The Genre Will Eat Itself

I read this post on SF Signal, a top genre blog. Basically, some dude has had it with the bickering etc that goes on in the genre.

This isn’t just about the blog comments, e-mails and forum posts of the last week. This is about the blog posts and comments, emails and forum posts, editorials and everything else from the last few years. The genre-bashing has reached felonious levels. I have read (and yes, partaken in) so much sub-genre and author clobbering that I’m starting to feel nauseous. And I can taste the blood and bile burning up my esophagus.

Chill, is what I say.

The one thing that’s easily forgetablle online is just what a tiny minority of SF and Fantasy book buyers we are. The majority will buy their books and not join in with all the shenanigans that go on in forums etc., the endless lists of who’s better, of what this movement means.

I enjoy it. I enjoy watching people lose their temper too. I loved it when M John Harrison made his world-building posts on “the clomping foot of nerdism” [sadly now offline]. He just wound up a hare and sent the dogs a-chasin’. The debate that resulted is hugely beneficial to some. But it’s the nature of fandom, surely, and only goes to show that there is passion here that most other genres would kill for.

But most punters don’t care about this, so if you don’t like any of it, just step away and join them. Close your eyes. Log off. Read your books in peace. I never understand why people get so irate about these blogs or whatnot—only to blog about it.