John C. Wright's Journal

An announcement from my publisher, the most hated man in science fiction, Vox Day. I reprint the whole:

Chaos Horizon estimates between 20 percent and 80 percent of the Rabid Puppies will show up to nominate:

If the Rabid Puppies had around 550 votes in 2015, how many will they bring to 2016? Since all those who voted in 2015 can nominate in 2016, I imagine it will be a big number. Even so, I can’t imagine carrying 100% over—the nomination stage is simply less interesting, less publicized, and more difficult to vote in. Let’s imagine three scenarios: an 80% scenario, a 60% scenario, and a 40% scenario. I think 80% is the most likely; this is the group most invested in impacting the Hugos and the most likely to team up again. And since they don’t have to pay an entry fee to participate in the nomination stage . . .

I also think this group will have solid slate discipline, voting the list as Vox Day published it. If you want to factor in some slate decay, I’d do so for lesser known books like Agent of the Imperium.

I, personally, consider this to be an inadvertent affront. I would be surprised if only 80 percent of the Rabid Puppies could be bothered to show up and nominate – and remember, tomorrow is the last dayin which you can submit your nominations to MidAmericaCon II. If you haven’t gotten around to it yet, don’t put it off any longer. Do it today.

What Chaos Horizon means by “slate decay” is a simple failure of discipline. Last year, for example, far more Puppies submitted nominations in Best Novel than in other, less important categories or went lone ranger on occasion. And while I can’t see what slate decay could possibly have to do with what is merely a list of recommendations, and by no means a direct order to anyone, least of all the Rabid Puppies, the Sad Puppies, the Ilk, the Dread Ilk, the Vile Faceless Minions, or the Evil Legion of Evil, by their Supreme Dark Lord, I do think one would be remiss were one to fail to fill out the entire nominating ballot.

Speaking of which, I have updated the Rabid Puppies 2016 list with some of the additional information requested by the ballot form, such as the writers, directors, and editors in the Dramatic Presentation and Semiprozine categories. Be sure to check out your ballot before the end of day tomorrow to ensure that your voice is heard properly at the 2016 Hugo Awards. UPDATE: Note that as I have been unable to ascertain Rowena’s eligibility for Best Professional Artist, I am replacing her with LARRY ROSTANT who does some excellent blended work.

Read the remainder of this entry »

• John C Wright posted on April 3, 2016
  "When a published and awarded author corrects you on writing, a wise man gives him the respect due" Alas, you…
• DarkSeraphim posted on April 3, 2016
  Honest criticism received by honest ears need never be apologized for, Mr. Wright. No offense has been taken, and I…
• malcolmthecynic posted on April 3, 2016
  Well, I'd say that Tolkien and Heinlein (Tolkien especially, of course) hardly needed ANY advice. ...But I concede the point.

From Vox Day. The words below are his:

This is the text of the press release that went out to the media yesterday.

RABID PUPPIES 2016 Make the Hugos Great

On the heels of last year’s magnificent campaign, which successfully placed 58 of its 67 recommended nominees on the ballot and inspired no less than 5 No Awards, the Supreme Dark Lord of the Evil Legion of Evil is proud to Make the Hugos Great Again by announcing his recommendations for the 2016 Hugo Awards.

“Many of the things that were said about the Puppies last year by luminaries of the field such as George R.R. Martin, David Gerrold, and John Scalzi were deeply hurtful,” said Vox Day, as he quaffed blood from the silvered skull of an SJW. “But I think we’ve learned from our past mistakes and put together a kindler, gentler, list of recommendations that will entertain the casual reader of science fiction and fantasy, as well as inform the more serious observers of the field what a ghastly collection of criminally sick freaks have been inhabiting the community of science fiction fandom for decades.”

Some of the more notable recommendations include:

• Moira Greyland’s account of her childhood abuse at the hands of her mother, the award-winning science fiction writer Marion Zimmer Bradley
• Five-time 2015 Hugo nominee John C. Wright’s novelSomewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm.
• SF great Jerry Pournelle, whose groundbreaking There Will Be War series returned after a 25-year absence due to the end of the Cold War.
• “Safe Space as Rape Room”, a five-part series on the pedophiles and child molesters who have preyed upon children in the science fiction community.
• “Space Raptor Butt Invasion”, a sensuous space romance that is a tribute to true diversity in science fiction.

