Every once in a while, I read comments by readers, which my wife insists I shouldn’t, but, because I’m a glutton of sorts for punishment, I do. The words on the left are what the reader wrote. My translation, based on the rest of their comments, follows on the right. I will also add that such reader comments were comparatively rare… but this is my way of suggesting that some few readers are, shall we say… less than perceptive. I say that, because it should be obvious from all the years of writing and comments that, while I do have a fair amount of action, especially in some books, I don’t write action for the sake of action. I write action scenes as a result of what people think, desire, and feel.
Boring: It doesn’t have a fight, murder, battle, or explicit sex in every chapter.
Repetitive: The protagonist actually has a job and responsibilities.
Anticlimactic: No battles or deaths to end the book.
Too much military detail: Forget about logistics, training, and discipline; get on with the slaughter.
Marginal excitement: Not enough battles.
Uninspired: The protagonist succeeded as he planned.
Poor Ending: It has a happy ending.
Pedantic: There’s actually explanation.
Too much political intrigue: Wanted more action
Tedious: Too much detail.
Bland: Too subtle.
Too PC: Women are actually people in the book, and men are portrayed accurately.
Needs editing: Cut out the details and get on with the action.
Disappointing: Not enough action.
Now… those are my translations… and they’re obviously somewhat subjective, but occasionally writers get to be subjective about readers, rather than the other way around.