Ho ho ho

Here:

Top Reviewers

The ballots are in. The votes have been counted. Let's hear it for our Top Reviewers--selected by Amazon.com customers like you. These clear-minded critics voiced their opinions about Amazon.com items. In turn, they supplied their fellow shoppers with helpful, honest, tell-it-like-it-is product information. Please join us as we salute this topnotch group of review writers.

Yes! For example, Grady Harp... ("selected by customers like you"), or, when it comes to "clear-minded critics [...] supplied their fellow shoppers with helpful, honest, tell-it-like-it-is product information" -- who comes to mind? Why but of course it's Harriet Klausner, W.Boudville, John Matlock "Gunny", etc., etc. Yes! That's why we set up this blog, right, precisely: to "salute this topnotch group of review writers".

Hiring ten Amazon reviewers!

Here is a curious message:

Amazon.com book reviewers

Looking for book reviewers with current Amazon.com REAL NAME account. We will hire 10 reviewers for our 120 or so titles on amazon, and will pay $5 per review posted. Please reply to this note with resume. A bit about our books: [...]

Some Things Are Forever

There may not always be an England, but it looks like there'll always be a J.P.Picks. One by one out of the woodwork there invariably crawls a presumably vote hungry, astonishingly blatant sycophant eager to laud even the worst boilerplate posted by Grady Harp, the Maestro of the preposterous vote totals. The likes of Bette Dravis ("Keep your Pen Hot"), " Daniel Perez" ("Oh, Grady"), and Cindy Tardiff have kept alive the tradition of the remarkable J.P.Picks; one after the other, they too have unconvincingly oohed and aahed, only to disappear and cut short one's enjoyment of their shameless flattery. But there's no need to despair - after any short lull, a newbie on the rise is certain to appear as successor. The latest to fill the role is one ken O' connell. Anyone in need of a laugh is advised to check out his comment at the foot of Harp's review of the recent Bob Dylan movie. It's fully Picks-worthy.

Computer Written Books

There is a fascinating article in The New York Times by Noam Cohen about a man who wrote 200,000 books. His name is Philip M. Parker and he didn't exactly write the books, he "assembled" them, with the aid of computers.

"Mr. Parker has generated more than 200,000 books, as an advanced search on Amazon.com under his publishing company shows, making him, in his own words, “the most published author in the history of the planet.” And he makes money doing it."

I guess it's not too surprising that someone like Harriet Klausner has used computers to fake book reviews, or that Grady Harp seems to possess some type of robotic voting program to boost his Amazon ranking, this man actually is using computers to compile books.The article goes on to say:

"If this sounds like cheating to the layman’s ear, it does not to Mr. Parker, who holds some provocative — and apparently profitable — ideas on what constitutes a book. While the most popular of his books may sell hundreds of copies, he said, many have sales in the dozens, often to medical libraries collecting nearly everything he produces. He has extended his technique to crossword puzzles, rudimentary poetry and even to scripts for animated game shows.

And he is laying the groundwork for romance novels generated by new algorithms. “I’ve already set it up,” he said. “There are only so many body parts.”

Soon those people who like romance novels will have Mr. Parker's computer generated romances to look forward to. Who would like to wager that Harriet Klausner will give them all five stars?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/business/media/14link.html?_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Grady Harp Reviews Plagiarized Book

**** The Fates: A Novel
by Tino Georgiou
Edition: Paperback
Availability: Currently unavailable


77 of 99 people found the following review helpful:
The Return of the Great Romance Novel, February 25, 2008
Reading and reviewing early works by novice writers is at times a daunting task. When the writer is so obviously talented as is author Tino Georgiou, the task is easier. Does the novel engage interest from the first page? Are the characters readily identifiable by the third chapter? Is the time frame of the story visually reconstructed in a credible, well-researched manner? In the case to THE FATES the answer is a resounding 'yes', and yet to ignore problems in the execution of the novel would be a disservice to not only potential readers but to the receptive, learning author.

THE FATES is a heady romance set in ancient Greek times. The Greeks, under the leadership of Sir Nicholas Constinos, have taken over Karabey Palace in the realm of Turkey, a palace fraught with resentment from the long wars with Greece and form the fact that the Turks on whose land it stands are resentful of the occupiers. The clash of societies is brought to a head with the introduction of the once upper class Turkish family of the Baals in the form of the beautiful Leah Baal. The struggle between the two obviously love stricken couple of Nicholas and Leah form the wedge which drives the story in an near Shakespearean conflict between class, national pride, and honest love that seeks to change the world view by its own rules. Love, lust, revenge, sacrifice, and fidelity are all issues that rise from the steam of the love affair between the Greek Nicholas and the Turk Leah.

This is a very entertaining story, one that will please devotees of historical Romance novels. There are problems that the author should address. In transporting the reader to another time in history and maintaining the atmosphere of that period (obviously well researched, here), it is a major mistake to insert phrases as early as page 2 that read 'He was not handsome in the underweight model way so fashionable among men and women on television today'. That sort of jolt disturbs the historical flow of the story! Also choosing names for the characters that are obviously not from the time of the story is disconcerting, names such as 'Josh', 'Keith', 'Patrick', etc. And do we have any evidence that the courtly designators such as 'Sir' and 'Lady' and 'Dame' were used in this era? Yes, these are minor flaws and should not stop the eager reader from enjoying this romance novel. They are mentioned as thoughts for the novelist to consider in what appears will be a long line of novels of this type. New writers are fresh, malleable, and deserve nurturing: Tino Georgiou obviously has the talent that will take him far. Grady Harp, February 08 Comments (4) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Mar 26, 2008 6:46 AM PDT

Do you remember this review? He gave this book four stars even though it sounds so poorly written as to be amusing. Ancient Greeks named Josh and Keith?! Grady Harp believes those characters' names to be the product of an "obviously well researched" novel? From what I've read in discussions at Amazon U.K. this book seems to have had the dubious distinction of being plagiarized twice. It was originally written and published as "Wildsong" by Catherine Creel in 1996. Then it becane "Circe's Song" by K.G. Glaub, and finally, "The Fates" by Tino Georgiou. How sad to see one dishonest person duped by another.

Rereading Emerson: nothing is new under the sun

He [Carlyle] took despairing or satirical views of literature at this moment; recounted the incredible sums paid in one year by the great booksellers for puffing. Hence it comes that no newspaper is trusted now, no books are bought, and the booksellers are on the eve of bankruptcy."

From English Traits, published in 1856. Emerson visited England in 1847.

More links and comments on the D.A.M. fiasco

Reba chimes in on a new thread on Dear Author, and check out this hilarious one from Karen Knows Best as DAM'S comments on Reba's review are found on the google cache. We also have a nasty new commenter on Reba's review of In Her Bed, looks to me like someone's opened up a brand new sock puppet Amazon account, with two brand new reviews. I'm wondering if the location on the profile being Hell on earth has any sigifinicance to DAM'S life these days?