Quick Thoughts - The Puppies Are Not Exceptional (in any sense...)

At these moments I normally find myself drawn back to this poem that I wrote a rather long time ago now. It's perhaps a bit dramatic, but there it is.

I think the danger in all of what has surrounded the Hugos is to assume that it's gotten substantially better overall. That even if the Puppies get shut out of nominating process, even if they don't manage to fuck things up somehow, it will mean that the field as a whole is open and accepting and affirming. Which is not to say there aren't amazing, wonderful fans and writers and editors out there. Which is not to say there aren't amazing novels and stories and films and shows and graphic novels out there. Which is not to say there isn't hope. But it is to say that the Puppies are not part of some vocal minority of fans working to ruin everything for everyone else. They obviously make up enough of the fan population to succeed in fucking with the Hugos year after year now. They are here. They have always been here.

For me, it is easy to forget that sometimes. Maybe because I want so badly to believe it's not the case, that the Puppies are part of some outlier group that are simply refusing to die quietly. And maybe because sometimes I _can_ forget it. Sometimes I can squint my eyes and see all the stories that I love and that I myself can sell some fiction and have people even say nice things about those stories and I can pretend that's what the world is. But part of that arises from the fact that as a white cis-man my world isn't really all that bad and there aren't that many people trying to really take my voice, and I get praise and attention and affirmation as general background noise, as a sort of ether I can tap into at almost any time. And the other part of that is that I actively seek to avoid media and people that I'm pretty sure I will hate and that seeks to silence, erase, and oppress me (something that, again, is way easier for me to do and STILL I CANNOT COMPLETELY SUCCEED AT).

So no, the Puppies are not the problem as much as Trump is not what is wrong with American politics. They are symptoms of the problem—symptoms of widespread hatred and the idolatry of a sterilized and false past and present monoculture. "Make SFF Great Again" might as well be the rallying cry of the Puppies (if it's not already), but it's a story as speculative as the weirdest alt-history where Hitler won the American Civil War. SFF was never great. Sure, there were great writers, great stories, but there was never overwhelming equity or justice. There still is not. The call might as well be "Make SFF Great." But perhaps first the call should be "Make SFF Decent." That would be a nice first step. Unfortunately in a business where purchasing power is equated with "will be treated with human dignity," even that's not easy. The truth is that "fairness" is being used to describe "anyone can pay to play." But money is not fair. Who gets access to money and who does not and what people have to spend their money on to live and maintain their freedom is not fair. There is no justice in making people "vote with your wallets."

So how do we change things? How should we do that? I'm not sure. I'm going to get back to reviewing, and writing, and (yes, even though it's not fair) spending what money I can on stories and books that I want to read. What stories and books I love. And talking about stories and books, and trying to not be an asshole. Like always, the goal will be to reform what can be reformed and destroy what cannot be. And to try to carve out a space where people can be safe, and can tell the stories and read the stories they love. But also not to forget (and this goes pretty much only to the people who _can_ forget) that this is not some isolated incident. This is still where we're at in SFF.

Which, while I'm on the subject of stories I love, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Rosarium's campaign going on now. Seriously, $100 will get you print copies of 3 great-looking short story anthologies, 3 great-looking single-author short story collections, and 3 great-looking first issues of comic books (only $50 for ebook versions). Plus just so much good to check out. Tade Thompson's Making Wolf and Keef Cross' DayBlack and just lots of amazing work. Think about buying some stuff.

Thanks for reading!

All the best,

Charles Payseur

Quick Sips - Tor dot com April 2016 Part 2

Woo, my constant passive aggressiveness must finally be paying off as the final story of Tor dot com's April was not the month's longest (*does little dance*). And okay, friendly jibes aside, the stories of the second half of the month...well, they move. Through darkness and through death and through change. These are stories about transformations. Some good and necessary and some...well, there are layers of consent and institutions of misogyny or oppression or both. And there is an attempt to tear them down or circumvent them or resist them. These stories are not happy, really, but they are hopeful. Reaching. And very good. To the reviews!

