Missing Review
Posted in My ParSec reviews, Writing at 12:00 on 1 May 2025
In my post about the latest issue of ParSec magazine I said it would contain my review of Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto.
Well; it didn’t.
After the issue had been released I received an email from ParSec’s editor saying that just before the issue went live he had received a letter from the book’s publisher demanding that my review be taken down.
The letter apparently described my review as “hugely upsetting to the author and a lot of people.” Quite how that could be the case when the review had yet to appear is a point to ponder. The author maybe – if the review had been shared with them – but a lot of people?
The letter claimed that I had misgendered the book’s protagonist, Edie, throughout as “they are explicitly known as they/them throughout the entirety of the book” and I had failed to follow that designation.
Now: the book was written in the first person singular by a narrator who was clearly not male. With such a narrator occasions on which the use of they/them will describe the protagonist will be vanishingly rare.
Regular readers of this blog will know how unlikely it is that something as striking as a still relatively uncommon use of personal pronouns would pass me by.
Nvertheless, just to check, I did a quick scan of the Advanced Reading Copy sent to me for review and, as I had recalled, the pronouns used to describe the protagonist are actually ‘I’ and ‘me’ (naturally so for a first person narration) – or ‘you’ when the narrator was being spoken to by other characters. I could find no instance of ‘they/them/their’ at all. In this circumstance it can surely be understood why a humble reviewer would assume that the normal pronouns for a female character would apply.
My review, as reviews must be, accordingly was based on the text as written – or at least as published in the ARC.
In the cold light of day and coming to the review afresh there was a three word passage which perhaps came across as more flippant and thoughtless than I intended. Had I been contacted directly about this I would have acceded to its removal/replacement without hesitation. I was not given the opportunity.
I will nevertheless alter that when I post the review here in due course.
I have no quibble with ParSec’s editor’s decision not to publish the review. He has after all a relationship with the publisher to nurture but I would add he has enough on his plate without having to deal with a back and forth about something so trivial as a book review.
I must add that it used to be considered bad form for an author to complain about a review.
But that a publisher can all but demand a review not be printed is surely a bit over the score.
Tags: Hammajang Luck, ParSec
Martin McCallion
1 May 2025 at 15:46
I can’t decide if ‘disgraceful’ or ‘farcical’ is the right adjective for this mess. Maybe both?
I’m aware of the editor’s health problems, and I take your point that he has to maintain relationships with publishers. But in general, shouldn’t a publisher (of the magazine, in this case) protect their writers? In more serious cases, legal ones, we expect the publisher to stand up in court alongside their writer.
I’ve got to hope this letter (an actual, paper letter?) originated with some intern at the publishing house. Surely the author would be made of sterner stuff.
Looking forward to reading your review when you publish it here, and seeing if I can identify the formerly not-very-offensive passage.
jackdeighton
1 May 2025 at 17:37
Martin,
I confess I was rather taken aback at the presumption. I have no idea if the author even knew about it.
The “very strongly worded” letter was from the publicity manager at the publisher. Take from that what you will.
As I said I would have taken out the particular three words if asked (as I now have for when I publish it on the blog.)
I would agree editors in general ought to stand by their authors (and ParSec’s is as a rule appreciative of my reviews) but in this case – and given his circumstances – I didn’t think it was worth grandstanding over. I just thought I would point it out.
Janusz
5 May 2025 at 08:45
I was intrigued by the Makana + Yamamoto combination and wondered if the author was Japanese, of Japanese descent, or chose a Japanese-sounding pen name.
The author’s website wasn’t very helpful. The legend on the top page says: “they/she/he | kānaka maoli + hapa haole | māhū + lesbian”. Whoever wrote the “About” page refers to Yamamoto as “they/their”.
“Yamamoto” is a common Japanese family name. The elements of “Makana” are also common; the combination is not. I’m still none the wiser.
I look forward to reading your review of the book.
jackdeighton
5 May 2025 at 20:02
The author lives in Hawaii where there are a fair few people of Japanese descent. Japanese ancestry is most likely then. The accompanying blurb also used they/their pronouns in relation to the author.
In the book, though, the only pronouns I could see for the narrator were ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘you’.
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto – A Son of the Rock -- Jack Deighton
16 June 2025 at 14:00
[…] THE REQUEST OF THE BOOK’S PUBLISHER MY REVIEW OF THIS NOVEL WAS WITHDRAWN FROM ParSec 13. I felt under no obligation to refrain from publishing my review here. As a result […]