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Notes -
To counterbalance my frothy rant earlier this week about wokeism in the novel Ancillary Justice, I thought I would do a quick write up on another SF/F novel - namely The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. This is another novel in the speculative fiction genre that has won accolades, is pretty 'woke' in its plot and worldbuilding, and is written by a pretty left leaning woman as far as I can tell.
However, I found it exquisite! To explain a bit without spoiling the plot entirely, it revolves around a half-goblin half-elf man who has been abused and out of favor his whole life, but suddenly becomes emperor of the refined, wealthy, and judgmental empire of elves who his late father ruled. It is a classic tale of the oppressed being thrust into a position of power, and having to navigate racism, prejudice, etc. That's the main theme of the book. For instance in this scene the new emperor, Maia, confronts his abusive guardian, Setheris:
On top of this, there are all sorts of messages about women being useful for more than marriages, masters taking care of their servants, etc etc. All standard far-left, liberal talking points.
I'm wondering if the main difference between my frustration with Ancillary Justice and The Goblin Emperor is just the use of pronouns? I didn't think I had that much of an issue with pronouns/trans ideology separated from the rest of the woke memeplex, but the more I think about it the more it seems that people switching the pronouns they use and forcing others to use their preferred pronouns even if obviously incorrect is the main issue in my mind. Which doesn't seem to make much logical sense - but maybe it's just a disgust reaction.
Anyway, as someone who has identified as a liberal for most of my life, actually hardcore leftist, anti-authoritarian socialist, etc, I'm curious how many other folks are in the same boat. Essentially on board with the project of the left, until the last 5-10 years when trans ideology and pronouns took over the movement. Perhaps there are others who have realized that this is one specific issue they just can't accept for the greater good of the leftist cause.
Odd, that excerpt there has me wincing because of the fake-Olde Englishe. Does Addison explain the distinction between use of "Thou/You" in her novel, or is it there just to make it sound "These Elves are Formal (and stuck-up pricks)"?
Besides, it should be "Thou shalt not rule me", not "Thou wilt not". See Arthur Hugh Clough's "The Latest Decalogue" (seemingly there are a couple of versions of it):
Variant version:
And the description makes me think it will be awful: of course our hero is half-caste (to use an outmoded term), of course it's all about "women are more than broodmare fodder", of course, of course, of course it's the George R.R. Martin view of history and of course all the Right-Thinking People have the attitudes of the most progressive 21st century American.
So I'm surprised you say it's good! If it can overcome all those disadvantages of sounding like a Social Justice sermon then there must be something like a really good plot going on!
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