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Fair, as I mentioned I only read 20% and bailed out. I probably judged it too harshly since I didn't finish it, but the premise and worldbuilding were just not to my taste. I can see it getting better for people that were more patient.
Discoverability is still extremely tough in speculative fiction novels. I've been trying for years to find consistent lists of good fiction that I enjoy, and haven't found any solid methods besides dredging through tons and tons of series. If you have any good pointers or lists let me know!
I agree that indie/self published novels have had some shining stars, like the Licanius trilogy I mentioned earlier, or Mother of Learning. (I don't know of any good SF self published stuff). Ideally though, indie would be less useful as a category because publishers/magazines/awards would sort out quality writing, and good indie authors would get snapped up quickly.
Unfortunately we don't live in that world, and instead of the overall quality of the established media's (what you call the 'online woke crowd') picks have gone down. I'd argue that the Hugo awards matter quite a bit to an already niche genre.
I want to say she's the "exception that proves the rule," but not sure that's any sort of legit principle. Either way, as you mention writing fiction is brutal. I would expect that cancellation and the generally pull from the left would be far more important to the majority of writers, already living on the edge of profitability as it is. Sure a few make it big and can afford to piss off the left crowd, but I'd imagine there are hundreds, if not thousands, of authors that gave up or quit because they weren't in line enough with social justice viewpoints to make a livable career out of their craft.
Bailing out is legitimate, I gave up on it within 10 minutes. If it doesn't engage me quickly, I move on.
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