The Truth, the Trolls & the Work That Stands

Part 1: The Truth, the Trolls, and the Work That Stands

By Robert Stanek

For over 25 years, I’ve kept my focus on the work—on writing stories that matter and connecting with readers around the world.

But silence only empowers lies. And when falsehoods are recycled for clicks and outrage, it becomes necessary to speak—for the truth, for my readers, and for every indie author who dares to succeed on their own terms.

Let’s separate fact from fiction. Thoughtfully and clearly.

Background

I stepped away from publishing new creative work for nearly a decade, focusing instead on personal projects and private life. But that changed in March 2025, when I announced the forthcoming release of the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Kingdoms & the Elves of the Reaches. Almost immediately, a familiar pattern re-emerged.

Some of the same voices who had fueled disinformation campaigns in the early 2000s—and others who have maintained a pattern of online harassment since at least 2015—resurfaced. Within days of the announcement, new videos began circulating, rehashing claims that had long since been publicly debunked.

The first video, posted around April 17, revived several known falsehoods. It included personal attacks against my wife, distorted facts about a publicly documented photo from the Distinguished Flying Cross Memorial (which clearly displays my name), and misrepresented my photography collections as “nonexistent” book series—demonstrating either willful misinformation or careless research.

On April 22, a second, more aggressive hour-long video followed—escalating the attacks and forming the basis of the response that follows. To be clear, the video draws extensively on material lifted—nearly word-for-word—from a notorious blog known for recycling long-debunked falsehoods about me dating back to the early 2000s. These claims have been investigated, discredited, and publicly refuted for years.

A Familiar Playbook

The video recirculated inaccurate narratives dating back to the early 2000s under a new label—claiming to “investigate” while actually repackaging smear tactics and mocking creativity.

The truth? These attacks didn’t start now. They’ve been circulating for over two decades. What’s changed is the platform—and a new excuse to spread harmful misrepresentation, dismissive commentary, and targeted misinformation.

Let’s walk through some of the worst offenders.

The VOYA Magazine Review

The Lie: “No professional reviewer ever reviewed the books.”

The Truth: The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches was reviewed by VOYA Magazine, a respected journal written by and for young adult librarians. The review was legitimate. The claim that “anyone could submit a review” is pure fabrication.

The Brian Jacques Photo Smear

The Lie: “The photo was faked to claim Robert was on tour with Brian Jacques.”

The Truth: The photo—taken by my wife—shows me squatting beside my children and Brian Jacques. The caption has always stated the obvious:

Photo shows Robert Stanek and his family, and Brian Jacques. Taken by H. Stanek in Olympia, WA.

The page was a tribute. Nothing more, nothing less.

The R.A. Salvatore Fiction

The Lie: “Robert claimed he was on tour with R.A. Salvatore.”

The Truth: I never said that. The article on my site explicitly stated it was Salvatore’s tour. I met him as a fan. The community celebrated his work. The photo in question clearly shows standard Meet the Writers signage—with Salvatore’s name and photo beneath.

Review Counts and Conflation

The Lie: “He had 500,000 fake reviews.”

The Truth: In the early 2000s, hundreds of reviews was a remarkable feat—especially for an indie author with no publisher machine behind him. These were real readers. Real reviews. A simple trip to the Wayback Machine proves it.

The “Title Change” Myth

The Lie: “In 2016, Robert renamed his books to mimic George R.R. Martin.”

The Truth: The 10th Anniversary Editions of Ruin Mist began publishing in 2012, not 2016. Titles like Winds of Change and Seeds of Dissent had already existed—and were clearly presented as YA editions from the beginning.

The “named path” and “numbered path” structure wasn’t a copycat gimmick. It was a creative design inspired by my years in Japan and my love for manga, which often uses volume arcs and labeled sagas.

It was about storytelling—not trend-chasing.

YA vs. Adult Editions

The Lie: “Having separate YA and adult editions was deceptive.”

The Truth: This is standard in the industry. Major publishers like Tor, Orbit, and HarperCollins have done the same—often after Ruin Mist pioneered the approach.

My editions were always clearly labeled:

YA editions: shorter, accessible, path-labeled.
Adult editions: combined volumes, deeper lore.

It wasn’t a trick. It was reader-first publishing—before it became the norm.

The Sci-Fi “Cash Grab” Claim

The Lie: “Robert pivoted to science fiction in 2014 to chase Hunger Games success.”

The Truth: My roots in science fiction go back decades. After the Machines was the culmination of long-standing work in speculative fiction, blending AI, surveillance, and dystopian themes—subjects I’ve covered as both an author and a technologist.

Far from bandwagoning, these stories were ahead of their time.

The Emily Asimov Accusation

The Lie: “Emily Asimov is a pseudonym designed to mislead readers into thinking she’s Isaac Asimov’s granddaughter.”

The Truth: Emily’s bio is transparent and personal. It contains no such claim. The assumption is invented—and the attack is a cruel smear against another writer.

Many authors use pseudonyms. That choice is theirs. It doesn’t invalidate the work.

The Forum Fabrication

The Lie: “Robert impersonated hundreds of fans on his own message board.”

The Truth: The Ruin Mist forums, active from 2003 to 2012, had 700 members, over 10,000 posts, and a peak of 400 users online in a single day: April 18, 2008. They’re still publicly viewable.

The claim that I ran every post myself is not only false—it’s easily disprovable by the record.

The “Handful of Fans” Myth

The Lie: “Maybe he had a few fans—no more.”

The Truth: My books had real momentum. Thousands of readers across forums, classrooms, libraries, and online communities.

The pattern of coordinated 1-star reviews? That’s not opinion—that’s digital sabotage. And it began as soon as the books gained traction.

