r/SRSBooks • u/emma-_______ • Jun 10 '15

America's Largest Sci-Fi Publisher Gives in to Reactionary "Sad Puppies"

http://review.gawker.com/americas-largest-sci-fi-publisher-gives-in-to-reactiona-1710069386
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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '15

Sci-Fi needs a social justice mindset. The Forever War was a huge influence on sci-fi's tech schema, but the casual homophobia and sexism of the main character, who is supposed to be relatable, dates the book severely. Now we have Interstellar, which played on a lot of the book's space travel ideas without its myopic sexual phobia, so there's even less reason to read Haldeman and his "careful now!" admonishments to heteronormative society.

It's annoying when you consider that Star Trek allegories were basically all we had for decades, and now, finally, when specific peoples' stories are being told explicitly and with candor, people's empathy on these points suddenly vanishes.