A complete list of the recommendations for all 16 categories, including the 2016 Campbell Award for Best New Writer, can be found here: Rabid Puppies 2016.

“You may now commence the ritual denunciations,” the Supreme Dark Lord added. “Open up your hate and let it flow into me.”

About the Supreme Dark Lord

Described as “the most despised man in science fiction”, Vox Day is a three-time Hugo Awards nominee, the Lead Editor of Castalia House, and a bestselling political philosopher. His blogs, Vox Popoli and Alpha Game, average 2.2 million pageviews per month.

• “I think I have made my disgust with Vox Day and his Rabid Puppies clear.” —George R. R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones, 19-time Hugo nominee.
• “Vox Day rises all the way to ‘downright evil’.” —Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Manager of Science Fiction, Tor Books, 15-time Hugo nominee
• “Vox Day is a real bigoted shithole of a human being.” —John Scalzi, author of Redshirts, 9-time Hugo nominee
• “SF esteems Vox Day more than me. That’s a hard pill to swallow.” —Adam Roberts, Campbell Memorial Award winner.

• John C Wright posted on March 23, 2016
  Oops. Corrected. Thank you.
• RG posted on March 22, 2016
  You've got the wrong litter of puppies in your title. It should be Rabids rather than Sads.

This is from a conversation between one Damien Walter, professional ignoramus who has continually failed to finish a novel the Queen’s loyal taxpayers in England are forced to pay him to write, and Paul Weimer, who at one time considered himself my friend.

As Declann Finn points out, this announcement, or prediction, or clapping-for-Tinkerbell invocation-by-playing-pretend, or whatever it is, claiming my pro writing career is over, happened on March 19. My latest novel came out for sale on March 17th. I have two more books coming out from Tor, and two more from Castalia House, and five more I am obligated to write.

Not to mention I have just be hired by a magazine publisher to write two more projects of which I have no permission to speak in public (cross your fingers on that one, because, not being paid by the Queen’s loyal taxpayer’s against their will, the finances on that one are still up in the air.)

Pathetic.

However, hearing this child call me and mine craven requires a more thorough dressing down. Allow me to unlimber my spleen in more detail.

Read the remainder of this entry »

• Mary posted on March 24, 2016
  I have slowly progressed toward the first group having originally been in the second.
• malcolmthecynic posted on March 23, 2016
  Yep. I know there is a subset of writers who can write novel after novel but can't do short work…
• DGDDavidson posted on March 23, 2016
  I'm setting up a new blog, so I could do that there.

Vox Day, Supreme Dark Lord of the Evil Legion of Evil Authors (of which I have the honor to be a founding member and Grand Inquisitor) announces suggested nominations voters should consider voting onto the shortlist. The words below are his:

BEST NOVEL

• Seveneves: A Novel, Neal Stephenson, William Morrow
• Golden Son, Pierce Brown, Del Rey
• Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm, John C. Wright, Castalia House
• The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut’s Windlass, Jim Butcher, Roc
• Agent of the Imperium, Marc Miller, Far Future

BEST NOVELLA

• “Fear and Self-Loathing in Hollywood”, Nick Cole, Amazon Digital Services
• “Penric’s Demon”, Lois McMaster Bujold, Spectrum
• “Perfect State”, Brandon Sanderson, Dragonsteel Entertainment
• “The Builders”, Daniel Polansky, Tor.com
• “Slow Bullets”, Alastair Reynolds, Tachyon Publications

BEST NOVELETTE

• “Flashpoint: Titan”, Kai Wai Cheah, There Will Be War Vol. X, Castalia House
• “Folding Beijing”, Hao Jingfang, Uncanny Magazine
• “What Price Humanity?”, David VanDyke,There Will Be War Vol. X, Castalia House
• “Hyperspace Demons”, Jonathan Moeller, Castalia House
• “Obits”, Stephen King, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Scribner

BEST SHORT STORY

• “Asymmetrical Warfare”, S. R. Algernon,Nature Nr. 519
• “Seven Kill Tiger”, Charles Shao, There Will Be War Vol. X, Castalia House
• “The Commuter”, Thomas Mays, Amazon Digital Services
• “If You Were an Award, My Love“, Juan Tabo and S. Harris, Vox Popoli
• “Space Raptor Butt Invasion”, Chuck Tingle, Amazon Digital Services