Part 2: The Real Numbers, The Real Work

By Robert Stanek

Let’s put another rumor to rest—once and for all.

The Myth

“Robert Stanek fabricated or exaggerated claims about book earnings and audience reach.”

The Truth

What I’ve actually said has been public for years. You just have to want to hear it.

I’ve authored more than 150 professionally published books, translated and republished by dozens of global publishers, including every major U.S. publisher — the Big 6 (now Big 5) and more.

Beyond that, over a career that spans nearly four decades, I’ve:

Created thousands of technical training courses, leadership workshops, and learning materials — many of which were adopted (often without authorization) across academic and corporate environments.
Written extensively for Microsoft and other tech giants, with work translated into nearly every language and distributed internally and externally to millions.
Built a parallel career as a professional artist and photographer since 1992.

So yes — if we’re counting total reach, distribution, readership, and global impact?

The work has reached tens of millions.

The total value generated—direct and indirect—over time has been substantial, based on broad distribution across multiple industries.

That’s not earnings in my pocket.

That’s not personal income.

That’s not internet lore.

That’s reality.

What They Don’t Say

Like most early-career authors, I got bad deals. Pennies on the dollar.

And later? I discovered that my training materials and content had been lifted, repackaged, and resold across universities and institutions without compensation.

That includes:

Technical papers and books used in courseware around the world.
Entire leadership programs built on materials I developed.
Millions of reads of my technical work, published under my name and pseudonyms, circulating freely — without attribution or payment.

The truth is, the unauthorized use of my work accounts for a significant loss in intellectual property value over the years. If anything, the scale of unauthorized use represents not just a loss—it reflects a multiplier effect, with the value of what was taken exceeding legitimate earnings by a factor of 10 to 20.

And no, this isn’t about ego.

I’m stating it because the true cost of disinformation and exploitation matters — not just to me, but to every creator.

Why This Matters Now

Because the same people recycling the “myth” are the ones mocking, harassing, and gaslighting the writers, artists, and technologists who’ve actually done the work.

This isn’t curiosity.

It’s character assassination disguised as commentary.

And I’ve had to live with the cost of that:

Heart attack.

Stroke.

Not from writing.

Not from creativity.

But from the stress of constantly having to defend that work — against people who’ve never read it, never researched it, and never cared about the truth.

If You’re Still Here, Maybe You Actually Want the Truth

And if you want to understand the full picture, visit:

robert-stanek.com — books, readers, legacy
williamrstanek.com — military service, family, photography
williamstanek.com — technical writing, art, career
360 Studios Gallery — fine art & photography

Let Me Say This One More Time

I don’t need to “prove” my resume to trolls.

I don’t need to inflate numbers to make the work matter.

And I sure as hell don’t need to justify success to people who never wanted it to be real in the first place.

The books are real.

The readers are real.

The story is still standing.

And maybe that’s why they’re still trying so hard to erase it.

Not because it’s fake.

But because it mattered — and still does.

—Robert Stanek

Celebrating Worldwide Recognition & Success

Beloved Series & Bestselling Titles

Ruin Mist • Bugville Critters • After the Machines • Scott Evers Thrillers

Chart-Topping Achievements

#1 Fiction — Audible.com
#1 Kids & YA — Audible.com
#1 Mystery/Thriller — Audible.com
Top 10 Kids & YA — Audible.com
Top 50 Sci-Fi & Fantasy — Amazon.com
Top 50 All-Time Bestseller — Audible.com
#1 Free Dystopian, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller — Amazon.com

As Featured In

The New York Times • Publisher's Weekly • VOYA Magazine • Foreword Magazine • School Library Journal • Library Journal • Children's Bookshelf • Parenting Magazine • The Journal of Electronic Defense • OverDrive’s “ContentWire for Libraries” • Ancient Art of Faery Magick • The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Elves & Fairies • Popular Series Fiction for Middle School and Teen Readers

Trusted by Leading Platforms

Audible • Emusic • Epic! • Kobo • Spotify • Tales2Go • Playaway • Findaway World • Ripple Reader • Sony Ebooks • Google Play • Apple Books • Walmart • ThriftBooks • OverDrive • eLibrary • Ingram Digital • EBSCO • Chirp Books • Barnes & Noble • Scribd • Hoopla Digital • Bookshop Org • Tolino Media • Target • Storytel • Librofm • Audiobook Store • Downpour Audio • BookPage • eBrary • Proquest • Baker & Taylor • BookSource • and dozens more over the years to ensure our stories reached homes, schools, and libraries everywhere.

Acclaimed Worldwide by Readers, Critics & Professionals

Ruin Mist / Kingdoms & the Elves / Service of Dragons

Instant Bestsellers (2002): 26 weeks on Amazon’s Sci-Fi/Fantasy Top 50
Audible Milestone (2005): #1 for 14 consecutive weeks; Top 10 Kids & YA for 3 years
Millions of readers reached via Amazon, Audible, OverDrive, and more
VOYA Review: “Dramatic illustrations draw the reader into the Tolkienesque world...”
Foreword Magazine: “Three compelling stories, fast-paced and suspenseful… Brisk, accessible prose.”
Publisher’s Weekly Cover Feature: April 2009

The Pieces of the Puzzle

#1 Fiction & Top 10 Mystery Bestseller — Audible (2005)

Bugville Critters

Follett Early Learning: “Essential early learning series.”
Foreword Magazine: “Colorful and instructive, reminiscent of Little Miss Spider.”
The Audio Book Store: “One of our most featured and respected Kids authors.”
Parenting Magazine: “Recommended Series.”

Stormjammers

The Journal of Electronic Defense: “Ride along with Stanek’s crew in 32 Desert Storm missions.”