Reading Wednesday

[sabotabby]

 Just finished: Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll. My main problem with this was there wasn't enough of it. I can read about this stuff all day. Every antifascist should read this to better understand fascist psychology, and every sci-fi geek should read this to combat entryism by the far-right.

Currently reading: City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Why I'm not reading the next giant spider story is because I'm reading this one. I think this is even more my thing than the spider one. It's about Ilmar, a city under occupation by the Palleseen, who practice Correct Speech and Correct Conduct, which they enforce on a diverse population of workers, criminals, and refugees. There's a revolution brewing, and there's a mysterious forest that's a portal to another dimension that can be traversed only by creepy Indwellers in wooden masks. When one of the Palleseen authorities bent on conquering the other dimension gets eaten, it might be the spark that finally sets off the uprising.

This is obviously My Jam and the comparisons to China Miéville's Bas-Lag books are warranted. Of course, it has the things that most modern fantasy readers appear to strongly dislike—every chapter is from a different POV, with the storyline passed along like a relay torch, and there's difficult vocabulary and it doesn't explain everything to the reader. Clearly annoying to the GR crowd. I love it.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville. No whale again this week. :( Here is a Tumblr shitpost instead.

Comments

[greylock]

Every antifascist should read this to better understand fascist psychology, and every sci-fi geek should read this to combat entryism by the far-right.

Is entryism a term now? I don't need to better understand fascist psychology, I can see it.
WE ARE SO FUCKED.

China Mieville has a thing coming out with... Gibson? Some comics dude? Gaiman? Gibson? I need to suss it out. I did a double take, and forgot.
#DialHForHero

Clearly annoying to the GR crowd

GR? Gender Relative?

[sabotabby]

Entryism is more generally used for communist splinter groups that enter larger movements, but applies to the right as well.

Yeah, I heard about Miéville's comic, and am intrigued, though I didn't like Dial H for Hero very much. The main thing I love about Miéville, besides his politics, is his prose.

GR = GoodReads, a wretched hive of scum and villainy (but plz read and review my book there).

[greylock]

Ahhh.
I pondered GoodReads a decade or so during the usenet diaspora.

I have his Dial H on my wishlist. I loved the (no doubt terrible) '70s version.

Entryism is a new one on me, but I understand it.

[naomikritzer]

Amazon doesn't think that book is coming out till October, is it out already in Canada or did you get an early copy? It sounds great.

[naomikritzer]

(Speculative Whiteness, specifically.)

[sabotabby]

I have the ARC 'cause the author's a friend of mine and I low-key begged him and his publisher (who was cool with it because everyone knew I would love it and rave about it).

[ioplokon]

Well, glad to have brought you substitute Gross Whale Content via Fallen London!

[sabotabby]

Much appreciated.

[snickfic]

Oooh both your books sounds super interesting. I have bounced off both the other Tchaikovsky books I tried, but third time's the charm? (I have yet to actually try the spider one, it's on the list.)

[sabotabby]

The spider one is really good, would recommend.

[radiantfracture]

I have started the spider one and like it very much, although the spider part + lifelong arachnophobia means every page is touch and go. (So far okay.)

[gingicat]

Thank you for posting these!

[sabotabby]

You're most welcome!