Monster Hunter: Guardian by Larry Corriea and Sarah Hoyt

 (Author's note: I have been informed by one Mrs. Sarah Hoyt that I should not be paying for anything I blog about. I'm not saying she's wrong. I'm just saying that I wanted to read this and then I wanted to tell you all about it and well...

I was walking down the street one day and some dollars fell out of my wallet and when I bent over to pick them up there was a book laying on the sidewalk. If it just so happened that it happened to be something she helped write, how could that be my fault?

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 Oh, and I don't review covers but, as an old-school GI Joe fan, I can't help but look at that and think "SWEET BARONESS PIC!!!! Uhh... oops.)

 

 

It's not my fault okay, I mean except for the part where it IS my fault, but it's not, right? But I MAY have a small confession to make. It's POSSIBLE, just possible you understand, that when I first picked up a copy of Monster Hunter:Alpha I was a bit disappointed at first. It's not that it was a bad book. It was an awesome book. It's just that I had kind of come to think of the Monster Hunter series as being the story of Owen Pitt and when the main character was not him...

Poor little Jimbo got his world rocked. I mean seriously, it was weird. Of course I kept reading and I loved it, but for a guy like me who really just bought it because of the author and the series and hadn't read any snippets or anything..

Yeah, I got junk punched.

Of course, we've had another novel since then starring Agent Franks from the Monster Control Bureau so maybe it should come as no surprise, especially with her picture on the cover, that the star of Monster Hunter: Guardian is none other than Mrs. Julia Shackleford-Pitt, wife of Owen Pitt, heir to the ownership of the Monster Hunter International company, super-sniper and all around tail-kicker. Seriously, I wouldn't cross Julie if you paid me. I'm not kidding. She's not only a phenomenal long-range shot, she's also super loyal and able to overcome her fear of just about anything. Oh, and she's no stranger to using violence to complete her mission. 

Those who follow me here at Jimbo's know that  I love a strong female protagonist, so it's no wonder that I loved MH:G. Julie is the kind of woman that we can follow anywhere and when someone takes her infant son it's ON. She'll do what she needs to get him back and she's not particularly worried about what that is. If she ruffles a few feathers in the process of getting little Ray that's just too bad. And well...

I mean...

That's a LOT of feathers, but at least they're not MY feathers. So it's okay right?

And it's weird because, although the Illustrious Mr. Correia does have children, he's nobodies mother. Hoyt is though, and this is a story written from the point of view of not just a world beating sniper, but a mother. Listen, I've got kids but it's different for dudes. We've got a different hormonal balance and different brain chemistry so we don't think, feel or act like a woman would in most situations. I'm not saying that's a bad thing or that anyone is doing anything wrong. It's just a fact. So, while I can definitely see moving Heaven and Earth to get my kid if someone stole them, it would be different for me emotionally.

Hoyt nails the differences, probably because she actually is different. Everything Julie goes through feels right even though it doesn't match with what I would go through. So I'm sold, even though I'd probably be more rage and less pain. It makes sense. 

Julie also learns some things about herself that the rest of us have been wondering about as well. I don't want to give up more than that and it's probably too much anyway. The fact remains that there is something she needed to know that we needed to know. What it is makes sense in a weird sort of way. And if you don't do weird, you don't do MHI, so I know you'll love it.

Of course, in an MHI book, you expect more than just the emotional stuff and Hoyt and Correia deliver. There are the usual gunshots and explosions. There are some truly bizarre things about. We're not really sure what all of them are, but that's good. You never know what might show up again later. An old villain resurfaces for the eight hundred and ninety seven millionth time and it's good to see them, even if Julie is a little less than happy about it. Maybe especially since Julie doesn't like it, because what fun is a story where the characters run around happy all the time?

It's obvious that Correia put in his time on the novel as well because, while Hoyt can do the weird and uncanny as well as anyone in the business, there is no one who can gun geek like Correia. And there is some gun porn here. Not as much as you would get in some other MHI novels, but definitely enough to keep an MHI fan happy and scratch that itch. I get it too. Sometimes you just need a cool firearm to get you through your day and keep you going strong. 

