March 13th, 2023
Ah, reviews.
They can be inconsequential; they can be essential. They can make or break a thing, or deconstruct and remake it again.
However you feel about them, they’re not going away. And as much as I hate to admit it, getting a review confirms to me that something I’ve created is real. I shouldn’t need that affirmation, but I am nothing if not a small, insecure artist.
The first mainstream review I ever received about my writing was in the Faribault Daily News, on August 13th, 2013. It was for my debut novella, Them.
The review for me, to this day, is both decent and mortifying.
I would like to take a moment now to respond to excerpts from it, a decade later.
BOOK REVIEW: “Them” by Dennis Vogen
By JESSICA BIES
“An alien invasion, puddles of vomit and Lady Gaga. What do those three have in common? They are all major components in Dennis Vogen’s debut sci-fi, ‘Them.'”
No notes. This is a good start.
“Ranked as a novella, ‘Them’ — publication of which was funded via the online backing site, Kickstarter — is short, but perhaps not very sweet.”
Okay, Jessica, slow your roll.
“‘Them’ is fast-paced and engaging –“
Alright, now we’re back.
“– though it lacks some maturity, both figuratively and literally. An obsession with certain bodily functions makes the novel more likely to be appreciated by a younger audience.”
You know, I don’t know about this. I mean, is there a chapter about sharting? Well, yes. But did I name that chapter “Shart”? I did. Okay, she makes another fine point.
“It’s brevity and omnipresent narration leaves little room for character development — though Kim and Guy’s pasts are slightly fleshed out, it is still difficult to discern what motivates them. Why does Kim behave so recklessly? Why does Guy trust her so completely?”
This is actually the part of the review (the only part?) that I strongly disagreed with, if only because she asks why Kim acts so recklessly, and we rarely ask that same question when it comes to male action protagonists in any medium. (Case in point: John Wick is four movies and countless dead bodies into a career fast-tracked by the murder of his pet.)
Something that I’ve felt strongly when writing characters is that they shouldn’t be “characters”; they should act outside of what you expect from them, because that’s what humans do.
Kim, from the moment she was born in my mind, was “complicated.” I wanted her to be both a sweet, well-adjusted twenty-something woman, and a cold-blooded killer who justifies her violence with the kidnapping of her parents.
Does that make sense to everyone? No. In fact, I was banking on the idea that it would be jarring to read. But when you learn about violence, it rarely makes sense. It’s why we have entertainment empires built on it; it seems nobody is violent for the exact same reasons.
“If the novella had a soundtrack, it would consist of songs by Madonna, Phil Collins and Prince. A mish-mash of pop culture references are both entertaining and distracting. At times, the novella reads like a college freshman’s attempt at creative writing. At others, a B-roll science fiction script.”
Guilty on all counts.
“Still worth a read, if only because of the Vogen’s dedication and successful attempt to raise money for its publication, ‘Them’ is for the stout of heart. The first in a planned two-book series, you may find yourself eager to read “Us,” or eager not to.”
Note from the future: many were “eager not to,” leading to the failure of my next Kickstarter. Also, she refers to me here as “The Vogen” and I demand you all use that name for me going forward.
“If you’re looking for a quick and dirty, sci-fi don’t, do read. If you possess a slightly more refined palate (and an aversion to crude humor), it is better passed on.”
It could have been worse, right?
Being in my hometown newspaper (which has happened several times now) is always a neat experience. I get messages and calls from friends and family, and my mom collected every article.
I opened with the love-it-or-hate-it nature of reviews, but truthfully, they are what make the artistic world go round. Not just the mainstream reviews, but the most important ones: word-of-mouth.
Over the years, I have received every kind of personal review, from detailed emails going over countless aspects of a book of mine, to a text once that read “it was fine.”
Attention begets attention. That’s why we artists are always asking you to leave reviews for us: we are Tinkerbell, and we literally die at the sound of no hands clapping.
My first big review was more of a finger snap. But that sound was more important to me than I could have imagined.
P.S. You can check out the complete review below.
BOOK REVIEW: “Them” by Dennis Vogen
By JESSICA BIES jbies@stpeterherald.com
Aug 13, 2013
An alien invasion, puddles of vomit and Lady Gaga.
What do those three have in common?
They are all major components in Dennis Vogen’s debut sci-fi, “Them.”
Ranked as a novella, “Them” — publication of which was funded via the online backing site, Kickstarter — is short, but perhaps not very sweet.
Proclaimed to be a ‘road trip story about family, love, pain and growing up during an alien invasion’ it tells the story of Kim, a young woman who has a propensity towards violence (she kills two men within the space of 60 pages) and Guy, a gay truck driver with a tortured, somewhat seamy past.
Kim wears the pants in the relationship. Determined to find her parents, who she believes were captured by the invading, human-like aliens, she set out on the road with a sense of recklessness that immediately gets her into trouble.
Guy happens across her just minutes after she gouges out a would-be rapist’s eyes and causes a fiery car crash. Despite some trepidation, Guy chooses to travel with girl, drawn to her despite her ability to kill upon demand.
By the end of the novella, the two will be caught up in ‘one of the oddest love triangles of all time,’ both capturing the attention of one of the aliens, Idle, who just happens to look like a young, male supermodel.
“Them” is fast-paced and engaging, though it lacks some maturity, both figuratively and literally. An obsession with certain bodily functions makes the novel more likely to be appreciated by a younger audience. It’s brevity and omnipresent narration leaves little room for character development — though Kim and Guy’s pasts are slightly fleshed out, it is still difficult to discern what motivates them. Why does Kim behave so recklessly? Why does Guy trust her so completely?
If the novella had a soundtrack, it would consist of songs by Madonna, Phil Collins and Prince. A mish-mash of pop culture references are both entertaining and distracting. At times, the novella reads like a college freshman’s attempt at creative writing. At others, a B-roll science fiction script.
Still worth a read, if only because of the Vogen’s dedication and successful attempt to raise money for its publication, “Them” is for the stout of heart. The first in a planned two-book series, you may find yourself eager to read “Us,” or eager not to.
If you’re looking for a quick and dirty, sci-fi don’t, do read. If you possess a slightly more refined palate (and an aversion to crude humor), it is better passed on.
The Den 