The Hammer of Tor 6/19

Posted on by

aka Sad Puppies Strictly Cash

Peter Grant, Vox Day, John Wright, Chris Meadows, Adam, Steve Davidson, Natalie Luhrs, Alexandra Erin, Nick Mamatas, Lela E. Buis, Lawrence Person, Soon Lee, Lis Carey, Melina D, Joe Sherry, and May Tree. (Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editors of the day William Reichard and Rev. Bob.)

Peter Grant on Bayou Renaissance Man

”The Tor boycott is on” – June 19

Regrettably, due to the apparent lack of action by (and the deafening silence from) Tor and Macmillan, the time has come to do as I promised.  I therefore ask all those who believe, as I do, that the recent statement by Irene Gallo, and the pattern of behavior and statements from others at Tor whom I’ve previously named, are completely unacceptable, to join me in refusing to buy any of Tor’s products from now on. I support and endorse what Larry Correia said about this yesterday.

… this is between Tor and its readers who feel insulted, not the Sad Puppies campaign or the people who ran it … To the Sad Puppies supporters, do what you think is right. All I’m asking is that whatever you do, try to be as civil as possible in your disagreements. Stick with the facts.

There’s much more at the link.  (Recommended reading for background and more information.)

I am not a member of, and I do not speak for, either the ‘Sad Puppies’ or ‘Rabid Puppies’ campaigns (although I support the former).  I don’t represent cute puppies, playful puppies, cuddly puppies or hush puppies – only myself.  If you share, in whole or in part, my values and outlook on life, I invite you to join me in this boycott.  Don’t do so just because I, or anyone else, is asking you to do so.  Act on the basis of your own informed conscience and reasoned judgment.

There are those who protest that a boycott of Tor will prevent them buying books they want to read, and/or hurt their favorite authors.  I can only point out that used copies of those books are usually available from many sources soon after publication, often in very good to excellent condition, and sometimes at prices much lower than a new copy.  As for your favorite authors, if you buy a used copy of their book(s), why not send them the money they would have made as a royalty if you’d bought it new?  In fact, given that many royalties are a pittance, why not send them more than that?  Many authors have so-called ‘tip jars’ on their blogs or Web sites, or you can write to them enclosing a check or money order.

There are those who doubt that a boycott can achieve anything.  I can only reply that ‘doing the right thing’ is important in itself.  It’s a matter of honor – and although any mention of honor may be greeted with scorn and derision in these ‘modern’ times, I was raised to value the concept and live by it.  I still do.  I doubt I’m alone in that.

What’s more, in a SF/F market that’s increasingly dominated by independent authors, with cratering sales among mainstream publishers and tight financial margins, even a small boycott may have an impact out of all proportion to its size.  I’m certain, on the basis of support already voiced, that we can achieve a short-term six-figure reduction in Tor’s annual turnover.  All that’ll take is a couple of thousand people not spending their usual $50 per year on Tor books (and many have, until now, spent a lot more than that – for example, see here).  With more supporters and/or bigger spenders involved, the impact will be correspondingly greater.  I believe that over time, as word spreads and more join the boycott, we can grow this into a seven-figure annual impact – particularly when, in markets where we have a strong presence, we start talking to bookstores that carry Tor products.  Given current economic conditions and the present and predicted state of the SF/F market, our boycott may in due course make the difference between a profit and a loss in Tor’s annual trading accounts.

 

Vox Day on Vox Popoli

“Tor boycott announced” – June 19

As you can see, I have been a Tor Books customer since 1986, when I bought a mass market paperback copy of The Edge of Tomorrow, by Isaac Asimov. And because I have considerably more experience of Tor Books and the consistently abusive and unprofessional behavior of its senior employees, I will go a little further than Mr. Grant has. Until Irene Gallo and Patrick Nielsen Hayden are no longer employed by Tor Books or Tor.com, I will not:

  1. Purchase any books published by Tor Books
  2. Read any books published by Tor Books

Given (2), this means that if Ms. Gallo and Mr. Nielsen Hayden are still employed by Tor Books in 2016, I will not nominate any books published by Tor Books for any awards. I encourage those who deem Ms. Gallo’s behavior to be unprofessional and unacceptable to follow Mr. Grant’s lead and join the Tor Books boycott. I am the leader of the Rabid Puppies, I do speak for them, and I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that they will follow my lead in this regard. I am not concerned about whether the boycott is “successful” or not. The simple fact is that if Macmillan is at all interested in the long-term success of Tor Books, it will jettison both Ms Gallo and Mr. Nielsen Hayden on the basis of their disloyalty, their unprofessional behavior, and their repeated violations of the Macmillan Code of Conduct, regardless of what any outside parties may happen to believe. I simply won’t have anything to do with Tor Books as long as those two individuals are employed there.

