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I like to read the inner cover title page upside down too. That takes a few more seconds.

In fact i'm reading the whole forum upside down right now!

Ok guys the book, as Mark stated, is a rather dark story, bit too dark for children and I think a lot of the people here would get a kick out of it, I really love it and have read it twice now.

For anyone interested there are a number of mini reviews of The Magic Lands on Amazon.co.uk It would be great to hear from some readers and I'm always happy to answers questions if anyone has one!

Definitely.

I looked it up on Barnes and Noble and will probably pick it up soon.

And congratulations on getting published!

Neither the cover art nor the title would induce me to pick up the book to read the synopsis. If the synopsis in the book is the same as the one on Amazon, the synopsis would not lead me to want to read the book. Yes, I'm shallow but this story sounds like a million other stories out there.

If I'm not real impressed with the synopsis, I may open the book and read the first page to see if it grabs me.

There's just not enough room for pale rewrites in my shallow head. I might add I have never read any of the pulp D&D-based boooks on the shelves for the same reason. I want an author who created an original setting with original rules and memorable characters that I could not help caring about. If I don't forget, for at least a moment, that it's "just a story" I'm not satisfied with it.

Now if I think the story is probably better than the title, the cover art, and the synopsis would indicate, I might overcome my first impression and give it a chance. Having read good reviews, I'll look for it in my nearby bookstores.

I wish the title weren't so bland and "young reader" sounding. And the positioning on the cover of the wolf head over the light-colored outdoor scene gave me a first impression of a person wearing a halloween costume -- dog's head and sheet like a ghost.

Still, just getting published is a great accomplishment. I'm jealous. I've always thought I might get published if I could ever complete a story I was happy with ... :-)


EDIT: Corrected misspelling.

Edited, Jul 8th 2008 2:56pm by Ahkuraj

The first thing that grabs my attention is the binding.

It has to have a certain color contrast to let you notice it out of the dozens next to it. A small picture of an axe, a wand, a dragon's head, anything to indicate the nature of the fantasy is great.

It also has to have a clear and visible title. If it's part of a series, it should say so as well. The Author's name will figure here, and it should be visible, since 9 times out of 10, a good author will pass the preliminary "binder" test.

Now that it won the pot and made me grab it, I immediately go for the synopsis. This should be linked to the main plot of the story. I can't forgive a book that has a synopsis about a side-quest or the first couple of chapters. I immediately ban the author whenever I get lured into buying books like that, even if the book turns out great. (Gee, this pizza is magnificent, why the hell does it say Lasagna on the box?)

Please, no reviews. The back cover filled with "The New York Times loves our nuts" or "Given the seal of excellence by the A.S.D.A.Q.G.W.L.K." turns me OFF buying the book.

And finally, if the binder is attractive, the synopsis is good, and the back cover isn't tooting its own horn, then I open up the book and look at the excerpt (There is one, right? Few books I've read didn't have one). In this part it's the writing style that gets me. If it lacks an excerpt, I'll just flip to a page in the middle and read 1 paragraph, even out of context, the writing style shows.

That, in a nutshell, is how I pick out books. For a new author, at least. If I'm anticipating the book I buy it blindfolded.

The first thing that grabs my attention is the binding.

It has to have a certain color contrast to let you notice it out of the dozens next to it. A small picture of an axe, a wand, a dragon's head, anything to indicate the nature of the fantasy is great.

It also has to have a clear and visible title. If it's part of a series, it should say so as well. The Author's name will figure here, and it should be visible, since 9 times out of 10, a good author will pass the preliminary "binder" test.

Now that it won the pot and made me grab it, I immediately go for the synopsis. This should be linked to the main plot of the story. I can't forgive a book that has a synopsis about a side-quest or the first couple of chapters. I immediately ban the author whenever I get lured into buying books like that, even if the book turns out great. (Gee, this pizza is magnificent, why the hell does it say Lasagna on the box?)

Please, no reviews. The back cover filled with "The New York Times loves our nuts" or "Given the seal of excellence by the A.S.D.A.Q.G.W.L.K." turns me OFF buying the book.

And finally, if the binder is attractive, the synopsis is good, and the back cover isn't tooting its own horn, then I open up the book and look at the excerpt (There is one, right? Few books I've read didn't have one). In this part it's the writing style that gets me. If it lacks an excerpt, I'll just flip to a page in the middle and read 1 paragraph, even out of context, the writing style shows.

That, in a nutshell, is how I pick out books. For a new author, at least. If I'm anticipating the book I buy it blindfolded.

Let me summarize:

Judge a book by it's cover.

Hmm. I might look into picking this up. I'm disappointed that Amazon doesn't offer a peek inside, as I usually like to check the author's style before I pick up a book by an author I'm not familiar with. Maybe I'll check and see if Books-a-Million in my hometown has it in stock tonight.

i looked at the time stamp on the 1st post.. May 07 lol...

However, just reading the thread, it sounds like a good book. I'll check around for it (it can be found in the states?) as I'm in need of something to read -.-

Hope you don't mind me sharing this new review from Amazon :)

'This book is the story of two fourteen year old boys who find themselves transported into a realm of magic and nightmare.
Reminiscent of the Chronicles of Narnia, the story quickly turns into a dark tale of nightmare, lust and cruelty as the two boys find themselves locked in a contest against the ultimate evil, with the stakes being not only their lives, but their souls as well.
Joining Tom Lewis and Jack Barton as they journey through the contantly changing dreamscape of The Magic Lands is like sitting down with Alice In Wonderland and Rob Zombie to drop some acid.
Loaded with iconic imagery, The Magic Lands is a tour de force into a surreal realm dominated by evil and insidious temptation.'

There are quite a number of new reviews on Amazon USA and UK now. I'm happy to say that they are generally very positive, although I did recently hear from someone in Denmark who didn't like the book at all Actually I feel really bad when that happens as I obviously want anyone who takes the time to read the book to enjoy it. But I have come to realise that The Magic Lands is a novel that has a certain kind of appeal. Because it's surreal, quite dark at times and has a strong spiritual dimension (it's been called eveything from Christian to Pagan so far!!) this could put some people off, particularly as it starts out seemingly as a children's fantasy adventure story. Hope to hear what a few of the people on this forum think of the book soon!

Just to let anyone who may be interested in checking out my work that I’ve changed my website address. The new address is now http://markhockley.webs.com/

Hope you get a chance to take a look!