BEST RELATED WORK 

• Appendix N, Jeffro Johnson
• Between Light and Shadow: An Exploration of the Fiction of Gene Wolfe, 1951 to 1986, Marc Aramini, Castalia House
• The Story of Moira Greyland, Moira Greyland
• Safe Space as Rape Room, Daniel Eness
• SJWs Always Lie, Vox Day, Castalia House

Read the remainder of this entry »

• John C Wright posted on March 23, 2016
  Don't know. I'll ask and let you know. UPDATE: The wife says about 10 000 words.
• Carbonel posted on March 23, 2016
  Do you remember if HMS Mangled Treasure was a short story or a novelette?
• Brian Niemeier posted on March 21, 2016
  Best of luck, John. As for me, I can't wait to lose to Andy Weir!

Sad Puppies 4 has released their suggested list of Hugo nominations.

http://madgeniusclub.com/2016/03/17/the-list/

Full doc is here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3xQY43MM8pKR3JSLUdrcGpGek0/view

I am delighted to note who is at the top of the list with the most votes and positive comments!

Best Novel

Somewhither – John C Wright
Honor At Stake – Declan Finn
The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut’s Windlass – Jim Butcher
Uprooted – Naomi Novik
A Long Time Until Now – Michael Z Williamson
Seveneves – Neal Stephenson
Son of the Black Sword – Larry Correia
Strands of Sorrow – John Ringo
Nethereal – Brian Niemeier
Ancillary Mercy – Ann Leckie

Best Novella

Binti – Nnedi Okorafor
Penric’s Demon – Lois McMaster Bujold
Slow Bullets – Alastair Reynolds
Perfect State – Brandon Sanderson
The End of All Things 1: The Life of the Mind – John Scalzi
Speak Easy – Catherynne M Valente
The Builders – Daniel Polansky

Best Novelette

And You Shall Know Her By The Trail Of Dead – Brooke Bolander
Pure Attentions – T R Dillon
Folding Beijing – Hao Jingfang translated by Ken Liu
If I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up In the Air – Clifford D Simak
Obits – Stephen King
Our Lady of the Open Road – Sarah Pinsker

Best Short Story

Tuesdays With Molakesh The Destroyer – Megan Grey
Today I am Paul – Martin L Shoemaker
… And I Show You How Deep the Rabbit Hole Goes – Scott Alexander
Asymmetrical Warfare – S R Algernon
Cat Pictures, Please – Naomi Kritzer
Damage – David Levine
A Flat Effect – Eric Flint
Daedelus – Niall Burke
Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers – Alyssa Wong
I am Graalnak of the Vroon Empire, Destroyer of Galaxies, Supreme Overlord of the Planet Earth. Ask Me Anything – Laura Pearlman

Best Related Work

Sad Puppies Bite Back – Declan Finn
Appendix N – Jeffro Johnson
Safe Space as Rape Room: Science Fiction Culture and Childhood’s End – Daniel
A History of Epic Fantasy – Adam Whitehead
Atomic Rockets – Winchell Chung
Legosity – Tom Simon
There Will Be War Vol X – Edited Jerry Pournelle
You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) – Felicia Day
Frazetta Sketchbook Number 2
Galactic Journey – http://galacticjourney.org/

As with last year. we AstroTurf gamergaters, wifebeaters, neonazis, Klansmen, and utter outsiders who know nothing about science fiction and fantasy should invade the safe and private areas of a genre alien to us.

We are motivated solely by fear, loathing and malice toward blacks, women, gays and minorities, whose growing power robs us of our ill-gotten white privilege, and, for some reason, our desire to express this ferocious illwill takes the form of casting votes for science fiction stories based on merit and not on race or sex.

Remember: do not read a single word or letter of any of these works. This is a slate vote. You are mindless robotic zombies, as soulless as Daleks. Except you don’t know was a Dalek is, because we don’t read science fiction.

Just kidding. In reality,  I wrote SOMEWITHER Because I love my readers, and wanted to write a book to delight those who love the SF genre I love, regardless of whatever nonsense these mentally disturbed leftwing ninnies are always yammering and clamoring about.

