False promises

 I've just finished reading a book which I nearly didn't get beyond the first line of.  It's a fine hook, and it talks about the main character being in the middle of killing a man when she's contacted by her commander.  As a hook, the line is perfect.  The trouble is, it's the wrong hook for me.

That line promised a book full of explicit violence, and that's one of my absolute nos.  But I had other reasons for persevering with this book, so I read on.

And yes, the book is full of violence, but we're dealing with a brutal empire here, and the main characters are on a mission to prevent far worse slaughter.

But if you took the first line of the book as a promise of its contents, you'd expect a fairly standard violent space opera.  One corrupt and all-powerful empire - check.  One all-powerful AI programming people to be mindless soldiers and hate aliens - check.  One deadly weapon which will kill billions - check.

There are other themes which are almost cliches too.  Rich girl and poor girl are forced to work together, even though they hate each other - check.  A rag-tag bunch of rebels must take down the empire and save every soul in the universe - check.

So far, so standard.  So why did I finish a book whose premise I hated?  Because, further into the narrative the characters began to show how much they regretted the killing they'd been forced to do.  Those deaths weighed heavily on their consciences.  One of the characters had been forced by evil circumstances to kill a brother she loved.

The story prevents a picture of trapped characters forced to kill to stay alive.  It also takes the other standard tropes of evil empire and AI and weaves a cautionary tale about the evil which can result if the two are combined.

Ultimately the story is about morals, resistance, and hope, but you wouldn't know that if you hadn't read the whole thing.  The jacket blurb plays up the evilness by using dramatic phrases like "save the galaxy" and "millions may die" if the characters fail.

To me, that's a false promise.  The book is really about found family and diversity, the human need to fight corruption despite overwhelming odds, and an exploration of the psychological cost of killing,   And for me, a blurb using those themes would've been far more enticing.  Focusing on the hope the freedom-fighters bring would draw me in much more.  So beware publishers, of making false promises in your blurbs.

Publishers are guilty of making these kinds of false promises so often in book blurbs.  Shouting the loudest about who has the darkest and most violent books seems to have become the predominant marketing method recently.  And it's a sure turn-off for me.  Stop trying so hard with your false promises, publishers.  Write honest blurbs, and you're going to tempt me to buy your wares far more often.