One thing that was really interesting to me was that part of MH:G takes place in Portugal. Hoyt is an immigrant from that ancient land and it's really cool to see how she compares her new homeland (she is now an American citizen) with her old one. Oops. Spoiler alert? Part of the story takes place in Portugal. I'm not going to say what happens there though.

There are fairly constant references to the MHI novel before this, Monster Hunter Siege. They're not all pervasive though, and a knowledge of MH:S, while a good thing to have in general, is not necessary to understand or enjoy the events in Guardian. Suffice it to say that Julie is worried about some people she hasn't talked to in a long time, including her husband. Given the fact that they're off fighting it should be fairly obvious why she's worried. That's all you need to know. That's unless you WANT to read the previous book, which is an awesome read as well. 

Other than that though, pull up a chair, get a barrel of Cheez-its (HOOOON!) and enjoy the only existing collaboration of the International Lord of Hate and the Beautiful, But Evil, Space Princess.  You'll thank me later. Of course, if this is your first MHI book *GASP* your wallet will hate me when you feel yourself compelled to buy and read the rest of the series, but I'm here for you, not your wallet.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Auctions

Monster Hunter Guardian
Larry Correia and Sarah Hoyt
Baen Books, 2019

Monster Hunter Guardian is available for purchase at the following link. If you click it and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.

Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge by John Ringo and Larry Correia

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Wow. I'm like embarrassed to say that Ilike, totally just read this. Like, OH MY GOD. Like, I'm so amazed that it took this long to like read something written by like two of my favorite like authors. I can't believe that I like, didn't get to it SOOOO much sooner. It's like crazy. Like what? Oh, I'm totally talking about Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge. It's like the coolest thing ever, okay? What, I'm supposed to tell you why? Like how does that work? Like I have to do the work here? Like how is that fair?

Ok, so it's totally set in the Eighties. I'm so old that I like, totally remember the Eighties so it was fun.

And like, I totally hate valley girl so I'm like, totally gonna stop writing that way OK?

I'm glad it's okay. I was starting to annoy myself. I know one girl who used to speak valley girl and she drove me crazy. (OH MY GO-ODD!) I'll spare the rest of you the hassle. Although, honestly, if you've read the book then you know why the valley girl. If not, you'd best find out. I mean seriously.

Listen, this is my blog. I get free books from people that want their stuff reviewed. I started this thing to feed my reading habit and save money simultaneously without having to give my books back. It was a good thing. For the rest of you, I'm assuming that you've also got  book habits (otherwise why would you be here?) and don't get free stuff from people that you then owe reviews to. (But if you do, let me know because I want to check your stuff out.) I don't always have time to read stuff from my favorites because I'm often reading something that I was given. Most people don't have that problem. (But it's free books, so is it really a problem?)

Anyway, if you like the same kind of books that I do, and I'm assuming you do, then these guys should be two of your favorite authors too. I mean seriously, Correia has created one of the coolest Hidden World universes of all time. The Monster Hunter International milieu is amazing. It's like an action flick crossed with gun porn with just a dash of competence porn, this is the universe to be in. The characters in the book seriously do hunt monsters and they really do know their stuff. Usually.

And, of course, John Ringo is best known for his ability to write action as well. His Black Tide Rising series is epic. His Legacy of the Aldenata series is awesome. Those aren't even my two favorite of his series. My favorite one is his Council Wars series, only it didn't sell enough for him to keep pushing them out. I blame all of you. I bought the whole series in Dead Tree Format and own the first three on .mobi.

To say that I was geeked to read this is an understatement. I couldn't wait to get this thing home and rifle through it at high speed. I wasn't disappointed. Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge is a high speed thrill ride. I mean, we go from place to place and fight to fight with almost no break. Things go bump and then they go boom. In spite of all the action, it's not just an action book though.

Our main character is a medically retired Marine named Chad and he's on a mission from God. He means that literally. Despite that though, he's not exactly a pure soul. As a matter of fact he seems to have a thing for the ladies. A very strong thing for the ladies. I guess you could say he's hornier than a devil. Combine "horny" with "sent by the Almighty" and you get a weird mix for sure. That's okay though, because it sure is entertaining.

