About » Book Ratings & Levels Explained
Explanation of the moreVikings Book Ratings & Levels For Books
How Are The Book Ratings Chosen?
Each book is rated by the person who wrote the review. So, it’s completely subjective to that individual. Each member of The Hoard writes reviews on the type of writing they personally enjoy. This means that everything moreVikings looks at is reviewed by a fan of that work’s genre.
The rating for each book is located at the bottom of the review under the heading “I Give This Book”. moreVikings uses a scale of zero-to-five to measure how much the reviewer enjoyed the work. The rating chosen by the review writer is represented by five little viking icons. There are two types of viking icons; one is just a slight purple outline that is the default and one that is a filled in plum-color with a redder purple long axe. The rating is accompanied by a textual description for the benefit of those visitors using page readers (i.e. “three Vikings out of five”).
Here’s an example of a moreViking’s rating:
I Give This Book
four Vikings out of five
What do the Ratings Mean?
zero Vikings out of five
Book was fair to poor. If asked how it was, the reviewer would say, “um…” We’re probably only reviewing the work to warn people off a bad story.
one Viking out of five
Book was average. If asked how it was, the reviewer would say, “it was alright” or “it was fun”.
two Vikings out of five
Book was good. If asked how it was, the reviewer would say, “I enjoyed it. I would read more.”
three Vikings out of five
Book was really good. If asked how it was, the reviewer would say, “I really enjoyed it. I’m going to read more.”
four Vikings out of five
Book was great. If asked how it was, the reviewer would say, “I couldn’t put it down.”
five Vikings out of five
Words fail to describe the awesomeness of the work.
What Do The “Levels” Mean & How Are They Chosen?
I thought it would be helpful and fun for visitors if we also gave them a visual idea of what certain elements in a book are like. It’s one thing to say a novel is witty. It’s quite another to say a book is witty and you give it three Smiles on a scale of one to five.
The levels of a book are located at the bottom of the review, to the right of the Rating it received. Both the levels and the ratings are represented in the same manner, only the levels use different icons that are appropriate to the subject they describe (i.e. heart icons to measure Romance).
What do the Ratings Mean?
Violence
The level of physical conflict / violence in a work is represented by little Burning Village icons. So a work might receive a rating of “two Burning Villages out of five”.
= One Level
This means some acts of physical conflict, but NO blood and NO bodies ‘on screen’. Violence on the level of a Saturday morning cartoon. A work with a rating of “one Burning Village out of five” may have hitting, sword fights, kicking, falling anvils, etc. But the reader doesn’t ’see’ anyone die and there is no description or pictures of blood. Many people might say that this work isn’t even violent.
= Two Levels
The level of physical conflict is between levels 1 & 3. The primary difference here is that the work has pictures of or mentions bodies and the reader may ’see’ someone die. There’s still no blood, though, and any explosions are small or comic ones. A work with a rating of “two Burning Villages out of five” may have punching, samurai battles, heart attacks, people thrown through windows, etc. But no one is being stalked, bombs aren’t dropped, no one gets tortured, etc. Some people may say this work isn’t violent.
= Three Levels
Most people would say that this work has violence in it. The average Wolverine comic, Stephanie Plum novel or TV crime drama would fit in here. The line between this and the previous two levels is blood. A work with a rating of “three Burning Villages out of five” has bodies, people who get hurt, lots of battles, and some or occasional blood.
= Four Levels
Anyone reading this would say it is violent. Lots of blood and lots of bodies. Kill Bill and Elfen Leid would be at this level.
= Five Levels
Horror movie level violence. Physical conflict that is not just messy and gory, but is also probably mostly gratuitous. The whole point of this story is for people and/or animals to be destroyed in a gruesome and disgusting manner.
Humor
The level of wit and laughs in a work is represented by little Smiles icons. So a work might receive a rating of “two Smiles out of five”.
= One Level
A joke or two. The reviewer may have chuckled once or twice while reading the work.
= Two Levels
Witty dialog in an otherwise serious work. Reviewer laughed or giggled many times while reading.
= Three Levels
Lots of laughs. A humorous book but NOT a humor novel. Stephanie Plum novels are typically at this level.
= Four Levels
This is a humour novel, sold and marketed as such.
= Five Levels
Reviewer laughed so hard they wet themselves.
Romance
The level of romance and romantic relationships in a work is represented by little Hearts icons. So a work might receive a rating of “two Hearts out of five”.
= One Level
One or more characters have a crush on other characters.
= Two Levels
Two non-married characters in a romantic relationship that is affected by or part of the plot.
= Three Levels
Many characters with crushes on each other, trying to get in or having romantic relationships.
= Four Levels
Romantic relationships are a major part of the story, but the book is not categoriezed or marketed as Romance.
= Five Levels
This is a romance novel, sold and marketed as such.
Lust
The level of kissing, hugging and other more, ahem, intimate activities. Nudge nudge, wink wink. These levels are represented by little kissy-lips icons. So a work might receive a rating of “two Kisses out of five”.
= One Level
Some kissing.
= Two Levels
Characters mention or talk about sex. All sexual activity is ‘off screen’; the reader’s never a viewer, if you get my drift.
= Three Levels
The reader ’sees’ characters being, ahem, ‘intimate’. But there isn’t a lot and nothing is graphic or very visual. Any Archy McNally novel by Lawrence Sanders would have this level.
= Four Levels
Bodice ripper or Laura K. Hamilton novel. Very visual intimacy.
= Five Levels
Porn.