Details.

[mrissa]

I'm reading Daniel Abraham's An Autumn War and really liking it. This is not a surprise, since it's the third in the series and I liked the first two. But I bought it without examining the cover, because I would have bought it no matter what cover it had. Upon looking more closely at the cover, I noticed something: all the praise, the positive reviews and comments, on this book, are about this book. It's the third in the series, and every single quotation pertains to this book in specific.

I really appreciate that. I hate it when I pick up an experienced author's book and read, "What a great book*! -- Someone I Respect" and then find that the footnote says that what a great book was four books ago, and I liked it too and have been lukewarm on the ones since. Even if I've loved the ones since, seeing the same bits on the author's cover for a decade or more is a bit offputting. So I'm glad Daniel Abraham's cover design and/or marketing/publicity people are not starting him out that way in the first few years of his career as a novelist. Well done, those folks. Go them.

Comments

[athenais.livejournal.com]

I appreciate that, myself. I don't want to know what people thought of the first book if this is the third. I want to know if this is good enough that I maybe should pick up the other two as well (if I'm looking at a series I haven't read, obviously). I like a book's reviews and cover copy to reflect the book in hand.

I liked An Autumn War very much, though I got a little tired of some of the war parts. But that is to be expected for me, and he made me so happy with the characters.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Just finished it. Oof wow. Can't wait to see what he does with the last one.

[alecaustin.livejournal.com]

I really need to write my post about this book, because it was excellent and well crafted but for whatever reason the pivotal bit didn't work for me at all.

Everything that preceded it and followed it was well-handled and interesting, but that bit... I dunno. I guess the very idea of 'poetic justice' rubs me the wrong way.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yah, it...ugh, I didn't warn people who hate spoilers off the comments...let's say it was a bit too poetic for me. I loved the book, but the poetitude could have been less...um. Quasi-benign? Parental?

The andat are fairly successfully not human for me in the vast majority of scenes in this series. There, is that an indirect enough way of discussing this?

[keilexandra]

ZOMG that bugs me too! I mean, it's great that everyone loved an author's first book, but I'm not reading the first book, I'm reading the second (or third or fourth) book; so tell me how great THIS book is, damn it.

Also, I really need to read more Abraham. His short story in LOGORRHEA was awesome.