aka Is All of Time and Space Truly Curred?
Pawing through the roundup we find Juan Tabo, S. Harris, Glenn Hauman, David Mack, John Scalzi, Charles Stross, Nick Mamatas, Jeffro Johnson, Barry Deutsch, Mcjulie McGalliard, Russell Blackford, Lis Carey, Rhiannon Thomas, Rebekah Golden, Chris M. Neill and cryptic others. (Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editors of the day Kate and James H. Burns.)
We begin with dueling parodies of Rachel Swirsky’s frequently debated “If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love.”
Juan Tabo and S. Harris on Vox Popoli
“If You Were an Award, My Love” – June 5
If you were an award, my love, then you would be a Hugo™. You’d be a big one, five feet, ten inches, the same height as human-you and twice the height of Regular Size John Scalzi, You’d be made of brass, and wood and plastic, and difficult to take on an airplane as carry on due to enhanced security precautions. Your eyes wouldn’t exist, because you were a rocket, stupid.
If you were a Hugo®, then I would become Taller, Stronger John Scalzi so that I could spend all my time with you. I’d bring you raw chickens and live goats, if you were into that kind of thing. I’d make my bed right under the trophy case, in the basement where my wife lets me sleep. When I couldn’t sleep, I’d sing you lullabies. If I sang you lullabies, I’d soon notice how you were still a statue. You’d just sit there, because you were still a statue.
By Glenn Hauman and David Mack on Crazy 8 Press
“If You Were A Puppy, My Sweet” – June 5
If you were a puppy, my sweet, you would be a wild one. You’d be big and neutered, just like human-you. You’d bound from place to place, unburdened by any thought of consequences, full of energy and bereft of conscience. Some would delight in your antics, your perverse rejection of dignity. Others would quail from your manic slobbering and call you a nuisance, but you would be excused, because that’s just how puppies behave….
If you were sad and rabid, I would bring you with me to the wide-open rampart, and we would watch the mighty spaceships fly. I’d tell you to look up, and we’d see those ships break our world’s surly bonds to depart for alien shores. We’d wish their crews well as they explored great wonders yet unknown. Then you’d fill the lengthening dusk with your pitiful whimpers as the shiny rockets soared away … without you … never to return.
David Mack on The Analog Blog
“Speaking Truth to Puppies” – June 5
Though our story mimics the style of Ms. Swirsky’s, Glenn and I want to make clear that we intend no disrespect to her or to her story. Our reason for choosing it as our template was the story seems to have become a lightning rod for the ire of Rabid Puppy and Sad Puppy supporters — two of whom today published a far more mean-spirited parody of it on the blog of Theodore Beale, aka Vox Day.
In which @NMamatas makes the compelling claim that the Sad/Rabid Puppies are Marxists with a Soviet flavor: http://t.co/dGhX3MpKUw #Irony
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) June 5, 2015
https://twitter.com/cstross/status/606939179021398017
Nick Mamatas
“Rocket To The Red Planet” – June 5
It’s actually the Puppies who are the Marxists. Their agent of change is a subaltern proletariat—those workaday beer-money fans who have gone unheard and who must be organized by an intellectual caste into a fighting force.
Jeffro Johnson on Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog
“Withering Criticism for me Compliments of ‘Mark’ from File770” – June 5
Okay, I gotta say. It takes a lot of nerve to go over to File770 and say I’m willing to answer anything they want to ask. It seems crazy. I men, my gut feeling on that was that it would be sort of like attempting to have a rational discussion in the middle of a food fight.
But to be fair to those folks, there are more than a couple of people over there that notice the effort. Like Meredith, for instance:….
Barry Deutsch at Alas, A Blog
“Hugo 2014 Graphic Story Nominees” – June 5
The Graphic Story Nominees are a nearly puppy-free category; four of the five nominees didn’t come from puppies. The five nominated works are (in order of my ranking):
- Sex Criminals Volume 1: One Weird Trick, written by Matt Fraction, art by Chip Zdarsky (Image Comics)
- Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal, written by G. Willow Wilson, illustrated by Adrian Alphona and Jake Wyatt, (Marvel Comics)
- Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass and Sorcery, written by Kurtis J. Weibe, art by Roc Upchurch (Image Comics)
- Saga Volume 3, written by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
The remaining nominee, The Zombie Nation by Carter Reid, I’m going to regretfully rank below “no award.”
Although – as you’ll see – I have criticisms of all these works, I also think this is one of the best Hugo lists I’ve seen in this category. All four non-puppy nominees are standout mainstream comics, entertaining and well crafted.