 

John C. Wright

“Embargo On” – June 19

Since I am Tor author and hitherto have been very proud of my association with that fine and famous imprint, I am fascinated (if mildly aghast) that the Tor management has allowed the situation to degenerate to this point.

Because of a financial conflict of interest on my part, it would be untoward of me to express fulsome support and applause for the boycott, and tell the boycotters their position is the principled and correct stand.

Nor will I point out, because it is obvious, that if you buy my books from Tor, then some part of your precious book-buying dollars goes into the wages of several people at Tor (but by no means all, or even most) who hate both you and me with a sick and soul-destroying hatred, a hatred like a disease that withers the heart and rots the brain.

Nor will I point out, because it should also be obvious, that any Christian gentleman would be willing to forgo a worldly reward of your generous book-buying dollars if he may have your spiritual reward of your loyalty instead. If the gentle reader feels compassion for me in my hour of need, or fears the boycott will harm my finances, I have a tip jar on this page.

So I cannot express support for this boycott.

The people with whom I work, my editor and cover art director, have a perfect right to expect me not to undermine their position, untenable as it may be. If the management wants to set the company policy as one of indifference to our patrons and clients on whom our livelihood depends, or contempt, or enmity, or loathing, that business decision is in their bailiwick.

 

Chris Meadows on Teleread

“Sad Puppies supporters, opponents respectively call for boycott, buying of Tor books”   – June 19

However, even leaving aside that Vox Day certainly does speak for the Rabid Puppies, what Correia and Grant miss is that, as a grass-roots movement (I was going to say “ostensibly grass-roots,” but what the heck, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt), “Sad Puppies” doesn’t really have a true “leadership” to speak for it at this point. Whether you’re an official “member” or not, if you identify with the movement, you’re going to be identified with the movement, especially by the movement’s opponents.

Make a lot of noise in support of Sad Puppy goals, and voila, you’re a Sad Puppy, and anything you do reflects on them. And likewise, anything the rest of them do reflects on you—which is why the Puppies movement as a whole is, rightly or wrongly, often tarred with the black brush that most accurately applies only to Vox Day and others like him. (Indeed, it’s why a lot of people use “Sad Puppies” as a shorthand to refer to both the Sad and Rabid Puppies.) And it’s why anti-Puppies (some have suggested the term “Happy Kittens”) feel justified in calling this a “Sad Puppies” boycott.

 

Adam on The Noisy Rogue

“The Boycott of Tor Books” – June 19

Even John C Wright, one of Tor’s own published writers, is unable to express support for Tor in this situation. Make your own minds up, dear readers. But rest assured that the culture wars have not been lost. They were only originally winning in the first place because our side couldn’t be bothered turning up. Now it’s on.

 

Steve Davidson on Amazing Stories

“Today is Buy From Tor Day” – June 19

Just a reminder that if you would like to express support for Irene Gallo, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Moshe Feder and TOR books, today is the day to go out and buy a TOR book.

You can learn a bit more about this here.

 

Peter Grant on Bayou Renaissance Man

“Moshe Feder doubles down (again) on the lies” – June 19

Friends, I give you Moshe Feder on Facebook earlier today:

Feder 2015-06-19 Facebook screen capture

….I’m still not going to call for the resignation or dismissal of any of the Tor employees I’ve named.  Nevertheless, if I needed any more justification for why I’m boycotting Tor, Mr. Feder has provided it.  I suppose I should thank him for that – and if he wishes to call me an ‘idiot’, well, I’ve been called a lot worse than that in my time.  Furthermore, for all Mr. Feder’s vitriol directed against him, he’s just made Vox Day look like a sensible, reasonable participant in this debate.  Vox might want to thank him, too . . .

