What is a role of a reviewer? Is there a definition that should apply to this role? How much is too much when reviewing a book or even say a movie?
The reason I ask is because as a reviewer I try to be careful with how much I reveal, especially if I’m posting an advance review for a book that isn’t released yet. And if I post a major plot point or spoiler I will white out and welcome a reader to highlight over the information (just like I did for Gail Carriger’s Blameless) if they are so inclined. But what if I didn’t? What if I came out and said I’ll reveal major plot points and you can either carry on and read or stop reading right now because what I’m going to mention will explain the entire book front to back?
What if I mentioned in my review for say, Carolyn Crane’s Double Cross about the nice twist with Otto, or if I had received an early copy of Suzanne Collin’s Mockingjay and posted a review revealing who Katniss ends up with and how it ends?
What if I told you right now how Karen Marie Moning’s Shadowfever ends in full detail, and who kills Mac’s sister and if Barron’s dies or they hook up and live happily ever after? I just finished Diana Rowland’s Secrets of the Demon and know two major spoilers that I can mention in my review. Would you be angry at me even though I would have placed at the top of my review that this is going to be a big old spoilage?
When I review, I’ll purposely not mention major “reveals” as my way to grab the reader’s interest and perhaps help them with their decision in buying a book, or perhaps the complete opposite. That’s why I didn’t mention a specific character’s fate in Mira Grant’s Feed, Michael's outcome in Meljean Brook's Demon Forged or a twist that irked me about Todd in Megan Hart’s Precious and Fragile Things.
If you noticed, especially in movie reviews, the reviewer is very careful about not mentioning any specific twists or the ending of the movies. Can you imagine if a movie reviewer revealed the ending of The Sixth Sense, or who Brad Pitt really was in Fight Club, or the outcome of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character in Se7en? Even the movie director, Alfred Hitchcock went as far as making a personal plea at the beginning of Psycho for the audience not to reveal the ending to those who hadn’t seen Psycho yet.
But if all these things have been revealed in a review that you freely read, knowing there are massive spoilers there, would it ruin your overall reading and viewing experience?
I’m guilty of wanting to know spoilers. I’m a self-proclaimed spoiler ho. A perfect example is how I was dying to know the ending of The Black Swan. There’s this website called Movie Poooper that gives away the ending to every movie. And because I couldn’t help myself, I looked. Shame on me, I know.
A few weeks ago, Dear Author posted a review for Anne Bishop’s Twilight's Dawn anthology, revealing what occurs in” The High Lord’s Daughter” because it is so shocking and unbelievably WTF. If you’re a die-hard fan of Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy, you’ll understand why. I went on the site and even though I saw “Spoilers Beware, Leave Right Now If You Don’t Want To Know”, I still read the review and was dumbfounded by what I read. I mentally smacked myself for going ahead and reading. And based on this review and the comments left, many felt the same and now have decided not to buy the book based on this one review.
I do believe reviews can influence people and word or mouth is powerful. But I still can’t think of one specific review that has hurt an author’s sale of their book. If so, can you imagine? An author and their publisher would be shaking in fear knowing a reviewer has this power.
Because of Netgalley, books are available for reviewers months in advance. One blogger I talked to was upset that certain people would get these advanced copies from Netgalley and post their reviews on Goodreads, giving a play by play of what they read months before the book was released. Again because of free will, a person decides to read the review or not. But have some reviewers gone too far discussing everything they have read in a public forum knowing anyone could read it?
Does a reviewer have a responsibility to not mention too much about the plot or the outcome of a book? I’ve talked to many people about this ranging from authors, bloggers and reviewers. They don’t see that concerned, especially if what the reviewer is revealing is so shocking and disturbing because it has destroyed the series or doesn’t fit with the overall tone of the series. It’s a warning from a reviewer, much like a service to readers so they can be aware. And perhaps a warning to authors as well, where if you do something along the lines of OMGWTFBBQ what were you thinking?, a reviewer will call you on it so you don’t think of doing something like that again.
