 If you have found yourself in this little corner of the internet, you are most likely asking yourself “Who the heck is Beezer?”
Well, that’s a long answer, but you are more specifically asking why you should trust my reviews.
The short answer there is, you shouldn’t.
I don’t write reviews of fantasy books to boost an author’s sales or to promote a book. I write reviews for the simple reason of trying to help other fantasy readers find books they may enjoy.
Look through the some of the reviews I have written of books you have read and see what I thought. If we agree on a few, chances are I have read something else you may enjoy. I am always willing to recommend a book or two.
A little background on myself: I hail from the frigid lands they call Southern Minnesota. During the winter months, which can be long and cold, I have been known to read countless pages while sitting under a heating blanket, relaxing. My reading of fantasy novels started when I was about fifteen years old and my soon-to-be brother-in-law plopped down a book in front of me and said, “You have to read this.” I hated reading back then, but I had nothing else to do so I opened the book and was greeted by a wonderful world full of rich, intriguing characters. I haven’t stopped reading since then. That book was
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the first book in the Dragonlance Chronicles. I have stuck to reading pseudo-historical/medieval fantasy novels simply because modern fantasy just doesn’t work for me; I enjoy sword duels, magic battles, and rampaging monsters far too much. I also look for solid settings, driving and engaging plots, and great character development.
About Dragonlance, etc.: Some reviewers eschew brands of novels for inexplicable reasons – reasons which make lots of sense to them but simply aren’t, well, true. Like, for instance, how all shared-world fantasy novels are crap simply because they’re set in a shared world (or some such laughable reasoning). Sorry – not true; not by a long shot. That’s like saying, “I hated this dumb book I read about London; thus Dickens, Austen, and Shakespeare – they all suck.”
To make a long story short, I do not shy away from shared-world fantasy books, such as Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Eberron – in fact, I usually read them the month they are released and post reviews very quickly. The quality and readability of a book can be measured only by the quality and readability of a book.
When I write a review I try to keep it relatively short; under 1,000 words. I have read some reviews of books that are three and four pages long. While I admire that sort of dedication to the task at hand, if it takes that long to review a book, I may as well read it (and probably will, if I like the review). I try to touch on plot, character development, and any overall comments I have. Short and sweet and to the point. I rate books on a 1-5 rating scale (1 being terrible and 5 being a great book), much like (not coincidentally) the Amazon.com rating system.
When I first started rating books I just posted the reviews on Amazon.com and on the www.rasalvatore.com message boards under the name “BeezerMN.” However, as time passed, people suggested I start my own web page with all my reviews. Recently, authors have started to ask me to review their books as well. So, in an effort to make myself more accessible and to get my reviews out to a larger group of people, here is the website. I hope it helps!
If you are an author who has written a fantasy book and would like me to review it, please send me a message and we can talk about it. If, as a reader, there is a book you think I should review (because you liked it or hate, hate, hated it) by all means let me know and I will look into it. I am not promising to read every suggestion, but I will do my best. Also, if anyone has any questions about books, reading recommendations or anything else, please send me a message and I will do my best to answer in a timely manner. I hope you all enjoy this site as much as I have enjoyed reading the books.
- BeezerMN |
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