Sex Criminals — liked this WAY more than I thought I would. Reminded me of reading Vertigo in the 90s. #hugoawards
— McJulie, doing no-social-media January, really (@mcjulie) June 6, 2015
Russell Blackford on Metamagician and The Hellfire Club
“Steven Diamond and Kary English stories – Hugo Awards Voting” – June 5
I’ll be quite brief about these. “A Single Samurai” is a fantasy story involving a magical samurai warrior’s attempt to halt the path of a mountain-sized kaiju monster. Leaving aside a couple of small verbal infelicities, it is a well-written, well-crafted piece told in the first person by the samurai, whose character – one marked by honour, tradition, and invincible determination – is conveyed effectively. So vast is the kaiju that the samurai’s efforts appear ineffectual and futile, but read on… All in all, this is a solid short story, if marred by something of a deus ex machina style of ending. By all means give it a try and see what you think.
“Totaled” is a more innovative and sophisticated story, and I think it’s a genuine contender for the award. It’s difficult to describe this one without giving away too much and spoiling the effect. Suffice to say that it’s told – mainly in present tense, and for good reasons – from a very unusual point of view. Kary English was not previously on my radar but appears to be a noteworthy talent.
Lis Carey on Lis Carey’s Library
“The Three Body Problem, by Cixin Liu” – June 5
The Best Novel category is going to be a tough decision this year. I loved The Goblin Emperor I’m currently enjoying the Ancillary Sword audiobook. And now I’ve just finished this amazing novel by Cixin Liu.
Lis Carey on Lis Carey’s Library
“Tea and Jeopardy, Emma Newton (presenter, writer), Peter Newman (presenter, writer)” – June 5
http://teaandjeopardy.geekplanetonline.com/
Another Best Fancast Hugo nominee.
Another sf-focused interview podcast. Emma Newman hosts, with Peter Newman playing Latimer, her butler. In the sample episode included in the Hugo Voters packet, some people may find the introductory segment a bit longer than necessary, and sadly lacking in any hint of what type of program this is, but it is charming. In this episode, she interviews Ramez Naam, one of last year’s Campbell Award nominees, about his fiction, movies, and the portrayal of science and scientists in both print and media fiction. It’s friendly, intelligent, interesting, and engaging. I really enjoyed this, I think more than any of the others so far.
Rhiannon Thomas on Feminist Fiction
“Hugo Nominees 2015: Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie” – June 5
Ancillary Sword is an excellently crafted and compelling novel. It’s less complex than its award-winning predecessor Ancillary Justice, but it’s also far more accessible, making it arguably a better read over all.
Ancillary Sword has the same conceptual set-up as the first in the series. Our protagonist, Breq, was once the AI of a ship, built by a society without gender, that controlled hundreds of once-human ancillaries and became trapped in one of the ancillary bodies when the rest of the ship was destroyed. Breq dedicated herself to destroying the ruler of the universe in revenge for both her own death and the order that forced her to kill her beloved captain.
As far as unusual protagonists go, she’s pretty high up on the list.
Rebekah Golden
“Review: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie” – June 4
The short review of this book is it blew my mind and I loved it. Deep, transformative, and complex.
Marion on Deeds & Words
“The Hugos, 2015, Chapter Six; Novelettes” – June 4
The novelette category was heavily influenced by the splinter group(s). The challenge in this category is similar to the problem I had with the novellas. A couple of these are decent reads, or interesting stories, but are these really the best novelettes published in 2014?
Adult Onset Atheist
“SNARL: The Journeyman: In the Stone House” – June 4
I really wanted to like this story. It had some fun characters engaging in delightful dialog. It even provided some jokes for the reader to enjoy at the expense of the characters. I hope the author had fun writing this, because it read as if he did. Unfortunately this does not have enough story in it to make it a great story, and some of the failed experiments the author try to hold it back from even being a good story. However, I had fun reading this story, and that should count for something; actually it counts for quite a bit, and this story will get five stars (out of ten).
Reading #HugoAwards Single Samurai. Samurai are cool & kaiju almost dragons; but inconsistent tense, and ensouled blade story unclear. 2*
— Chris Neill (@chris_m_neill) June 5, 2015
https://twitter.com/HistoryCarper/status/606859285746851840
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FB posting from someone who allegedly works in Tor on May 11th:
Yes, Irene works for Tor. And she’s perfectly capable of speaking for herself.
Chris
The Republic of Ireland has just held a referendum to decide whether same sex marriage should be lawful; the numbers of those saying ‘Yes’ far outweighed the numbers of those who wished to maintain the status quo.