Fans of the MHI universe will also be familiar with a character named Milo. Milo plays pretty heavily into Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge. I really liked that. We don't get to see as much of him as we should in the main stories, so it's good to see some backstory for him. And if you love guns then you can't miss Milo. That's his thing. Milo is my guy. Oh, and if you like Agent Franks, he's here too. And really who doesn't love Agent Franks?

The villains in the book tend to be what they always have been: Everything from any mythos anywhere on the planet and anything else that the author can cook up. That's the great thing about MHI in general. You never know what's coming next because the hunters never know what's coming next. That creates a high amount of suspense and keeps you in the book.

It took me less than a day to get through Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge. For me, that's fast. I couldn't put this one down. It's always fun to see a collaboration between two of my favorite authors, but it's even better when it's two veteran authors. A lot of the collaborations I've read, especially from Baen, have been between an established author and a relatively new author but this time around it's two mature, established authors. You can kind of feel the difference. I'm sure it made the publisher happy because both authors already have huge followings, but it made life good for me too.

Of course, this is the first in the Monster Hunter Memoirs series and I haven't read any of the rest of them because I always read a series in order. I can't wait. I knew this was going to rock and I wasn't wrong. There is a lot more to explore. And I do mean explore. I don't even know if the Memoirs series has the same main character throughout or if it's a series of memoirs of separate hunters. I'll be headed either to my local book store or to Kindle as soon as I can so I can find out. I hope to see you there.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Webbed Victims

Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge
John Ringo and Larry Correia
Baen Books, 2016

Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge is available at the following link. If you click it and buy anything on Amazon I get a small percentage at no cost to you.

Well... If Hollywood Can't Get Itself Together...

It has recently come to my attention that Hollywood execs thing that the whole universe is stuck on repeat. We have, after all, seen reboots of just about everything that doesn't still have a reboot coming. Think about it. People keep talking about how it's a great time to be a nerd because of all the movies coming out and how mainstream gaming has gotten ( I'm going to leave gaming for another post, mainly because I've been spending so much time playing World of Warcraft that I haven't played anything else in approximately forever.) but what's really coming out? Think about it:

Star Wars: listen, I'm a fan. I wear the gear. I watch the movies. Before I got so wrapped up in MMOs I played the video games. I've even played the old RPG by West End Games. The fact remains that these movies debuted forty years ago and as much as I loved The Force Awakens it was basically a remake. Star Wars basically started the nerd era with its re-releases, special additions and prequels. There were geek movies before all of that to be sure, but it was the wild success of Star Wars and its later iterations that led to the great times we're enjoying now.

Teenage Mutant Turtles: I am, admittedly a bit of a weird Turtles fan. They came in just as I got to old to collect the toy line, but I've read the comics and seen the movies, and I played a collected the old Palladium RPGs back in the day. I love these guys too, but how did they come out of nowhere again? The first of the new movies was kind of meh, and I don't expect the next one to be any better.

The Telegraph has posted a list of reboots coming soon. The list continues and it's quite frankly getting annoying. Very rarely you can get a reboot that was better than the original (Battlestar Galactica anyone?) but it's definitely not something you can count on. I have however, been informed by a good friend and retired Marine noncom that you should never bring up a problem without a solution. Since I believe in taking advice from intelligent people, and since I've been told that Gunny is never wrong, I have a solution. Are you ready for it? It's revolutionary. It's going to turn the whole world on its head. Here it goes: HEY HOLLYWOOD: MAKE SOME NEW STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since that was a relatively imprecise suggestion, I will endeavor to make a few examples of books that I have read that would make great movies. Granted, the whole book to movie thing has been done repeatedly but that's because it works, so without further ado, let me get to my list:

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia: Note to every producer who has ever held a pen or typed a word: If you can't take a story that starts with a big ass accountant throwing his werewolf boss out of a thirteenth story window and continues with battles against vampires, and an ancient curse and make a blockbuster out of it you need to stop trying. Seriously. At that point your probably so inept that you're not sure whether you should retire to bake mittens or knit cookies but it doesn't matter. Just get out of the way and let someone with some talent in. There is a whole series here. I could see this being a TV series ala Game of Thrones, but I'll be honest: I want to see it on the big screen. It'll look cooler when things blow up that way. Also, I want to see who they get to play Julie Shackleford. The only thing better than a hot blonde is a deadly hot blonde. Someone make this happen.

