It is no secret that we live in an age where it gets easier and easier to share our opinions with the world. It’s not just a matter of using Twitter to tell the world what you had for breakfast, or uploading duckface pictures of yourself to Facebook. Now, thanks to sites like Amazon and Goodreads, anyone can be a literary critic from the privacy of his or her bedroom.

Naturally, not everyone is thrilled by the brave new literary world we inhabit. The chairman of the Man Booker Prize judging panel, Sir Peter Stothard, recently made headlines when he launched an outspoken attack on amateur reviewers, claiming that readers would be better off listening to professional critics.

Sir Peter, who is also the editor of The Times Literary Supplement, was quoted in Britain’s Daily Telegraph saying that “[t]here is a general trend- and it’s certainly very prevalent online- for replacing argued literary criticism that allows you to compare books, to put them in context, to analyse how they work. That kind of traditional criticism is very easily replaced by unargued opinion.”

“Storytelling is fine but it doesn’t require Man Booker judges to decide what people are going to enjoy taking on holiday and reading on the beach,” he continued. “Books that are not immediately easy to read- the books that in the end will last, that reward you most- do increasingly require the Man Booker Prize judges to identify them so that people will find the pleasure and reward of reading them.”

It is not just established literary critics who have expressed concerns about the new frontier of social media-driven criticism. Some authors have sought to highlight the negative aspects of online reviews, claiming that they are being subject to campaigns of cyberbullying by disgruntled fans. Earlier this summer, there was a kerfuffle in the literary world over a website called StopTheGoodreadsBullies.com.

Writing in a guest post over at the Huffington Post’s blog, the people behind the site claimed that they were trying to fight back against people who used Goodreads to “destroy [an] author’s reputation and career for either their own personal amusement or for vengeance.”

“We want the toxic, bullying atmosphere at [Goodreads] to stop. And we want these people to be held accountable by public opinion,” they continued.

StopTheGoodreadsBullies itself has proved to be controversial. Because it often attempts to unmask individuals who are accused of engaging in bullying behavior, some critics have accused it of waging its own bullying campaign. As author Foz Meadows pointed out on her blog, “any public figure, regardless of whether they’re an author, actor, sportsperson or journalist, must resign themselves to a certain amount of public criticism. Not everyone will like you, your work or even necessarily your profession, and nor will they be under any obligation to protect your sensibilities by being coy about it.”

“Simply disliking a book, no matter how publicly or how snarkily, is not the same as bullying. To say that getting a handful of mean reviews is even in the same ballpark as dealing with an ongoing campaign of personal abuse is insulting to everyone involved,” Meadows continued.

But over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, SB Sarah summed it up best when she pointed out that negative reviews are just part and parcel of being an author.

“We may have the most meanest critique partner in the world, but she is nothing to the reader who paid $9 for a book and was disappointed,” she said.

“This is what happens when readers read books: we get irate sometimes and giddy other times. Now we interact more about the giddy and the irate, and that interaction, positive or negative, is valuable. More importantly, it’s normal.”

The article Online Reviews: Boon or Bane? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Fans of the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel will have yet another taste of post apocalyptic London with Angel and Faith. Set after the death of Giles and Angel’s return to sanity, he is joined by Rebel Slayer Faith Lehane. The two combat the forces of evil in a post Twilight world where earth is completely cut off from magic after the events of Buffy Season Eight.

Fans will remember that in season eight, Angel and Buffy were manipulated into giving birth to an apocalyptic dimension called Twilight. During these events Angel adopts the villain name Twilight in order to combat Buffy after she inherits godlike superpower. There’s no confusion with sparkly vampires here, that’s for sure.

In Live Through This issue number 4, Angel is still haunted by the acts of horror he committed during Twilight with the death of Rupert Giles hanging over his head constantly. At this point he is knee deep in his quest to bring Giles back from the dead. Angel is bereft of his usual bevy of ally’s Buffy Summers, Dawn, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg.

His one remaining ally has thus far been the surprising but steadfast Faith Lehane. A slayer just like one other, she breaks more rules than she keeps but is loyal to the fight against evil. She is not only his partner on this adventure but also his insurance policy, which Angel openly admits. Should he ever become so obsessed, he knew within reason that Faith would knock some sense into him.

In fact, Angel seems to be counting on it. She notices how Angel’s personality changes, adopting some rather bookish reading habits. Nash and Pearl, the sibling demons who crossed over onto earth, are magic users that battle Angel at every turn. They take pride and joy in making his life difficult while advancing their plot for the next supposed step in evolution.

Their view of Angel as a traitor to their cause is less evident in this issue but they still threaten Angel that they have more power than he’d seen before. Far from being the standard issue enemy the character of Nash is protective of his sister and Pearl definitely has a sensual quality about her.

Whistler, fellow demon to Nash and Pearl, is more diabolical than his campy nature would seem. His long history with Angel further complicates matters since it was he who initially convinced Angel to take the mantle of Twilight in the first place. The character of Whistler himself has evolved over time, his true face of vengeance against Angel showing through.

His work with the demon siblings his brought him a vial of Mohra Blood, the Blood of Eternity for his nefarious purposes. One concern is that this series should remain fresh and original, rather than devolve into a campy mess of vamp vs demon combat. The emotional elements of the 4th issue, little as they are, serve to highlight the storyline and its characters.

The 4th issue in this series is available now, with issue #5 releasing on December 28th, now available for pre-order here through Dark Horse Comics. Fans will want to keep a watch for this series on the rise since issues 6 and 7 are also available for pre-order as well.

Written by Christos Gage with artwork from Rebekah Isaacs, coloring by Dan Jackson and cover art by Steve Morris, this is a great team that has worked on the Angel and Faith series since the very beginning. With mastermind creator Joss Whedon having provided an excellent backdrop with tons of characters that makes for a very easily advancing plot line.

The next few issues seem to be shaping up for a grand showdown of epic proportions with a few hidden surprises being foreshadowed to fans in these recent pages.

The article Comic Review: Angel and Faith Issue #4 (Steve Morris Cover) appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.