Snake Island has entered the world, and what a reception! Reviews have been very kind and most people have really responded to the strange, bleak, violent world of Vernon and company. It’s a joy still to read all of the responses. Thank you so much if you’ve written to me about the novel. It never gets old. Here are a few quotes from reviews I’ve loved…

“There is such a weight to the narrative, such a sense of impending doom, that the final chapter is incredibly tense and you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.  This is a very violent novel, and breaks more than one taboo of reading crime fiction, so steel yourself for this and you will be sucked into such darkness that you may find it hard to imagine how it is all going to be wrapped up by novel’s end.” – Andrea Thompson (https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/snake-island-ben-hobson)

I was extremely grateful to receive this review, as I’d often wondered before release if Snake would find a kind response from crime readers. Crime readers I imagine bring a real sense of genre to their reading, but I’ve been so delighted that, time and time again, they’ve spoken of how they actually enjoyed the way Snake plays out. It was also a real aim of mine to have those last pages be that intense, and it’s great I’ve managed it. Thank you Andrea!

“I was able to recognise several places in the rural landscape by their descriptions alone and this added to my reading enjoyment. The novel moved towards a tense and action-packed finale that left me pondering the motives and lives of those living alongside us.” – Tracey (https://www.carpelibrum.net/2019/08/review-snake-island-by-ben-hobson.html)

I loved this review because Tracey grew up in the same small town as I did! It was so great to chat to her, too, about the setting of the novel, and it was so satisfying to know it had really been brought to life through my prose.

“The book’s greatest strength is, paradoxically, also its greatest weakness. Hobson has a wonderful ear for character and he takes a leaf from George RR Martin’s book, with every chapter of Snake Island told from the point of view of one character only. This allows us to be given an intimate portrait of each character and hear their internal dialogue at the point we need it most. However, this style of narrative also places a burden on the author, who must decide what the reader should see.” – DC White (https://glamadelaide.com.au/book-review-snake-island/)

There’s more to this review which really examines what is worded here, but I thought this to be such an interesting comparison. Many reviews have discussed the different characters in Snake Island, and many of them have mentioned just how difficult it is to like some of the characters. Some reviews have even flat out stated that they hate all the characters. I find this so interesting, and I’m so glad for people’s responses. I would never want to create a flat character – somebody who you don’t have any response to. All of the characters, it seems, for most people, stir a response, even if the response is not something I’d intended. I love that.

“A strong start that got sillier and sillier as the story progressed. and yet it was so strangely compelling! Very badly written character wise, it read like the worst acted episode of a budget Australian production.” – Leah Cripps (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3016595511?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1)

I thought I’d also show one of the worst reviews I’ve received (two stars, so not really that bad!) – I’m not sure how but I really don’t mind reading bad reviews. My book will not be for everybody. I think my favourite part of this is “strangely compelling” – I must’ve been doing something right! I disagree with the second part of the review of course. I give this review three stars out of five.

Reviews are so interesting from an author’s perspective, as they are, by their nature, so subjective, yet when people read them they can start to form an idea of your novel before they even open the first page. There was a review of To Become a Whale that was not overly positive, and the number of people in the comments section who said something along the lines of “thank you! I know to steer clear of this one now!” was, it seemed to be, quite huge. At the same time, though, people will simply just not like your books, and they will tell their friends about their dislike. You just hope the proportion of people who do like what you’re doing outweighs the ones who don’t.

I’m genuinely grateful for every review I read, good or bad. It’s still utterly magic there are people out in the world reading my words. Thank you so much if you’re one of them.

I actually got to visit A&U, my brilliant publishers, on my book tour road trip! It was AWESOME, and they plied me with merch. Love A&U, and honoured to be a small part of their roster of talent.

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