Pixie Noir by Cedar Sanderson: Ok, I'll be honest. Part of the reason I want to see this made it so that I can see a movie with a female protagonist named Bella that doesn't suck. Of course court intrigue, massive monsters and big explosions are why the rest of me wants to see it. Bella gets sucked into a world that she had no reason to suspect existed and things get crazy. This could be massively successful because it would be so much fun. I'd pay to see it and I'm sure a lot of others would too.

Impaler by Kate Paulk: Yes, it's Count Dracula but not as we've ever seen him. This is a story that involves two things no other Dracula story I've ever read or seen does: Vlad's younger days and his family. The real Vlad Dracula was a complicated man and this story reflects it. Also, if there is anything that has been proven by The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings it's that massive medieval combat appeals to modern audiences and there is plenty of it here.


Draw One In the Dark by Sarah Hoyt: Shapeshifting people. Dragons. Diners. Sexual tension. Death. Romance. What else do you want out of a movie? This one is heavy on the paranormal but so is a lot of other stuff and it sell tickets. They're remaking The Craft and Sarah blows that away. Of course, there are only two sequels to this novel published so far but they'd both make great follow ons after this one makes millions and millions.

Dipped, Stripped and Dead by Elise Hyatt: Ok, so this is a mystery and I'm mentioning it on a SF/F blog. Good thing I'm not a purist. Not only is this a great mystery but it has one of the best casts of characters I've ever read. Dyce is the main character and she's a little off but her son Enoch aka "E" is the coolest little kid ever.

Artifice by Lianne Miller: Wow. If you've ever wondered what a modern hospital would do if presented with a vampire read this book. If you want to sell millions of tickets, turn it into a movie. Eliza is not only a great character but her character arc is amazing and the twist and turns in this one will keep an audience enthralled.

Castaway Planet by Ryk Spoor: Robin Crusoe IIIINNNNN SPAAAAACE! 'Nuff said. Honestly, I see this as more of an animated family film but it's one I'd love a chance to take my daughters to see. Disney could rock this thing and I'd love every minute of it.

I'm tempted to add Amy Lynn by Jack July, but there is one scene in particular that would have to be in the film and I don't know if Hollywood has the balls to do it. I mean, I'd love to see it, but umm... yeah. Then again, maybe they would if half of what I've heard about the Game of Thrones TV series is true. (Sorry, I don't have HBO). But regardless, what's better than southern justice and war stories? Both in a single package!

That's just a few but it's my two cents. If any of you have suggestions, I'm open to them. The point here is as much about the fact that there is plenty out there to use and I'd like to see it. I seriously heard a rumor that there may be a Greatest American Hero remake coming and that wasn't even all that good the first time. It's not that hard. Just find an awesome book, fork over a bunch of cash to the author and make a movie out of it. We really don't need remakes and reboots of movies from thirty years ago.

The works suggested above can be purchased at the links below:

Larry Correia's Monster Hunter International

I think we've all had the boss we didn't like and got sick of putting up with. Maybe we've even gotten a major ass-chewing that made us wonder if our boss was a werewolf. I don't know of a single person, myself included, that has ever thrown said boss out of a window in order to save our own lives. Well, unless you include Owen Zastava Pitt, protagonist of Larry Correia's Monster Hunter International. Owen is a bad man and a hardcore survivor. An encounter with a boss who tries to eat him is merely his introduction into a shadow world where monsters exist and so do the people who fight them.

I'll be honest here and admit that I've read this book many times and felt like writing about it. I've been a Correia fan since not long after Baen published this and have followed him ever since. If this review comes about a bit fanboyish, well, guilty. That much being said it was this book that my fandom of his work was based on and believe me, he's earned it. If I hadn't been hanging out on the Baen's Bar site and seen it talked about repeatedly I never would have picked it up. That's weird because once I got it I couldn't put it down. It's that good.

