Reviews

[Philip Mannering]

I find it greatly interesting to read the reviews after I've read the book. Is that strange? Its interesting to see what the reviewer thought of the book and what we agree or disagree on. Personally I find that a straight summary of the story gives too much away and tells you what you more or less already know. We have some absolutely fabulous reviews on this site and there are many on Keith's site too. I dont find them boring at all.

I agree with you perfectly, Lucky Star! I also do the same -- I like to find out the differences in our opinions. A summary to me is boring, but a review is not boring. There are some great reviews in this website (as well as Keith's), some longer than others. For example, the ones on the Barney Mysteries are long, but very detailed and nice! On the other hand, some of the Mystery reviews are quite brief -- but still very nice and helpful, and of course, not boring!

It's fascinating to note the difference between two reviewers. For instance, one might like one book, the other might hate the same! One example is The Mystery of the Holly Lane's reviews both here and on EnidBlyton.Net. Keith says the novel is average, but Robert Houghton thinks it's brilliant! I personally am in the middle of both.

[Rob Houghton]

I know this is quite an old subject, but I've only just come across it. As a writer of some of the reviews on this site, it is important to remember that many of them were written for the Journal and not just for the site (in my case anyway!) so they are a little out of context sometimes.

All reviews are just a matter of opinion: some people like one kind of book, others like another. I find it interesting to see what others think of books and to compare my feelings and observations with theirs. that's the fun in reading a review.

Its interesting that the Fatty Mystery reviews are so short: they were my first reviews for The Journal and my reviews seem to be growing longer since!!

I like reviews that don't just summarize the story. I think it's hard, sometimes, to review a book without revealing the plot, and I disagree slightly with people who suggest a review should never do this. I tend to assume the reader has already read the book I'm commenting on, or else it becomes extremely hard to find anything to say that doesnt reveal the plot! I agree though that straight-forward re-tellings of a storyline are boring, and always try my hardest to avoid this.