Very bad
I do not think that I could finish whatever it is. Rating: minus 5
This book has moved up the queue for a revision. In my original I had been very polite to the Allie commenter, when I had the patience still. I admit belatedly that I was motivated more by pity than any ability to understand or empathize with an undemanding twit. This was very early days on this site but now after many, many, many dozens of these unwanted and unrequested idiotic comments, I feel the need to be more direct, clear and organized in my reviews and revisions. Consequently I do revisions and I aim to misbehave.
I am visiting YouTube before continuing this revision as has become my habit. This revision has been brought to you by Female Warriors -Teresatessa, Historia Militum, Annie's Literary Empire, Mia Mulder, Acollierastro, Owen Jones, Lily Alexandre, Sarah Z, Mandy -Web series, British Museum, May Moon Narrowboat, The Generalist Papers, Ro Ramdin, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Answer in Progress, Jean's Thoughts, Verilybitchie, Alt Shift X, History with Kayleigh, Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Autumn's Boutique, Karolina Zebrowska, Cynthia Zhou, The Bands of HM Royal Marines.
As Allie below demonstrated, many readers are wedded to the overtly racist narrative that the US can easily by themselves alone "conquer the galaxy". When an American reader (and Allie, obviously is) can accept lack of character development, an absence of world building, a plot without path or purpose (other than to promote the tired, overused underlying theme) and unedited (hopefully) prose, Goodreads as a source for recommendations of good fiction is shown to be another fiction.
With bad books, I always begin and sometimes end with the abysmal world building. Before scanning other reviews I expected that there would be a general agreement that all fiction needs a setting and context for characters and story. Since 2018, I have been chastised by commenters and read reviews by science fiction fans who disagree. That did explain why almost all books on Amazon/Goodreads garner 0% of one star reviews, some few 1% of one star ratings, rarely 2% of one star ratings and none more than 2% of one star ratings. Statistically such a large selection of books, many of which are effectively unedited or authored by writers flaunting a decided lack of talent, producing that result was stunning. I am not including more literary fiction, ebooks or paper titles which I own and print library loan titles. My anecdotal evidence is based on more than 1000+ books in science fiction and related genres.
I feel confident that I am the only reader who has noticed, let alone written about the implications of this phenomenon.
The background universe is uninteresting. I was stunned by the first several dozen examples of the US hegemonic theme but eventually realized that it was a new standard for bad US science fiction. The summary for these books begins with the human race being replaced by America, not figuratively but overtly as the first element of the background. The only named characters or hero cast members all are given what Americans consider proper American names, which all owe their origins to Yorkshire or Devonshire. The challenge will be to overcome the alien menace without assistance, which they will handle almost effortlessly. The characters will not have developed, just as they have no meaningful history because apparently they are born perfect. The main character is always a hero and a male, unless they are ineffective, subservient or sociopathic females bearing a remarkable similarity to their male counterparts.
The galaxy as a whole is just not described, whether unexplored, divided into various polities or whatever. There are bad aliens, there are good aliens and there are the Americans. The factions are described and identified essentially just as described. There is no logic to this galactic mess and no structure is given. The characters are seemingly tossed into space by the writer and told to have an exciting time.
There are six named characters by 30% into the book. The humans are insane cartoons, who express anger and .... anger because they are men. The female characters are as usual, so lacking in agency that I have seen much more individuality in anime. Their attention was more focused on sex, sexual roles, sexual identity and nudity. For mad libertarians they are so worried about their rights, it gives the lie to their belief which can be distilled to "To the powerful alone, does freedom belong".
The dialogue in these books can only be clunky, awkward or juvenile because the writers have not learned to write real emotions, real interactions or real motivations. They can not have not been directed by an editor to write real human beings, which makes those flaws inevitable. No character depth, no need or use for dialogue and the rest. Advanced aliens hunting humans for no sane reason and with no explanation is gripping adventure to this writer. Good aliens are good because .....? This is the framework of a tension filled adventure at the low end of US science fiction.