I can imagine there are many different opinions on this matter. Perhaps there’s no correct answer. Some spoilers in reviews made me want to buy and read a book. But then I think back to a few years ago with a specific book I was dying to read that found out the plot a few days before it was released. The book was Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. I was talking with this person (and she knows who she is, and I playfully wanted to strangle her for telling me what she knew) who announced what she knew. Highlight for spoiler- ;P She told me that Edward and Bella get married, Bella gets pregnant and Jacob and demon baby are each other’s mates. I thought she was pulling my leg because it was so far fetched. I told myself I wouldn’t read any reviews of Breaking Dawn because I didn’t want to know anything. But I was weak and the morning of Breaking Dawn’s release I went on Amazon and the very first review posted there gave an entire run down of the book. Everything the person mentioned to me days before was in there.
Did that stop me from canceling my order and not reading the book? No. I guess you could say it gave me a nice warning so I wouldn’t be stunned by what I read. I was still stunned regardless. (I still can’t get over the Loch Ness Monster baby and Jacob) But part of me wished I hadn’t known anything because the joy in reading is taking the journey where you don’t know what will happen. The moment you find about a character’s action or part of the plot, you lose a small part of the enjoyment of what you’re reading. Also, I do believe that an author would be upset if a review revealed too much. Even Suzanne Collins made a video plea for readers not to announce the outcome of Mockingjay. Should her readers have listened to her? And again, this is where a reviewer’s role comes into play. Is the review to benefit the reader alone? If a review reveals too much, is it doing both an injustice to both the author and the reader?
This is where I leave it open to authors, reviewers and readers to leave their own opinion on the matter of reviews that reveal too much. Should there be rules reviewers should adhere to or are they are welcomed to discuss whatever they like, even a chapter by chapter synopsis if they feel like it and left to deal with the consequences that may occur because of it?
46 comments:
That was me! I spoiled Breaking Dawn for you! To be honest at the time I thought it was too crazypants to be believed also.
As for spoilers, I actively seek them out online. Love them, and I don't mind getting details of the story. It's the journey for me rather than the destination.
That being said, as an authorbeast, it's a little weirder. I've winced when I've seen spoilers posted of my stories, mostly because I feel like I'm the one planting the surprise and waiting to see reactions... and someone is spoiling the surprise. It's a very small disappointment, but it's also one of the teeny tiny things we look forward to. :)
So as a reader, I love them and actively look for them. As an author, they make me gnash my teeth (but only a little!).
And actually I don't mind when spoilers are given away when they are MARKED AS A SPOILER. I think when they are not is when people are upset. Goodreads is awesome in that it lets you flag your entire review as spoiler-iffic. That way you don't have to read it if you want to be surprised.
That being said, I have no right to yak about spoilers - my first book had a gigantic spoiler on the back of the cover. I protested but marketing liked it, so it stayed. ;)
jill
Aw, you're brave to admit how you destroyed my joy in reading BD. :P
I'm so bad when it comes to spoilers, especially in movies. But I'm glad that Goodreads does have a spoiler mention.
What was the gigantic spoiler in the back of the book?
I really, really hate it when someone writes a spoiler review and doesn't tell me.
Now, if you're going to give me warning or white out the text or whatever, then it's my own fault if I read on. And sometimes, I just have to know (like the Black Swan--probably not a movie I'll go see but I wanted to know what happened).
Personally, I do my absolute best not to spoil a plot--just enough to tease enough so the reader will be intrigued and then go read the book.
Mary: I do like to tease in my reviews as well. I'm evil like that. heh
As a reader I don't want to know and will run around the house with my fingers in my ears if someone tries to tell me what happens. The very least a blogger should do is warn the reader before spilling the beans. Personally and as a blogger, I don't think they should ever spill it. If I was the author I'd be POed big time if bloggers reveled the ending of a book. Some people want to know the ending, cause they aren't going to read the book anyway and some flip to the back page and read it before starting the book. To me that would be like getting a bowl of my favorite ice cream after going weeks without it and finding out it was half melted. So disappointing and blah!
The spoiler was who her vampire master was!
