Frequently Asked Questions
Read these questions before sending me an e-mail, folks. Click here to read Letters of Comment.

How do you find the time to read so many books and review them all?
Easy. I have no life. Next.

Why did you review "Title X" but not "Title Y"? (Corrolary: Why aren't there any books reviewed by [insert author's name]?)
Much as I would love to be able to read as fast as Data on Next Generation, I can't...yet. (I have been clocked at 1125 WPM with 95% retention, but my normal recreational reading speed is about 625 WPM.) Most of the books that are up on the site right now were reviewed because a) they were what I happened to have lying around, or b) I really wanted to read that title before reading something else. As to authors not included at the site's inauguration — and there are many — rest assured, I'll get to them as soon as I can.

One way to persuade me to get to a certain book faster is either just to e-mail me a request or recommendation, or use the search feature. I monitor search results every week and, starting in 2004, plan to use this information to greater influence my upcoming reading choices.

I hate spoilers! Do your reviews have them?
I do my level best to give detailed plot synopses that don't contain spoilers that would ruin your reading experience. But I admit sometimes this can be difficult due to the prevalence of series fiction in fantasy and SF publishing. Reviewing second, third, and later novels in a series often requires plot synopses that reveal info you shouldn't know if you haven't read the first entry. On the rare occasions that I do reveal a spoiler, I will print it in white "spoiler text," that you won't be able to read unless you deliberately highlight it.

I would like to submit a book review for publication.
Sorry, but I don't do that. This is my site, although I'm delighted to have people send me recommended-reading lists. If you wish to put your own book reviews on the web, please feel free to start your own site. By having all the reviews on this site coming from a single source, it is easier for readers to judge what my tastes and attitudes are towards fiction, and thus know how to use my reviews helpfully. You can count on honesty and integrity unswayed by fears that a certain advertiser or buddy-in-the-publishing-biz might be offended (another problem that hampers the reliability of certain trade mag reviews IMHO). Some people might have opinions that are polar opposites of mine and thus use the reviews to seek out books I thought sucked. Frankly, if you want a book review site where every single title gets five stars and is slobbered over as the greatest masterpiece in the history of the universe, stick with amazon.com.

Speaking of amazon.com, can I order books from them directly from SF REVIEWS.NET?
Why, of course you can! Just pass your cursor over the image of the book cover in any given review. If the image turns out to be a link, then you're just a click away from ordering that book online. Note that this feature is pretty much limited to newer titles, but you can get used books, too (though I cannot vouch for the trustworthiness of every seller).

What's a "VLFN"?
An abbreviation I made up to refer to the "Very Long Fantasy Novel," in reaction to the current and often misguided thinking in the fantasy genre that extreme length (600 to 1000 pages) equals greatness. Of course, some VLFN's are quite worthwhile (such as George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings), but many aren't (Thomas Harlan's The Shadow of Ararat), and a boring book that's also really really long can be the literary equivalent of Chinese water torture.

What does the year after each book title signify?
This is the year the work was first copyrighted and presumably published, although the latter may not necessarily match the former. The book cover art shown in each review does not necessarily reflect the first edition, nor is it necessarily the cover of the edition currently in print.

Do you ever do appearances at any conventions?
Yes, I love to go to a good con. For obvious reasons, the ones I attend tend to be in my area (Texas). If you're on a con committee from outside Texas and would like to have me, well, I'd love to come, but I would probably need some assistance with my travel/lodging expenses and, frankly, for most cons that's not something you do except for the GoH. And web critics aren't GoH material! <lol>