 

https://twitter.com/eilatan/status/612027207758823424

 

 

 

Lela E. Buis

“Adding fuel to the flames” – June 19

What ever happened to that discussion about the Hugos?

What Hugos?

By this time, it should be fairly clear that the current debacle has nothing to do with the Hugo Awards. It isn’t really about the liberal versus conservative content of a few Tor books, either. I concede that there may be an ideological component to the attack. If Day is a a “fundamentalist Southern Baptist,” as he has been characterized, then it is likely that he’s offended by liberal viewpoints in general. Still, that’s no reason to go after Tor in particular. Publication of LGBTQ novels, for example, has been increasing across all major publishers in the last few years. Tor has no franchise on liberalism.

That makes it more likely that Day has launched a personal vendetta undercover of the conflict over the Hugo Awards. He has moved from naming Irene Gallo to Moshe Feder to Patrick Nielsen Hayden in the last few days. Most likely this is his actual target. Hayden is the man quoted in news reports announcing John Scalzi’s recent $3.4 million contract with Tor.

It’s a vendetta, folks. Day is pursuing a long-running feud with John Scalzi. That means that anyone who supports Day’s flame war by responding to him is only perpetuating the problem. Tor has got it right. It’s time to hunker down and wait him out.

 

Lawrence Person on Battleswarm Blog

“Sad Puppies Redux (Or Why That Tor Boycott Won’t Work)” – June 19

Since then, a few people on Twitter have been calling for a boycott of Tor Books over the incident. About this I would just like to make a few points:

  • Though the editorial stuff does lean toward the SJW side, plenty of conservative authors are published by Tor.
  • An ad hoc, Twitter-organized boycott is deeply unlikely to work. Given the way book sales are tracked, it’s unlikely the financial effects of any boycott would stand out from sales figures more than background noise. Most SF readers probably aren’t even active on Twitter, and even fewer have been following every twist and turn of the Sad Puppy Saga.
  • Given that Tor is a very small part of the Bertelsmann international conglomerate, chances are even less likely that that any boycott would be effective or even noticed.
  • Larry Correia has categorically stated that the Sad Puppies are not calling for any boycotts. He also notes, as he invariably does, “All I’m asking is that whatever you do, try to be as civil as possible in your disagreements.”

So put me down in the category of thinking a boycott is foolish, pointless and counterproductive.

One big point on the Sad Puppies campaign: Most recent domestic Worldcons have topped out in the 4,000-6,000 members range. I recently bought a Supporting Membership in Sasquan, and my membership number was in the 9,000s. This tends to indicate that the Hugos have indeed become a test of strength in the culture wars.

 

 

 

Lis Carey on Lis Carey’s Library

“Sucker Punch, by Eric S. Raymond” – June 19

Eric S. Raymond is a 2015 nominee for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. This is a perfectly competently written MilSF…vignette. It’s not a story. It describes a couple of important and unfortunate advances in military weapons and tactics, and presents the resulting dilemma quite poignantly.

 

Joe Sherry on Adventures In Reading

“Thoughts on the Hugo Award Nominees: Novella” – June 19

….The big surprise in this category, at least for me, was Tom Kratman’s Big Boys Don’t Cry. I had expected a very aggressive narrative designed to offend those of a more liberal persuasion, but what I got was a surprisingly graceful story of a dying sentient tank. That may sound weird, but given advancement in artificial intelligence and this being a science fiction story, it works. It works remarkably well, especially the deeper Kratman brings the story into Magnolia’s history.  Yes, there are also some clumsier jabs at how military tactics have been handled by those not committed to the mission or by those who don’t fully understand what it takes to win, and politicians get the sharp end of the stick in that regard (rightly so, in some cases).

If all of Arlan Andrews’ “Flow” was as successful as the second half of the story, I might have been able to move it up another space on my ballot, but unfortunately the beginning of the story was something of a chore to push through. The primitive ice world (a partially frozen post apocalyptic Earth) was tough to take, less because of the writing and more because of what I was wanted / was getting from the story. I’ll willingly take the hit that part of this is on me, but I often bounce off of fiction dealing with significantly more primitive Earth cultures unless the writing / storytelling can just grab a hold of me and make me care about the characters and / or the setting. “Flow” didn’t…until it did, midway through as Rist began to discover more of the world and realized that what his people taught may not be the way things actually work. I’m now curious to find “Thaw”, a previous story in this setting, and move on to “Fall”, the next in the setting.  I’d like to see where Andrews is taking this.

