Website Additions

[Tony Summerfield]

Yes, it is in the right place, Nigel, but you may be the only person who has noticed it although I did put it on the updates page. We actually have 244 book reviews in the Cave, but they don't often get any comments, whilst reviews on other websites get glowing comments - a bit frustrating!

[Moonraker]

Maybe we need a 5-star rating addition!

[Fiona1986]

Probably because on other websites you can leave a comment directly on a review? Rather than having to navigate away from a review and find a thread of a forum to mention it in.

[Courtenay]

I have made one particular comment on the reviews more than once in forum discussions - most of them are more plot summaries than reviews and they contain far too many spoilers!

[Rob Houghton]

Having written one or two 'reviews', some of which appear on this website, I have to say it's pretty difficult to write about a book without summing up the plot, although I always TRY to not include 'spoilers' - but it's difficult to say what a 'spoiler' is in my opinion...for example, the fact that the children run away and live on 'The Secret Island' could be considered a spoiler if someone hasn't read that book, or in my review of 'The Very Big Secret' on this site, it was hard not to reveal that 'the very big secret' was a baby the children find in the woods - it would have been impossible to review the book without disclosing that fact.

I always try to put some of my own thoughts and feelings into the reviews I write rather than just summarising the plot...but I know some people probably don't like to read that sort of thing either. It's difficult to strike the right balance.

[Tony Summerfield]

I have a problem here as there is really only one person who writes reviews specially for this website and his latest is the 140th that he has written. So rather than leave gaps I have had to take a number of reviews from the Journal and perhaps it would be best I deleted all these and just left it to Terry to provide reviews of the missing books if and when he can.

[Rob Houghton]

I guess we all have our preferences. I actually enjoy reading the reviews on here that first appeared in The Journal! I was reading Nigel's review of Hollow Tree House the other day, and I enjoyed it immensely.

[Eddie Muir]

It was Nigel's excellent review of Hollow Tree House that prompted me to search for a copy a year or two back. When I found a copy, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

[Rob Houghton]

I also never personally worry about 'spoilers' but that's probably because I've read each book at least once, most of them at least twice and quite a few three or four or more times!

[walter raleigh]

I've read quite a few of the reviews in the cave, mainly of books I've already read as I'm always interested to hear other people's opinions about my favourite works. I do get Courtenay's problem with spoilers though. Some of the reviewers do take care to avoid giving to much away, but I've read Robert Houghton's review of "The Very Big Secret" and agree that it would have been difficult to discuss the book properly without giving away the plot.

Tony, if you would like more people to review books maybe you could let us know how to submit a review and give us an idea of what you would want reviewed. I'd certainly like to have a bash at reviewing one or two of the books, but most of the ones I'd like to have a go at already have reviews. Would you be happy with multiple reviews of the same book?

[Courtenay]

With something like The Very Big Secret, I do agree it's necessary to give away the fact that the children find a baby, as that is the whole point of the story - and of course it would be odd not to explain how the island comes into a book called The Secret Island!

What I'm more concerned about with spoilers is the giving away of how a story ends, or of plot twists where surprise is an important part of the effect on the first-time reader. The worst examples, frankly, are the number of reviews of the Find-Outers books that give away who dunnit!! The Cave isn't only visited by die-hard collectors and fanatics who've read nearly everything Enid wrote and just want to refresh their memories or revisit old favourites - it's also an invaluable resource for people like me who are still unfamiliar with a lot of Enid's work and would like an idea of which books might be good to seek out and read next. But with all the spoilers and near-complete plot summaries, I'm wary of reading any of those reviews too thoroughly in case they ruin the book for me by telling me too much of what happens and how it ends.

[Rob Houghton]

I agree with that. As I wrote many of them, I realise now that these give away a lot of plot points and reveal who dun it - they were my very first reviews back in the early 2000's and I didn't think about the pros and cons of revealing the outcomes at the time.

[Jack400]

I also never personally worry about 'spoilers' but that's probably because I've read each book at least once, most of them at least twice and quite a few three or four or more times!

This is one of those situations where a dreadful memory for names and places is actually an advantage.

[Rob Houghton]

This is one of those situations where a dreadful memory for names and places is actually an advantage.

I agree. My problem is that I usually remember the rough plot of a book I've read even years after, including who the villain is!

[Fiona1986]

I agree it's difficult to strike the right balance sometimes. Often various points you really want to make have to be left out if you don't want to give away something crucial.

For example I always get teary when Jack goes to the hotel and talks to Mr and Mrs Arnold at the end of The Secret Island. That rather gives away the ending, though, if I mention it!

PS. I'm very much one of those "can't remember a darned thing" people, which can be a blessing. In fact, on rereading some stories I'VE written (within the past year or two) I often find myself surprised by what I'm reading