>That's such a different attitude compared to people today, who would be giving interviews and posting on social media why they hate something at length, I don

>That's such a different attitude compared to people today, who would be giving interviews and posting on social media why they hate something at length, I don't think this is particularly true. A modern working writer in the Hollywood system would probably expect to be blackballed from a studio if they dissed a studio's movie. A working writer for a comic book company would likewise expect to be fired or lose career opportunities if they dissed a comic book company's output. Individual writers working in prose seem to have a bit more leeway in what they can get away with saying, but are likely to be labeled "jealous" if they write a bad review, in particular if it's of a more successful author. And media tie in authors probably have no independence, I believe Lawrence Miles was banned from writing Doctor Who books because he once wrote a bad review of a doctor who episode. I think the default today is forced positivity if anything.