Almost all schools in Eire are Catholic, by the book. But the children taught in those schools have, to a large extent, rejected all the things they had been taught about same sex marriage.
The decision to move the battlefield up to Northern Ireland, and find a baker to back, is profoundly cynical; there are no ethics or morals involved in it. Indeed, the equality legislation the bakers are screaming about was designed to protect them from being savaged by people who don’t like their religion, where the not liking your religion meant killing you
Irene Gallo’s twitter “profile” identifies her pretty clearly as:
None of which makes her utterances official Tor policy statements.
SocialInjusticeWorrier: I don’t see a dime’s worth of difference between the supposedly different Puppy groups at this point.
Likewise. Sure, there may be some Puppies who genuinely care about SFF and are supporting the Puppies because they’ve bought into the lie that a Sekrit Cabal has been rigging the Hugos — but at this point, those people should have seen enough to realize that the Puppy campaigns are about hatred of people with progressive values and about getting Hugos for Correia, Torgersen, Day, and their buddies, and not about fairness in the Hugo Awards.
Any Puppy supporters who haven’t yet realized that are either 1) not paying attention and not thinking for themselves, or 2) are just fine with that agenda. So it’s very difficult for me to feel any sympathy for people who choose to support the Puppy agenda out of some genuine but hugely misguided motivation.
@ SIW
Well, the Rabids are the ones who carried this mess, so they’re really the only Puppies that actually matter. I think the Puppies prefer to believe there’s a separation, they want to take credit for “sticking it to the SJWs!” without taking responsibility for Vox.
@Gabriel F
Vox Puppuli, Vox Dingbat.
It really says everything about the Puppies that their major nominee is a verbose bigot who fantasizes about beating gay people to death, while another of their stars is best known for his apparent belief that the Waffen SS were just nice guys who got caught up in Nazism without really agreeing with it.
“Don’t these folks who scream about Tor know that Jim Baen worked there, Tom Doherty is a silent partner for Baen, Tor publishes both Puppies and SJW’s, etc.?”
Sure. Tor is in it to make money, and I’m reasonably sure they’d sign and publish almost anyone who stood a good chance of doing that for them.
Is the company’s past history is somehow supposed to to absolve its present employees from saying what they’re saying?
Both of whom are published by a man who promotes Naziesque race science, condones attacking women with acid and advocates brutally murdering gay people to death.
@Meredith
As far as Three Body Problem’s characterization goes – I think the methods of characterization are sufficiently different (as well as some of the cultural signifiers that may fill in unconscious blanks) are different enough from what a NA/West Euro paradigm would be to cause some complaints.
I haven’t had any problems, but if you like lots of internal-world rumination in your characterization, they will feel very 2-dimensional.
@Eric
So you disagree with an American citizen exercising her right to free speech?
So what motivates aeou is concern for peoples’ freedom to be jerks to minorities and women without anyone using that nasty freedom of speech stuff to point out what they are doing?
Ooookay. And what does that have to do with the Hugos again?
Oh, wait–I think I see a connection. Puppies want the freedom to use a slate chosen by Vox Day and consisting mostly of dreck, to game the Hugo nominations, presumably in hopes of enriching a deservedly little-known publisher, without anybody using that nasty freedom of speech stuff to point out what they are doing and suggest the logical perfectly-within-the-rules counter.
Never mind; I withdraw the question.
I liked all the Graphic Novel nominees. My favorite was Ms. Marvel; I felt like the discovery-of-powers scenes were well handled, and I understand Kamela’s motivation for what she does, and it’s been amusing watching her team up with an inventor and work out how to parlay her abilities to give her “pseudo powers” like running faster.
I liked the Rat Queens–they didn’t get my top spot because I just didn’t like them as much as people; I kind of see why there’s a faction in town that is not happy about their brawling and and their general contempt for everyone who isn’t them. In their case it’s backed up by real capability, but that doesn’t excuse being jerks. OTOH I liked that they were all capable at their specialties, and I liked the variety of body types. I knew who everyone was without having to refer to their costumes.
I liked Saga–I’ve read the first two volumes (last year, to vote on the Hugos then)–so I didn’t have much trouble following the story. But while there are parts of it I really like, it’s a bit dark for my tastes.
I liked Sex Criminals okay, but …I dunno. Someone who uses a power like that for crime–I get that she’s never met a “kindred power” before, but I think she just got talked into that way too easily.
