Reviewers wanted

This is my first posting on this forum. I hope people will not be disappointed if I admit that I am not myself a Steampunk devotee. My interest in this forum results from a request I received from reclusive author Tom Hourie (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&f...) who wants me to explore the distribution potential of his new Steampunk novel Chasing Schrödinger’s Cat. I have only a superficial understanding of the Steampunk lifestyle so I thought the best way to find out if Tom’s book has legs would be to ask for the help of people who are more informed. My thought is that I will offer hard copies of Tom’s novel to the first four or five people who respond to this posting on the condition that they share their reactions with the group when they have finished reading. The book is quite short, only 230 pages, so the time commitment is small.

I should make it clear that I am not trying to solicit only good reviews. Negative comments are just as important to me as positive ones.

Dennis

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Permalink Reply by Louise Kiner on December 23, 2010 at 6:22pm

Looks interesting. Are you still looking for people to read and review?

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Towell on December 24, 2010 at 8:49am

Thanks for you interest Louise. Please e-mail you address to:

dtowell@ironringltd.com

Cheers,

Dennis

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Towell on December 24, 2010 at 8:53am

My thanks to everyone who answered my posting. I now have seven reviewers & that should be more than enough to give me a good cross section of opinion. I will send out the manuscripts some time next week,

Happy Holidays,

Dennis

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Permalink Reply by Ravyn Marie Blackwood on January 7, 2011 at 3:03pm

Sending my address your way!

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Permalink Reply by Commodore Arcturus Brass(Gideon) on January 26, 2011 at 9:25pm

HUZZAH!

The manuscript arrived late today (sadly, just as I was leaving for work)! I look forward to turning the pages!

~A.Brass~

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Permalink Reply by Commodore Arcturus Brass(Gideon) on February 1, 2011 at 10:56am

I'm on Chapter 6, all is well (I've been a bit short on time but all is now clear).

I love the bit about the Unicorns (Chapter 1)...I've never seen one either.

So far so good!

~A.Brass~

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Permalink Reply by Commodore Arcturus Brass(Gideon) on March 1, 2011 at 10:38am

Good Day Dennis,

My DEEPEST apologies fortaking far too long to finish the manuscript (it seems that my life is actuality a bit more active that I thought).

At any rate, my delays have been fortuitous. Why? I have accidentally discovered the best setting in which to read the book: In a darkened room, surrounded by candles in holders, aided by a bottle of Port. That is how I chose to read your book.

At any rate, I finished it last night and LOVED it (I was saddened by it's brevity, but I applaud it's perfect content). I wanted to add that the protagonist made the same decision I would have made.

Do you have any images of Mister S.'s caravan?

Also, I enjoyed the mention of the paragons of "Steampunk Science" without beating the reader over the head with them.

When will it be available for purchase???

Well-done and well-met,

~A.Brass~

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Towell on March 1, 2011 at 3:11pm

Commodore,

Thanks very much for your comments and your kind words. I will pass them on to Tom. Candles in holders? Port? Sounds like you read it in a 19^th century gentleman’s club! As to when the book will be ready for purchase, I suspect it will end up on Amazon Kindle within the next month or so.

On a more general note, yours is the third review I have received. You can read the first two below. The reviewers chose not to post their comments on the forum so I will not identify them.

I should re-emphasize that all comments, both positive and negative are gratefully received.

Dennis

Reviewer #1:

I finished reading the manuscript. I have to say I really enjoyed it. I liked the way the story flowed and it kept me engaged. At times, I found it hard to put down.
Thanks for sending it my way.

Reviewer #2:

I am sorry. I confess, I have not sent a critique because I did not want to be the bearer of bad news. The manuscript is terrible. The concept of dreams having an impact on reality has been severely overdone, the characters, especially the narrator did not seem lifelike (for instance, all he had to show for his first dream was the cat's collar in his hand. That's all, only physical proof that things in the dream world impact the real world, something which would shake science to its core and he blows it off?). There were major plot holes. Why didn't he film himself while dreaming? It's standard practice in every lab to film dreamers. Where did his assistant go while he was dreaming? Didn't he think it through at all? That's not science, that's what I'd expect from some high-school dropout doing 'experiments' in his parents' garage.

To top it all off the beginning is flat and uninteresting, it's as if the author knew that so threw in the bit about the grad student giving the Prof blow jobs in an attempt to shock and engage readers, but all it did for me was disengage me further.

If you are thinking of submitting it anywhere please note that it is in the wrong format for publishers or agents. They will not accept improperly formatted manuscripts.

Again, my apologies for the late response, and for being the bearer of bad news. If the author wishes to pursue a career in writing I suggest he takes some classes. I have found the forums at http://absolutewrite.com/forums/ very useful. There are thousands of writers at various points in their careers who visit the forums regularly to critique, offer advice, and provide support for aspiring authors.

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Permalink Reply by Captain Jack Havock on March 1, 2011 at 1:54pm

We are extremely disappointed that you are not a steampunk devotee. Leave at once.

Welcome to steampunk, where we really are just glad you asked! Looks interesting, I love Scrodinger's Cat, so I'll have to check this out... (even if I'm not a HUGE fan of the cover art)

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Towell on March 1, 2011 at 3:15pm

Captain Jack,

Thanks for your interest. Unfortunately there is no place where you can check it out right now. As I commented to Commodore Arcturus Brass above, I suspect the book will end up on Amazon Kindle.

Dennis