RE: https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/116290338892571761
🤦🏿♂️Actually, nevermind.
Why is everything like this?
The author supposedly went on an anti-woke, right-wing podcast to promote the movie while trashing other books and movies that do have a "woke" message or that have inclusive representation? But... why?
Why was that necessary?
I'm not saying don't watch the movie or read the book. Do whatever makes you happy.
I'm also not interested in debating how much inclusion is in his stories, whether he realizes it or not.
And I'm not interested in comparing even bigger, "super woke" sci-fi franchises like Star Trek or Star Wars.
I'm just saying that I personally watched the last one (The Martian), and I watched this one (Project Hail Mary), but you can guess if I'm watching the next one.
So many choices in entertainment.
The actions that attract the MAGA customer base will probably alienate me, and vice versa. That's OK!
Whether or not I watch his next movie doesn't really matter that much to him. He's not going to go broke and that's okay. Good actually!
But it's so hard to be an author, let alone a woman author, in sci-fi, who tells stories with good representation? Those authors don't need to be punched down on.
🤔Now I need to buy two IMAX tickets worth of sci-fi books written by authors that aren't anti-woke, just to put my part of the universe back in balance.
🤔Actually to properly balance things out, I have to keep reading new sci-fi books until I find one that I can recommend to thousands of people.
You're right! They don't have to be new!
@mekkaokereke @s_wilson
Objection: If they're not new, the author wont get any money.
I often buy used books, and always buy used if I don't want the author to get money from me (like the Hillbilly book from that Hillbilly VP).
+1 for the Culture series.
I've only read Consider Phlebas so far.
It’s good, but not my favourite. Player of Games, Excession (❤️ Sleeper Service!) and Surface Detail are my amazing IMO.
And, always read the epilogue!!
@CurlyParakeet @mekkaokereke @PsyChuan
Seconding Player of Games as an entry point to Banks' Culture novels! It works well on its own, and it isn't as harrowing as some of the others.
Has anyone mentioned Ann Leckie yet? If you can manage to go into Ancillary Justice completely unspoiler'd, it's an absolute treat, and even if you already know the premise, it's still excellent. That's first in a trilogy. I'd also recommend Translation State, same universe but different setting/storyline:
https://sunny.garden/@booktrail/112818779349211019
Ann Leckie - Translation State Three varied main characters. Family, friendships, humans, aliens, adoption, cousins, and a missing person. Complex, inventive science fiction with enjoyable domestic dimensions, in the same universe as the "Imperial Radch" trilogy (the "Ancillary" books). #SF #books #family #friendship #adoption #aliens #AnnLeckie
I think Player of Games was the first one I read (you’re right it stands on its own quite well), followed by Use of Weapons (🪑). Then I decided to read them in published order. Surface Detail (or the idea sitting behind it) was the one which stayed with me longest.
@mekkaokereke @CurlyParakeet @PsyChuan
“The Culture, in its history and its on-going form, is an expression of the idea that the nature of space itself determines the type of civilisations which will thrive there…”
For a fascinating essay by Banks on the backstory, sociology, and politics of The Culture see ‘A Few Notes on the Culture’ Iain M Banks, 1994. It adds background, without spoilers. I think you’d enjoy it.
www.vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm
@mekkaokereke looking forward to your list/discussion suggesting some.
A few that come to mind:
Matt Ruff (“Lovecraft Country” and sequel)
Octavia Butler - I’m particularly fond of the recent graphic novel versions of Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Hard to improve on or even just adapt a masterpiece but Damian Duffy and John Jennings did so
I haven’t yet finished it but Namwali Serpell’s The Old Drift is wildly ambitious and tackles racism directly
@internetsdairy @mekkaokereke great reminder that I’ve been meaning to read that (my to read queue is eh long)
I ran out of characters in my original response - the thread has a ton of the other authors I would suggest as hoped - a fantastic resource
I'm thrilled that Matt Ruff got known with "Lovecraft Country." If you haven't dug into his back catalog, check out "Sewer, Gas, and Electric," which really established his intention to write woke sci-fi.
@mekkaokereke For more recent SciFi, have you read mary robinette kowal?
I love Julie Cznerneda's Species Imperative trilogy, mainly because a scientist is taken seriously, and then she goes on to save all life in the universe by being a scientist who thinks through things. And yeah, there is a sexy-to-her intergalactic secret agent academic who shows up now and then. What can I say, I love a male character who believes and supports a female character.
@mekkaokereke I find it difficult to understand why so many white-cis-het-men find it so difficult to understand that there are so many amazing people who are not white-cis-het-men
And that this diversity is a wonderful thing!
I can't imagine such a lonely existence.
@kristinHenry
It's not lonely if you got a group of idetically looking and thinking people and you're hyped into them.
But that hype is blinding.
@mekkaokereke ok I also really love @scalzi. His "when the moon hits your eye" is an experiment in story telling. Brave follow through on an unconventional format.
I love all his books, so I gave this one a chance, even though I was confused for a bit.
But it's little stories, of regular people, over a month of time with weird stuff going on with the moon. Yeah, it turns into cheese.
Fun, and poignant, and satisfying.
@mekkaokereke Do you know the Binti series by @nnedi ? Big recommendation!
And so sad to read about this. I watched the Hail Mary movie without knowing anything about the book and author. I mostly liked it, except for the whole "this one average guy is the only one who can save the world" part ^^"
@mekkaokereke @older
Yeah! Absolutely Must Read!
@Paraendroid @evilpilaf @mekkaokereke
Thank you! 💙❤️💜
@mekkaokereke Underground Airlines by Ben H Winters?
Modern era but the US civil war never happened and a (genuine) proposed settlement still in force, US internationally isolated as South Africa was in the 1980s. Protagonist is an escaped save captured and forced to assist the US Marshalls in their (genuine pre civil war era) task of capturing slaves who has escaped to the "free states"
@mekkaokereke I can recommend the half-built garden by @r_emrys
It's near future science fiction where we're trying to cleanup the earth, but then aliens arrive. Plus good representation and normalisation of the diversity we have in our world.
I think that's "Half-Built Garden?"
My first thought was "Cool, I also liked A Half-Built Garden".
My second was "Why does the name r_emrys look familiar?"
My third was "OMG - she's on Mastodon?!??!"
@mekkaokereke really? Sad.
why do they do this? So sad.
It is so easy to go out and say "I'm super excited that this work of mine is out there, please watch it."
There is no need to punch down on others. It just makes the puncher look bad. Especially in sci-fi.
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