Paul Kincaid

Liz Bourke at Strange Horizons:

One of the recurring elements, both in the introductions to each single-author chapter, and more subtly in the reviews and essays themselves, is how Kincaid returns again to considering the purpose of reviews and criticism; the nature of the project of critical engagement itself. Although Kincaid does not explicitly raise the question of "Why does it matter?" both "Who is it for?" and "What does it do?" are reflected on, making this an intriguing dialogue between the critic and himself.

Paul Graham Raven in Interzone 254:

We read Kincaid not to be told what to think, but to be shown how we might decide for ourselves.

Gary K. Wolfe in Locus 646:

Features 'the same clear writing, careful reasoning, and ordering of evidence that characterize his work with an enviable consistency.'

Andy Sawyer in Vector 277:

Kincaid is a thoughtful, acute reader of a wide range of SF, who does not steer clear of expressing critical views of writers whom he clearly loves.

Gary K. Wolfe in Science Fiction Studies 126:

There are, of course, plenty of assessments here that one could take issue with—if there were not, the book would hardly be a significant work of criticism—and there is an inevitable piecemeal effect when you try to read the book from beginning to end, but the individual pieces are marked by a fierce, intelligent, and passionate engagement with the field that marks Kincaid as one of our most reliable critics.

A.J. Drenda in Extrapolation Vol 59, No.:

Thinking about reviewing and criticism as a response to art, he simultaneously locates these two processes, these two modes of conversation, in an aesthetic domain, placing the work of a reviewer and critic in the same place as that of a fiction writer. In so doing, he disassembles the ancient dichotomy of critic versus writer and writer versus critic... He is an avid reader, a persuasive critic, and most of all, an enthralling creative writer.

Erik Jaccard in Foundation 121:

For all its ambitious breadth and informative, fascinating reading of sf, the book is, at its core, an exploration of the practice of critical reading and interpretation. This is clear from the opening pages, wherein Kincaid considers the nature, function, and positionality of the critic and his work. What is criticism for, Kincaid asks; to whom do we write it and why? The answer, in short, is that criticism is fundamentally an act of exploration, written primarily as a self-reflexive record of that journey, and as an attempt to explain how we arrive at our understanding of texts and their often very personal meaning.