Thursday, March 17, 2016

Brief Note on Sad Puppies 4

Given last year's caustic battle over the Hugo Awards, as well as the generally caustic nature of U.S. politics in 2016, you might be forgiven for assuming that the 2016 Hugo Awards would be yet another battleground in the never-ending (and endlessly tiresome) culture wars. Only it isn't looking that way, in part because the Sad Puppies have followed up last year's politically partisan and highly divisive slate with a longlist of recommendations that…isn't partisan or divisive at all.

Sure, there are individual selections that might annoy those who are not political fellow travelers, but there are also a decent number of selections for or authored by progressives, liberals, public advocates for social justice, objects of past ire and outspoken critics of last year's slate--hell, there's even one for John Scalzi, and another for Ann Leckie. In other words, it doesn't seem like partisanship was the operative selection criteria for their voters. There's also considerable overlap with our longlist (parts one, two, three, four)--one or two selections in most of the categories.  

Bottom line: Sad Puppies 4 isn't a slate, makes some good recommendations and abandons the antagonistic culture wars approach for an alternative that might build rather than burn bridges. I like it. In fact, I like it so much, I'm going to start checking out the other stuff on their list--the stuff I haven't read and probably never thought to read.

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POSTED BY: The G--purveyor of nerdliness, genre fanatic and Nerds of a
Feather founder/administrator, since 2012.