Spoiler alert: this article says why Terry Pratchett review didn’t have a warning | Open door | Claire Armitstead

If we add an alert to one review, what about the others? Readers have different sensitivities; who is to say which details may spoil a book for any one of them?Readers hate spoilers, and one of the sacred duties of the literary editor is to make sure they don’t happen – or if they do, that they’re signalled with a spoiler alert. The question of what constitutes a spoiler is not straightforward, though, as demonstrated last week by AS Byatt’s magisterial review of Terry Pratchett’s final Discworld novel, The Shepherd’s Crown.Published in print in last Saturday’s Review, it went up online at a minute past midnight on Thursday to reflect the drama of the novel’s publication. In the latest example of witching-hour publishing – a tradition that used to be reserved for the latest Harry Potter – fans queued up in fancy dress as bookshops across the UK opened at midnight to sell the novel to them. An hour later, back on the Guardian books website, the first complaint came in, and by mid-morning they were arriving thick and fast. Related: The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett review – the much-loved author’s last Discworld novel Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]

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