Sui Generis
Dec. 12th, 2010 03:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threemonkeysCover blurb quotes are an interesting thing to consider. They are there to sell the book. If a the publisher can get a review quote that they think will help sell a book, then they slap it on the cover. Both the words of the quote and the person giving the quote are important. Tales of manipulation are legion. Selective extracting or ellipsis of words to make a quote more positive than originally intended can be taken as highly likely when reading such a cover item.
Given all that, the cover quote on The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaneriemi still managed to take me by surprise. The quote came from Charles Stross and read "Hard to admit, but I think he's better at this stuff than I am". That is extraordinary. I have never seen another author give a reference like that comparing the reviewed work to their own. I would have thought that even if somebody could make that sort of assessment, ego would stop it getting into print.
In case there was any doubt about the veracity of the sentiment on the front cover, there is a longer equally effusive quote on the back cover where Stross compares Rajaniemi to Alastair Reynolds, Greg Egan and Ted Chiang. Reynolds and Egan I can believe as this Finnish author writes in the same sort of area as these two, although not really like either of them. The Chiang comparison is a big call however. Chiang may be the best stylist in the genre.
Anyway, I read the book and have three observations to make:
Given all that, the cover quote on The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaneriemi still managed to take me by surprise. The quote came from Charles Stross and read "Hard to admit, but I think he's better at this stuff than I am". That is extraordinary. I have never seen another author give a reference like that comparing the reviewed work to their own. I would have thought that even if somebody could make that sort of assessment, ego would stop it getting into print.
In case there was any doubt about the veracity of the sentiment on the front cover, there is a longer equally effusive quote on the back cover where Stross compares Rajaniemi to Alastair Reynolds, Greg Egan and Ted Chiang. Reynolds and Egan I can believe as this Finnish author writes in the same sort of area as these two, although not really like either of them. The Chiang comparison is a big call however. Chiang may be the best stylist in the genre.
Anyway, I read the book and have three observations to make:
- Rajaniemi makes a welcome addition to writers playing in the far future hard-SF/Space-opera space.
- Charlie, you need to chill a bit. Yes, he probably is better at this stuff than you are, but he isn't the second coming.
- The blurb worked - I bought the book.