I haven’t bothered with the Puppy nom yet. Zombies are not my thing and what I’ve heard about the art and the “humor” does not make it sound like something I would enjoy.
The Stray the Future Was.
It’s also not really a coherent finite narrative, which in my mind is sufficient to put it below “No Award”. It would be the same if XKCD was nominated, which I dearly love but I don’t view as a “Graphic Story”.
Snarls Darwin: The Origin of Specious
Clive Barker: The Great and Secret Hugo
Rudyard Kipling: Pup of Kook’s Hill
Social
(Dang these fancy names)
Jeffro is not beyond redemption; anyone who likes ‘Nine Princes in Amber’ has some subtlety in his thinking, as well as the ability to grapple with a complex storyline.
Ok, I wept when I read GRRM’s description of their gathering together to honour Roger on the 20th anniversary of his death.
I would love to read more Zelazney, particularly Amber, since I adore his work, but he told a number of friends that ‘Amber is mine’. True friends will not override Roger’s veto, not even if those friends are great authors. Steve Brust, Neil Gaiman, or GRR Martin…
@ Stevie
It’s not the same, but the Phage Press Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game lets you participate in new stories if you’re in to that kind of thing. 🙂 My particular group of friends has been running ADRP games for the last 20 years, and the setting always works wonderfully as a base for truly epic tales.
It’s not more Zelazny, but it’s something!
GH: Yes, Irene works for Tor. And she’s perfectly capable of speaking for herself.
But how would we know what Irene has to say unless Brad T. is there to tell us?
@Stevie
Origen thought that even the Devil could be redeemed. Mind you, he had not been exposed to the Puppies and their atrocious stool sample of fiction.
Larry Niven is accepting his selection as SFWA Grandmaster. But the SFWA is somehow biased against giving conservative authors their due. Uh-huh.
@Aaron
I foresee a new Correia series entitled RINO Hunter.
For those who’d like to see Irene’s original post, which was published May 11 and people have only discovered now, it’s at:
https://www.facebook.com/igallo/posts/10152728739637461
You’ll note there have been a lot of negative replies in the last few hours, ever since it was called out on Mr. Beale’s site. On the other hand, it’s a refreshing change to see Puppy supporters using their real names.
I see our envoweled visitor is providing us lots of textual evidence that he is, indeed, apparently a “he” and that “he” apparently is from the western side of the Great Pond.
And there is likely great glee. But, it doesn’t really matter if that person is “he,” “She” or “it,” does it?
The arguments presented are trite and worn.
I just find it puzzling that it deems to think it’s presence here is warranted at all, unless it’s just to be an annoyance, in which case if any true thoughts of originality are posted, they will likely be ignored be because of the prior history.
@Glenn Hauman
It looks like the same small clique of easily enraged internet ragefarters. I note that the arrogant creep Brad Torgersen has turned up to “demand” a reply. I am also extremely amused to see Michael Z Williamson pretending to be a delicate little soul who couldn’t possibly be further from the far right.
Craig R
I think little One Vowel Short Of A Set is just looking for love in his rather confused and angry way.
Torgersen’s been demanding a lot of things on Facebook lately that he’s not entitled to.
Particularly since Brad & The Sads weren’t called what he says they were called. Maybe an editor could help him.
@Glenn Hauman
I suspect that using an editor goes against the rules of SadBradRadTrad.
@Chris Hensley wait are you saying Brad Torgersen’s not entitled?
So the upshot is, aeou couldn’t coherently define SJW, just spouted gibberish and quoted from action movies, eh? And then Tuomased, twice?
I’m not sure why anyone’s having trouble figuring out the bank robbery in SEX CRIMINALS. I’ve been reading it since it came out so its not fresh in my mind. But they’re robbing the bank to save the library. Or has the non-linear storytelling not gotten to that point by the close of vol. 1?
@SocialInjusticeWorrier
I suspect that it’s more of the gnashing of the teeth that TOR doesn’t think that this is something that they (the publisher) either find objectionable or that will hurt the company’s “brand”
And if all you see in these awards and the pseudo-“culture war” is the commercial aspects it must really be galling. Well, that and “infamous” advance/contract to Scalzi. That is probably giving lots of dentists extra appointments.
@Kurt Busiek
But they’re robbing the bank to save the library.
Classic SJW behavior – looting and mooching from hardworking businessmen for their Commie book dumps!
@Craig R
Next year the Puppies can rebrand themselves as the Gummy Bears.
@SocialInjusticeWorrier –
I just hope they remember to engage in “safe looking” then.
A quick course of Penicillin isn’t the aide it once was.
