Welcome to The GenReview, where we value genre fiction.

Note the name: Gen-Re-View.  It is our attempt to blend two words, Genre and Review. It also might be said to be a View of Genre fiction.  We’re flexible!

What is genre fiction, anyway?  Referred to as “popular fiction” by many (and as “trash” by some snooty members of the pseudo-intelligentsia), the term genre fiction usually connotes stories written primarily for their entertainment value.  While this may seem to be a very broad definition, what is implicit is that the genre fiction story or novel is mainly intended to pass the time rather than expand your consciousness.  That being said, the line between genre fiction and so-called “literary fiction” is a very fine one and often is obscured.  Certainly The Maltese Falcon is genre fiction, but it also explores the dark side of the human psyche and what drives people to do what they do.  So, it’s not always clear-cut.  However, while most authors of genre fiction would be pleased to have their work called “literary,” most authors of literary fiction would be offended to have their work described as genre fiction.

(As it happens, genre fiction usually outsells literary fiction by several orders of magnitude.  Go figure!)

Genre fiction includes the major genres of Crime Fiction, Romance Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Western Fiction and others.  These often have sub-genres, such as Mystery, Suspense and Police Procedural within Crime Fiction, or Science Fiction and Horror within Speculative Fiction.  New sub-genres appear without warning, so don’t try to pin them down!

Here we attempt to give you our unvarnished opinions about the various forms of genre literature, whether Speculative Fiction, Crime Fiction, Romance Fiction, Western Fiction or the stuff that crosses over/defies description.

Our reviewers are avid, intelligent readers who care about the books they read.  They also care about giving you their honest appraisal of these books.  We don’t intend to purposely steer you wrong on any books we review here.  That being said, people’s opinions will often differ, and what is golden to a reviewer may be mud to you or vice versa.

Also, keep in mind that the reviewers are human, therefore prone to small mistakes.  So, I ask you to think kindly of them when a grammatical error or small typo appears.  When you become perfect, perhaps you would enlighten us as to how you accomplished it!