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I don't "owe" an author anything. They are theoretically doing what they love, and I am paying them money for their product. That ends the relationship as far as I'm concerned.
Having said that, though, if an author's work fills some sort of niche in my soul or my imagination and becomes something that I either internalize or turn to as a regular "comfort read", then I will make the effort to bring their work to the attention of others - just because I hope others get the same type of enjoyment from it, and I want to do the author a good turn as a means of thanks.
I will post critical reviews of books I have read if I think that the author basically just phoned in the book, or if it's clear that they are jumping on a hot genre without the capability to create either a coherent universe or interesting characters - especially if they churn out book after book of the same type of tripe without ever evolving. If it's a new author who's still learning the craft, I try to be constructive. If it isn't, I won't mince words.
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