Dear Reader, I don’t care about your skin color, sex, or private sins. They are none of my business and the topics are insufferably boring to me. I could not make myself care about them if I wanted to.

I care about whether readers like good SF.

I care about the science, the wonder, the terror, the adventure, the speculation, the intellectual exercise, the wisdom and the folly, the glory and the shame, the insight into human nature, and, for that matter, alien nature.

I care about all the shining wit and brilliance and lyricism of dreams of far tomorrows captured in the covers of a beloved book.

The Morlocks who scream their mindless hate and scorn know nothing of me. They  selected me as a target of their hate, as best I can tell, precisely because I am innocent of everything of which I am accused. They would not need to rewrite misquotes to make them sound damning if my real words, real thoughts, and real opinions were anything like what they needed for their Two Minute Hate.

These are sick, sad, broken people, tormented by their smothered and inflamed consciences, and in their pain they lash out at whatever and whoever is good, virtuous, truthful, wholesome, decent and normal, because the mere sight of anything good redoubles their self-torture, shames them, and deepens their despair.

Prayer for their souls, not anger at their anger, is the proper response.

Prayer for Patrick Hayden, the editor at Tor primarily responsible for corrupting and politicizing the Hugo Awards, is particularly important. He is a Christian who has lost his way to Christ, thrown his lamp away and poked out his own eyes, so he stumbles through mazes of his own making following hallucinatory afterimages produced by light-starvation, and thinking these are guiding stars that lead him true.

His is a foe of Christ and an enemy of the Church, but is so far lost, that he cannot even hear the shepherd’s voice calling him out of the wolf den. Pray for his wrecked and wretched soul.

And then go nominate my novel. Because Tor decided not to publish it, and their noses should be rubbed in the mess their putting PC above SF has made for them.

• Joe in PNG posted on March 21, 2016
  Funny, according to Star Trek IV, the windows are transparent aluminum... aka, "Sapphire"
• DGDDavidson posted on March 21, 2016
  You out-geeked me. I forgot about the transparent metal. Still pretty thin to have an "inner" and "outer" hull, though.…
• Joshua Young posted on March 21, 2016
  Nah, man. I don't usually read much short fiction at all, unless it's a collection from someone I love. I…

Vox Day, Supreme Dark Lord of the Evil Legion of Evil Authors, has published a list of his recommendations for Hugo Nominations:

He says his whole list is not finalized, as he is making eligibility checks and examining an alternative or two in a few categories.

For the Best Novel category.

• Seveneves: A Novel, Neal Stephenson
• Golden Son, Pierce Brown 
• Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm, John C. Wright
• The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut’s Windlass, Jim Butcher
• Agent of the Imperium, Marc Miller

For the Best Novella category.

• “Fear and Self-Loathing in Hollywood”, Nick Cole
• “Penric’s Demon”, Lois McMaster Bujold
• “Hyperspace Demons”, Jonathan Moeller
• “The Builders”, Daniel Polansky
• “Slow Bullets”, Alastair Reynolds

For the Best Novelette category.

• “Flashpoint: Titan”, Kai Wai Cheah
• “Folding Beijing”, Hao Jingfang
• “What Price Humanity?”, David VanDyke
• “Space Raptor Butt Invasion”, Chuck Tingle
• “Obits”, Stephen King

For the Best Short Story category:

• “Tuesdays With Molakesh the Destroyer”, Megan Grey,Fireside Magazine
• “Asymmetrical Warfare”, S. R. Algernon, Nature Nr. 519
• “Seven Kill Tiger”, Charles Shao, There Will Be War Vol. X
• “The Commuter”, Thomas Mays, Amazon Kindle Single
• “If You Were an Award, My Love”, Juan Tabo and S. Harris, Vox Popoli

I, of course, would like voters to consider my short story:
“Scepter of Nowhere” Dark Discoveries: Issue 31, ed. James R. Beach, Spring 2015.

• Joe in PNG posted on March 19, 2016
  That bugged you too, eh? The whole time I read the early part, I kept thinking "Build Orions, dammit. You…
• ladyhobbit posted on March 17, 2016
  Congratulations on the new book, Mr.Wright! I just bought it.
• TallDave posted on March 17, 2016
  As big a Neal Stephenson fan as the next guy -- Diamond Age was just a great piece of work,…