Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
It's not that I think the genre actually is dying...
But between the "the book is too good to be SF" and "SF is just a label" memes the genre *is* in danger of losing its limited but hard won respectability, especially with the increased proliferation of luddites and science illiterates in government and media.
I've had lots of good times in the worlds of SF and it... annoys me... to see the hard work of the good ones devalued by association with sloppy wannabes.
Sloppiness is a cardinal sin.  |
I think to a certain extent, SF itself has always been defined by a series of strong publishers. I'm using that term more from the stand point of a editorial/publisher, rather than the company behind the imprint. Some of those publishers had some strong, hard rules about what they would publish. You had John W. Campbell Jr, Judy-Lynn del Rey, Donald Wollheim to name a few. Part of the reason the SF&F is so scattered is because starting in the 80's and 90's, there hasn't been that strong editorial presence. Certainly, Jim Baen was a strong editorial presence with a strong influence. But Baen Books was never a big enough publisher to dominate SF&F.
It can be interesting to scan through the Locus Magazine best seller list from month to month to month.
http://www.locusmag.com/Magazine/201...lers-august-2/