This is a one-person paper about books, printed weekly whenever there is something worth printing. There is no staff, no schedule anyone is enforcing, and no pretence at coverage. It is a record of what one reader read and what they made of it.

What gets reviewed

Whatever I finished. Mostly fantasy, because that is where I live, but the paper does not police its own edges — if I read it and had something to say, it runs. Long series get particular attention, partly because I like them and partly because they are badly served by the usual review length. A verdict on book one is not a verdict on fourteen.

How I write about them

Spoilers are flagged at the top of every notice and I keep to what the flag says. I would rather write a less complete review than take a first reading away from someone.

I try to say who a book is for rather than whether it is good. Most disagreements about books are actually disagreements about what the reader wanted that day, and a notice that tells you the shape of a book is more use than one that tells you my score.

The useful question is never “is this good.” It's “is this good for you, right now, in the mood you're actually in.”— The Editor

The unfinished

Nothing gets rated that I did not finish. Abandoned books go on the shelf with the page and the reason. I have been wrong about abandoned books before and expect to be again, which is precisely why they don't get a number attached.

Disclosures

Review copies are marked as such on the notice. They do not affect the rating and they do not buy a kind one. Where a link earns anything, it says so on the link. Right now nothing does.

Write to the paper

Corrections, arguments, and recommendations are all welcome, roughly in that order of urgency. editor@thewestmarchreview.com — or subscribe below and reply to any issue.