My Vote

1. “Pale Realms of Shade”
2. Big Boys Don’t Cry
3. “Flow”
4. “The Plural of Helen of Troy”
5. No Award
6. One Bright Star to Guide Them

 

Melina D on Subversive Reader

“Hugos 2015 Reading: Short Story” – June 19

Without too much further procrastination, it’s onto the stories. This was another full puppy-supported slate, so – to put it mildly – my expectations of good writing were low. I was pleasantly surprised by one story, meh over a couple of others and (predictably) was ready to set a thousand fires to another.

 

May Tree in a comment on File 770 – June 18

(The original is here if you don’t know it.) The original inspiration for looking at this source material was that “Voxie” rhymes with “Roxie.”

[Excerpt is only one-third of the whole parody.]

[PUPS] Hah! They had it coming! They had it coming! They took a genre in its prime And then they used it And they abused it We’ll slate the Hugos – It’s not a crime!

[SARAH] Now, I’m typing on my blog post, carvin’ up the SJWs for the Puppies, minding my own business, in storms Mike Glyer, in a jealous rage. “You’re a hydrophobe!” he says. He was crazy and he kept posting, “You’re a hydrophobe!” And then he ran into my axiom. He ran into my axiom ten times!

[PUPS] If you’d have been there If you’d have read it I betcha you would have thought the same!

[JULIETTE] Oenq, V nz fbeel, ohg vs lbh jvyy or ynoryvat zr nf n fnq chccl V jvyy unir gb nfx lbh gb jvguqenj zr sebz lbhe yvfg. Lbh qvq abg fnl lbh jrer tbvat gb or pnyyvat vg gur Fnq Chccvrf yvfg. V srry yvxr lbh jrer zvfercerfragvat vg. V’z unccl gb or bar bs lbhe Uhtb erpbzzraqngvbaf. Guvf vf qvssrerag.

[BRAD] Yeah, but will you be on my slate?

[JULIETTE] UH UH, not Puppy!

[LARRY] My buddy Brad and I had this Sad Puppy act, and my “devil” Voxie traveled around with us. Now, for the most recent year in our slate, we nommed 20 of Brad’s buddies in a row. One, two, three, four, five…Kratman, Freer, Antonelli, Reid, one right after the other. Well, this one night we were ranting about liberals, the three of us, boozing and having a few laughs, and we run out of ice. So I go out to get some. I come back, open the door, and there’s Brad and Voxie nomming Number Seventeen – “Wisdom From My Internet.” Well, I was in such a state of shock, I completely blacked out. I can’t remember a thing. It wasn’t until later, when I was washing the toner off my hands, I even knew they were Rabid.

[PUPS] They had it coming! They had it coming! Ann Leckie does her genders wrong! I didn’t read her! But if I read her I wouldn’t know which “she” has a schlong!

 

Discover more from File 770

Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.

743 thoughts on “The Hammer of Tor 6/19”

  1. @ rcade
    Was it too hard to look up the offending post? For Meredith’s sake I won’t quote again, but the preceding line makes it perfectly clear Happy-Puppy was talking about the narrator not Swirsky.

  3. Meredith, I’m sorry to add to your squick levels.

    So…books! I just got TBP out from the library, and am excited to see if it surpasses TGE as my fave of the Hugo novel nominees 🙂

  4. Was it too hard to look up the offending post?

    I looked it up and read it. I understood it as well as I think I could without going back and rereading the story itself to grok what HPwas getting at — the comment wasn’t very clear. Gabriel F did a good job of explaining how Option 2 could still offend, so I’m accepting that.

  7. I think I have finally caught up. Now if only I can remember what I wanted to say …

    Shelf space … mostly authors that others have mentioned … lots of Pratchett, Peters/Michaels (I still haven’t brought myself to read the last Vicki Bliss though I own it). I don’t have all of the Edgar Rice Burroughs out – that is all in boxes since I know that that Suck Fairy has nested in those books for years.

