The Corean Chronicles
How Many "Really Good Books?"
A well-known publisher often tells a story of his early days in the publishing business when he visited a large commercial book-buyer to present the titles forthcoming from the firm he then represented. After the presentation, the buyer looked at the young salesman and said, "How can you say all that with a straight face? Last year, you came and told me that those titles were the best ever, and the ones you just told me about are better than the ones that were the best ever? I only have so many feet of shelves, and every year you and the others come and tell me that this year's offerings are the best ever..."
If the Locus annual review of the number of F&SF titles published is accurate, and I have no reason to believe that it's not as close to the real numbers as any such compilation could be, last year 1,710 original F&SF books were published, of which 693 were hardcovers, along with 1,013 reprints of already-existing titles. But how many were "really good books?"
How about 1,710? After all, these publishers wouldn't publish books that they didn't think were good, would they? Well... maybe a few that would appeal to people with, shall we say, "particular tastes."
Of course, this all brings up the question of what "good" means. For some people, it means a fast and exciting read that removes them from their not-so-wonderful day job and otherwise mundane circumstances. For others, it's all about the choice of words and structure of the sentences [I kid you not; I've seen books described as classics that had NO plot and no action]. For others, it's the play of ideas or the characters.
Even the so-called experts don't agree. I've seen SF books listed as "Best of the Year" by Kirkus or Booklist that don't make the annual and long Locus recommended reading list. Books that get starred reviews by Publishers Weekly can get poor reviews from various genre reviewers. One of my books that got starred reviews from most sources and won awards got a very mediocre review from Romantic Times [which, believe it or not, reviews lots of F&SF].
All this confusion may well explain why the largest reasons people pick up books are either because they already know the author OR because a personal friend or close relative has recommended it. I suspect the latter works because we tend to know what our friends like, or don't, and can factor what we know about them into our choices. It works both ways. If one friend in particular raves about a book, I'll probably never read it because I know from experience that I'll most likely hate it.
One reviewer lamented recently that she could find fewer and fewer books to recommend, but is that because there are fewer good books... or merely fewer books of the kind that meet her criteria for excellence -- or, perhaps, a little of both?
In the end, though, I'd have to say that there aren't nearly so many good books as the publishers claim and more than any individual reviewer would admit. But then, that's just my opinion on "really good books."
For me personally, if I go to the bookstore looking for something to read and none of my authors has anything new out, I usually look for something like 'has a number of books out, all appear to still be in print, and the first book in the series (if it's a series or a set of books in the same setting) is actually at the bookstore'. Or at least as a minimum 'wrote a trilogy, and all three books are out, and for sale at the store'.
That works pretty well for a crap filter, and in fact, it's how I started reading your books as I was making the transition from SF to Fantasy in the mid-90s when SF had switched over to mostly crappy cyberpunk.
All too often, I've grabbed a book that looked interesting, only to get home and realize that it was actually the second book in a series, and the first one isn't in print anymore. I've got at least a dozen "Part 2" books that I can't find the first in print.
Incidentally, I started reading your books because I got "The Magic of Recluce" for a... well, this is kind of embarrassing.. but I got it as a Valentine's Day present from one of my best friends. It has remained one of my favorites. I try to overlook the fact that I received a V-Day gift that I thoroughly enjoyed... from another guy. But, nonetheless, it introduced me to you. Can't be all bad, eh?
I live in cedar city, I'm 53 and love your books, I've read everything except for some of your science fiction. Loved your ghost books and their comments relating to Utah and the Mormon faith. Recluse and the Corean chronicles are great as were the spellsong sorceress books. I hope to meet you some day. Clark Segler
So my question becomes, how much weight does a carefully orchestrated publicity barrage carry? I'm thinking of one book in particular, touted as the greatest thing since salted peanuts, reviewed by every site, everywhere, knighted, and held up as an example of How To Do It Right.
I was sucked into the hype, got the book, read three chapters.
I hated it.
And yet somehow I'm convinced since the rest of the world loves it, the problem must lie with me. That maybe I should struggle another few chapters before throwing in the towel. Force myself to read the tome, in the naqme of... conformity??
I'm not asking for excellence, just a good read. Interestingly enough, the "Best of the Year" compilations usually only have 2-3 books on it I've even read, let alone would gush over.
Maybe I need to get out more. :)
I learned my lesson early about checking whether the book is in a series, but if the book looks interesting I usually buy it. Sometimes I buy impulsively, but normally i don't regred it.
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