, it's more trustworthy from reviewers even though I take those with a grain (okay, more like a lump) of salt.
Tomas wrote: "A bit of backstory why I thought about this just now: in the GR newsletter, there was a book that is, in this manner, compared to Rothfuss and Sanderson."I don't get the GR newsletter, but I'm guessing it's The Ruin of Kings? I feel bad for this poor author, they've been marketing her debut book as the next everything for months. And I imagine all the one star ratings because it wasn't what people were expecting.
Anna wrote: "I don't get the GR newsletter, but I'm guessing it's The Ruin of Kings?"Yes. I did not want to name/link but it's obviously obvious (what the hell did I just write?) so I might just admit that.
I mean, it's neither the first nor the last case this will be used but the way it is with this particular book is taken to the very extreme.
I would certainly avoid using such comparisons ... and very likely would avoid purchasing any book marketed in such a way.I mean isn't it kind of admitting that the author didn't do anything original or even in their own voice?
Also, I'm old. I remember all the times that critics and fans have said about bands "OMG, they're like the NEXT Beatles!" And almost universally A) they were nothing like The Beatles, and B) they burnt out after one or two albums then disappeared.
Furthermore, when fans or friends say a book is "Like such-and-such" an author or book, I always think, "Oh, yeah? In what way?" This book is like Lord of the Rings ... because it's fantasy with elves and dwarves and humans and Halflings and monsters? Or because it's a story equally deep in its world creation? Or because it has a Good vs Evil plot where the underdogs impossibly win in the end? You can have any or all of those things and still not really be "like" LoTR.
I am reminded of music again. I tried using Pandora for a while. I'd put in a 1970s electronic musician like Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream and within 6 to 10 songs, Pandora was offering up nothing but techno music. Yes, it's "like" Schulze or TD in that it's all synthesizers ... but apart from that there's NO similarity.
TLDR: I'm skeptical. (Or, in D&D terms: "I choose to disbelieve.")
Mod
That said, I almost never agree with people about things I like and am much more likely to see what the algorithm is going for, at least, so maybe I'm just a robot. It doesn't tell me anything other than genre when it's marketed that way.
A variant to that theme would be in my opinion the prominent use of the name of a now-deceased famous author that would make you think that he wrote that book. I saw such cases in spy/action thrillers whose covers read like this: A TOM CLANCY NOVEL, TITLE BLA BLA BLA, by 'put another author's name'. My reaction to that was that it constituted blatant false representation by a 'ghost author' profiting from the celebrity and fame of a deceased author. If I ever get across a SFF novel using the same pattern, then you can bet that I will never read it.
Since I hate formula, those comparisons lead me to think the books are formulaic, and I won't touch them. It used to be that editors in the science fiction and fantasy fields would reject books because "That's been done." Now the corporate ethos has become pervasive throughout all of publishing which makes it much harder to find the original and imaginative books that I prefer.When I use comparisons in describing books, I always explain how the books are similar. Yet I usually also explain how they are different.
Allison wrote: "Yeah, I think it's only ever useful in personal shorthand. Like, if I know Micah likes Tangerine Dream and he knows I know enough to know what about Tangerine Dream he likes, comparing a new band I..."It's fine in casual reference if the person using the comparison can quantify the likeness. "It's like Lord of the Rings in that it has a monumental, epic quality and a large cast of characters on a world-spanning quest to rid the world of a big bad evil. But it has a very different world in terms of the creatures in it and a very unique mechanic for the magic in the world." ... That kind of thing.
Yeah, I was burned one too many times when I first really started reading a lot by bad comparisons by the publishers to ever trust them. It's inevitably never like what they're comparing it to as far as I can see and I end up feeling disappointed because of it. I probably would have liked some of those books more had those comparisons not been made. Like lots of other people here though, I am more willing to trust friends or reviewers who make a comparison. And typically they're more accurate about it anyways. X is like Y because they share a similar cast of characters or because they look at similar issues or whatever. They're not selling me something they're using it as a point of reference for discussing it.
I hate those comparisons put in the blurb or on the cover, for the same reasons everyone stated. They've never made me more eager to pick up anything, although at times they've had the opposite effect, being the deciding factor that made me avoid a book if it was likened to something I deeply disliked.
Shomeret wrote: "Since I hate formula, those comparisons lead me to think the books are formulaic, and I won't touch them. It used to be that editors in the science fiction and fantasy fields would reject books bec..."Everything she said. I do agree with most of you.
I do make a distinction between "X is like Y" and "fans of Y will probably like X." I use the latter phrase in my reviews a lot, and wouldn't mind seeing it on a blurb or cover. I wouldn't use the former phrase, I don't think, unless I was being pejorative of unoriginality.
