# Horribly bad blurbs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226 "2010-04-07T02:07:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226/21 "2010-04-09T01:35:24Z")
I spoilered my answer, but since others let it out… **Andy L** said: > [@](#): > > You have correctly identified the book. Poor main character is being seriously misrepresented - like describing Nancy Drew as Mata Hari. Not only that, but Podkayne wasn’t even the troublemaker. It was her stupid\* brother. **Lamia** said: > [@](#): > > I’ve never read _Podkayne of Mars_, but once the title was correctly identified I was very surprised by the blurb in the OP because I’d had the impression that the book was about a little girl! Wikipedia tells me the title character is actually about 17, which makes the “interplanetary bombshell” with “a strange, overpowering blast of highly explosive Sex Appeal” business slightly less disturbing. Maybe less disturbing, but not less inaccurate. I mean, she has to be taught how to apply makeup, for heaven’s sake. Yeah, she turns a few heads - one guy thinks she’s 5 years older than she is, but it’s not like she was blasting out pheromones and giving lap dances. **palindromemordnilap** said: > [@](#): > > “The boy they called the Mouse is out for blood and power, and taking no prisoners. But before he can avenge his father’s death he must battle an insane cult of witches who have brainwashed his mother to kill him, dominate a band of desperate desert terrorists in a fight to the death, and steal the hearts of two women–one a hot-blooded temptress and the other a cold princess from another world.” 😃 * * * - He may have been a genius, but he sure was stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226/22 "2010-04-09T04:10:15Z")
Someone needs to start a new thread wherein Dopers are free to advertise for some of the more famous works throughout history, and see who the hell can identify them. 😛 Shakespeare alone would probably provide great fodder \ ---
**Author:** ![Yoyodyne\_Propulsion\_Systems](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/82dd89/32.png) [@Yoyodyne\_Propulsion\_Systems](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yoyodyne_Propulsion_Systems)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226/23 "2010-04-09T11:23:14Z")
Reminds me of reading a cheap paperback copy of Brian Aldiss’ novel NONSTOP in which the reader is intended to figure out halfway through the story that the characters are aboard an interstellar generation ship and have forgotten their heritage or even that they aren’t on a planet. The US publisher had thwarted this by retitling the book STARSHIP The mind boggles… ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226/24 "2010-04-09T13:36:37Z")
> [@Yoyodyne\_Propulsion\_Systems](#): > > The US publisher had thwarted this by retitling the book STARSHIP > > The mind boggles… That’s right up there with the Korean (?) title for _Sixth Sense__He’s a Ghost_ ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226/25 "2010-04-10T17:21:09Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Some bookcover blurbs have mistakes - like the one on the back of my copy of Niven’s “Tales of Known Space” which claims that the book tells the next 10,000 years of history - the last story in the book occurs about 3000 AD, or the one that calls 2150AD the 21st century. > > But this one is just horrible (I’ve expurgated the distinguishing features for the moment - try to figure out what book is being maligned yourself before I tell you): > > “Character name” > The fantabulous secret weapon in the cold war between the worlds. > Back Cover: > Tomorrow’s answer to the anti-missile-missile. > “Character name” > An interplanetary bombshell who rocked the constellations when > she invaded the Venus Hilton and attacked the mighty mechanical > men with a strange, overpowering blast of highly explosive Sex > Appeal. > A cenTERRIFICal tale of two planets by the mastermind of “Author Name” > Inside Front Page: > A HEAVENLY BODY > She was the sun, the moon and the stars. Wherever pretty “character nickname” > rocketed, her radiation waves could be felt for lightyears. The > fun and games’ rooms at Las Vega, Venus, had never seen anything > like this minx from Mars. “Character nickname” was having the time of her > celestial life–until one of her male satellites discovered that > “character name” spelled trouble…in anybody’s orbit. Wow. My curiousity was aroused, so I made a web search. One of the more interesting search results is [over here](http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/03/cmap-6-why-did-you-pick-such-a.html). The strange thing is, this guy also teased about the author, title and charcter name. And his name is _Andrew_! What a _ **coincidence!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226/26 "2010-04-10T17:57:14Z")
> [@Trans Fat Og](#): > > Wow. My curiousity was aroused, so I made a web search. One of the more interesting search results is [over here](http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/03/cmap-6-why-did-you-pick-such-a.html). > > The strange thing is, this guy also teased about the author, title and charcter name. And his name is _Andrew_! > > What a _ **coincidence!** _ Yeah, that’s me… ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226/27 "2010-04-10T18:24:11Z")
Oh God, no, someone is posting in more than one place on the Internet! :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horribly-bad-blurbs/535226.md?page=1)