    Which reminds me Peace – I think the Thomas Dolby video you are looking for is Europa and the Pirate Twins with the sorta steampunk look. She Blinded Me With Science was always kinda creepy and Hyperactive was the one with the steel frame cube and the box heads. YMMV but while they are quite odd, I don’t think the suck fairy has made many inroads there.

    Connie Willis takes up a good chunk of actual space – but I am still mad at her for All Clear so they are buried in the back row. Neal Stephenson is also a shelf space hog. I have been reminded that I have a bunch of Dragonlance books kicking around somewhere (I bought them all faithfully as they came out for a long time), along with some of the Shadowrun based books (starting with Never Deal with a Dragon). My collection is quite eclectic.

    I read Shakespeare for fun and adored Sheridan (The Rivals!).

    I went through a phase where I rebelled against sagas and pretty much refused to buy them, so while my shelves are full to overflowing (literally – one of the shelves just broke yesterday and I still haven’t figured out how I am going to deal with it) most of the large chunks by the same author are mysteries, like Dorothy L Sayers.

    Strangely enough – I think Xanth is one of the reasons for that – I did like them when I was young but then the creepiness started dawning on me, and I started noticing it more and more in other SFF books that up to that point I had enjoyed. My reading started shifting over to mysteries where there were more interesting and well-rounded female protagonists having cool adventures.

    Ursula Vernon has a chuck of shelf space for all of the Dragonbreath books, to which we have added Castle Hangnail. There is a ton of children’s SSF in the house. RedWombat – loved the story about plowing over Neil Gaiman to get to the nachos. I am actually really good with faces most of the time, but have pulled some serious oops with “famous” scientists – who as far as I can tell can often been much less forgiving.

    Speaking of mysteries, anyone here read Carola Dunn? or Donna Andrews ? (both mysteries, not sff). Large chunks of shelf space around here are taken up with non-fiction – archeological, art, environmental, historical, whatever else has caught my fancy. I am terrible that way. I want all the books.

    Sigh – I have been reading on my cell phone the past several days to keep up with the comments, but didn’t have any easy way to keep track of comments that I wanted to make. Sorry for the wall of text.

  8. This entire back and forth caught me completly off guard.

    I would like to actually contine discussion of my interpretation (for example, tables were overturned so the men did not go outside for a cigar. And as I’ve mentioned reading Punch, I am familiar with Gentlemen’s clubs).

    But as Jim Henley says. — stop digging.

    Again, it never occurrd to me that someone would think I called Ms. Swirsky mentally ill or that I was speaking to anthing but the text.

    I apologize.

  9. Ah! Now I remember one of the things I wanted to say … I wanted to thank whomever it was that pointed out The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. I picked it up in the bookstore a couple of days ago and started laughing out loud shortly thereafter. I had to buy the book and leave before they threw me out once I started stomping on the floor laughing uncontrollably.

  10. @Dawn Incognito

    No worries. 🙂 I know it helps some people.

    Three-Body Problem is the next one I’m reading, too. I’m looking forward to it, but I think it might struggle to knock The Goblin Emperor off my top spot from what I’ve seen others say about it. I’m happy that despite a field of three legit nominees rather than five they’re all very different sorts of books.

  11. Hmm, closest to the left foot, depending on how you count…

    Up the bookcase in front of me, barring any buried in the papers that I’m not seeing, the closest book is, strangely, TC McCarthy’s Germline. (I haven’t read it…but I’ve obviously picked it up somewhere.) Above it is a copy of Munroe’s What If?, a couple of Guardians of the Galaxy graphic novels, and the fourth volume of Saga.

    To my right is Bradbury’s Toynbee Convector and Sergei Lukyaneko’s Nightwatch.

    And off to the left are graphic novels Flow and I Kill Giants, Butcher’s Skin Game, and the nice fancy Barnes and Noble version of the Foundation Trilogy.

    And that’s not counting the CD from Cryoburn that’s in the laptop drive, not to mention all the other ebooks I have stashed on my computer.

    I like books.

  12. @Elisa

    I think that was me. 🙂 I’ve been bringing it up at every excuse. Its a great comic.

