Janine Cross's 'Touched By Venom'; Science Fiction Wank.
If there is someone on your Friends List who makes your world a better place just because that person exists and whom you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.
Eumenides1 posted about Janine Cross's first novel Touched by Venom with an excerpt of the book (which was given out at the World Fantasy Convention last year).
Right away, I noticed their erections. Truth, I'd been looking for them, as had Waisi and Kobo's twins, Rutvia and Makvia. All four of us poked each other and tittered. Behind us, Mother yanked on Waisi's and the twin's braids with her strong potter's hands. She even yanked on my own scabby bristle, causing instant tears. We paid heed. Unwise whilte in the presence of so much masculinity to mock the phallus.
Yeli's Dono still pranced beside me like one crazed.
"Lookit the thize of that one!" he bellowed. "That'th a cock, hey-o!" He tugged on his own little thing beneath his dirty loincloth.
A venom cock, they're called. I'd heard the words grunted respectfully among pottery clan man. I'd also heard the words mentioned by women wearing a carefully blank expresssion cultivated to hide opinion. Understand, women do not rever the venom cock as men do. They see it for what it is: an uncontrolable reaction to an impending event, and a slightly foolish reaction at that.
Not unlike many other readers, I read this and was baffled at the fact that this woman actually managed to publish. Seriously, soharavsalienta - remember that story you wrote, 'Screw This'? lavinialavender, do you recall 'After'? Anyone on my flist, just pick out a random work you wrote and trust me, compared to this it would win award after award after award.
It got to Fandom_Wank, too.
That's the biased-by-the-excerpt part of me speaking.
In the comments of eumenides1's post, however, I found a link to a positive review of the book by Liz Henry (on Strange Horizons). I haven't read it yet. I clicked on print right before dotting after the bracket, so I'll most likely be reading this once I'm home.
Back to the book - it apparently caused quite some wank on internet (a lot of it by published Sci-Fi writers/reviewers), not going to get into real details here. But. Tobias S. Buckell tells us what happened at WFC, what he had to do with it and mentions some things about the wank. Crevette reviewed the book (a tad cruelly, from what I saw while I was skimming through it). Someone else contacted the author to ask what 'she would like the readers to know about her novel'.
This is what the writer had to say:
"Uninformed opinions can be so delightfully, outrageously ridiculous, can't they? Haven't got a clue who is saying what about my book, but I'm just chuffed that people are talking about it (though it would be much finer if they were buying it and reading it first... ah, the vagaries of human nature).
To keep it brief: many things inspired me to write the book, (books, actually, as it is a series) but one thing in particular inspires/drives me: how human beings, women and children being my main interest, can survive tragedy and persecution, torture and deprivation--not only survive but continue with life. These things are happening every day, and have happened in our little corner of the world in the not-so-distant past, too. Really, my books are the stories of these people.
I also explore, on the side as it were, the interesting boundaries we human animals draw around the passion-evoking subject of sex. We are a confusing, fascinating, contradictory, terrible and terribly wonderful species."
As someone mentioned in a comment to said post, the lady has class.
And as for the book, I'm reading it if (and only if) I can find an e-book version/can order the book in question from a Dutch library (any library).
Because I'm not spending my money on something that I probably won't like, but wish to read for myself before judging. Unless the review I printed/a review by someone I trust enough (=on flist) convinces me.
Anyhow, this isn't a review I'm not bashing the author I'm not bashing anyone just sayin' that wank happens everywhere don't give up hope just yet. There's a disclaimer for ya.
And now I'm going to walk to the village next to this one to get something to eat I'm going to get on MSN to see if I can find someone to read the last line of my fic before I decide whether I'm finished. And then, finally, I'll post. Finally.
Edit: 16:29 I tried. But I can't leave without linking to a The Footstop Cafe excerpt by same writer, here.