Aerin’s Reviews > Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy > Status Update
Aerin
is on page 24 of 368
I get so viscerally annoyed every time SF authors start whining about “mainstream” authors publishing SF novels through “mainstream” publishers, appealing to “mainstream” readers. Wahhh, they’re not part of our CLUB, they’re not part of our CONVERSATION, it’s not REAL science fiction! Yes it fucking is, and it appeals to wider audiences often because it’s GOOD. Die mad about it, I guess.
— Jul 12, 2026 08:39PM
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Aerin’s Previous Updates
Aerin
is on page 40 of 368
(Sigh) I’m back to yelling at this book. The authors are now claiming that “true” SF isn’t metaphorical; if it has zombies those are real zombies, and any deeper readings are secondary and probably hallucinated by the reader.
And sure, that’s sometimes true. But—and call me a bad dumb SF reader I guess—if the zombies aren’t actually ABOUT something it’s probably not a very interesting book.
— Jul 14, 2026 07:39PM
And sure, that’s sometimes true. But—and call me a bad dumb SF reader I guess—if the zombies aren’t actually ABOUT something it’s probably not a very interesting book.
Aerin
is starting
I dislike both Walton’s and Palmer’s SF, buuuut I am still hopeful they might have something worthwhile to add to the metaconversation? Maybe?
— Jul 12, 2026 07:42PM
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Jul 12, 2026 08:52PM
The example they use here is ordering mac & cheese at a restaurant, and the waiter brings out an artisanal concoction of hand-made pasta and imported cheeses and you’re like “okay, it’s GOOD, but it’s not the Kraft slop I was expecting! So how dare you call it mac & cheese!” Yeeeeesh. God forbid some of us fans enjoy exploring what’s out there beyond the slop, and don’t really care about who’s in your club, who goes to the conventions, who’s in conversation with which of the thousands of SF books ever published, who’s won how many Hugos, or whatever the fuck.
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Continuing to hate-blog my way through this essay, because now they’re saying Solaris—SOLARIS—the greatest fucking SF book ever written—doesn’t belong in college courses about SF because it is too LITERARY and SYMBOLIC?? They want to replace Cloud Atlas—fucking CLOUD ATLAS—with the likes of Bujold???Look. I love science fiction. It’s my favorite genre, BECAUSE it has the freedom to break boundaries, to not follow a specific formula. Because it can address the biggest questions about being human in a uniquely fascinating way. Because it endlessly stuns and enchants me. I never ever ever want to pick up a new SF novel and think “oh right, this again.”
But these authors want to define some of the most groundbreaking, complex and creative works out of the genre entirely because they’re not pulpy or formulaic enough for the kind of fan who just wants to read endless echoing riffs on ansibles and sentient time machines and pew-pew-pew-I’m-in-space. Christ, it’s such a boring way to think about such a cool field of literature. Gatekeepers gonna gatekeep, I GUESS.