Espionage Aficionados discussion

I just got up to speed on the whole sock puppet controversy. Does anyone have a trick for dealing with this kind of deception outside of ignoring all five star reviews? http://t.co/D4TrqjuT

Thanks.
Gamal

While I don't think there are any guarantees, there are things I look for when reading reviews. First off, I read all the negative reviews first. The "Amazon purchase" badge helps credibility, as do any Amazon badges, such as "Real Name" "Vine Voice" or "Top 1000 Reviewer." None are guarantees, but they do lend legitimacy, if taken as a whole. (Okay, except for Harriet Klausner, LOL.) But I don't completely ignore all 5 star reviews. I've written a half-dozen 5 star reviews myself....but the review itself was several paragraphs long and not just "best book I've ever read." But as a whole, there's just no way to avoid getting suckered by a sock puppet every once in a while. :D

I think you're on the right track Michele. The badges will probably weed out some but not all of the issues. Perhaps people smarter than me at Amazon will alter the algorithm to deal with this problem. I guess I'm on my own until then.

Thanks for your idea.

Have fun.
G

I'm less suckered by sock-puppets than I am blurbs....damned blurbs have suckered me into reading more bad books than I care to admit, LOL.

I know exactly what you mean, although I often reject a book based on the blurb alone. ;)

Oh yes, I've done that as well....probably to my detriment, ha ha.