Reviewing the Reviewers: Steven Martinovich on Enter Stage Right
Monday, February 13, 2006 at 1:38PM The optimistic warrior by Steven Martinovich
This is both the best review I've yet read on BFA but also the most thrilling for me personally. Let me tell you why.
First, writing something like this review--so sweeping and yet so descriptive--is incredibly hard with a volume of BFA's scope and ambition, and Martinovich is a beautifully talented writer in that regard. Seriously, I know how hard that is. I can't imagine improving the text (except for one preposition and his slight misrepresentation of the Core as just the 'First World' (when it's more correct to say that the 1st equals Old Core and the 2nd equals New Core)). I mean, it's enjoyable just to read anything that well written.
Second, it's very fair. Guy isn't shy about both strengths and weakness and where to place BFA in relation to other works.
Third, the review comes amazingly close to capturing the scope of BFA, something I gave up hoping to ever see in your average article-length review (the brevity makes Martinovich's feat all the more impressive to me).
Fourth, it's just plain thrilling to feel so understood by a reviewer, especially in terms of my intentions, which he captures exactly. I could write a lot of "better" and more fear-filled stuff, but why crowd that already stuffed field?
Fifth, the prospective reader doesn't get short-changed whatsoever by this review, which is a rare feat. They really are given everything they need to decide if BFA is for them.
Again, really gratifying to read. My hat's off to Martinovich on the effort. Few people ever do it that well.
[posted by Sean, for Tom]
Reader Comments (1)
Thank you very much. I have to admit that I found it *very* hard to write a review of BFA because of its, as you said, sheer scope. My thanks for your extraordinarily kind words.