steadily narrowing focus on dark, dull, misanthropic, idea-free titles. - having read the Hugo list for a couple of years and not seen any of the above (with the possible exception of 2312) I'd really like to see what titles you're referencing.
I would expect the word "monoculture" to mean, in this context, "the vast majority of stories are similar in some way."
I see you talking about some fiction you don't like, and then you go on to comment on "the monoculture issue." I don't see you making much of a case that SFF has a monoculture. So I think there's a piece missing in your rhetoric. Perhaps you can patch this up in the essays to come.
What sort of case could I make that everyone would accept? The whole thing is about the field of literature, where people get into fistfights just trying to define terms. You might not define dullness or preachiness the same way I do, nor would you necessarily measure degrees of dullness or preachiness on the same scale.
(This for Chris as well:) The main reason I hate to name titles is for fear of being drawn into the current political shitstorm about identity themes, which fall under my aversion to preaching, and preaching has been really big in recent times. I think Ancillary Justice was spoiled by preaching but was otherwise a decent story. If it hadn't been trying to smash my face into a message pie, I would have enjoyed it a great deal more.
Dullness is a far worse problem. I had hopes for Redshirts, which, alas, turned out to be dull and not funny in the slightest. Bowl of Heaven was deadly dull, incomplete, and did almost nothing with its spectacular premise. Much of Red Lightning was dull, and clearly an attempt to tailgate
( ... )
I should say that I ask for titles because I'm not seeing this, and without seeing what your reading I don't know if it's we're reading different stuff or interpreting what we read differently.
Things drift away...
anonymous
February 27 2015, 23:40:50 UTC
What I'm seeing and really DON'T like tends to clump into what you could call 'Southeast Asian Squalor' stories (to occasionally include India and/or China).
Not fun, not interesting, not inclined to encourage further reading of the author's works (think "Wind-Up Girl" as an example - sorry Paolo).
Unfortunately, I fully agree with you concerning Red Shirts. Lots of hope going in, pretty much dashed with the actual read. The codas made it at least somewhat enjoyable.
Sigh... The perils of becoming a certified Olde Farte.
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I see you talking about some fiction you don't like, and then you go on to comment on "the monoculture issue." I don't see you making much of a case that SFF has a monoculture. So I think there's a piece missing in your rhetoric. Perhaps you can patch this up in the essays to come.
Reply
(This for Chris as well:) The main reason I hate to name titles is for fear of being drawn into the current political shitstorm about identity themes, which fall under my aversion to preaching, and preaching has been really big in recent times. I think Ancillary Justice was spoiled by preaching but was otherwise a decent story. If it hadn't been trying to smash my face into a message pie, I would have enjoyed it a great deal more.
Dullness is a far worse problem. I had hopes for Redshirts, which, alas, turned out to be dull and not funny in the slightest. Bowl of Heaven was deadly dull, incomplete, and did almost nothing with its spectacular premise. Much of Red Lightning was dull, and clearly an attempt to tailgate ( ... )
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Not fun, not interesting, not inclined to encourage further reading of the author's works (think "Wind-Up Girl" as an example - sorry Paolo).
Unfortunately, I fully agree with you concerning Red Shirts. Lots of hope going in, pretty much dashed with the actual read. The codas made it at least somewhat enjoyable.
Sigh... The perils of becoming a certified Olde Farte.
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