The world of MHI is well conceived and executed.  There are monsters. The government knows this. The government has both worked with and banned monster hunting in the past. At the moment, they've just eased off the ban and now Monster Hunters International (the corporation is recruiting) decides to sign on a big, smart, gun geek of an accountant. The story centers around Owen's recruitment, training and early missions.

Owen is discovering a whole new world around him, based in ours. This works well because we learn about Correia's world as Pitt does. There is no need for the vaunted info dump. Correia Heinleins his details in a manner that keeps us all interested and tells us what we need to know. This may honestly work better because Pitt is at the beginning of his career as a Hunter and leans heavily on those around him. He's smart enough to know that he needs help and as he gathers whatever information he can from whatever sources we're learning as well. This is something I struggle with in my own writing and I refer to this book occasionally to try and steal his techniques.

The amount of things that can go wrong on a monster hunting mission are apparently endless and the pace of this book is relentless. Whether it's personal problems between the Hunters, the pursuit of a beautiful woman or actual outright violence there is always something going on. There was no chance to get bored, no time when I suddenly remembered that I needed to get the laundry done. There may have been a time when I showed up late to my ex-wife's mother's house for dinner because I lost track of time reading but I refuse to confirm or deny those accusations. I enjoyed the pot roast that night though.

Correia is a Certified Firearms Instructor and his book reads that way. As a gun owner myself, although not an expert to the level he is, I want to slap some authors for the obvious mistakes they make with firearms. That is not a problem here. Correia knows his stuff and he very obviously enjoys sharing his wealth of knowledge. This is a good thing. I like reading about guns that work like guns actually work. If he jacks with his ammo a bit to make it kill monsters that's good. He mixes monster mythology with firearms reality really well.

Pitt's reactions in the book are pretty much what you would expect from a heterosexual male. I would know, I am one. This has bothered some people who were offended when he noticed how pretty a given character was and actually, GULP, thought about it. This may not be the book for people who are fill with liberal butthurt about men who like women. I will say this though: If this woman was half as hot as she sounds in the book I would have been thinking about it as well. Why? Because that's what straight males do. Julie, the extremely attractive female in question, is also an extremely good shot herself, partial owner of the company and one of it's leaders. She is by no means only her looks as some have alleged but, well, men are men and they notice these things. It makes sense and, given later developments, it needed to be there.

This is the first book in an ongoing series and it sets the scene well. We're introduced to the threat from the past, the threat from the deep past and a bunch of new ones to boot. I don't know how much time Correia spent planning out his entire series while or before writing this book but I'm guessing it was a bunch. There's too much in her that leads to well into what's coming for it to all be happenstance. He did it with malice aforethought and he did it well.

Correia's views of government are fairly apparent as well. The government Hunters, the Monster Control Bureau, are a bunch of overconfident, insufferable pricks out to keep everything under their own jurisdiction. They want to keep the private companies out of the way to do the job. They're well trained to fight human opponents but not to fight monsters. They have more resources and accomplish less with them. That sounds like government to me too. One solution fits all and we can handle everything with no innovation is the standard Washington response to everything.

I do have one complaint about this book: Correia is a big guy, a gun nut and a retired accountant. Pitt is a big guy, a gun nut an accountant and a Hunter. I hate to use the phrase Mary Sue, but uhh... well... umm... Pitt's an ENTERTAINING Mary Sue? Seriously the character is a lot of fun with plenty of complications and everything but yeah. It couldn't be any more obvious. Pitt even uses some techniques used by real life competition shooters. Correia has shot competitively. I struggle to find a different way to put that but there it is. That much being said, this book still kicks ass.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Silver Bullets

Monster Hunter International
Larry Correia
Baen, 2009.

Monster Hunter International  is available for purchase here:

Let's see how this turns out...

As some of you are probably already aware, today is the deadline to vote in the 2015 Hugo Awards. I've come out publicly on the side of the Sad Puppies, and I do hope they win, but this is not a "Vote for the Puppies" post per se. What I'm posting about is "If you paid for the right to vote... VOTE!!!!" post. Don't vote for my favorite nominee(or at least don't vote for my favorite because it's MY favorite nominee) vote for your favorite nominee. Vote on quality of story. Vote because you love the author. Vote because of political conent if you must but vote dammit! And vote for a nominee.

