"If a single one of the novels is well-written I have yet to find it, as I crashed my way through thirty or so of them in the past few months. Typos, misspellings, malapropisms, jumbled syntax—something about the self-publishing that Amazon facilitates seems to bring out the language-impaired, and I'm willing to believe that not a single litRPG author knows the difference between lay and lie. Or how apostrophes work. Or the conventions of quoted dialogue. Or what italics are for. Or why question marks are needed sometimes. And sometimes not. "But the annoyance fades fairly quickly, once readers lower their expectations and realize that the authors are essentially amateurs. This isn't a new genre being delivered to us from above by discerning editors. (I'm willing to believe that not a single litRPG author knows what an editor actually is.) This is something akin to fan fiction at an online appreciation site—the kind of site, it's worth noting, where Fifty Shades of Grey got its start, before becoming the first book of pornography to make the bestseller list. LitRPG is rising up from the bottom, taking shape through the work of amateurish writers who make up with enthusiasm what they lack in grammar. If none of the books are worth reading as books, they are often surprisingly fun as stories, and the emergence of a new subgenre is a pleasure to watch. A delight. A hoot." Escape From Reality - Washington Free Beacon
It's a little old, but actually not a bad article at all. I wonder if the writer will do another now and see how the genre has changed in a few years.
This kinda comes across as "I skimmed some books that popped up and they don't meet my l i t e r a r y s t a n d a r d s." I paid a hell of a lot for an editor and spent a week going over the book myself, but aight. ETA: Didn't see how old it was, and I admit it's not a wholly negative article. I've just been a part of genres where people say you have to "lower your standards" to enjoy it, and it grates. xD
Agreed. Like personally, I think there's a difference between making allowances for first time authors who are learning and just...letting authors write horrible stuff and going "well, it's not like the genre has better". Like nuts to that last sentiment. It's never going to get better if people don't say they want better. Why would authors put more work in if half-assed gets them money, right? Well, some would, but a lot wouldn't. That's honestly half the reason the genre is suddenly drowning in poorly done harem stories. Easy cash and they can just spit out a flat formula and slap a few stats and go "LOOK, it's LITRPG!".
Overall, it sounds like he's a fan, though. No one forced him to read 30 litrpg books. He's probably guilt-tripping over having read them, like when you open a tub of ice cream and somehow find that it is empty a few hours later.
The problem with literary snobs, aside from the fact that they exist, is that as technology (and capitalism) makes publishing available to more people, they become more dissatisfied. They want the days where the mighty publishing houses controlled what the people could read. Now with authors being able to self-publish their work on a platform that makes their work available to anyone with an internet access, we'll find that the level of "literary pureness" will decrease. Why? Because the average person doesn't care about what is or isn't "Literary", they just like to read what resonates with them. Take "The Land" series. I don't think it could be said to be well written. However it IS entertaining, and it captures the interest of people who may have not otherwise picked up a book.
