Thoughts on Reviewing Books out of Your Genre

[future_guardian]

There's this woman I follow on Twitter, and although she's more of a paranormal romance fan and I'm more of a horror fan I like reading what she has to say.  One of her tweets was about how she went to review a horror novel on Amazon and people responded to her with "Oh, you can't review a horror novel.  You're a romance fan."  While I absolutely synmpathize with her rage, because nobody has any right to tell you what you can and can't review, I'm split on how I feel about people reviewing outside of their genre of choice.

And like in any post I make, I'm going to explain why.

First of all, consider if it was me instead of her.  The roles would be reversed.  I read horror (as well as dark fantasy and some urban/contemporary fantasy and once in a while sci-fi) and tend to avoid paranormal romance (unless it's a novel that's a blend of genres, and paranormal romance happens to be one of the genres).  So, I would be more at home reviewing a horror novel.  I may not review it correctly (and the fact that there is a correct way to review something is a subject I intend to journal about later) but I would definitely get some words on screen.  So what if one day I decide "Hey, I read this paranormal romance novel and I really want to review it?"  That's one of the reasons I'm taking her side, because one day I could be reviewing a book outside of my genre.

That out of the way, I wanted to say why I'm not so sure I'd be comfortable reading a review from someone who doesn't usually read or review in that particular genre.  I personally read reviews to know whether or not to spend my hard-earned (usually lousy) money on a new book.  I want the review to be reliable. Well, if the reviewer isn't familiar with the genre, some of the critique might be a little misguided. 

For example, say you are someone who reads non-supernatural mystery novels.  When you pick up an urban fantasy novel, where you're likely to have a mystery as a huge part of the plot but there's all sorts of supernatural twists to it (maybe someone killed someone else with magic, or someone released a dangerous creature and main character has to find out who released the creature and then stop it from destroying the world), you might not be prepared to review it.  Your review might say "Well, the mystery was there, but what is with all this magic?  Why couldn't you just have everyone be human?"  Any urban fantasy fan will tell you that's the whole point of the novel, but that's just it. Fans will tell you that.  Someone who is new to the genre themselves could write this review and turn off potential new fans because they weren't aware themselves of what they were getting into.

The other issue I have stems from knowing that readers have favorite genres for a reason.  In this woman's case, it's not a stretch to see her read and review horror novels.  She has said she likes the horror genre, even though she's more of a romance reader.  It's just that romance has spoke to her the most.  Well, if she (or anyone, I'm just using her as an example because that's what I've been doing this entire post) is aware going into the horror novel that there's not going to be the romance she loves and it will get disturbing (hopefully) then I have no doubt that she can write a good review.  But what if a reviewer judges the new genre based on criteria from their genre?

We'll use an example of my favorite genres.  It' isn't entirely fair since I'm aware enough of both genres to know "Oh, yeah, that's going to happen" but I'll ask you to go with me for a bit. 

I can enjoy an urban fantasy novel if it has some blood/gore, more than one scene of action, strong supernatural elements, and a strong lead character.  I can enjoy a horror novel if it has a noticeable amount of blood/gore (unless it's psychological horror, and then it gets a pass), more than one scene of action, strong supernatural elements, and a strong lead character.  Both genres (or genre and subgenre) are similar in what I can enjoy.  Here's the things that would take me out of each genre.  I will give up on an urban fantasy novel if there's all this world-building and no action, no supernatural elements to speak of, no magic (implied is fine if that's the point, but there's got to be evidence), a weak character that relies on everyone around them to solve their problems, and extreme romance (such as, there's a dangerous situation going on and the female and male lead take time out to hop into bed)  I will give up on a horror novel if it's not psychological and there's no blood/gore, if there's no action, if it takes half the book to get to the point and then the point is lost at the end, and if I find myself wanting everyone dead, even the "good guys" I'm supposed to cheer for. 

I have different requirements for what makes a good horror novel and what makes a good urban fantasy novel.  When it comes to what I like, the two are very similar.  When it comes to what I don't like, there are important differences.  If I'm reading an urban fantasy novel I can't say "Well, there's no point and I'm wanting everyone dead, so it is a terrible, terrible book!"  If I'm reading a horror novel, I can't say "Well, there's no magic so it's a terrible, terrible book!"  

I keep saying I may have been using an unfair example and I'm beginning to see why, but let's keep going with it.  I might get my review written and it might make me feel better getting it off my chest, but it wouldn't work as a review.  Because I went in with a checklist from my favorite genre expecting something I wouldn't get from the new genre.

Since I've gone on and on, I think I should close this post.  And I'm going to close it with this.  Anyone should be able to review whatever they like.  Nobody should be telling them "Oh, you can't review it because it's out of your genre!"  However, there are things to consider when reviewing something out of your genre.