Tuesday, March 03, 2015

The Kind of Review We Write For

I've been very fortunate to get many really good reviews on my work. I greatly appreciate them. It's what keeps me going through the lean times, and as far as sales go it often seems to be lean times. I put up an appeal on facebook the other day asking for anyone who had read my stuff to leave at least a short review. Looks like one person took me up on that, but while I was checking to see if any new reviews were in I came upon the following review from A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr. that appeared on Wings Over Talera in December. I hadn't seen it before and it's detailed enough to make a blog post of its own so I've copied it here. Thanks To Mr. Wallace. Sure was nice today to read his comments. 
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
Action, adventure and intrigue color this near perfect Sword & Planet Space Opera! I was hooked from the very beginning of this book as we see the floating galleon of Rannon come under attack from the hordes of the demon Goddess Vohanna. Unlike the previous novel, Gramlich writes internal conflict in this book and this is one of the reason why the book succeeds so well. While Ruenn has to prove his name to the woman he loves, he also has to defeat one of the most evil women characters I've ever read described on paper! Gramlich pulls it off with aplomb! Along the way Ruenn makes new friends and even has a friend turn against him.

This book conveys the emotions of a man searching for the brother who is missing. Then it jumps to another track and has Ruenn running to clear his name. Ruenn Maclang is a hero of heroes! He can fight better than any man on Talera. Only Diken Graye was able to hold his own against Ruenn and even he would have lost in the end. Kudos to Diken for surrendering and touché to Ruenn for sparing his life.

This book is a masterpiece and it's one that will go down as being one of the best Sword & Planet sequels ever. I can't wait to read the culminating book next year and already I'm wishing that Mr. Charles Gramlich had written more books in his World of Talera. There is so much to explore in this great world whether it be the geography or all the myriad flora and fauna of the world. The many denizens of Talera also show a multifaceted arc for this genre that few other series can match. My only quibble is the lack of a map to showcase the cities and geographical locations of Talera.

Buy this book and you won't be disappointed! Five Stars all the way. My review is the fourth Five Star review and the fifth overall.
A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.

22 comments:

  1. Hey, awesome review! Congrats! :D

    Angie

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  2. wow man...that is one i think i would keep handy on days that i needed it...very cool...

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  3. Angie, thankee

    Brian, yeah, definitely so.

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  4. Great review! I'm sorry that I didn't see your FB appeal.

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  5. Sage, I know on facebook a lot of folks don't seem to get my posts. I'm not sure why or how to change that

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  6. Wow, congratulations, Charles.

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  7. Facebook only shows your posts to a percentage of the people who have you friended. They want you to pay money to show it to more. Yet another reason I stick with blogs; I always know I see everything someone posts if I subscribe to their blog.

    Angie

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  8. Szelsofa, thankee!

    Angie, I know facebook does those kinds of things. It's very frustrating but I refuse to pay money to get extra advertising essentially. It just seems the posts I most want to see are the least likely to be seen. Some of that is probably just my perception.

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  9. Definitely awesome sauce for that one!

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  10. That's a great interview, Charles. I'm happy for you.

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  11. G. B., yesh, it certainly made me smile.

    Prashant, it's nice to hear that your work is enjoyed.

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  12. Congrats on the nice review!
    - Greg

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  13. Anonymous1:07 PM

    Great review! Bravo!

    Of course, writers must also suffer with less kind reviews (and rejection slips) as I know too well.

    But, of course, the good, the bad, and the ugly get mixed together in a kind of intermittent reinforcement scheme, forcing us back to the keyboard in hopes of hitting the jackpot. We writers are like gamblers, aren't we. And acquisition editors and the reviewers are bit like casino operators. We are up against the house!

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  14. I hear ya, it always warms the heart to know your story touched someone. Makes it all seem worthwhile.

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  15. Charles, I meant "review" and not "interview." Sometimes I think the keyboard moves my fingers for me.

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  16. Nice when unexpected and welcoming reviews appear.

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  17. I think that at any given time on FB only 7-10% see your posts.

    I am pretty bad at writing reviews if I do not do it as soon as I finish the book. I probably should re-read the westerns because of almost everything he said about Talera I would say about your westerns Charles. They always drew me in right to the twist at the end.

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  18. Greg, thanks, man.

    RTD, yeah, I picked up a couple of story rejections today.

    David J., it definitely does.

    Prashant, I think I read it the way you intended so it worked out. :)

    David C., absolutely

    Mark, I think the western influence in the Talera books is pretty strong. There are a lot of western elements in there, especially in descriptions and showdowns.

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  19. It's really hard getting reviews, and that is an exceptional one.

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  20. Bernard, yeah, I was pretty thrilled

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  21. Sweet! Now I feel like I underperformed on my Amazon review for you. :( Congrats though!

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  22. Riot kitty, lol. any review is appreciated. I'm an attention hog. :)

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