The Friday Five Challenge is an interesting exercise for writers ~ it shows the little things that can put potential readers off that click-buy. We click on a book because the cover appeals to us, but can be put off a purchase by the blurb, the price, or the reviews.
Anyone with a blog can join in ~ here's what you do:
IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….
1) Go to any online book supplier
2) Randomly choose a category
3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which instantly appeals
4) Read the book bio/description, and any other details
5) If there are reviews, check out a couple
6) Make an instant decision: would you BUY or PASS?
You can check out others' contributions on the #FridayFiveChallenge hashtag on Twitter, or see links at the end of this page.
*********
This week I put the word outlaws into the Amazon search. I skimmed past several pages of covers showing naked but headless male torsos and very little else, and eventually my eyes fell on The Outlaws by Jason Vail.
Analysis
Cover
Me and my mediaeval pictures again! Anything that looks vaguely Plantagenet makes me look twice ~ look, I promise, I really will keep off the history theme next week....
Price
£2.17 for... wait for it... 617 pages! No-one can say he's trying to rip anyone off, anyway!
Blurb
Eustace FitzWalter, Giselle de Hafton, and Robert Attebrook could not be more different. Eustace is the bastard son of an earl, Giselle the sheltered daughter of a dotting gentry father, and Robert the son of an impoverished village carpenter.
In ordinary times, their lives would not intersect. But when Robert breaks his uncle out of Earl Roger FitzWalter’s gaol, he sets in motion a series of events that sends their lives colliding in a maelstrom of murder and revenge that drives them all outside the laws and customs of England.
Step into the tumultuous years of the Twelfth Century, and stand alongside Eustace as he schemes to inherit his father’s title, lands, and power, using every means within his grasp; Giselle as she fights to free herself from a forced marriage and to save her inheritance; and Robert as he struggles to rise above the limitations of his birth in the face of Eustace’s quest for vengeance.
A saga to rival Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, The Outlaws sweeps from serene English villages and quiet forest glens, to French battlefields, remote Welsh fortresses, and even the court of King Henry II, where nobles and clergy vie for power and wealth, and disputes are often decided with steel and blood.
That works for me!
Reviews
17, all 4 or 5*. Not one negative comment. I didn't see any by people who hadn't reviewed anything else.
Would I BUY or PASS?
Totally BUY! And already have. Don't know when I'm going to get time to read such an epic, maybe after the next novel is completed. A great find!
Friday Five Challenge posts by others:
Rosie Amber's amusing cricket book HERE
Between The Lines' mystery HERE
Shelley Wilson's self-help HERE
Barb Taub's summer time boxed set HERE
Well, it’s definitely value for money. Sounds good too!
ReplyDeleteAye - maybe I'll read it after I've finished my WIP :)
DeleteCan't go wrong with genres you enjoy, the book cover fits well, it is a huge book but not an unreasonable price.
ReplyDeleteAlas, you can (see last week!!!!), but yeah, I get what you mean; I'd expected to choose something about bikers, or similar, but obeyed the FFC guidelines - it was the first cover that appealed to me! NO history next week!
DeleteSounds really good, but the SIZE of it would put me off, (am slow reader, getting slower.)
ReplyDeleteYes, I find it a bit daunting, June. A book has to be AMAZING to hold my interest for that long. I got seriously bored with the last two books from the Game of Thrones series, and skip read loads.
DeleteI know I'm a fantasy fan, but this sounds good. I do love history so the setting appeals to me. Great choice :)
ReplyDeleteAye, we don't only read one genre, do we? I veer towards history, post apocalyptic and edgy contemporary drama, I have to say!
DeleteI can see why this stood out amongst all those torsos! Sounds great - I'd buy too.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, History Addicts Anonymous!
DeleteIt sounds amazing! You have to let us know how you like it.
ReplyDeleteTwill be reviewed when read, Barb - I like Shelley's idea of linking any reviews of our FFCs back to the original post :)
DeleteSerious time needs to be put aside for that but I'm sure it will be terrific - look forward to hearing :-) I'm never drawn to history but generally find once I start I'm hooked so it would probably be a BUY from me too!
ReplyDeleteOh, God, I am, I wish I had all the time in the world to read and learn about everything, all of it!!!
Delete