  13. To those who contacted me in email, I’ve received enough positive feedback to notify the target of the plot we have conspired to undertake. If the target consents, it will be launched on Monday.

    If not, this never happened.

  15. @ tonieee
    (I hope I spelled that right)

    I believe you have identified a need. The open source software foundation(s) should really do an eReader app for libraries, if they aren’t already working on one. I’m not connected to the technical side anymore, but the ALA (and European) charters are concerned with the public domain, free speech and anti-surveillance, which means they’re usually interested in open source software that’s also easy for patrons to use. You sound like you might have connections or would know where to find a pre-existing project. (For real, some of the “best small programs” I’ve used were single person noodling projects that were solving an individual programmer’s problem). ????

  16. @rcade

    My main books are Sams Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days and Sams Teach Yourself Java in 24 Hours.

    So it’s your fault!

    I actually used the fact that I couldn’t teach myself Java from your books as evidence of mental impairment in my disability hearings.

  18. Oookkkay – not caught up at all and clearly missed some significant stuff but too tired to backtrack and see where I lost the threads.

    Book by my feet? Um not here – though a few dozen on the floor next to the bed. I haven’t figure out how to read with my feet. Does that come with the edit button and packet of secret orders?

    Left elbow – xxxHolic Omnibus I, Tsubasa Omnibus 4, Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary, Sherwood Smith’s The Spy Princess, The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan, Ancillary Sword, and about a half-dozen Pinkalicious chapter books.

    Right elbow – Users manual for my EMI system, notebook with calculations for next project and disassembled data collector that I am downloading data from.

  19. The secret SJW cabal has finally revealed itself on File770! News at 11!

    Next thing you know, every SJW female wakes up Vajazzled. Rioting ensues and Mr Beale reveals himself to be a disabled black lesbian working for the North Koreans to undermine capitalism.

  21. So. Just finished all the Novella nominees (full disclosure: I read all of JCW’s on heavy medication a few weeks ago, it seemed like the best time for them).

    I will simply say that I feel vindicated in No Awarding anything on a slate. I look forward to seeing what would have been nominated.

  22. I actually used the fact that I couldn’t teach myself Java from your books as evidence of mental impairment in my disability hearings.

    Oh no!

    That won’t be a blurb on the next edition.

    Please tell me there’s a happy ending here.

  24. Happy-Puppy

    This is England where not even the gentleman’s clubs can permit smoking indoors; we have workarounds which involve inside/outside areas of terraces with tables and chairs and heavy duty heating systems to get over the fact that the English climate is not suitable for outside drinking/smoking for much of the year round. So yep; tables and chairs can and do go flying outside, when someone deliberately or accidentally starts a fight.

    My local wine bar serves 12 different brands of gin, though they prefer selling jeroboams of champagne because the profit margin is higher. Everything in the story is plausible to someone like myself, though if I were going for added reality points I would have added in cocaine to the gin…

  25. @Elisa

    I haven’t been able to get a hard copy yet because it was unsubtly hinted (anvils were involved) by my mother that my father may have got me one for my birthday in two months. The suspense is killing me. 😀

  26. Elisa on June 20, 2015 at 5:53 pm said:

    I have been reminded that I have a bunch of Dragonlance books kicking around somewhere (I bought them all faithfully as they came out for a long time), along with some of the Shadowrun based books (starting with Never Deal with a Dragon). My collection is quite eclectic.

    Margaret Weis is a sweetheart and endeared herself to me utterly when she was kind and patient with a very young relative of mine who is into roleplaying game design.

  27. Closest to my left foot is Spider Robinson’s “By Any Other Name” which has one of my favorite stories by him “Melancholy Elephants”.

  29. @Peace is my Middle Name:

    Margaret Weis is a sweetheart and endeared herself to me utterly when she was kind and patient with a very young relative of mine who is into roleplaying game design.

    If she were a sweetheart who pays her freelancers that would be even better!

    (Friends of mine have stopped writing for MWP because of payment issues.)

  30. Meredith – OOh – torture!

    Peace – it is lovely to hear that. I still have warm fuzzy memories of those books that I have no intention of messing up by re-reading them. I just gaze fondly at the covers everyone once in a while.

  31. @Jim Henley:

    Aw, man. That sucks.

    Sigh. I’m sorry to hear it.

