Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gloriously wretched!, February 24, 2005
Were Ed Wood alive, he would snap up the rights to this one and commit it to celluloid as only his inestimable talent could. The disjointed, nonsensical narrative should be required reading for all aspiring authors, as it offers a page by page, line by line example of How Not To Do It. Every literary mistake in the book is literally in the book. That Publish America bought it, hook, line and sinker should also serve as a lesson to aspiring authors. Great fun, if you're into the howlingly awful. My only regret is that my husband, Jayme Lynn Blaschke, wasn't able to interview the reclusive Travis Tea for Voices of Vision: Creators of Science Fiction and Fantasy Speak, because really, this is fantasy of the first order!
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How Not To Write, February 24, 2005
I bought this because one of my favourite Fantasy authors, Sherwood Smith, was one of the writers collectively known as Travis Tea. Now, I know Atlanta Nights was intended to point out certain publishing scams, but I downloaded the book for free from the author's web page and read it. Then I decided to buy it.
Why would I buy a book that is so dreadfully, hilariously vile?
Well, not because it is funny (and it is), but because reading Atlanta Nights teaches you about writing. Both James Macdonald (of Viable Paradise fame, and an author), the organizer, and Sherwood Smith spend a lot of time teaching newer, not yet published writers how to write, how publishers work, how to create books publishers will buy and readers will enjoy. They have seen all the mistakes one can make, and they, and their fellows, saw to it that every one of those mistakes are in this book.
Read Atlanta Nights, then read your own work. You'll see some of the same problems, and no, not just bad spelling. I mean too many adjectives, too many adverbs, distracting details, and odd syntax. You'll delete at least a third of your own words, and your book will be the better for it.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blindingly Funny, February 24, 2005
In fact, I was starting to wish I was blind after a chapter or two. This book shows what happens when a group of very good writers write as badly as possible. It's hysterical. The wandering characters, the incredible grammar, and the cliches -- if they missed one, it wasn't for want of trying. Sure, this one probably isn't funny for the non-writer but for anyone who has ever been talked into critiquing a book by a friend of a friend, this thing is a hoot. As a writing instructor, it made me laugh nearly to tears. I recommend it for any writer who wants a wild laugh-fest. I didn't see any political commentary in it (maybe some of the reviewers saw symbolism I missed ;-) but if you ever fell in love with a campy classic, you'll fall for this one.
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