Spoiler ho here too. I don't really care if a spoiler is included. It doesn't bother me because if it's a book with a murderer I'll likely read the ending first anyway to find out who did it and if it's a romance with "omg which one will he choose?" again, I'll go to the back and find out THEN read it.
In romance you know it's going to end up with the main couple together so there can't be THAT many spoilers in most books and I'm not going to buy/read every book that I read a review for, so sometimes I WANT to know which guy he chose or that the killer was really the dead zombie wife of the hero's second cousin twice removed brought back by voodoo performed by his talking dog. It kind of annoys me when people say "But I won't say and ruin it for you." Umm. I'm never going to read the book anyway so just TELL ME ALREADY!!!! LOL
But hey, that's just me. :-)
Great post! Where to begin...
As a book reviewer, 99% of the time I do NOT put spoilers in my review. And if I do, I be sure to hide them (either by way of a button that the reader can click to read the spoilery text or by making it invisible and the reader can highlight the text to see, like how you did with your Blameless review) and put up lots of warnings. I don't want to ruin the book for those who have yet to read it. I strongly believe that my mission as a reviewer is to give my readers my reactions and feelings on the book and what I liked and didn't like (without any spoilers) to help them decide if the book is one they would like to read. I don't even summarize the book in my review anymore (I used to when I first started reviewing) because I'm afraid of giving too much away. I say leave the storytelling to the author of the book.
Now as a reader, I stay away from reviews with spoilers. I don't want someone telling me how a book ends. It's not the destination that I'm focused on when I'm reading; it's the journey that I'm interested in. I want to know how it got to the conclusion, not just what conclusion it came to.
Like I mentioned before, leave it up to the author to tell the story. But if you're going to include spoilers, please let it be known. Put up warnings in red font, hide the spoilers, do everything you can think of to prevent people like me from reading unwanted spoilers. Please.
Funny story about Twilight - a guy I used to work with (an older gentleman in his late 40s/early 50s) hadn't read the series but he was watching the movies. So he of course didn't know how things ended with the trio. Until he read an article on a well-known newspaper where the writer gave away the whole plot of Breaking Dawn. He was furious! He's still going to watch it but it ruined the experience for him.
I'm wondering if there is anyone reading your post who hasn't read Breaking Dawn? LOL
I may be one of the few who hasn't seen Fight Club but now you have me wanting to watch it to find out who Brad Pitt really is! I love Movie Pooper. I go there to find out what happens in movies that I don't want to see but I want to know what happens (if that makes sense). Like with The Black Swan. I don't have any desire to watch the movie but I'll go on that site to find out what happens.
I still can't believe you found out what happens in Shadowfever without reading the rest of the series! I could never do that. I'm dying to know certain things but I gotta read it for myself :)
I think spoiler-free reviews are the way to go. If someone wants to be a play-by-player (which I admit to being a time or two or ten- *g*) or spoiler-whore (I am a BIG spoiler whore) it's freedom of speech and people don't have to read that persons reviews; but just in general, I think most reviews should try not to be a sparknotes version of the book.
With some books, (esspecially romance & fiction), the ending and plot twists are pretty clear, predictable, and sometimes spelled out for us in the book's blurb! Boy meets Girl, conflict insues, yada yada, everyone goes home knocked up and happy.But still, people like the little cliff hangers and like to know that they are in for a surprise once they start reading.
It's all according to style and prefrence, but if a site has spoilers in their reviews , they can be marked or a note can be added in a side-bar. I know I'd get pretty P.O'd if I read Cathrine Marks' secret from Married BY Morning in a review. It would have ruined the expierence of the book for me a bit (it was a pretty lame secret-as far as secrets go- but it would have sucked if I read it beforehand)
Cool & Interesting post, Katie!
After reading Jill's comment, I want to clarify what I wrote about it not being about the destination but the journey.
If I find out about the destination before reading the book, it will ruin the journey for me. Yes, it's about the journey but I want to go on the journey and reach the destination on my own.
Lisa: I like your ice cream analogy :)
Jill: Ah! Even when I read the spoiler, I didn't even realize it was one. LOL
Tam: when it comes to love triangles, I try my best not to read the ending. I like to be surprised by who the object of both desires ends up with.