Michel wrote: "A variant to that theme would be in my opinion the prominent use of the name of a now-deceased famous author that would make you think that he wrote that book. I saw such cases in spy/action thrill..."coughs:
Andre Norton
Stieg Larsson
Robert Jordan
Frank Herbert's Dune series
J.R.R. Tolkein
Isaac Asimov's Foundation series
and there are others
I personally LOVE when the publisher or author does that.That tells me to stay the hell away from that book. Real time-saver, that.
Personally the only time I ever read a comparison that turned out somewhat true was when I read Eragon. It was advertised as: 'A younger version of Lord of the Rings!', which was true... as in it was heavenly inspired by Lord of the Rings but with a more juvenile writing style. Which at the time didn't bother me because A) I was somewhat the same age as the author (I remember being amazed that he put out a book at that age) and B) I read Lord of the Rings multiple times and had fun comparing parts of the stories to each other.Now I tend to stay away from books that have these statements on them.
All the above is true, still, if someone compares a new book to the works by Becky Chambers I'll at least investigate. (I just finished the third and am sad I don't still have it to look forward to.)
I'm with Trike here. I find those comparisons useful to stay away from some books.
What a coincidence - this is the first time I've actually liked a comparison - which calls Checkpoint "between Kafka and Kubrick". Maybe using authors instead of specific books is more tolerable?
It can be, sure. Because it would address the broader appeal, the wider range of the vibe... and give an out of plausible deniability. ("No, I meant more like The Castle, not like The Metamorphosis.")
Nadine wrote: "What a coincidence - this is the first time I've actually liked a comparison - which calls Checkpoint "between Kafka and Kubrick". Maybe using authors instead of specific books is m..."that's a more valid comparison than comparing it to one specific author or one specific series
and here's the worst case scenario as the book is listed twice on amazon.com:https://www.amazon.com/Please-Forgive...
with a book title of "
Please Forgive Me: 'If you liked The Notebook you'll love this' Kindle Edition"
and
https://www.amazon.com/Please-Forgive...
with a totally different ASIN
Speaking of comparisons, here's one from the NYTimes review of Black Leopard, Red Wolf - which works for me - but I definitely don't need any encouragement to read it!"The fictional Africa in “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” feels like a place mapped by Gabriel García Márquez and Hieronymus Bosch with an assist from Salvador Dalí."
Nadine wrote: ""The fictional Africa in “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” feels like a place mapped by Gabriel García Márquez and Hieronymus Bosch with an assist from Salvador Dalí.""See this is a perfect example of a comparison that backfires. That book has just gone from "seems interesting even if I'm a bit wary because of all the hype that surrounds it" to "probably not my thing after all".
Nadine wrote: "Speaking of comparisons, here's one from the NYTimes review of Black Leopard, Red Wolf - which works for me - but I definitely don't need any encouragement to read it!"The fiction..."
“Black Leopard, Red Wolf is like Blue Dragon, White Tiger and Yellow Wolf Running In White Snow except with totes diff colors fam.”
I'm super wary of those, and of blurbs in general. The first thing I look for is whether the author in question (either the comparison, or the one who provided the blurb) has the same publisher. If so (and it happens a lot), I effectively dismiss it entirely. In general I tend to not pay attention to that stuff anyway. I especially roll my eyes at "This book is like X meets Y". I just saw a headline "Stephen King's New Book 'The Institute' Sounds A Lot Like 'IT' Meets 'Firestarter'" and my immediate reaction is "I bet it's not much like either."
My first thought with these comparisons is usually: "Yeah, right!" My second thought is: "Great, I'm going to have to read some cheap rip-off of the book I loved... nope..."
So yeah, doesn't really work on me. Especially since I know they're just trying to sell it.
However, like everyone else, I do trust those kinds of comparisons a tiny bit more if they're in a review and it goes into detail about why the books resemble each other, etc.
NO!!!!!!I read very few blurbs, but if that shows up, then I skip on to the next in line.
I saw one recently that made it hard to figure out if I should gag or laugh. They said it was a combination of the Hobbit and Harry Potter.
Like those two books have anything even approaching a similarity. Well other than both authors are from the United Kingdom.
Dj wrote: ...They said it was a combination of the Hobbit and Harry Potter."A hobbit kid finds out he's got special powers and goes to a secret school of magic at a place in the Shire no one has ever heard of?
Micah wrote: "Dj wrote: ...They said it was a combination of the Hobbit and Harry Potter."A hobbit kid finds out he's got special powers and goes to a secret school of magic at a place in the Shire no one has ..."
Glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read that. Would have had to clean off the monitor. Thx
Micah wrote: "A hobbit kid finds out he's got special powers and goes to a secret school of magic at a place in the Shire no one has ever heard of?"I would read that, though...
colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I would read that, though..."**smh** Disappoint!
If I read anything in a blurb that says basically anything like "Fans of X rejoice...here is your next obsession!!!" I steer clear. In fact most of the time I skip over those types of blurbs anyway. Nothing ticks me off more than picking up a book that has nothing but vague comparisons and critic reviews all over the jack but ZERO plot synopsis. Or if there is one it's less than 4 sentences. Tell me what the book is about, not what some random intern at the Daily Sun thinks about it.
I had a thought. I don't think the early Harry Potter have all that much in common with the later ones, if you think about mood, intensity, level of drama, appeal, depth of characterization, etc. Sure they have the same character names and a consistent setting... but even the rules of magic seem to change as we learn more about them. So, it's almost like they fit together only because of the arc of growth....
I'm not sure the relevance of this idea, except perhaps to think that sometimes comparisons are more valid to the person drawing them, than to the potential reader looking for recommendations, because we each compare things on different metrics.
After all, The Hobbit and Harry Potter both have a wise old wizard mentoring an innocent who discovers his powers and eventually does a pretty big 'save the world' sort of thing. For those of us who don't read much fantasy, they are kinda similar in plenty of ways. (Still a stupid blurb though.)
Well, the trick is in the fact that no one will know what kind of comparison/association will each reader make - which is one of the reason it can backfire. If someone tells me "Sanderson" or "Rothfuss", the first thing that comes to my mind is a 10-year wait for a sequel.
I think it's lazy writing by the critic/blurb writer.
My all-time favorite example of this is “Die Hard... in a ________!” “Passenger 57 is Die Hard in a plane!” “Under Siege is Die Hard on a boat!” “White House Down is Die Hard in, you guessed it, the White House!”This was so common that it inspired websites and books. Screenwriter Steven de Souza, who wrote the first three Die Hard movies, said that he was at a meeting where someone pitched him — completely seriously — a movie that was “Die Hard... in a building!”
I kinda think that pitch eventually became the Dwayne Johnson flick Skyscraper.
Trike wrote: "My all-time favorite example of this is “Die Hard... in a ________!” “Passenger 57 is Die Hard in a plane!” “Under Siege is Die Hard on a boat!” “White House Down is Die Hard in, you guessed it, th..."Too bad the latest sequels weren't pitched as "Die Hard good again."
Heh.Although I did think the tagline on the poster for the last one was pretty clever: “Yippie-ki-yay, Mother Russia.”
Cheryl wrote: "I had a thought. I don't think the early Harry Potter have all that much in common with the later ones, if you think about mood, intensity, level of drama, appeal, depth of characterization, etc. ..."
I think part of the genius of the HARRY POTTER series is that, as Harry grew older, so were the kids who were reading it. So each book became more involved, more intense, more dramatic, the characterization became deeper, etc.
Yes, Mindy, exactly. Imo, the differences were great enough that the books didn't exactly compare to one another. "If you liked 'Philosopher's Stone' you must read 'Deathly Hallows'" isn't a valid blurb to an 8 yo.
Cheryl wrote: "Yes, Mindy, exactly. Imo, the differences were great enough that the books didn't exactly compare to one another. "If you liked 'Philosopher's Stone' you must read 'Deathly Hallows'" isn't a valid ..."So now when a 10-year-old binges the series they go from “this is kid stuff” to “hug me I’m traumatized” over the summer.😜
Leah wrote: "If I read anything in a blurb that says basically anything like "Fans of X rejoice...here is your next obsession!!!" I steer clear. In fact most of the time I skip over those types of blurbs anyway..."I agree with you. However, publishers think this is what people want in their blurbs. I've been forced by no less than four publishers to put book comparisons in blurbs over the last two years. I keep asking are you sure people want this (because I know I do not)
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Is it something that works for you as a proof of quality (especially for trad-published books) because someone (most often a large publishing house) made that comparison? An obvious attention grab, the publisher hoping that fans of [popular book] will jump at it like piranhas and devour it with the bait? A lack of imagination? A dangerous PR stunt that can backfire horrendously? ( I am a combination of #2 and #3)
After all, a line I've seen somewhere (and like a lot) as advice to aspiring writers was: "don't be the X-th [popular author], be the first [your name]."
I'd really like to see what people think about this.
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A bit of backstory why I thought about this just now: in the GR newsletter, there was a book that is, in this manner, compared to Rothfuss and Sanderson. In a maybe too cruel irony, my first idea was that the last sequel will take 20+ years to come out (10 for Rothfuss and 10 for Sanderson).