The Myth of the "Fake Reviews" Scandal – What the Numbers Actually Say

By Robert Stanek

For over two decades, critics and detractors have screamed about “fake reviews” on my Robert Stanek books. Forums, blogs, even bestselling authors like Patrick Rothfuss joined the chorus. But here’s the thing no one wants to talk about:

It was never about a flood of reviews. It was about a handful. Literally.

Let’s look at the actual numbers—something my critics and detractors never do.

The Real Stats

In 2005, out of ~50 titles published under Robert Stanek across Amazon US and UK, only 14 books ever had 12 or more reviews. Just 14.

Those titles? Primarily from the Ruin Mist series—my best-known works at the time and the ones that first found a loyal readership through schools, libraries, and word of mouth.

So let’s zero in on the time periods when the outrage machine was loudest:

In 2002, when the “fake review” accusations first surfaced:

Yet the accusations were already flying. Detractors claimed I'd “stuffed the reviews” and “duped readers with five-star sockpuppets.”

Two reviews. One review. Zero reviews.
This is what they called fraud?

By 2005, three years into the smear campaign:

That’s a total of 393 reviews across nine titles—over three years. Not for one book. Not overnight. Spread across thousands and thousands of readers and 9 titles.

Even by the most critical standards, that’s modest traction—not a suspicious anomaly.

What Was the Real Issue?

The question then becomes: What was all the noise really about?

Why did forums erupt? Why did bloggers cry foul? Why did genre insiders amplify the smear?

Because the books were finding readers—without permission.

This was never about review counts. It was about who was succeeding.

It was about an independent author breaking through at a time when self-publishing was still taboo.

It was about stories reaching readers without the backing of the Big Five or gatekeeping genre cliques.

The outrage wasn’t about numbers—it was about control.

The Smear Becomes the Story

The actual reviews didn’t matter. What mattered was the illusion of scandal.

From 2002 onward, the same accusations echoed across forums and newsletters:

They repeated it so often that the repetition itself became “evidence.”

Critics didn’t cite proof—they cited each other.

Meanwhile, Amazon quietly removed many of the suspicious one-star reviews that attacked my books in coordinated waves—evidence that the real manipulation came from those making the accusations.

Two Decades Later, Still Screaming

Now, 20 years on, they’re still talking about it.

Still dragging up review counts.

Still pointing to less than 400 reviews—over three years, across nine books—as “proof” of an elaborate scheme.

That’s not analysis. That’s obsession.

It’s the kind of fixation that says more about the accusers than the accused.

Time to Set the Record Straight

If there’s one thing this saga proves, it’s that truth matters.

And the truth is this:

My books found readers the old-fashioned way—one at a time, through story and resonance, not scandal.

The only thing “unusual” was that it happened outside the gatekeepers’ grasp.

The Final Word

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:

If the books didn’t matter, no one would still be trying to erase them twenty years later.

They’re still screaming—not because the story was a lie,

but because it mattered enough to scare them. And still does.

—Robert Stanek

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