It’s just public criticism comes at you with the randomness (and, occasionally, the brutality) of machine gun fire so it’s impossible to fully balance what is justified versus what is ill-intentioned, especially when aspects of the text will sometimes be perceived as flaws when they’re both fully intended and fully integral to what you’ve created. And, obviously, this too is complicated because if you refuse to accept criticism of any kind then that is ALSO a problem. I think it’s impossible, as an author or any creative professional, to completely insulate yourself from criticism, no matter how careful you are to avoid reader spaces. In my review of Reputation, I spoke a little of the ways it had the potential to be a little divisive among readers. And I could not be more delighted or more impressed. Basically, Infamous is Fury Road to Reputation’s Mad Max. It has everything I loved about Reputation but … y’know BIGGER, HARDER, FASTER. Infamous, though, is very much the realisation of Reputation’s potential. With hindsight, I think I loved Reputation for its potential: I adored its exuberance, it’s defiance, it’s capacity for both darkness and light, even if sometimes, especially towards the end, it felt a bit tonally unbalanced. Thankfully, in the case of Infamous, it’s not complicated at all because I loved it EVEN MORE than I loved Reputation. I’ve written before about how … complicated it can get when you love one book in a series, or one particular work by an author. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that some people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport.

Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.įurther disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.Īnd remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Relevant disclaimers: The author and I are social media moots we have occasional bants.

Infamous by Lex Croucher