The Sword and Laser discussion

So when this was announced, I read (part?) of the blurb here on goodreads, went: "meh" and decided I'd get it from the library because I didn't expect to like it.

I ended up putting in my hold way too early so I finished the book already. I really enjoyed it.

I feel like the blurb didn't do a good job "selling" this book to me.

Without getting to spoilers, the aspect of the story I liked the most didn't really seem to be part of the blurb. After the fact I looked again at the blurb on goodreads and if you click more, it showed a third paragraph. I don't remember reading that. I should also note that the third paragraph was NOT on the back cover of the paperback I got from the library.

That paragraph hinted at the aspect I liked the most.

Have you guys read other books where the book ended up being very different than you expected after reading the blurb?

I was expecting something very different from A Fire Upon the Deep. I expected more about the Zones and less about the Tines.

For this one the cover put me off so much I didn't even read the blurb. Bad marketing?

I can't even fully recall because the blurb turned me off so much I didn't look any further. Not planning on reading along with the group this month. So I guess my answer to AndrewP is "yeah." For Roberator's question, I found the blurb for Chasm City implied a hard SF book when it was more like a light-horror Noir SF story.

AndrewP wrote: "For this one the cover put me off so much I didn't even read the blurb. Bad marketing?"

Really!?

I agree the blurb is pretty bad, but the cover is one of my favorites from the past year. What do you not like about it?

To the degree that a blurb is marketing content and its purpose is to entice you to read the book, yeah, it matters whether it does that. But for a book with more than one idea at its core, that can be hard to do. The blurb writer might think idea X will entice more readers than idea Z and so X gets prominence in the blurb, etc. But for some segment of readers, they'll be wrong.

Is it important to ME? Yes, but to me the blurb is the description on GR, Amazon, etc not on the book since I buy almost all of my books as ebooks. That means they have more space than the back of the book.

Travis wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "For this one the cover put me off so much I didn't even read the blurb. Bad marketing?"

Really!?

I agree the blurb is pretty bad, but the cover is one of my favorites from the pa..."

I think the cover is striking. A formidable woman against a background of stars looks pretty cool. I couldn't find any info on the designer or artist. Maybe someone else can dig it up.

Moving this book higher in my priority list based on some of the comments here.

The cover doesn’t do anything for me, but the blurb makes it sound like the slavery allegory is on the nose. That did not fill me with enthusiasm.

Trike wrote: "The cover doesn’t do anything for me, but the blurb makes it sound like the slavery allegory is on the nose. That did not fill me with enthusiasm."

Others who've read it can chime in too and may very well disagree. I didn't think of slavery in the novel as an allegory for slavery in history. I took it more as part of the economic and social setting influencing how the story unfolds and how the characters interact. Slavery's part of the world building here same as it is in so much SFF, from Star Wars to the Cosmere. That it so closely mirrors the antebellum U.S. is, I think, Solomon's way of challenging the notion that racial progress has clear forward momentum. That said, I don't think the book's Afro-pessimism is on the nose at all -- or even its main point. But that's a conversation better to have in a spoiler-heavy thread.

Yeah that blurb sucks.

Our MD/VA/DC local meet up already knows this story :)

A few years ago, an author sent me a book to review. It was set in modern London and was about a person of Ghanaian descent who was a heroin addict. Her addiction was due to some trauma in her past (we don't know the details of the trauma) and the book is about what happened to her since the trauma and her revisiting the events up to the trauma. It was extremely bleak, hopeless, and depressing. About halfway through the book, we get to the trauma that basically sent her in her downward spiral. I start crying while in public (it was very, very upsetting). I had to keep reading to get to a "good place to stop" and found there was no good place and I had to sit there crying for about another 120 pages until the book ended. I posted as much in my review, and made sure to qualify that it was a Very Good Book, and my reaction to the book meant, to me, that it was a very poignant and moving story.

The author contacted me, felt terrible I had such a reaction. I assured her that I thought my having that reaction meant she did her job. She offered me her second book to review, promising it was much lighter.