I am of the opinion that the noted rash of late registering voters this year were probably mostly Sad Puppies followers. I could be wrong. I have no access to insider information. I will say that this appears to be unusual given the amount of comment it raised. If it wasn't typical Hugo voters registering it had to have been our side. It just makes sense. Again, I could be wrong and I have already sent out for a double order of crow on order. I'll be eating it if I'm wrong.

I will say this: Noah Ward is the biggest asshole this side of Cliff Hanger. If you CHORF types can't get over yourselves enough to admit someone who doesn't share your beliefs into your little club, you suck. I mean that. Voting No Award isn't a way to "stick it to the man" it's a way to mark yourselves as bullies. What you're doing if you vote No Award is showing the world that you're too cowardly to expose yourself to ideas that you don't agree with. At that point why not just burn them? It worked for Hitler. So yes, let's all burn the works of the evil, privileged White Male writers because John Scalzi said to. Also, let's not look too closely at John Scalzi. Or the Neilsen-Haydens or...  Nevermind. Oh, but I forgot the side that WANTS people to read all points of view and make their own decisions is made up of Nazis. Sorry, I forget that the side that believes in freedom is the one for totalitarian government.

I want to take the time out to congratulate the Puppies (both Sad and Rabid) for a second. I don't care if you win, lose or tie here. The bottom line is that you have managed to get a conversation started. For too long we've taken crap from the K. Tempest Bradfords of the world because we were scared to fight back. Don't get me wrong. If K Tempest Teapot wants to only read non-white male straight authors then she has that right. The bottom line is that she tried to take away the livelihood of writers based on race and we fought back.

I'm not saying that minorities, women, LBGTQI, WTFever people should be banned or even discouraged from writing/reading, etc. No one on our side is. What I'm saying is that I shouldn't have to vote for someone based on that crap. I'm saying that equality means equal treatment and if you want to win an award for a story you should have to WRITE A GOOD STORY. That's all I'm saying.

So go forth and vote today my brave Hugo-nauts. Vote you conscience. Vote for the best story because YOU think it's the best story. Don't worry about whether or not your choice is politically correct. Don't worry about whether it supports the right causes. Just worry about whether or not you enjoyed the story and found it entertaining. Let the CHORFs be CHORFs and do what feels right for you.

Some works by Sad Puppies leadership (past, present and future) can be found at the links below:

The Truth About the Anti-Puppies and Leftists in General

I've lived and learned for close to four decades now. I've talked politics with Liberals and Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats and people from parliamentary democracies who think Americans are all nutjobs and wonder why we don't have a real range of choices in our candidates. (For the record, I'd love a chance to chuck the two party system, but it's going to take an environment we just don't have). I've read books in the SF/F genre sure, but also in history in which I hold a degree. (Oakland University, 2010) Something I've noticed in far too many instances is that the Irene Gallos of the world are just too common. It took a psychologist to figure out why.

Jonathan Haidt did the research far better than I could have. He has a Ph.D. in Psychology and I don't. Put bluntly, that makes him much more qualified to offer explanations for human behavior than I am. He also has scientific evidence that is actually falsifiable by anyone who wishes to test them. It's all explained in his book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. He has actually proven two things:

1.) Liberals in the US are not capable of articulating the arguments of their conservative countrymen.

and

2.) Conservatives in the US are capable of articulating the arguments of their liberal countrymen.

The reasons he presents are wrapped in psych-babble (he _is_ a psychologist after all) but have to do with a couple of important things: One, he argues that ideology is based on emotion. This rings true to me. Human beings are not rational actors. Every human being thinks that they act in a rational manner. We're all capable of coming up with perfectly logical rationalizations afterward. If you don't believe me, study sales technique. You don't sell something to someone by offering them rational reasons as to why it will be good for them. You sell them something by making them want it. Wanting something is an emotional response. Wanting leads to buying, leads to the salesman getting the money he wants to buy the thing that he wants. Bottom line, every time. If you want it, you'll buy it. This is the reason why so many people smoke, drink, weigh too much, have promiscuous sex, etc. People know that all of his is bad for them but they do it anyway because it's what they want  to do. (Yes I am aware of the effects of addiction. Any addict in existence had experience with their drug before  they were addicted to it though. It's that usage which led to their addiction.) There is a lot of sense here.

