My First Bad Review!

It’s finally happened!  I knew it would!  That’s right, I’m finally a real author!  I got a terrible review on Star Riders.

I often check Star Riders‘ page on Amazon, hoping the number of reviews has gone up, and today I was delighted to see the number had increased from 8 to 9.  Quickly, I scrolled down to see the new review.  And here it is:

This is a long mediocre story and I recommend that you skip purchasing this book!    

I started to write why I did not care for this book, but decided it would take too long to explain and I rather use my time for other things. This story is about two brothers, one who is always trying to do the right thing and the other who always wants to be a hero. The first part of this book was mediocre and the last part of the book was very disappointing. I thing If I heard the hero brother say “Bro” one more time, I would SCREAM. This is not a story you want to waste your time reading if you are a serious Science Fiction reader. I purchased the paperback book and believe me, it was a waste of my money. I do nor recommend this book!

After shouting out my initial reaction, I settled down, and remembered that I knew this would happen.  Other authors have related tales of 1-star reviews complaining about Amazon, or not even reading the book but reacting to the description.

This guy definitely read the book (the “Bro” stuff doesn’t happen until the last quarter), and definitely didn’t like it.  And that’s OK.  Not everyone is going to like this book. Or any book, for that matter.

But I do wish he didn’t feel the need to let everyone know he didn’t like it.  Although, when I look at the other reviews he wrote, he seems to not like anything he reads.  Most of them are 2-star or less.  Even on the one 4-star I saw, he titled the review “OK book if you want to throw awat a few dollars – story is too short!”

So that’s OK, he’s not a fan.  I’m certainly not going to respond to him, or try to get Amazon to remove it.  It’s a fair review; he read the book, and he didn’t like it.  And it’s OK that he wanted to let other people know he didn’t like it.  He probably won’t be the last to give me a bad review.

Here’s my wish: I wish that the people who read the book and did like it would take as much time and write their own review.

Author: RickAAllenSF

Semi-retired engineer, now a SF author. Recently moved to Colorado Springs, where I work in front of a window looking out at Pikes Peak. View all posts by RickAAllenSF