The Flat Earth Society

Other Discussion Boards => Arts & Entertainment => Topic started by: Saddam Hussein on February 16, 2016, 04:51:04 PM

Title: Robert Stanek
Post by: Saddam Hussein on February 16, 2016, 04:51:04 PM
Has anyone ever heard of this guy?  Robert Stanek is a self-published fantasy author whose entire business model is one giant bluff - rather than actually having fans, he just tricks people into buying his books by spreading the illusion that he's a very successful and popular author.  To this end, he's created hundreds of sockpuppet accounts on Amazon to give his own books endless five-star reviews while trashing his competitors with a flood of one-star reviews.  He's also re-published and marketed some of his books as being something new while changing nothing but the cover, made legal threats against websites that call him out while pretending to be a lawyer, and poorly Photoshopped a picture of himself with author Brian Jacques to make himself look more important.  That last instance is actually my personal favorite:

(http://i.imgur.com/i9GC4bo.jpg)

Some people on the Internet accused him of simply inserting himself into the picture when he wasn't there in real life, but it's actually a bit more subtle than that.  What he did was remove some of the trash that was in front of him on the table so it would look like he and Jacques were on a booksigning tour together, rather than him just being a guy who showed up and posed for a picture with Jacques.  Anyway, I can't recommend this website (http://conjugalfelicity.com/robert-stanek/) enough if you want to learn more about this fascinating man.  Imagine if Stanek spent this much time and effort on actually trying to improve as an author instead of this elaborate hoax.
Title: Re: Robert Stanek
Post by: Rama Set on February 16, 2016, 05:54:55 PM
Have you read any of his books?
Title: Re: Robert Stanek
Post by: Saddam Hussein on February 17, 2016, 09:21:19 PM
Only some of the excerpts on Amazon.  From what I've read, he's a pretty bad writer.  Not the worst ever or anything, but his prose is stilted and clunky, his stories are full of worn-out ideas, etc.  Generic fantasy, in other words.  Possibly even more generic than Morrowind.  Also, Robert Stanek shat directly into my soul (http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?/topic/42588-robert-stanek-shat-directly-into-my-soul/).
Title: Re: Robert Stanek
Post by: Shane on February 19, 2016, 08:41:30 AM
Never heard of him, and he doesnt really seem relevant in the mainstream so who cares
Title: Re: Robert Stanek
Post by: Roundy on February 19, 2016, 04:36:49 PM
Saddam cares.
Title: Re: Robert Stanek
Post by: Saddam Hussein on February 19, 2016, 08:34:59 PM
Yes, I care.  It's a very interesting story.
Title: Re: Robert Stanek
Post by: Benjamin Franklin on February 24, 2016, 07:47:43 PM
I like his schtick. I'm going to buy all his books.