The other has to do with how liberals evaluate things versus how conservatives evaluate things. This has to do with a set of sliding moral scales: Conservatives have five, liberals have two. Conservatives are therefore able to understand liberals because conservatives use both of the liberal criteria plus some. Liberals, so says the book, are unable to understand conservative belief because they only understand things based on their two criteria and are leaving out much of the context that a conservative uses. (Read the book if you want the details. It's his thesis and it's too long to go over in detail here.) This is very elegant but, I think, wrong.

I'm not drawing on scientific study or the understanding of the human mind possessed by Mr Haidt. I am drawing solely on my experience as a human being and a student of history. It should be mentioned though that my experience includes living in a blue state. If further includes taking graduate level history courses at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan; a school known for having an annual Labor History conference and a Labor History archive both on campus. My undergraduate mentor was also a labor historian. (And if you speak badly of Dan Clark in my presence we're fighting. Physically.) I've taken seminars with these people, I've seen how they think and I know what they're like. There is no other way to state things: Leftists do not understand rightist thinking because they refuse to listen to it. They keep themselves deliberately ignorant.

Maybe this is not something you can understand until you've experienced it. Seriously, when you sit in a classroom full of people who look at you like you grew a second head when you spit out a fact (and yes, my point of view is biased as well) because they've never heard one. Seriously. Listen to a room full of leftists talk and they'll mention the evils of Capitalism (never what they are, just that they exist) the evils of gun ownership (while ignoring real life statistics on the effects of gun possession on crime in general and violent crime -including rape- in particular. Oddly enough, the fact that gun control laws in the US started in the Jim Crow era for the specific purpose of preventing black men from firing back when people showed up to lynch them gets left out too.) the horrors of rape culture (in the West, where rapists are punished, but not in places like the Middle East where women are executed for the crime of being raped) etc., etc.

The bottom line is that anyone who opposes the liberal narrative is seen as going beyond the pale. It's a weird sort of dynamic when viewed from the inside from an outsiders perspective. I think an example might just be in order. (And yes, I understand that anecdote does NOT equal data, but work with me here.)

One night while in one of my seminar classes (a class in modern US history) the subject of Europe and its quickly increasing Muslim population came up. The professor asked a question.

"What are all of these white people afraid of?"  (For the record, the prof was as white as the new-fallen snow.)

I perked up. "That's a long story. Literally. If you're really interested check out a novel by Tom Kratman called Caliphate. He makes his case through fiction, but you're not going to find a nonfiction history of something that hasn't happened yet. Actually, a lot of you would probably find it offensive. Kratman doesn't exactly go out of his way to make the Muslims look like the good guys."

A guy named Sam looked up. He was very visibly confused. "Why would you read something that's offensive?"

I looked back at him. "I didn't say I thought it was offensive. I said you would. Honestly though, if you want to know what someone who disagrees with you thinks, you have to be willing to listen to what they're saying."

The shock in that classroom was palpable. It went dead silent. I've never been stared at by so many people with their jaws so low to the ground in my life. The prof ended up calling for a break.

All of this brings me back to the Sad Puppy controversy in a roundabout way. Some people are shocked by the comments of one Irena Gallo. I'm not. It's about what I expected. This is what happens when Leftists won't listen. Yes, I get the fact that the argument that the Pups nominated women and minorities. Yes, I get the fact that it is demonstrably true. What all of you people who are shocked are missing is that the arguments don't matter. The other side has no interest in reading them or evaluating them. The Sad Puppies are offensive in their eyes. We didn't follow the narrative. We must be repudiated. I get why the Pups were pissed. I don't blame them. The fact remains that this was predictable.