  33. @Peace: Me too. In addition to the fact they were my friends, they helped produce some of the finest RPGs I ever played before they threw in the towel. The Leverage RPG is an honest-to-god Top 10 of all time game. The Smallville RPG was really daring and I enjoyed playing Marvel Heroic Roleplaying as much as any system in my *mumble* years in the hobby. I loved Cortex Plus as a meta-system and even have a small contribution in the Cortex Plus Hacker’s Guide.

    But as I often say, I love my hobby, but I really hate the industry. It grinds creators up financially.

  34. I just learned a bit of trivia that, for some reason, seems wildly amusing to me.

    Apparently cows kill 4x more people on an annual basis than sharks do.

    I don’t know whether this means that sharks need to up their game or some director in Hollywood needs to make a summer blockbuster called “Moos.”

  38. Apparently cows kill 4x more people on an annual basis than sharks do.

    I’ll believe that. (My great-grandfather was killed by a bull that pinned him against the barn wall. GGF had been told not to go in there; the bull was mean.)

    Nearest book to left foot: RootsMagic 7 – it’s a program guide, for when the help file isn’t enough, but not usually needed. Nearest SF to left foot: The One-Eyed Man by Modesitt.

  39. If she were a sweetheart who pays her freelancers that would be even better!

    When you find out how little RPG freelancers get paid, it makes this kind of accusation even more upsetting. I hope they get their money soon and this isn’t as bad as it sounds.

    The Leverage RPG is an honest-to-god Top 10 of all time game.

    Who do you know who worked on that? It’s an RPG that’s also a master class on caper storytelling. I am in awe of what your friends did there. That was Origins Award-worthy work.

  41. @rcade:

    Who do you know who worked on that? It’s an RPG that’s also a master class on caper storytelling. I am in awe of what your friends did there. That was Origins Award-worthy work.

    Delighted to hear you share my joy! I know a couple of the people behind Leverage in person (e.g. Rob Donoghue) and others from the net places (Clark Valentine, Cam Banks). I have played in a Leverage session Rob GMed from the generator, which was fun.

  42. Nearest book to my left foot: “The New Tarot: Modern Variations of Ancient Images” by Rachel Pollack, since my research bookcase is directly next to my computer desk and all my Tarot references are on the bottom shelf.

    Nearest fiction book: “Umbral Book One: Out of the Shadows” by Anthony Johnston and Christoper Mitten, a collection of their comic “Umbral” from Image.That and the sequel are on the desk behind me, where I put them after I bought them at the local comics convention last month. Then its the Hugo packets on my tablet computer beside them and the same packets on the main computer on the other side of my desk. The only other fiction in the entire office area are what is in the Amber fanzines I have stacked next to my Amber Diceless RP stuff on the shelf against the far wall.

    By the way, if one wields the Hammer of Tor, does that mean they possess the legendary strength, bald head and ability to blindly sleep-walk of Tor Johnson?

  43. What I especially love about the Leverage RPG, on top of your point about the great caper storytelling, is that it’s the best example of supporting low-violence play I know. Truth is, when I’ve run the game, finding stuff for the Hitter to do has probably been the hardest part.

    Also, the flashback rules, er, rule.

  44. That won’t be a blurb on the next edition.

    I dunno; “If you can’t learn Java from this book, there must be something wrong with you!” seems like a pretty strong recommendation to me.

    Please tell me there’s a happy ending here.

    Like most things relating to the Social Security Disability process, it took several appeals and several years, but I did get the Disability, so yeah, I suppose there is. 🙂

  46. Do I infer from Wright’s oily little blog post that his editor is Moshe Feder?

    His editor’s David Hartwell. Apparently, Moshe Feder edits the work of his wife, L. Jagi Lamplighter.

  47. Instead of Happy Kittens, can we just be straight up Murder Cows? Because I sorta feel like “Happy Kitten” is allowing yourself to be defined as an opposition side. But MURDER COWS is just generally awesome and in order to oppose us, someone would have to be Birth Chickens, and seriously, who is gonna hang out with a Birth Chicken?

  49. @Camestros Felapton
    I voted for the only one I didn’t read because I’m still neutral about it, unlike the ones I have actually read.

Comments are closed.