Sadly I have had exchanges with readers who do not even realize that there is a low end. It was as if I was trapped in a strange alternate reality, forced to converse with a Philomena Cunk level intellect and discovering that she is considered an intellectual. 😑
I need to visit YouTube again before continuing. This next bit was brought to you by the YouTube channels - Second Thought, Chris and Shell, Mauler, Mom on the Spectrum, Sarah Millican, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Kristen Dirksen, Bizarre Beasts, Geo Girl, Planarwalker, Gutsick Gibbon, Morgan Donner, Heather Dale, Daisy Viktoria, Dominic Noble, Adiemus - Carmina Slovenica, NerdForge, Fran Blanche, Meidas Touch, Andrewism.
I am unsure that the writer actually planned a plot of any kind. If so, they failed. If the publisher's editor thought this was good storytelling, they are passively aggressively responding to being grossly underpaid. They could of course be that incompetent and are grossly overpaid. That question is far more interesting to me than this book but then so is watching Koi frolicking or pedestrian foot traffic in a smallish village.
There is an audience for this sort of rubbish. As I think on it, they will be 30+ males usually and some few females of a certain nationality (American for certain values of American) and almost certainly white (for certain very limited parameters of white). Their dimness is almost always equalled by their arrogance. They are none of them particularly clever, thoughtful or self-aware from my experience. Their outstanding trait seems to be satisfaction with the poorly written as a staple and an inability to imagine that any sane reader could possibly disagree. Goodreads may serve a purpose after all, as the basis for a sociological study. My apologies, I digress. 🤗
This standard background universe is repeated in hundreds of these efforts, if such they can be labelled. The USA is the centre of the universe and Americans are portrayed literally as the entirety of the real human race. I originally questioned and later mocked this bizarre world building, now I just note it as it occurs. I received many, many, many comments from outraged members that stunned me.
The danger of this drivel is equivalent to a child demanding to eat nothing but McDonalds burgers. That child knowing but not caring that these are empty calories and their diet having negative health outcomes. The child then throwing a tantrum that another should bypass a McDonalds because they prefer more substantial and healthier meals. When knowing they are being abetted by the association of McDonalds owners, they still carry out a crusade against any customer not choosing McDonalds. Lastly they organize to prosecute a genocide against all customers daring to even whisper that McDonalds might not be nutritious. They occasionally pause to look back for reassurance that the McDonald Owners are pleased, which they are. They do this without thinking that perhaps they should ask for the occasional free hamburger because they know that would be beyond the pale. End of tale.
Current US science fiction print is in a dismal state. Publishers print, Goodreads shills and Amazon ships. I admit that I watch more than read my fiction at the moment. When I read science fiction, fantasy and related novels, they are classics, the current top tier and Indie writers. They are more easily borrowed from Public libraries or are worth the purchase to me and most Amazon loans are not worth the price of the loan. YouTube channels DUST, Omeleto and others deliver really good short science fiction films. The streaming services offer more interesting stories and the worst are better written than the worst print.
I first visited YouTube About two years ago for good fiction recommendations, especially science fiction. I found the Shorts and commentary before wandering through the lifestyle, educational and hobby channels. The essayist channels were the best find until I stumbled upon the book channels. 😍 These channels foster friendly, thoughtful communities of readers excited by the world of bookish things. I feel that any reader will enjoy a visit to several of them and have listed some below. I promise that they are a very different experience to that of Goodreads. From the educational and essayist channels, I was directed through sponsor spots to the educational video sites. Nebula, Wondrium and others are all modestly priced and worth a look.
About eighteen months ago, I wrote a short negative review of Powers of the Earth, a poorly written salute to the January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran, a self-described libertarian and vocal advocate for the return of chattel slavery - of course, a US veteran, supporter of Putin's Russia and employee of an unnamed US agency. There followed close to a year and pages of comments regarding the evil of socialism, the virtues of slavery, that libertarianism rocks and other madness led by the Corcoran himself.
After I wiped the original and wrote a more brutal review, Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 wrote a comment declaring that They had "won" (?). With help and some thought, I discovered that They had launched an almost year long flood of foul racist and sexual comments against channels, which I mentioned. It seems that They no longer felt the need to continue their campaign. The early teen boater and her mother, the Oxford astrophysicist, the Swedish essayist and many other female creators were unimpressed. Besides increasing the world's store of unpleasantness, They delivered to a multinational audience a better portrait of the twisted American man-child than I could ever have. Goodreads discourse at its finest. ???
My YouTube picks of the moment.
