There are no ugly book reviews—
only good and bad reviews. At least that
would be true under the axiom that any publicity is good publicity. The Return, A Steve Dancy Tale recently
received one of each. Let’s start with the good.
Bookviews
by Alan Caruba is one of my favorite book blogs. Caruba is a writer by
profession and a longtime book reviewer. In his review of The Return, he puts me in the same paragraph with Elmore Leonard.
That alone puts Bookviews into my favorite column, even if Caruba hadn’t
already reviewed most of my other books. He writes: “James D. Best … is
arguably one of the best writers of westerns.” Those are kind words, and I
appreciate them. You’ll find Caruba’s review of The Return in his September
Picks of the Month.
On the other hand, at Brandywine Books, Lars Walker writes, “The Return, another Dancy story, is
another well-written tale,” but adds, “it turned me off the series, not because
of the writing, but because of one of the themes.” It seems Mr. Walker was
offended by Dancy's interaction with his snobbish mother. He writes, “Steve’s
ability to defy her through premarital cohabitation is presented as a sort of
moral triumph.” A good observation, but I feel obligated to support my
characters despite their failings. You can read Walker’s review of
The Return by clicking on this link.
The Return, A Steve Dancy Tale has also received some nice reviews by Amazon Readers.
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| Steve Dancy Tales |