Location: United Kingdom
Member Since: April 23, 2011
4 users have added this author as a favorite.
Tom Jones
Books
This member has not published any books.Tom Jones's favorite authors on Smashwords
David Gaughran
Latest book: A Storm Hits Valparaiso. Published on December 22, 2011.
(3.67 from 6 reviews)Visit their website.
View their blog. Latest post: "Understanding Amazon’s New Algorithms Is As Easy As ABC"
Smashwords book reviews by Tom Jones
- Smashwords Book Marketing Guide
on April 30, 2011
I have followed Mark's marketing guide as if it were holy writ passed down from the god of ebook publishing. Which, of course, is exactly what it is. And you know something? If you have something worth reading, it absolutely works. Not that I do, of course...well, I like to think that I do, but it's not my decision...Anyway. Enough blithering. What I want to say is: "read this book". It will prevent your ebook from sinking without a trace. Tom North - Author of 'Puttypaw'
- Edible Art and Other Flash Fiction
on April 30, 2011
This was also my first exposure to flash fiction. I didn't know what to expect, but these vignettes were great: an almost voyeuristic experience for the reader, who witnesses a very satisfying snippet from a stranger's life. Fun!
- Smashwords Style Guide
on May 05, 2011
The Smashwords Style guide is great, and of course MUST be adhered to if you don't want your ebook slicing, dicing and generally reconstituting as offal by Meatgrinder. However I have found one aspect a source of repeated frustration. I, along with many others, use Open Office (and now Libre Office) rather than MS Word. A small difference of opinion between Libre Office and Meatgrinder means that the lines in the converted .epub tend to come out on top of each other; which looks...interesting. Mark's solution (essentially: don't use Open Office) means that every time I want to upload an ebook I need to borrow someone else's laptop. As I say, a small gripe in an otherwise great experience, but surely there must be another way around this one tiny, but irritating, glitch? Tom North - author of 'Puttypaw'
- If You Go Into The Woods
on May 13, 2011
Two interesting and well executed short stories. I enjoyed the style, especially where this relates to what wasn't included. By this I mean that in both cases the ending is nicely ambiguous with the author feeling no need to puncture the mystery with unnecessary over-explanation. The readers are left to form their own conclusions; and for me the stories are better for it.
- Ovolution and Other Stories
on July 22, 2011
I'm going to write a short, medium and long version of this review. This is because I appreciate that what you want to know is "Is this book any good and worth your time in reading it?" The short answer is "Yes". The medium answer is "Yes. However it will appeal most to people who: a) enjoy science fiction, and; b) enjoy their science fiction with a healthy dose of tongue in its cheek. In sci-fi terms it is unashamedly old school with a healthy humorous twist. This probably won't be to everyone's taste, but I found it very enjoyable. I chuckled often. JJ can write. The long answer is below: I have a strange relationship with sci-fi. I used to love both this and fantasy, but these days I tend to shy away from the geekiness inherent in both formats (although loving books where either is used to show something about characters which we otherwise would not see - as in Haruki Murakami). I can't help it: I'm that sort of person.Perhaps I'm a bit too cynical for my own good. My enjoyment of 'pure' sci-fi or fantasy is always tempered by a slight discomfort. What I enjoyed about Ovolution is that JJ obviously has none of my qualms. He is steeped in its past and present and here has written some wonderful stories which are essentially a homage to the format. I also like that JJ is a cynical and funny man. He is also, clearly, a talented writer. He is also, clearly, not going to let his obvious love of science fiction prevent him from gently sending it up. This combination of characteristics - the sincere love of sci-fi coupled with the more cynical, but still reverent fun-poking - is probably why I like his writing so much. I have to be honest and say that I still basically don't like the format and so in terms of my honest enjoyment, this would mean that I'd tend to give Ovolution 4 stars. Perhaps strangely, however, I don't think that docking a star on my format preference would be justified in this case. JJ presents a book which is a perfectly executed and very enjoyable example of what it is. And as such it fully deserves five stars. The bottom line is that your enjoyment of Ovolution is likely to be dictated by your relationship with sci-fi. It might be too irreverent for purists and too authentic for sci-fi's detractors. But if you're in the middle it's very worth a punt! [I'll tell you what I'd love: I'd honestly love to see JJ tackle some more - literally - down-to-earth stories. Those in Ovulation are light-hearted but do resonate in some fairly dark places on occasion. Just not quite often enough for me. If he could take his writing style and apply it with equal success to the real world he'd have a reader for life right here. But, of course, what he writes is entirely his business - and he does it bloomin' well]