Review the Reviewer

Umeda Hankyu Station

Hi Folks

Well I'm back from Japan and had a great time. It was perfect timing as I arrived on the second day of the one week that the Cherry Blossoms come out to play. As this is not a travel blog I won't post any Sakura shots so I will move on. While I was there, I made a point of taking a few shots that inspired particular passages in my ebooks. The one chosen for this post is from Keitai Friends, a chapter of Kujira. This is where Josh gets arrested. Notice the screen in the background where the foreign guy seems to be passing judgement over something. 

Anyway, on to the topic that is at the forefront of my rage - a review of my short story 'Bug'. It is available for free on Kindle at the moment and a reviewer rated as a top 1000 reviewer has annoyed the heck out out me. He writes;

"Bug is a less than five minute long read that starts of [sic] okay"

So he didn't like the story - fine. I've had five and four star reviews from others on Kindle including the UK so a bad one is just par for the course. But hang on... he's complaining that a short story is not a long enough read. Well sorry pal but that's how it goes with a short story - THEY ARE SHORT. Kindle ought to make sure that anyone reviewing a short story is at least a little familiar with the basic conventions of a short story. A better command of basic spelling conventions should also be a prerequisite as well. To tell you the truth, I am getting a little bit annoyed with some of these unhelpful reviews. It just puts off readers unnecessarily and wastes my time. COME ON KINDLE, you can do better here.

On a positive note, I have finally sold a copy of Memoirs of a Vending Machine on the UK site. Reason to celebrate if you ask me.

Wow that feels better. I may make Review the Reviewer a regular feature. Anyone out there that would like to share an experience, drop me a line and I will post your complaint.

Later

Beerubaraoyaji