Hopkinson, Nalo: So Long Been Dreaming

[calico_reaction]

Comments

[_ocelott_]

The cover actually is something I'm not fond of, and I would never have picked it up on my own (although it's now on my wishlist). I'm with you on the colours, but the art style just doesn't appeal to me. I can concur it's entirely appropriate for the book but it's not something that would have attracted me on its own.

[calico_reaction]

Glad it's one your wishlist now!

I don't know why this style appeals to me so. Probably because I don't see much of it, so it grabs my eye.

[kellicat]

I read this book for the challenge and I have to say that I liked it overall. I may even write my own review for it. I have to say that the first section was the weakest overall. I put the book down for a while because the first few stories were so weak with the exception of "Toot Sweet Matricia" which I would definitely re-read. The first story had a interesting premise with a weak ending and "Griots of the Galaxy" was technically okay, but it didn't really grab me. Larissa Lai's "Rachel" made absolutely no sense to me and I've never seen Blade Runner or read any books by Philip K. Dick so there's a good possibility that it could be fanfiction and I just don't have the background needed to understand the story

[calico_reaction]

Larissa Lai's "Rachel" made absolutely no sense to me and I've never seen Blade Runner or read any books by Philip K. Dick so there's a good possibility that it could be fanfiction and I just don't have the background needed to understand the story.

The fact it made no sense to you reinforces two things 1) you shouldn't NEED the background to appreciate the story, therefore it's not written well (and I'd say this whether or not the story was fanfic or an original story set in the author's existing universe), and 2) it requires the reader's knowledge of Blade Runner runner to be remotely successful, and therefore really doesn't have a place here.

In my humble opinion. Then again, I'm not the editor! I am disappointed in their choice to include this story, though. I would've loved to see something original from the author.

If you do a review, please shoot the link my way so I don't miss it!

[jennielf]

Ditto on the Rachel thing.

I have no idea what you are talking about in terms of Blade Runner anything...

[calico_reaction]

So you haven't seen Blade Runner, and the "Rachel" story left you confused as hell?

[aliciaaudrey]

The short answer with respect to copyright is that it is VERY complicated, which is why authors and fanfic writers will continue to glare daggers at each other for the foreseeable future

[calico_reaction]

I'm guessing this case is the latter, that it's such a small publishing house with such a small print run they're hoping they'll be considered unworthy for a lawsuit. Because there's certainly nothing in the anthology in either the author's intro/bio or in the anthology's copyright page that gives credit to Philip K. Dick or whomever owns the copyright. And I'm still wondering if there's a difference when you consider the author is clearly writing fanfic of the MOVIE, not the book, which the movie was BASED on

[aliciaaudrey]

No, that just changes the players a bit--if it's based on the film and not the story that inspired the film, then it's who owns the copyright to the film and its characters

[aliciaaudrey]

This is an area of law I am quite interested in learning more about (not just because I seem to trip over writers and aspiring authors of some seriousness and then collect them as a hobby). Intellectual property usually requires an LLM and it's mostly very dull patent stuff (fill out this form. Fill out this form. Fill out this form. Watch Alicia stare up at teh ceiling with drool dribbling from her open mouth because she's been sent into a "Oh christ get me out of here!" stupor.) But the laws that govern published works are themselves quite interesting to me.

I'm up for a temp position at a publishing house's legal department (textbooks and educational materials, but still) as some sort of support staff. I hope I get it, because while it's not a legal job per se (and I won't qualify for THOSE until I pass the bar anyway) it would give me a chance to see that area of law at work in real time.

[starmetal_oak]

I didn't read it because couldn't find it in a reasonable amount of time in order to finish it by Sept. 30. Also, about the reading of more authors of color, I would say I was interested in this anthology because of the theme of Post-Colonialism. I don't really pick or not pick books based on the race of the author. Just because these authors happen to all be of color doesn't really matter to me. I've always been really interested in post-colonial issues, usually in the form of art (since that's what I study) so I thought I would enjoy this work for the same reasons.

[calico_reaction]

And those are good reasons. I think my rant was more directed at people who say, "You should read more authors of color! You should support them!" but don't actually do so themselves, you know?

Sorry you couldn't get your hands on this in time. I do hope you're able to read it one day though, because I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[jncar]

On the "Rachel," question, it's been years since I watched "Blade Runner" and I don't remember it very well, and I've never read the book, but my mind immediately said "This is just a Blade Runner story!" when I read it. So you're not alone in your objection.

I find it interesting that two of the stories you scored high, "Toot Sweet Matricia," and "Terminal Avenue," are ones that I score low (probably 2 stars each) because of what I'll call their "literary-ness." I guess I'm just the type of gal who prefers well defined characters, plots, and clear narrative arcs. I didn't see those elements in those 2 stories (though I confess that it's been long enough since I read them that my memory might be failing me).

My favorites were probably "Native Aliens," "Refugees," "Sarabs" and "Delhi." They all had fascinating world building, and I'm a sucker for good world-building.

This isn't a book I would have ever found on my own, so thanks for choosing it. It was well worth my time, and gave me lots to think about as I read.

[calico_reaction]

*laughs*

I tend to have different rules for short stories than I do novels! But the stories that you liked the best I still rated highly. You're right: it's QUITE a good anthology, and I'm very glad you were able to participate!