Art by Ashley Mackenzie

Quick Sips - Fantasy Scroll #12

A new issue of Fantasy Scroll has dropped and this issue seems to me to be all about frustrated simplicity. Thinking something will be simple, will be easy, only to find that when you start pulling it apart there's all this…mess. All these angles that weren't considered and situations that weren't foreseen. Things go from bad to worse in some, from bad to better-but-not-great in others, from bad to still-rather-bad, and even from not-all-that-bad to oh-fuck-no!!!! These stories (and graphic story) around about having something in your grasp and then finding there's no ground beneath your feet, and either learning to fall well or trying to fly. Lots to look at, too, so I'm going to jump right in! 

Art by Jonathan Gragg

Quick Sips - Strange Horizons 04/18/2016 & 04/25/2016

April is nearly over and before May rears it's head I wanted to look at the latest offerings from Strange Horizons, which includes a story, two poems, and a piece of nonfiction. As always, there's more to explore in terms of nonfiction that I recommend everyone check out, but time being what it is I'm just looking at the one piece this time. It's a nicely balanced bunch of content, a story that is equal parts funny and poignant, poems that complicate and hit and refuse to go down quietly, and a nonfiction work that does what I always appreciate--points me in the direction of some great books. So let's get to those reviews!

Quick Sips - Terraform April 2016

Well after sort of missing the majority of March's Terraform content because of a tagging issue, I've been super cautious to make sure I don't miss out on any April stories. And good thing, because they are an interesting bunch, a mix of dystopian visions, each with their own particular flavor. From social media obsessed to decidedly punky to sci fi slavery and beyond, there's a little something for everyone. Politics, extinction, and technology merge in these stories. To the reviews!

Quick Sips - Uncanny #9 (April Stuff)

Spring might be in the air but Uncanny Magazine is keeping things in April rather fucking dark. In the best of ways. These are stories that hit and hit hard. Some of them very hard, with characters that shine but situations that are a bit outside their control. Where tragedy seems like that rolling boulder in Indiana Jones and the characters are quite fast enough to...well, the stories and the poetry mix tragedy and happiness, love with loss. It's a challenging issue but also a very good one, with exciting worlds to explore and emotions to feel. So time to review!

Art by Katy Shuttleworth

Quick Bonus - Private Altars

So Sundays are a weird thing. I really need to get a Quick Links together because it's been a while but I don't have the energy at the moment. And Smutty Sundays is totally going to be a thing, but I'm not through anything right now and so that will have to wait as well. Instead, I present a slightly modified poem that appeared in the university arts magazine where I went to school. I actually wrote lots of poetry during college (much more than I write more), but not often SFF poetry. This, however, I think counts. It's kind of funny, actually, how obvious a poem I find this now, but in college I was still not incredibly open with myself or others about anything so no real surprise that I came up with this kind of a poem. But yeah, sorry about being behind on everything. Hopefully you enjoy the poem. Thanks for reading!


Private Altars
by Charles Payseur

at dusk I secret the bricks away
from the edifices of the sun--
one by one,
breath quick and hushed--
and build up my altar,
my house of worship.
hands bleeding, back straining--
it grows like a mountain toward the stars,
like a thorn
poised beneath an unsuspecting finger.
and in the shadow of my work
I sing in a voice
suddenly unafraid,
willing to share with the night
what the sun does not condone--
and I dance, and rage
with feet that dread the day
and stomp the stars
into their beds.
at dawn I tear it down,
brick by brick,
and talk in quiet tones,
timid steps
under the sun's hot gaze,
exchanging quick glances
with everyone--
wondering if they can see
the night in my eyes,
looking for it in theirs.


(I actually also had a story in the same issue that this poem appeared which featured a man who had embezzled a bunch of money and then set fire to his building when the cops showed up for him having a conversation with a duck and it. is. RIDICULOUS! I kind of love it even as it makes me do all the cringes. I like this one part, though, where the duck is trying to convince the guy to fly away. Guy, incredulous, thinks it's impossible, and duck returns with this gem: "You just have to see that up isn't always up. Sometimes, if you look at it closely, up is down, and then all you have to do is fall." I am Team Duck on that one. Slap that on a tee shirt. Anyway, thanks again! More actual reviews tomorrow, I swear!)