The principle of not feeding the trolls is an old one in internet terms and it's one worth remembering. You're not going to win the argument with them because they're not listening. When they reject the information you're giving them without evaluating it you're wasting your time. Concentrate on the elebenty bajillion people out there who are not truly the enemy. There are millions of people in this country who read/watch/play SF/F. They're the people you need to recruit. They're the ones who can help us beat Noah Ward in the Hugo Voting. The hardcore Anti-Puppies are haters and haters gonna hate.  And remind me sometime and I'll tell you all about how no rightist could ever truly be a neo-Nazi because the Nazi party (actually the  Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei  or National Socialist German Worker's Party) was a Leftist party. Yeah, it has nothing to do with us nor do we have anything to do with it. Don't ask them to believe that either.

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion
Jonathan Haidt
Pantheon, 2012


The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion can be purchased here:

True Fandom

(First off, a bit of housekeeping. This blog was formerly Sunday/Wednesday/Friday. As of now I am switching it to Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday. It just works better for me that way.)

I would like to come before all of you and make an admission: I am not a real Science Fiction fan. Yes, I hear all of you out there. I run a blog that reviews SF/F books and movies. I am aware that I once owned (freaking divorce) six bookcases full of SF/F literature. I know I've read comics on and off since the early eighties. I've seen the original Star Wars movies approximately four hundred and forty seven million times. I have been spotted at a couple of cons. My nearest and dearest all know that I write in the genre even if I haven't been published. I'm working on it. But apparently I don't count because I don't pay for a membership to a con I can't attend because it's not local to me. For that, I'm not a real fan. Just ask Teresa Neilsen-Hayden, member of the Secret Masters of Fandom. According to her only people who have supported Worldcon for years have a right to have their opinions heard. Even the Sad Puppies are not REAL members of the con and do not deserve to have their opinions heard because they don't support her point of view. Teresa Neilsen-Hayden can shove her opinion up her ass.

I just admitted that I did not support the Sad Puppy slate in the Hugo Awards this year for financial reasons. That much being said, I support their right, or indeed the right of ANY person who wishes to nominate and/or vote in the Hugo Award and PAY THEIR FREAKING MONEY TO DO SO to vote. It's that simple. TNH is, along with her followers, currently campaigning to have the rules of the convention changed to keep people she disagrees with from voting. She, and others like her, quite frankly disgust me.

Give it up folks. I get the fact that your whiny leftist asses are bothered by the fact that people who won't preach your beliefs tells me everything I need to know about your character. I personally have praised the works of Suzanne Collins on this blog even though I disagree with her politics because she's earned it. That woman can tell a DAMN GOOD story. Yes, it supports a leftist worldview. It also involves plenty of action, a believable love story and characters I'd love a chance to hang out with. That's all that matters.

So, you SJW snobs that can't deal with the fact that people are voting for who they want to vote for, or that the organizers of the Sad Puppy movement have promoted sales of the works they have put on their slate (as an effort to get people to read what they want them to vote for and to make some filthy lucre) or that they might dare to write something you disagree with can kiss my ass. They've paid their money, now they'll take their chances. This year's organizer was Brad Torgersen. I already reviewed him here and gave him the highest score I've ever given. Next years organizer will be Kate Paulk. I'll be reviewing one of her books shortly. (Spoiler: I'm a fan. I paid for her books. I will buy the next one if she doesn't send me a copy for review.) Teresa Neilsen-Hayden has one book published. If she wants to send me a copy I'll review it. HONESTLY. If it's good, I'll tell you it's good. If it's not, I'll score it appropriately. I doubt I'll see a copy, but if I'm being honest that's because I doubt she'll hear about this blog post.

So go forth, Sad Puppies (or Wet & Irritated Kittens) and vote for who you like. Vote for the slate. Vote for something that's not on the slate. Vote for your opposition. Do what you do because you want to do it. If you've got your middle finger sticking up while you do it, I won't complain. Then again, I'll be doing the same. Oh, and just because I can:



(That's from Michael Z. Williamson. Apparently the SJW types are up in arms because they heard he got nominated. The only solution to the problem is to support the work whether you can vote or not. Plus, I've met Mad Mike and I like him. He writes like a champ too.)

Tomorrow: Salvation by Lizzie Ashworth if I get done reading it by then. If not, I'll review a movie.