Comments on: Locus Winners

By: Rah

Rah — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:02:44 +0000

For the past couple years I’ve seen increasing division between those who thing Doctorow is a genius & those who think he’s a moron, & I can never predict which side someone will come down on. I think it’s a side-effect of “underground” fame generally, having watched the same thing happen to various bands over the years.

My chief objection to Eastern Standard Tribe was that it has pretty much exactly the same plot as Magic Kingdom, & it’s not a terribly interesting plot. I greatly enjoy the playfulness & surprising resonance of Doctorow’s world-building, but I hope he’s getting over whatever made him hang two novels in a row on The Idealistic Slacker Who Gets Betrayed by His Own True Love. I’m sure there are at least three other stories in the universe!

By: Aaron Swartz

Aaron Swartz — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:22:05 +0000

“Characters in genre fiction should not notice that their lives are strangely like the lives of characters in genre fiction unless it’s some kind of joke on the genre.”

Why not? My life is often like genre fiction and I point that out. (Indeed, I often make jokes to the effect that I must be a fictional character.) I suppose perhaps I am kind of making a joke on the genre, but not really. It seems perfectly reasonable for fictional characters to behave the same way.

By: roac

roac — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:37:27 +0000

Late thanks to those who filled me in on the various sf awards.

By: chris armstrong

chris armstrong — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:28:47 +0000

I think Chabon is a very talented writer, but the brilliance of Kavalier and Clay must hang like a bit of an albatross around his neck. But I’ve got Policemen’s Union on my bookshelf and this has now prompted me to start it. I started a Mieville book once too, and gave up with the same ‘well, what’s the point?’ feeling. The Gaiman short story is from his forthcoming book ‘The Graveyard Book,’ which is in that venerable tradition of fairy stories for adults, I think.

By: 4jkb4ia

4jkb4ia — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:35:26 +0000

Will be interesting to see if the Hugo voters support it and make Michael Chabon a full honorary member of the SF community. Will be even more interesting if Michael Chabon comes to Worldcon to accept it.

By: 4jkb4ia

4jkb4ia — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:31:51 +0000

Yiddish Policemen’s Union: very enjoyable book. Not sure it works as the best genre book of the year.

By: Jon H

Jon H — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:53:52 +0000

“LOCUS being the major (currently, only) on-paper news magazine for the speculative fiction field(s).”

I’d say it’s more of a professional/business news magazine focused on the speculative fiction field. Your description could apply to a fan-oriented magazine, while Locus gets into things like who signed a novel contract with which publisher, and which editor is moving to a new imprint, and doesn’t get so much into the starlet-on-the-cover media fanboy coverage.

By: vivian

vivian — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:46:15 +0000

Funny, I thought Eastern Standard Tribe was a clever idea, nicely plotted and fast-paced, and generally funny and satisfying to read. Light but very good fiction. Several clever ideas, actually, but the protagonist’s occupation was just brilliant (spoiler-free). All in that very good-natured way that characterizes most of Boing Boing.

Making a note to get Chabon now though, thanks.

By: winer

winer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:35:46 +0000

i think your review of policeman’s union is right on. it’s a good read, but not as good as kavalier and clay. i loved that novel. i went with the antarctica stuff and found myself completely into the story. anyway, yeah, chabon’s a great novelist. his merely good stuff is still better than most imho.

By: Demosthenes

Demosthenes — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:27:57 +0000

Little Brother was brilliant. Doctorow’s fine with me.

And so’s Chabon; I agree with many of the critiques in the review, but I think the strength of the situation shows through. I also felt that the character was a decent personification of his people: he was so tired of everything that had happened to him, so bereft of hope, that he didn’t even really care that doom was riding down on him.

By: Zora

Zora — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:36:49 +0000

Cory’s latest is his best, IMHO. You can get Little Brother for free at his blog (Did I get the code right? The preview box isn’t showing for me.)

By: Doctor Memory

Doctor Memory — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:21:48 +0000

f: in my experience, no. As a novelist, Doctorow seems to me to make an excellent blogger: “Eastern Standard Tribe” is the worst book I’ve read in the last five years, easily. But my opinion seems to be distinctly in the minority, so I guess there’s no accounting for taste.

By: Dan Goodman

Dan Goodman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:05:26 +0000

roac: Here’s how the awards differ. Hugo: voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention, from among nominations made by Worldcon members, for the previous year. Nebula: voted on by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA—and yes, the abbreviation only has one F), for a period whose limits I don’t understand except that it’s not exactly the same as the previous calendar year. LOCUS: Voted on by LOCUS readers—LOCUS being the major (currently, only) on-paper news magazine for the speculative fiction field(s).

By: F

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:33:17 +0000

I read “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom” and thought it was awful. Unlikable characters doing stupid things that we were supposed to think were endearing for some reason. Are Doctorow’s other books better?

By: ejh

ejh — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:56:42 +0000

As I recall, there aren’t any Arab characters in TYPU, and maybe ten sentences total on the real situation in the Middle East.

A bit more than ten, but anyway – take a look at them and see what you think they say.