I have sometimes said or implied in a book review that this is an inept story, not worth reading. I have never made such comments at a convention. And a book review is openly just the reviewer's opinion. I have been accused of hypocrisy in criticizing a novel or short story because I can't write fiction at all myself, or because it's an adult erotic book and I've supposedly admitted that I don't like anything on that theme. (Read my reviews of Kyell Gold's work for examples to the contrary.) I don't feel that by such criticisms I have been attacking or harassing their authors.
I have sometimes said or implied in a book review that this is an inept story, not worth reading. I have never made such comments at a convention. And a book review is openly just the reviewer's opinion. I have been accused of hypocrisy in criticizing a novel or short story because I can't write fiction at all myself, or because it's an adult erotic book and I've supposedly admitted that I don't like anything on that theme. (Read my reviews of Kyell Gold's work for examples to the contrary.) I don't feel that by such criticisms I have been attacking or harassing their authors.
Fred Patten