Not Science Fiction

I have, of recent, become a total fan­boy for SF Author Maureen McHugh.  I loved her sto­ries pub­lished in SciFiction, but the real tip­ping point for me has been her blog­ging. Today, she made a great post about Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union and her own label for the genre of fic­tion that has been labeled stren­u­ously by the authors and pub­lish­ers, Not Science Fiction.

I love this term for it’s double-sidedness.  If you’re inclined, you can take the term lit­er­ally. If SF scares you, then the term is a com­fort. “There, there,” the pub­lisher coos softly.  “There is no Nerd Schmutz on this fine, fine book.”    But if you like SF and you have a sense of humor about these genre wars, then you can take it to mean that you will like it as SF despite what any­one says.  It’s like a secret hand­shake.  I say we make it Official.

PS: I guess I should read this book, huh? With endorse­ments from McHugh and Moles, I can’t go wrong.

Tagged as: chabon, david moles, maureen mchugh, My Writing, SF