'City of Hope and Despair' reviewed

[Ian Whates]

The first review of my latest novel has appeared and, thank goodness, it's a highly positive one:

Libri Leonis - Review: City of Hope and Despair by Ian Whates

"City of Hope and Despair is a fantastic book, full of emotional ups and downs, turmoil and adventure, drawn with a steady, deft hand by Whates, whose authorial control is magnificent."

Yes, I can live with that.

[Gary Compton]

Well done Ian, how many beers did you promise the reviewer.

Oops! I shouldn't think out loud.

Anyway keep up the good work.

[Ursa major]

Originally Posted by Ian Whates

Yes, I can live with that.

Your stoicism does you proud.



Oh, and well done.

[Ian Whates]

Originally Posted by Gary Compton

Well done Ian, how many beers did you promise the reviewer.

I'm happy to say, Gary, that I have absolutely no idea who the reviewer is... though I'd gladly buy them a beer should I ever meet them.

[Teresa Edgerton]

This certainly makes me more impatient for my copy to arrive. The end of March seems a long way away.

[Ian Whates]

Thanks, Ursa.

And, Teresa, I just hope the book proves worth the wait!

[thaddeus6th]

I see the night school lessons in hypnosis worked well

Congrats, Mr. Whates, must be pretty nice to have your hard work recognised and praised

Reminds me, actually, I need to buy some more books.

[Ian Whates]

I've just seen another highly positive review of the book:

Deluded Visions - City of Hope and Despair by Ian Whates

The thing that particularly pleases me with these first two is that they both appear to have been written by people who enjoyed the first book but had some slight reservations, and this second volume seems to have satisfied those reservations. So I must be doing something right!

[Teresa Edgerton]

Nice review.

But I thought it was going to be a duology. Not that I'm not happy to learn that there will be more books. It's just that something gave me the idea that there would only be two.

[Ursa major]

Assuming I've picked up the correct profile, this latest reviewer says of herself:

I've been called vicious, spiteful and petty as a reviewer. If I think your stuff sucks, I won't mince words about it and will go into great detail about why and where I think it sucks. To be fair, if I find anything I liked, even a tiny bit, no matter if it was one snippet of dialogue, I will mention it as a positive.

Given this, you should be particularly pleased with her review, Ian.



I thought it was the "Noise" books (SF) that were the duology, Teresa.

[Teresa Edgerton]

It sounds like she is well known for her ... um ... tact.

[Ian Whates]

Originally Posted by Ursa major

I thought it was the "Noise" books (SF) that were the duology, Teresa.

Yes, Teresa, Ursa's spot on. The 'Noise' books are a duology (though sales are sufficiently strong that the publisher has subsequently asked if I'd like to write a third), while the 'City of 100 Rows' series is a trilogy (though there's plenty of scope for me to return to Thaiburley for subsequent books or series in the future). I'm hard at work on the concluding volume now.

Thanks for pointing out the cuddly nature of the reviewer... makes me even more pleased with her comments.