The setting? U.S. slavery before the Civil War. I still haven't steeled myself to read it. (I'm sure it's very good.)

Travis wrote: "Trike wrote: "The cover doesn’t do anything for me, but the blurb makes it sound like the slavery allegory is on the nose. That did not fill me with enthusiasm."

Others who've read it can chime in..."

I’m just saying that’s what the blurb sounds like. If it’s inaccurate or oversimplified, that’s on the blurb writer. I’m sure we can do a whole thread on “bad blurb, good book”.

Leesa wrote: "She offered me her second book to review, promising it was much lighter.

The setting? U.S. slavery before the Civil War. I still haven't steeled myself to read it. (I'm sure it's very good.) "

“I’m sorry that my novel Kicking Kittens was so upsetting. Here, try my other book, it’s much lighter.”
“What is it called?”
“Punching Puppies.”

:D

Trike wrote: "“I’m sorry that my novel Kicking Kittens was so upsetting. Here, try my other book, it’s much lighter.”
“What is it called?”
“Punching Puppies.” ."

There is an album and song called "Punching Puppies Kicking Kittens" by The Hourglass Cats

https://thehourglasscats.bandcamp.com...

Going back to your original query... I’m a librarian and my coworkers have very strong opinions about the blurb for Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. A lot of us feel the blurb promised more romance and dueling than was delivered. I enjoyed the world building in that book, but have to agree some of the characters were bland when compared to the lavish circus setting.

I didn’t read the blurb before diving in but having now read it I have to say that the first two paragraphs of it don’t do a good job of selling the book to me. The third paragraph is more intriguing (but also a bit spoilery).
As for the cover, I think it’s a nice piece of artwork, but it doesn’t particularly reflect the contents of the book - seeing this in the bookshop, I’d peg it as litfic, not SF.

I think it's hard for a blurb to really convey a lot about books that are more complex with multiple subplots, or where the appeal is the interaction between developed characters. Something with a strong central plot, esp one that's of a type, feels like it would be easier, to wit:

"In this stunning debut, author Scott Lynch delivers the wonderfully thrilling tale of an audacious criminal and his band of confidence tricksters. Set in a fantastic city pulsing with the lives of decadent nobles and daring thieves, here is a story of adventure, loyalty, and survival that is one part "Robin Hood", one part Ocean's Eleven, and entirely enthralling... "

The first paragraph for the Lies of Locke Lamora.

BTW, I looked up the publisher to see how they filed it (under SFF) and they have an interesting collection of stuff:

http://www.akashicbooks.com/subject/s...

When it comes to S&L books I just dive in and read them.

I generally find this works better than reading the blurb.

There are several books that I would never have picked up and have really enjoyed (OK, a couple have been lemmed, but you cannot win them all).

Rick wrote: "BTW, I looked up the publisher to see how they filed it (under SFF) and they have an interesting collection of stuff:

http://www.akashicbooks.com/subject/s..."

My library has Rivers of London in the mystery section... Which does work. I hope there are a few surprised readers :-)

AndrewP wrote: "For this one the cover put me off so much I didn't even read the blurb. Bad marketing?"

Wow, I love the cover!!

But yeah, I think the blurb misses the mark with this one.

Mark wrote: "Travis wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "For this one the cover put me off so much I didn't even read the blurb. Bad marketing?"

Really!?

I agree the blurb is pretty bad, but the cover is one of my favori..."

Inside the dead tree version, credit is given as:

Cover Design: TG Design
Cover art: re_bekka/Shutterstock.com (female figure) and Derek R. Audette/Shutterstock.com (space)

Between the blurb and the cover I almost didn't read this book because I thought it was going to be an entire of book of people being treated badly and not being able to do anything about it. I didn't feel up for that kind of story right now but decided to read the first few chapters to at least TRY the book that the group is reading. In the end, I don't regret reading it and I even got so into the end that I stayed up late finishing it.

If it had only been up to the blurb and the cover to sell me on reading this book I definitely wouldn't have even bothered.