OK, I need to put my 2 cents' worth in here. Please note, this is my PERSONAL opinion, which is no way connected with my being employed by Curious Labs. As you all know, I am a technical writer by day. What you may not know is that I'm a sci-fi novelist by night. To this end, I'm working very closely with my agent and publisher and have learned a few basic truths about writing and the publishing industry. First of all, writing a book of any type, be it a Poser 5 Reference Manual or STORM OVER EDEN, is hard work if for no other reason that typing 75K+ words is no launghing matter. Then come the inevitable edits, rewrites, cover art, in-book images, etc. For fun, let's add deadlines. So no matter what anyone thinks of Mr. Mortier's books, he did put lots of effort into them. Second, publishers make 90% of their money from 1% of their authors. This means that about 99% of a publisher's titles lose money. This simple fact makes it damned hard for a new writer to break into the field. There is only one thing worse than being a new author and that's being a failed author. Your title not making money for a publisher is the kiss of death. Sadly, most authors fail to realize this, thinking that fame and fortune will rain down upon them just because their novel was printed. But I digress... Had Mr. Mortier's first book failed to recoup its investment and then some, there never would have been a second one. He's written and published several books and is coming out with yet another one. That means that he is consistently profitable for his publisher. How can that be? People are buying his books. And, given what he writes about, it stands to reason that a good chunk of his audience is repeat sales. Therefore, the only conclusion one can make is that there are a number of people who for whatever reason like his work or can't/won't/don't find anything better. Notice that I am NOT commenting about the quality of said books! Honestly, I've never read one of Mr. Mortier's books and couldn't make any public comments if I had for obvious reasons. I'm simply discussing the economics of the matter. As for Shamms' message itself, the man has an extremely valid point. Instead of complaining afterward, why not add input beforehand? You might actually contribute to making something better. How cool is that? But if, given the chance, you opt not to speak out, then accept what comes and either buy the book or not. If you think his work sucks to the point where you can and do flame it, that by necessity means you think you can do better. So do it! What are you gaining by making post after complaining post besides fanning emotions and wasting your irreplaceable time and energy? Write a book- and if it's really better than what's out there, you might just land a publishing contract and see yourself in print. When that happens, don't forget to stop back and see your own hard work being ripped. Personally, I much prefer changing things when I have the chance over complaining afterward. Yeah it's more work but far more rewarding in the end :-). Again, the preceding was my PERSONAL opinion.