BV: I'm all about the journey as well.
I think even the penguins in Antarctica know what happens in BD! LOL
Rita: I think there was some drama with a Brockman book where she was leading up to the heroine being with one guy, and she ended up with another. Readers were enraged and some wished they had known going into reading.
I hate spoilers. On a level so bad I just got PO'd about your BD reveals 'cause I've been avoiding them for months until I could stomach the few spoilers a friend had accidentally revealed to me already and read the damn book. Bah! But I forgive you KB.
As a reader I avoid them like the plague. I want to enjoy the journey of reading not knowing for certain the destination. As a reviewer I even go so far as to try not to reveal any major events from a previous book unless they're obviously mentioned in the blurb for the new one. I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally read the blurb for the wrong one in the order of a series and had a plot ruined. I hate it. But it happens and sometimes you gotta suck it up (see above lol).
All I can ask of other reviewers is to please make sure they give a spoiler alert before revealing any major twists so I can stop reading their review. Because I will stop reading it.
I can say I don't mind someone saying "loved the big plot twist" or revealing that there is going to be a resolution to a love triangle or whatever but not what it is.
I read the Jewels spoiler and was pissed off..and I haven't even read the books yet! And now I am all why even bother. And I have them, cries, I am gonna read them and then be sad cos I know what will happen in the future
As a reader, I am a spoiler tramp. I'm the person that reads the ending of a book before starting it. Yeah that's me. I need to know if there's going to be a HEA for the H/H. It's going to take everything in my not to immediately go to the last few pages of Shadowfever to find out how it ends before I start reading it.
As a reviewer, I do not post spoilers in my review. And if I do (only if I think it's vital to my review) I notify the reader that there are spoilers ahead. When I post a review of a book that's part of a series, I always warn the reader that this book is book #whatever and if you haven't read the previous books, this review may contain spoilers.
I think it's up to the discretion of the reviewer but if they decided to post spoilers, they HAVE to warn the reader first.
I also need to know how a movie ends. I'm going to Movie Pooper now for the Black Swan spoilers. :)
I do not put spoilers in my reviews. I refuse. I also sometimes don't even put summaries from the back of the book because I feel that it just says way too much about what's going on inside.
As for other reviewers, they can do what they want but if you're going to put out spoilers you BEST be hiding them with invisible text that requires highlighting or a button push, that way I can only blame myself for clicking, reading, and ruining the book.
Now, if there's a review of the next book in a series that I haven't read yet? I do NOT read that review. If it's a book I know I'm going to read, I do NOT read the review.
I only read reviews of books I've already read and reviewed, I haven't heard about or have no intention of reading, which can and does persuade me to actually read them.
And I agree with The Book Vixen. I hope no one that hasn't read Breaking Dawn reads this post because you blatantly spill all the beans! Shame on you! :P
So.. should I remove the BD spoilage eve tough the book has been out for 2 years?
I think I'm okay with knowing things about books that have been out already then a book that won't be released months in advance.
I would remove the BD spoilers. As much as we think everyone and their mother has read the series, there are people out there who haven't. Astonishingly, I know LOL
BV: The irony about the BD spoiler I put in this post about revealing spoilers is not lost on me.
I removed it and whited it out for those who wish to know if they dare (evil cackle)
I know! That's what was funny about it!
I tend not to post spoilers in my own reviews. But, when it comes down to me reading reviews, I think I shun the reviewers that ONLY post spoilers. I would like a warning before a spoiler is posted, but I don't know that I care so much if the spoiler is in hidden text, and all of that.
Truthfully, if I am going to read something for review, I'm not going to read anything about the book before I'm finished, and have written my review anyway. That's how I keep others' words and influences out of my head.
If the spoiler is relevant to a point or feeling that the reviewer wants to expose, I get it. But, I HATE HATE HATE reading reviews that just tell me the story. I can read the press release, or jacket copy, or good reads summary for that.
I want to read a review that connects the person who read the book with the story. Tell me how the book made you FEEL, not how the book ended.