:::grumble:::
First they said there would be Nuggy Nuggets, and they took them off the shelf.
Then they said there would be cake, and now the cake is gone.
I’m starting to see a pattern.
@Camestros Felapton: “Having said all that guess who is a “skeptic” about free markets:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/the-utopian-evil-of-free-trade/ ”
I think the bolded section here may be my favorite part:
Uhm. Yeah, “just under half.”
Rhetorical math!
Oh my stars and garters
Torgersen is demanding evidence if a claim? Brad “open and democratic – so long as you ignore everything else and I’ve already answered but won’t provide any links” is making demands?
Oh dear dear dear. We’ve clearly gone into the other side haven’t we….
BTW, I find it equally amusing that Brad keeps mentioning how he’s too busy with his deployment, yet seems to be able to show up for these various outrage venues.
@snowcrash
I am still waiting to learn which king it was that Brad Torgersen was deploying to serve.
Good luck, people who have thrust themselves into the public spotlight by becoming writers, with that libel suit against someone calling you a “racist”, which is an opinion.
You might even find a lawyer who’ll take the case, since it sounds like a great way to rack up those billable hours.
@aeou: “[SJWs] are the ones who can not stand dissent. They are the ones who can not think rationally at all on certain subjects. They get angry over facts.”
Oh, so they’re the Puppies. Got it.
“They are the ones who would force someone to bake a cake for them.”
By that logic, LBJ must be the ur-SJW for pushing the Civil Rights Act through Congress. Go on…
“They would tell the rapist not to rape rather than provide women with the means to protect themselves.”
Never mind the evidence that anti-rape education programs – or, as you put it, “tell[ing] the rapist not to rape” – have been empirically shown to reduce the rates of rape. In fact, the curve is similar to anti-smoking and anti-DUI programs’ effects on smoking and drunk driving. (Hint: they work by changing the culture so that the behavior in question is no longer acceptable, going from positive reinforcement to negative, and dissuading people so that legal intervention is no longer as necessary. Most people tend to regard this as a good thing. Saves tax money, y’know.)
Oh, wait. I’m sorry; I forgot that you identify with a group that gets angry over facts.
He Who Must Not Be Named has already shown up at my Nutty Nuggets” post to complain.
He says
I’m supposed to feel honored, I guess.
@Rev. Bob
That actual argument is a particular bit of pro-gun rhetoric which pisses me off so much I have a hard time making a coherent response. One of the favorite tactics of those opposed to gun regulations is to trot out the example of a scared defenseless woman attacked in her home. They will double down, by using rape victims or pregnant women as an example. The argument is that we need to empower women by giving them access to firearms. In making that argument, they disempower women by insisting that they are weak and can only protect themselves with a firearm. It’s circular: Tear down women, so that you can empower them with firearms, to replace the power that you denied them in the first place.
@Craig R
I see that Tom Krackedman still hasn’t come close to the art of logical argument. It’s all hysterical screeches of “Is too!” and ” So and so is an evil lefty and so I WIN!!!!”.
@snowcrash
I believe that he said his deployment would be a little later in the year, so he very well may still be waiting for that.
Stressful time, waiting. Just fill it as you can.
CPaca: But how would we know what Irene has to say unless Brad T. is there to tell us?
Perhaps Sarah Hoyt can tell us instead.
https://www.facebook.com/sarah.a.hoyt/posts/10204647663539730
I suspect that someone has (at some point) pointed out to Mr. Torgersen that using his wife as a shield to deflect against charges of racism and misogyny isn’t really a logical argument?
I’m not going to personally opine on his views, but plenty of demonstrated misogynists have wives, mothers and sisters that think they are swell people. Plenty of overt racists have a friend who is a person of color. These things are not get-out-of-racism/sexism/misogyny-free cards.
@Craig R
When you’re wounded and left on Cyberistan’s plains,
And the SJWs come to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your blog and blow out your brains
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.
I agree with you. The problem is that Torgersen, and even Vox Day, don’t. From their own statements it is clear that they believe racism to be about knowing and willing animus towards people because they are a different race from you. From that definition, they have built quite the logical artifice.
SocialInjusticeWorrier –
Yes, waiting until you have to step on an airplane, knowing that when you step off that plane you will be in a place where lots of people who you don’t know, and who don’t know you, will be wanting to kill you, *is* stressful.
Yes, he did sign up for it, but it doesn’t make it any the less real, or stressful.
‘Course, if he acts like an ass, that doesn’t excuse him.
Different people cope in different ways.