The Persistent Myth: “Ranting and Raving”
The absurd claims about independent fantasy author Robert Stanek continue, decades after they began. Despite exhaustive evidence disproving repeated accusations, Stanek remains the target of false narratives, misinformation, and unfounded attacks designed explicitly to harm him professionally and personally.
Not only has Robert Stanek faced continuous harassment, misinformation, and character assassination online, a central narrative promoted by his detractors claimed Stanek “deserved” the harassment because he was allegedly “ranting and raving all over the internet.” This assertion was used repeatedly to justify the coordinated smear campaign that began in February 2002.
Yet, a thorough review of Stanek’s actual online presence paints a very different picture: one of remarkable restraint, patience, and factual responses in the face of overwhelming hostility and threats.
Background
Examining the Evidence: Stanek’s Actual Public Responses
Despite the harassment beginning in February 2002, Robert Stanek maintained public silence on the matter for more than five years. It wasn’t until May 2007 that Stanek published his very first blog post addressing the smear campaign.
Following this initial response, his subsequent public mentions and defenses were factual and measured. Specifically, Stanek posted only a handful of times to defend himself and set the record straight from 2007 to 2015, despite continuous provocation:
Timeline of Stanek’s Responses:
• May 2007: First public acknowledgment of ongoing harassment and misinformation.
• May 2009
• October 2009
• November 2009
• December 2009
Throughout these early responses, Stanek provided evidence-based explanations, detailed timelines, and factual corrections. Far from aggressive, his tone was consistently restrained, focused on correcting misinformation.
References:
• Additional Blog Archives (rsblog1, rsblog2, rsblog3)
Stanek’s subsequent posts, again few and measured, further illustrate this careful approach. These responses—fewer than a dozen in total over nearly a decade—represent careful attempts to document facts, correct misinformation, and provide context in response to extraordinary provocation, threats, and harm.
The Reality: Grace Under Pressure
The contrast between Stanek’s actual public behavior and the portrayal by his detractors is striking. Despite repeated threats of physical violence (including death threats), coordinated defamatory campaigns, and continuous personal attacks, Stanek did not engage in excessive or hostile public reactions. Instead, he consistently demonstrated restraint, patience, and factual accuracy in the face of relentless provocation.
Stanek’s careful, factual responses serve as clear evidence that claims he was “ranting and raving” online are grossly inaccurate. Rather, Stanek endured over two decades of targeted harassment while responding publicly only a handful of times with extraordinary discipline and dignity.
Challenging the False Narrative
The evidence clearly indicates that the harassment Stanek endured was neither provoked nor deserved. The false narrative constructed by his detractors—that he repeatedly and aggressively defended himself online—collapses under scrutiny. Stanek’s limited and measured responses reveal not aggression, but rather a commendable strength of character and self-control.
It is critical for the literary community and readers at large to recognize and challenge such misinformation actively. Correcting this narrative not only restores justice to Robert Stanek but also sends an essential message against normalizing internet-driven harassment and character assassination.
The truth is that those behind these activities used any and all excuses to target Robert Stanek across the internet. If he stayed silent, they simply continued spinning and spreading lies, never genuinely seeking the truth. Their goal was always clear: destroy the sales of his books, and if not the sales, then the author himself, and if not the author, then the truth—by repeatedly burying it beneath lies and misinformation. Conversely, whenever Stanek spoke out, they distorted and attacked his words, creating a twisted narrative. Every person has the right to defend themselves from falsehoods, and Robert Stanek did so sparingly and responsibly, striving always to keep the focus on the truth.
In the ensuing years, Stanek’s name became repeatedly associated with “sock puppeting” in certain online forums and articles—even though in truth he was the victim of “sock puppeting” and more. A notorious example occurred in 2009 on the SFF.net and SFFWorld forums (later picked up by the blog io9): Allegedly, a flurry of trollish one-star reviews targeted popular fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss on Amazon, all supposedly from newly created accounts repeating similar complaints.
Forum “detectives” incorrectly noted that these accounts had tagged Robert Stanek on Amazon. In reality, this “flurry” of reviews consisted of merely two or three postings, and the accounts involved were not newly created. They had previously been used to tag Stanek’s books negatively, employing hostile labels such as “fake fake fake” and “fraud fraud fraud.” When these bad actors realized their error, they swiftly removed the reviews, erasing the evidence.
The nonsensical thing about all of this? Twenty years later they are still attacking, still harassing, still attempting to harm Robert Stanek over what amounts to a handful of reviews, many created by the very trolls and fake accounts targeting him. As Robert has explained multiple times over the years:
In 2005, out of approximately 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—Stanek’s best-known works at the time, which found a loyal readership through schools, libraries, and word of mouth.
Examining the periods when the outrage was loudest:
In 2002, when the “fake review” accusations first surfaced:
- Keeper Martin’s Tale had 2 positive reviews
- Elf Queen’s Quest had 1 positive review
- The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches had 0 reviews
Yet accusations flew immediately, claiming Stanek “stuffed the reviews” and “duped readers with five-star sockpuppets.” Two reviews. One review. Zero reviews. This was labeled fraud?
