In The Wood Between the Worlds Substack, we're exploring the idea of a canon for speculative fiction.
With that in mind, I've started to do some short video essays on some books that may or may not make it into this canon. I started with a consideration of whether grimdark in general could be canonical.
Next up in the list of interesting potential entries: I'm reading the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, starting with “Shards of Honor.”
This was an unexpectedly deep book with a lot to say about, surprisingly, our own current political and cultural moment. It made me hopeful but scared me at the same time.
Once again, literature is often so much better at inhabiting difficult truths about the human condition. I wish people would spend less time reading the news and more time thinking about the questions raised by such wonderful books!
As always, let me know what you think in the comments.
When Science Fiction Is Smarter than The New York Times