That's my .02¢ anyway.
Very interesting post. I stumbled upon this from twitter and thought I would put my two cents in. As a reader, I'm the type of person that has to read the book before the movie and doesn't want any spoilers at all. I can't believe there are some of you who read the end of the book first. It's so interesting how people are different. Perhaps my attention span is too short, but if I know the ending, I don't want to read it. For me, taking part in the journey happens if I reread a book. then I can enjoy the novel a second time, but I only want to do that on books I know are worth it. I can't stand/handle spoilers, and I often find myself not reading reviews about seconds/thirds in series because I don't want to spoil the first one. But let's face it, I feel like spoilers are like Santa Claus. Some kid is gunna ruin it for everybody. So, I walk around the house with my fingers in my ears and close my eyes when it comes to spoilers. As a reviewer/blogger, I think it's common courtesy to give others the option to read spoilers. Just because people feel differently about it. It's part of the reason I love Goodreads so much, is that I have the option to read spoilers or not. And, I have a discussion forum to discuss novels with people who've read them...
Just my thoughts. thanks for the post and everyone for their comments. interesting to hear everybody's point of view.
You asked whether reviewers should have rules. *snort* Who the hell would follow them? Enforce them?
I don't care about spoilers one way or another. If someone wants to have the "journey" ruined as a comment above stated, then hunt down the spoilers.
I don't look for spoilers. I still like to be surprised. The whole point of a book is the experience. It's about gaining pleasure from the read. A spoiler is going to mutate that experience no matter how hard the reader tries not to let that happen.
As for reviewers do/do not, well I think it's an individual choice, and I think that if spoilers are included they need to be outlined at the beginning of the post and redacted. Woe to the fool who ignores those two warnings. Sort of like telling someone not to put your fingers in the piranha tank and them not listening to you. oh well.
Good post
I have to admit, if you spoiled Shadowfever for me, I'd be pretty pissed at you, KB. :) I have no self-control when it comes to spoilers and would totally read them even if I know I shouldn't; that's why I try not to post them at all in my own reviews. Although I do sometimes refer to things on the sly to where someone who read the book would know what I was talking about, and someone who hadn't wouldn't even know it was a spoiler.
Spoilers are a big deal because as Steven Sondheim said, surprise is a big part of art. Without surprise, it's a lot more difficult to hold your audience's attention. That being said, the only times spoilers ruined a book for me was when I read the back of the book. And both times the spoilers were not what I thought they were, so I spent the entire book waiting for something to happen that didn't. :P
I hate spoilers, so I always do my best to leave them out of my reviews. I try to warn people in my reviews where I know I can't avoid it, or I want to discuss something later in the book, or it's in a series and I can't avoid them, and I'm okay with that personally. I will stop reading if there's a warning, so I guess I expect others to as well. If there isn't, then I get upset, and may even just avoid the book until I've forgotten the spoiler. I also actively dislike "play-by-play" reviews. I want to hear an opinion, not every detail of the plot.
I want to go into a book knowing as little as possible about it anyway - so I will usually only skim reviews of a book I'm reading soon anyway. Built in spoiler protection!
I hate spoilers. I know some people love them and that's fine, but mark it! I read an article on the Vorkosigan Saga several months before Cryoburn was released and they spoiled the major plot twist at the end. I was pissed! The entire book was different knowing what would happen. The foreshadowing looked like klunky sledgehammers after that. I had no idea that "the entire series" included a book that wouldn't be released for three months.
That said, I firmly believe that reviews are for readers, not authors or publishers. It's reasonable for an author to request that spoilers are marked, but to request that spoilers are omitted altogether is to shut down reader discussion and that's not chill.
The trouble about spoilers is that there's not a clear definition of it.
Is talking about major plot points or tropes a spoiler? To some people it is. To me it's what I want to know in a review.
Mentioning something like rape, or some other off-putting act is in a story is a spoiler, but most readers what to know about that.
I can see not telling a twist in the story or who done it, but it gets tricky when you're expressing what worked and what didn't for you in a book.
