>>Well, as soon as I start piloting mecha and making FTL hops to
>>neighboring star systems, I'll be sure to look to space opera
>>fanfiction for an example of sexual mores. Christ.
>
>'scuse me while I mop up my monitor and wish I'd said that. :)

It's only the truth. This happened to trip over one of my pet peeves; so-called critics who seem to think that all morality in fiction should be treated on the same absolute scale as that used in the Real World. As a long-time reader, writer, and fan of speculative fiction, such a position is unqualified horseshit.

It's what gets my goat every time I hear a fundie ranting about how Harry Potter is evil because he uses wizardry, even though the behavior of he and his friends is entirely consistent with the fundamental principles of Christian morality (helping and trusting others, loyalty to one's friends and family, making a stand against evil). Hey, guess what -- Harry Potter lives in a world where it's possible to pick up a stick, wave it around while saying some mangled pseudo-Latin, and obtain some flashy and impressive effects that, in the Real World, only happen with months of work by ILM or Digital Domain, and then only in ten-second shots.

Furthermore, what's with this bizarre expectation that all protagonists have to be paragons of virtue? A character is made interesting by his flaws, not by his (or her) l33t n1nj4 sk1||z. Sometimes (in fact, most of the time) that includes making judgment calls that may not be for the best, or in line with some idea of Absolute Morality. Trying to make the story nothing more than a podium for the author's personal belief system results in fiction that is preachy, unsubtle, and uninteresting (except, perhaps, from an academic viewpoint).

It is not the role of a writer to set examples through his characters or through the black-and-white morality of his universe (George Lucas notwithstanding). It is the role of a fiction writer to tell stories, and the best stories that he can tell. Sometimes that means having characters make statements or perform actions that the writer may not think are the Right Thing, but all things in a story are subordinate to the needs of the plot and the characterization, and a good writer doesn't try to shoehorn in messages that don't fit with the story.

I could put on the Serious Literary Type hat and write up an honest critique of Symphony of the Sword, but I don't much see any percentage in doing that. I'm not going to change Gryph's mind about any of it, and the flaws and idiosyncracies in the work are far outweighed by the fun I have reading it. I could even do it without trying to promote an agenda (as thorne did here), but, again, I don't much see the point. It's not appropriate, any more than evaluating Kung Pow: Enter the Fist as if it were Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would be. (This is purely an illustrative example; I'm not trying to compare SOS to really ineffective parody or best-of-breed wuxia.)

-- Sean --
Rabid Crack Weasel #42
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