Its safe to say that Lair of Reviews has come a long way since its inception in 2020. Not only has the number of reviews grown in size but the layout has undergone several changes.
I’m continually making tiny improvements to both the reviews and the pages of the website. I know many people won’t notice a lot of these changes but with each one I feel I’m gradually building the Lair towards how I first envisioned it.
In under three years eighty reviews have now been uploaded to the Lair. With a greater number of reviews I can now assess which categories and sub-categories are working and which can be improved.
NOVELS
Novels make up the largest percentage of the reviews in the Lair. The page they were displayed on was essentially just a very long list. This block has now been broken up into alphabetical sections.
SHORT STORIES
The last category to be added, this page grew larger more quickly than I expected. This resulted in the same layout issue as the page for novels. The page has now been extended to contain two sub-categories.
- Short Stories – stories 10,000 words or less
- Novellas – stories between 10,000 and 40,000 words
CRIME
I was never happy with my original sub-categories of ‘British Fiction’ and ‘International Fiction’. Now I have more crime genre reviews I have been able to create more interesting sub-categories.
- Amateur Sleuth – stories whose protagonists are amateur detectives
- Detective – stories whose protagonists are professional or private detectives
- Legal – stories with a strong legal drama element
- Caper/Heist – stories typically told from the criminal’s perspective
SCIENCE FICTION
While I was pleased with my original sub-categories of ‘Earth-Based’ and ‘Space-Based’ stories, both sections were getting quite busy. I am currently trying new sub-categories for this genre.
- Alien Aspects – stories that feature a strong alien element/presence
- Dystopian / Post-Apocalypse – stories set in a dystopian society or a post-apocalypse world
- Space Opera – stories featuring epic dramas and adventures set primary in outer space
- Virus Threat – stories featuring a virus or viral-like threat
WHAT’S NEXT?
There are still other sections I want to revamp, such as drama and thriller. These will take longer as I am still working out the best sub-categories for the stories without leaving out any of the reviews that are currently in these sections.
Until then, I hope you continue to enjoy the reviews uploaded to the Lair.
Lair of Reviews 