The reviews I hate the most are the ones that are so general as to not tell me what I want to know: TSTL characters, jerky heroes, weird sexual situations, or plot/romance devices I hate like the big misunderstanding.
If I know I want to read a book, I don't read reviews of it. It's simple. I read reviews about books I don't know if I want or not.
Excellent post!! I can totally understand all sides to this issue. Here's my opinion:
First off, I think it is up to the reviewer to determine how much they should reveal. However, they definitely need to give fair warning that there are spoilers ahead if they do post specifics. I would hate to be surprised without wanting to be surprised. I figure, if the reviewer gave you warning and you chose to read it, then wish you hadn't read it - well that's your own fault, lol. Because, there are two different types of reviews - those with and without spoilers.
I must admit that I'm the type of person who loves spoilers. Well, some spoilers. For instance, with the Fever series, I would want to know if Jericho & Mac end up together, but I would want to be surprised about who Jericho Barrons actually is & his entire background (although I wouldn't be "ruined" if I accidentally found that out too). Same applies with a lot of other series. I suppose what I want to know mainly is will it be a happy ending & who ends up together. Yeah, I think that's pretty much it....I would hate to be emotionally invested regarding a couple & after several books, find out that one of them dies or they end up with other people, ect. That would seriously piss me off. TV shows have often angered me in the past because they tend to destroy relationships after awhile just to create more drama (first one was Buffy & Angel...heck, I would have even settled w/ Buffy & Spike later...instead, in the end, it was neither). I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do about Shadowfever. I just read all the previous books in the last few days (based on a prior post found on your website, lol). A part of me wants to read the very end while at the bookstore, just to make sure Barrons is alive & he ends up with Mac. I guess I just want some reassurance that I'm not going to be totally devastated.
Moving on, I just read the Dear Author post, and having read the first few Black Jewels books, I am in total support of what the reviewer decided to do/say. That's the type of thing I WANT to know ahead of time. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of that series (I did like it at the time, just not one of my absolute favs & stopped after the fifth book), I am quite saddened by hearing what happens in the end. If I was more emotionally invested in Daemon & Janelle (I liked Lucivar & Marian more personally) , I'd be very upset. That's the thing, when an author does something so radical, I almost think people should know beforehand, as who wants to spend money on a crappy ending.
Just my two cents! :)
I try to be spoiler free, but sometimes it's a gray area when you want to talk about something that happens.
I don't like to read spoilers and I often avoid reviews about a book I plan to read for that reason. If you (or any blogger) were consistently spoiling my reading experience, in a literal sense of the word, well then, I'd stop reading your site.
But take Ms. Moonlight, who posts lots of clearly marked spoilers -- sometimes it's really fun to dish about a book with others who have read it. That's perfectly fine, IMO, and I love her blog.
I don't think "as a reviewer" I have any responsibility at all to anyone but myself. If I'm reviewing an ARC provided by a publisher, and they ask me to abide by certain guidelines, then that is a responsibility as well (the only such guidelines I've ever gotten have been in regards to scheduling, FWIW.)
I think it's really up to the reviewer or blogger.
I find that a lot of the spoilers that happen in reviews are inadvertent, but just as frustrating. For instance, posting their favourite quote from a book, when that quote is from the last page of the book and gives away a major plot point.
One series that I adore, but had slightly spoiled by reading all the reviews is Stacia Kane's Downside Ghosts series. I bought the books because of all the gushing over the characters. A lot of reviewers hinted at certain scenes between some of the characters, and even have a very key quote by one of the characters (from the last page of the third book) on their sites. Even though these aren't spoilers for the core mysteries of the plots, it definitely spoiled some of the character and relationship development, which was one of the *best* parts of the series. I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if I didn't know what would happen in those last pages, or in those key scenes that reviewers kept hinting to.
Apologies for being deliberately vague in my example, I just don't want to end up spoiling it for anyone else.
I avoid spoilers like the plague and therefore do not read reviews by certain reviewers because of their frequent spoiling. Also, I notice certain people reveal spoilers in the comments on reviews so I tend to only skim comments. But, I don't begrudge anyone their review style. I just know I don't like to be spoiled and so I pick and choose to read reviews by reviewers I trust.