Ben and Emily, AllShorts, Mia Mulder, Philosophy Tube, Malinda, Baltic Empire. Female Warriors, KernowDamo, Second Thought, No Justice MTG, Viva La Dirt League, Wayward Winchester, Owen Jones, Tom Nicholas, Books and Lala.
About Amazon/Goodreads, I suggest that you might consider treating this as a potentially hostile site. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 I gave above an example (extreme but only in scale) of science fiction fans among the members. I and a number of others have received numerous little comment clouds from the same little groups following us, it seems. That is all bad but Amazon/Goodreads themselves are a more dangerous source of threat.
Goodreads have masked (sometimes unmasked and remasked 🙂) commenter names, made it extremely difficult to upload reviews for weeks at a time, have removed the Community Reviews tab on many books which I review and even interrupted kindle services with no response to queries until I add these odd actions to the first review which I do manage to upload. At that point the blockages, interruptions, restrictions disappear. Again no response. There are other actions taken by them but for those see my reviews of "Dark Horse", a good novel by Diener, Marine by Dalzelle or Powers of the Earth by Corcoran.
More importantly these employees and members are completely mental. My limited message history was used to allow Australian Intelligence services at Pine Gap to attempt an interrogation of my friend for personal information about me. My friend feared for my safety. Whether you are confident that you will never be targeted, I can only hope you are not.
However as a precaution, consider minimizing profile information, removing any lurkers (those who monitor but never post), remaining wary of the messaging and screenshot the odd and the ugly. It costs little to implement if not needed but to not might do. A reminder, these cowardly morons which I referenced, both members and site employees alike have no morality, little restraint and are American. Ominous music ends.🙂
May we all find Good Reading! 🤗
I do not have the most familiarity with YouTube but these entertained, taught or brought me joy. Some of my favourite channels.
Biz Barclay, Ben and Emily, Sabine Hossenfelder, Tara Mooknee, Some More News, Owen Jones, Tulia, May, Northern Narrowboaters, ThePrimeChronus, Munecat, Books and Lala, iWriterly, Lily Simpson, Tom Nicholas, Crow Caller, Abby Cox, Jean's Thoughts, DW News, Books with Chloe, What Vivi did next, Double Down News, Oliver Lugg, Tibees, Books with Chloe, Roomies Digest, Renegade Cut, Fortress of Lugh, Karolina Zebrowska, J. Draper, The Chloe Connection, Morgan Donner, Lady Knight the Brave, The Confused Adipose, The Little Platoon, Autumn's Boutique, Cruising Crafts, Cruising Alba, Shelves with Samantha, Kazachka, May, Verilybitchie, IzzzYzzz, Jabzy, Kathy's Flog in France, History with Kayleigh, Between the Wars, Elina Charatsidou, Engineering with Rosie, Lilly's Expat Life, A Life of Lit, Up and Atom, Abney Park, Mythic Concepts, Lily Alexandre, Kidology, Mrs Betty Bowers, Cass Ellis, Rachel Maksy, Eleanor Morton, Gutsick Gibbon, Planarwalker, Adiemus -Carmina Slovenica, May, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Narrowboat Pirate, Alt Shift X, Sound of Music Flashmob, Lives and Histories, Real Time History, Agro Squirrel Narrates, Bovington Tank Museum, Jake Broe, Ukraine Matters, Prime of Midlife, Overly Sarcastic Productions, Brickcrafts, The Leftist Cooks, Harbo Wholmes, RobWords, Geo Girl, Travelling K, JuLingo, Physics Girl, Cambrian Chronicles, Viva La Dirt League, iiLuminaughtii, Rebecca Watson, Eileen, Wdebeam and Wellingtons, Certifiably Ingame, Mia Mulder, James Somerton, Alizee, The Clockwork Reader, No Justice MTG, The Shades of Orange, OrangeRiver, KernowDamo, Dominic Noble, Eckharts Ladder, NerdForge, Philosophy Tube, Real Engineering, Kaz Rowe, Bernadette Banner, Snappy Dragon, Sci-Fi Trek, Paleo Analysis, Cynthia Zhou, Veritasium, Heather Dale.
I wish you a glorious morning, a splendid afternoon, a pleasant evening, a wonderful night and may we all continue learning.
A person allowing Another to speak in their name unchallenged, adopts Another's sins.
My Grandmother