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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/2816
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

My reaction to the review was:

"There are three good stories, four bad ones, and a bunch of OK ones."

I'm not sure how many stories the collection contains, but if only three of the bunch are noteworthy, I might not think it worth the cost (in dollars or energy) to read.

The rocky part really starts in the 6th paragraph. The first two sentences are set up as [negative words] but [good words]. Putting the negative stuff first weights it more heavily in my mind that they positive words. The real message is the third sentence: "The remaining stories are mostly solid, well-written tales involving familiar tropes". I think this sentence is an example of the tone you're looking for. It starts positive and explains the shortcomings with gentler vocabulary.

As a person generally unfamiliar with the content of anthologies, three good stories in the whole bunch doesn't seem very appealing. If three out of x is actually a spectacularly high number, mention that in the review.

Original score: 1