Hmmm. For me it depends on what the spoilers are about. I did read the spoilers on High Lord's Daughter. I think it's up to the reviewer to decide whether or not to include spoilers...if, like at DA, they decide they can't write the review without the spoiler then that is their call. But, if they include spoilers then I ask them to state that there are spoilers included...and then it's up to the reader to decide whether or not to read.
I am a huge spoiler ho as well :) In fact I take a ton of flack because I tend to read the last 5 pages of book before I start it, there have been very few books that I haven't.
As a reviewer I try really hard not to post any spoilers in my reviews, someone once said that after reading my spoiler in my review of Play of Passion that they were afraid to read the book, went back and read that review several times, never did figure out what the spoiler was, unless she had no clue that Hawke was going to hook up with Sienna, but I digress.
I do think that if there is content that will be disturbing to some people that does need to mentioned in the review ie rape, sexual abuse of a child, those things.
Ha! I prefer spoilers in just about every case except with authors I trust, and I want to know about plot twists that deviate from the established storyline.
I'm glad I didn't know the ending to The Sixth Sense. There was obviously something weird going on so while the ending was a surprise it wasn't out of keeping with the overall feel of the movie. I'm glad I did know the ending to Se7en so I could avoid watching it. I would've watched it as a detective movie and it would've morphed into a horror movie from my perspective.
In contrast, I don't even read reviews for authors I trust like Nalini Singh, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews because I don't want other viewpoints to interfere with my reading experience. I trust those authors' sense of what the story requires. Angels' Blood had a lovely and shocking plot twist at the end that enhanced the storyline. I'm really glad that one wasn't spoiled for me.
I held off on reading The Hunger Games to see how the trilogy ended, and I'm glad I did. I'm waiting on the Fever series to see how Shadowfever ends. I won't be looking for detailed spoilers just "it had a great ending" from readers I'm familiar with. If those same readers hate the ending, I'll want a blow by blow summary.
I get ticked off at people who refuse to give spoilers when asked directly. "You'll have to read it and find out" in response to an earnest inquiry pretty much guarantees I will never read it. It may be the author's creation but it's my reading experience and I'll manipulate it however I like. I don't understand why anybody feels like they have to apologize for wanting a complete picture of a work before investing their time in it.
If there was a No Spoilers rule, no one could talk publicly about any book ever. There's always going to be somebody who hasn't read The Flame and the Flower or who has a different level of spoiler tolerance.
WOW! You sure generated tons of responses with this one! (lol) I have a friend who insists on telling me EVERYTHING about a movie despite me telling her not to, because it ruins it for me. I'm the same with a book so I try to give tantalizing tidbits without giving the details of a story, but I think as Monica mentions, it's definitely individual choice of what you prefer.
And sorry, Mary,I'm one of those people you love to hate (lol)as I have conditioned myself to not give deets even when asked directly. But you're right there's definitely different levels of tolerance. Loved Flame and the Flower by the way!
This happened recently with the release of my romantic suspense, DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN. A book reviewer placed a lovely review on Amazon and Goodreads that mentioned the killer! Through the entire book I have two men stalking my heroine. I worked hard to keep the killer's identity secret until the end. I e-mailed the reviewer and explained the situation and she kindly CHANGED the review. Thanks to her, my readers can read a review and NOT be disappointed. I agree reviewers should give only a sense of the story and their final opinion. Nothing more.
Nancy: That's great the reviewer was kind enough to change their review.
Am I the only one who hasn't read Flame and the Flower?
I haven't read Breaking Dawn! I don't plan on it, but reading that spoiler totally made me go WTFBBQ... Just, what?? How old does the weird baby get before that whole discovery is made?!
Before I started reading a lot more, I used to get so pissed off about spoilers. For instance, when one of the Harry Potter books came out, I hadn't had a chance to read it on its release day. That following day, my guy friend was harassing one of my other friends, threatening to tell her who ended up dying in the book. I told him not to say anything.... and what does he do? Accidentally blurted it out after promising he wouldn't.
