Woke Scold: Another Frontieer.

So of course one of my big mainstays is : (For the 90s anyway.)

• Honor Harrington

A marriage of space opera and military sci fi in my opinion. Has some elements not currently seen in other series, mostly more "modernized" books. Just wants to be "IIIIIIIIIIIIN SPAAAAAAAAAAACE!" kinda story. I love it for that. In fact, if you are going to have poltics in your story like Harrington does, do it this way, make mishmash of various ideologies, give each culture some of them but do so in accordance with your setting. Make the characters independent enough were you can't point and say, "This is Bill Clinton expy, Or Hillary or Our Dumbass Political Scene stand in. Here's Orange Man Bad Stand In."

So thank you David Weber. Plus thanks for completing the main sequence for Honor. I was getting worried for a while. Now get Safehold into space so they can kick some alien ass. :D 

Readers are looking to escape. At least the ones that will support you finance wise.

IE: if its Sci fi, don't have it be Current Year in SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!"

IE overabundance of navel gazing and "wear on your sleeve current year political issues."

Will probably give this series a shot at some point:

• The Academy
• Looks like this has the whole global unrest/we fracked the planet angle though. Can't escape the Capt. Planet Soapboxing here as well. But it looks like it has enough alien ruins and/or exploring alien cities tropes I find fun.

Because some reviewers say its too golden age or optimistic. Originally started printing in 1994. One site says these are the defining books of the 1990s: 1990s Sci Fi Building Blocks

I have read some of Hyperion Cantos, Snow Crash, and Vorsokigan Saga. Along with some Ian Banks. Hamilton (Night Trilogy). I could care a less about GoT for the moment. Cause I have had my fill of gritty. Esp. the parts of examine the worst humanity has to offer. Again, its more of, want to balance out the buffet. I get that this sort of drama, death, dismemberment sells but I want more on the table.

Ahh, this is an interesting entry into the Attack Helo story of a few weeks back but this part is what really gets my brain on coffee: Here 

For the story in question: here's the Archive of it all: Here

.....while I was researching this, and what I saw was more of the kind of self-indulgent navel-gazing that passes for modern literary SF these days.

The nail on the head of why I hardly ready anything with a hugo stamp on it nowadays. Fancy that. But back to some 90s sci fi books. I wonder if some of these were the toddler steps to some of the culture war we have today. Its a good guess: The Red Mars trilogy never really interested me. Mainly because he goes on an on about the social political setup of his setting. Get me to the heart of the Adventure please!

Some of these series are stuck with tropes I could care a less about:

• UN leads the Human Race (My laughter is at 11) (Yes, I had to put down the Expanse when I read that part too.)
• Oh nos, the planet was trashed by Hoomans. Enviro Disaster Here  
• Humanity Sucks, Insert Side Commentary from Writer here! 
• Paper Thin Characters that are just walking talking billboards for Identity. 
• HAVE SOME FRACKIN HOPE IN YOUR DAMNED BOOK DAMNIT!
• Guess since this stuff is so prevalent, esp since 2000 onward, I've become kinda numb to it. Or uncaring really. The more someone says I should pay attention here, the more Ill be like: Nope. Don't care. 
• Even stuff like the Expanse, while interesting and well built, I even drifted away from that because it just extrapolated current political issues into various forms of "this is why we suck" montages. Even if the mystery of the "Blue Goo/PM" is why I kept going for the most part. 
• Balance out the Suck with Hope akin to Babylon 5. Sure there's downer moments but JMS remembered to keep things balanced with legit Hope.
• I want to look to the sky and say, "Endless Potential!"  

Maybe we should have a Political Sci Fi subgenre, most woke books could be shoved here. Along with another category: Personal Identity, so I know which books to avoid even more. I don't need a protag to be exactly like me to get embroiled in the plot. Just make fun characters that don't mope on and on about "I'm so oppressed! The World Sucks, I'm a Victim!"

Give me more Ripleys, More Conans, More John Carters, More Red Sonjas, More Ivanovas!

Feels like this was pre-patient zero stuff before the 2000s became the full on zombie scold epidemic.

....Screw this navel-gazing crap. Science Fiction looks up and out and into the future, not down at its toes. If you only want stories you can relate to, where the main character is exactly like you, well, they have these print on demand children’s books they can customize for you. People read Science Fiction, REAL Science Fiction, to escape the world of the here and now and explore the possibilities they could never experience themselves....

.....No, Science Fiction does not stay in its lane. Hell it doesn’t even stay on the road. It goes off the beaten path into into places we’ve never imagined before. And we’re never going to get there if we keep listening to the outrage mobs......

Yea, gonna link this blog on my roll. Time to go off road. Regress harder as pulp rev says. Ill hold my comic book adventures to the same standard. People are free to love what they like, I just want to choose from more options. Just like people want me to "read" more modern shit, I should be free to choose, "No".

Sure, Bioshock went to 11 with this stuff but its still relevant. People should be free to choose.

The Becky Chambers books are blueprints to what bores me: Wayfarers of Boring

• Gonna have to disagree with him about these being hallmarks of sci fi.
• Slice of Life, No conflict, Identity is more Important, if you have insomnia, read the samples. It will cause ZZZZs to happen within minutes. I think I got it when it was 1.99 Still use it today to cure insomnia.

Ahh yes! The picture from goodreads that sums it up:

Even Interstellar did a good job of pulling out the Hope line in the end.

• Aeon 14 does the "look up into the sky and explore" motif very well. Plus no soapboxing. Just characters and crazy situations. Characters are characters. And all sorts of other hard sci fi meets space opera.

Holy crap, wow. Yeah, this showcases why it was a bunch of talking heads and tea sipping essentially. When I mean uplifting and hope, I mean daring heroes and heroines doing things to save the day and be all Dashing.

The sexuality of the writer, I don't give a crap, just write entertaining stories. But that vid gives insight to what lots of trad publishing is looking for. SO if you want to go that route, this will give you some insight on what to do.

From Becky's Interview: Mundane Sci fi Manifesto up the butt.  That train wreak here: Here

As a reader, what I don't give a crap about:

• The politics of the writer
• The ID of the writer
• The sex of the writer
• Sexuality of the writer

What I care about:

• the story
• the world building
• the characters
• no soapboxing
• Money to Entertain Me with the Plot
• Good vs Evil
• Promote the Virtues of the Characters more. 

What Bores me:

• Mundane Manifesto
• Hugo Award Winners
• Its all about "X, Y or Z" and never goes beyond Identity
• UN in charge
• The Dregs of Humanity/Humanity is Sin Incarnate

My Biases:

• No Politics of Our Current Year Kind unless its listed as "POLITICAL THRILLER" or if its Human vs Human Military Sci fi. I expect more politics to show up there then anywhere else like in Kratmans Caliphate or Carerra Series
• When books drown out a genre. (IE so much woke dreck and mis-categorized stuff in the genre tags)
• I'm more forgiving of politics in books if its something I am more in line with but I also realize this is the same for the woke scolds. SO I try my best to find books that leave "Current Year" at the door and just take people to another place, time, alt earth, superhero or space filled landscape.
• Because even I get burnt out on political things I agree with too.

It is frustrating that drama, outrage culture, eating the corpse of star wars or hoping it will change will get more clicks or attention, but this place and other blogs like it are a start. Get on the dopamine hits of adventure rather then drama. At least that's my hot take.

Edit: Well at least I have a full point blank view of why woke scold is as boring as all get out.

Holy Jesus: Yeah, if your book is like this video....not going to look at it one iota.