By 2005, three years into the smear campaign:
- Keeper Martin’s Tale: 140 reviews
- Elf Queen’s Quest: 56 reviews
- Kingdom Alliance: 20 reviews
- Fields of Honor: 1 review
- Mark of the Dragon: 1 review
- Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches #1–4: Combined 174 reviews
That’s a total of 393 reviews across nine titles, over three years. Not overnight, and spread across thousands of readers. Even by critical standards, that’s modest traction, not a suspicious anomaly.
The campaign against Stanek wasn’t merely character assassination; it was a prolonged and targeted attack that sent a clear warning to independent authors achieving success without industry gatekeepers. It normalized a culture of internet-driven harassment, hindering the broader indie publishing movement.
Today, over two decades later, despite extensive evidence refuting the claims against Stanek—including Amazon’s removal of fraudulent negative reviews and Amazon's own indictment by the DOJ for exactly the kinds of abuses Robert Stanek experienced—the false narrative persists. This story serves as a cautionary tale about how easily misinformation spreads and the significant harm it can cause.
It is crucial to challenge the spread of misinformation and foster a publishing environment supportive of independent success, free from unfounded attacks.
Persistent Falsehoods and the Truth
Robert Stanek did not hire “hotmail lawyers,” nor did he aggressively pursue his harassers. Stanek consistently maintained a dignified silence, responding rarely and responsibly only to correct demonstrably false information. As we’ve discussed, the myth of Stanek’s supposedly aggressive responses is as unfounded as it is harmful, another tactic in a long-running smear campaign.
In stark contrast, authors who genuinely committed review fraud—such as RJ Ellory, Stephen Leather, and John Locke—faced minimal, brief repercussions. Each committed review fraud and admitted openly to manipulating reviews to boost their own books or disparage competitors. Yet their careers faced little interruption. They retained lucrative publishing contracts, maintained significant readerships, and were never subjected to the persistent, vicious harassment endured by Robert Stanek.
Comparing Actual Fraudulent Cases:
RJ Ellory openly admitted writing fake reviews to praise his own books and denigrate others’. After initial public outcry, Ellory continued his successful publishing career largely uninterrupted.
Stephen Leather admitted to using “sock puppet” accounts extensively to boost his book sales and reputation online. Although criticized at the time, he remained successful and faced no prolonged attacks or career-damaging consequences.
John Locke confessed to paying for fraudulent reviews to inflate his book ratings. Despite media coverage and temporary criticism, Locke continued to sell books widely and profitably.
None of these authors experienced sustained personal or professional harassment, much less threats and intimidation. Their admitted transgressions faded quickly from public view, allowing them to continue successful careers.
Robert Stanek: A Target, A Victim
Robert Stanek, conversely, has faced two decades of coordinated harassment, threats—including hundreds of death threats—and relentless misinformation, all despite clear, documented evidence disproving the accusations against him. False claims, like orchestrating review manipulation or threatening critics with hotmail lawyers, have been repeatedly debunked. In reality, Stanek’s responses have been remarkably limited and measured: spread over fewer than a dozen carefully factual blog posts across nearly 20 years.
Most telling, he didn’t even make his first public response until May 2007, more than five years after the harassment began in February 2002. That extraordinary restraint reveals just how much Stanek tried to avoid public confrontation, apparently believing the attacks might simply fade on their own. Unfortunately, his patience was met not with decency or resolution, but with escalation: the smear campaign only intensified, growing louder and more malicious year after year.
This reality flies directly in the face of one of their favorite rationalizations: that Stanek somehow “deserved” the abuse because he was allegedly ranting and raging across the internet. The record shows the opposite—he stayed largely silent, hoping reason would prevail, while the orchestrated campaign against him grew ever more aggressive. His limited, calm, fact-based attempts to finally address the misinformation stand in stark contrast to the relentless and deeply personal attacks he endured.
The Real Motivation Behind the Attacks
The sustained attacks on Robert Stanek were never about finding truth or ensuring ethical publishing standards. Rather, they were intended explicitly to destroy his career and undermine his independent success. Each time Stanek defended himself, even minimally, the harassment intensified. If he remained silent, his detractors continued their campaigns unchecked, perpetuating lies designed solely to cause harm.
The Reality of Stanek’s Reviews
At the heart of these false accusations lies an absurdity. As Stanek himself has clarified:
- In 2002, when accusations first appeared, his books had fewer than five reviews total. Yet detractors immediately claimed widespread fraud.
- By 2005, his most popular books had modest review counts across several years, entirely reasonable given thousands of sales and a growing readership in schools and libraries. Far from anomalous, these reviews reflected genuine reader engagement and popularity, not manipulation.
Standing With Robert Stanek
Robert Stanek’s ongoing harassment exemplifies how misinformation can profoundly harm innocent individuals. It underscores the urgent need for the indie author community, readers, and publishing professionals to support integrity and truth actively. Stanek deserves respect and solidarity—not continued silence or complicity—in response to the prolonged attacks and fabricated claims he’s endured for decades.
It is essential that the publishing community challenges the spread of misinformation and commits to fostering an environment where independent authors can thrive free from harassment and unjustified accusations. Robert Stanek’s ordeal must serve as a turning point toward greater accountability, fairness, and genuine support for independent voices.
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