I refused to read the rest of the series after I found out who died. Not entirely because of the spoiler, but that played a role in it.
As for now, I'd prefer not finding out what happens in books most of the time, but there will be times where I NEED to know (like with Twilight's Dawn...*sigh*).
Tori: The moment B&E's demon spawn eats her way out of Bella's womb is when they figure out about the discovery. When I read that before I started reading BD, I thought it was a joke and people made it up.
For me as an author: please leave spoilery reviews until after the release date.
For me as a reader: mark spoilers and let me choose to read them or not. My biggest annoyance: I don't need to know every single plot point of the story from a review (why bother reading the story afterwards?), but I want to know if the reviewer was/was not satisfied/happy/surprised etc. And pretty please, don't tell me 'who done it'. Tell me how shocked or not you were about who done it, but please don't do the big reveal.
I'm one of those silly readers who get overeager when they're reading and skip to the end. Ninety percent of the time I go back and finish the rest of the book but I'll admit there have been a few occasions when I put it aside after knowing how it ended. For me it's about the journey...not where I end up. :D
Reader or writer, I can't stand spoilers. If I'm not interested in reading/seeing the movie, then I'm not likely to care, but since a lot of reviews don't tend to sufficiently warn people (I very much appreciate when people ARE warned so they can decide before reading), then in general, they irritate me. That's just my opinion on it-it's the loss of the surprise, though....not that the book is 'ruined' for me, but that I won't be able to get into it as much.
For people like me, yeah, spoilers can ruin things, especially if we aren't warned there ARE spoilers.
Response number 1: Oh my god, can you tell I didn't even read the back of Jill Myles' book, just dove right in? Because I wasn't sure who the vampire master was (though I mean.. I could guess). Wow, I feel a little silly right now.
Response number 2: As a reviewer, I try to avoid spoilers, or when I simply MUST talk about them, I mark them as spoilers in my review, and distance them a little from the rest of it, so people can pick and choose whether they want to read that or not. What gets a little iffy with me, is if something major (or majorly crazy) happens in the first third of the book. I'll talk about that, spoil it, so to speak, because it happens relatively soon in the plot. Though I've seen people get aggravated with me for even revealing that much. But, I guess you can't please everyone.
I dislike including spoilers in my reviews; yet there are times where I just want to talk about something. So what I'll do is add a spoiler section at the end of my review. Have the clean cut version at the top and then if people want to know, they can continue scrolling down. Granted, at that point, I don't promise anything where the comments are concerned.
HOWEVER, if I get a novel, and the review is posted, ahead of its release date, in no way do I mention anything spoilerish in my review. What I'll do instead is post the clean version ahead of the release date, but then post it again a week after the release with a spoiler section at the end. Because there are times where you just want to talk about what went on.
And honestly, that's why I started my site - so I could talk about books.
As a reader, I don't like spoilers. As a reviewer, I often include them and try to give a fair warning. I consider anything in the second half of the book a possible spoiler.
Part of the problem is that we all don't agree about the definition of a spoiler. For me, that detail about the villain you included from Precious and Fragile Things WAS a spoiler. I knew what you were hinting at.
If you want to be totally safe from spoilers, don't read any reviews. I'm not sure why anyone would get upset with a reviewer about a *marked* spoiler, although as an author I wouldn't want my big twist given away.
I also don't know why reviewers feel responsibile to warn readers, ie "I must tell everyone what happens to save them from the shock, disappointment, horror, etc." Because this seems like an unfair assumption that most/all readers will react the same way to the book as the reviewer.
Am I the only one who hasn't read Flame and the Flower?
I haven't. Or Breaking Dawn :)
First I admit to being a spoiler junkie - putting that out there. I think it's really up to the reviewer on how much to disclose, now obviously revealing a twist just to reveal a twist is probably not kosher. I've read quite a few reviews with spoilers in which the reviewer stated why a particular aspect of the book didn't work for them. Adultery, cliffhanger, etc. I'm a girl scout - I like to be prepared in advance for a few of the spoiler issues that didn't work for the reviewer.
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