Good post! I agree with almost all of this (I have one objection but it’s not really central). The bit about how your writing would likely have been more popular in the ’60s seems pretty likely.
And when I did try reading science fiction from later days, a lot of it struck me as… icky. Neuromancer, bleah, what is wrong with this book, it feels damaged, why do people like this, it feels like there’s way too much flash and it ate the substance, it’s showing off way too hard.
Amusingly, I very recently read Neuromancer for the first time… and had almost exactly this reaction. An unpopular opinion in our sorts of circles, it seems—which surprised me a bit.
Of course, I felt largely the same way vis-a-vis the damage and emphasis on style, but that’s the whole pitch of the genre: the world is damaged and the punk aesthetic is the only non-corporate culture remaining, and that largely out of spite.
Good post! I agree with almost all of this (I have one objection but it’s not really central). The bit about how your writing would likely have been more popular in the ’60s seems pretty likely.
Amusingly, I very recently read Neuromancer for the first time… and had almost exactly this reaction. An unpopular opinion in our sorts of circles, it seems—which surprised me a bit.
Contra the other responders, I like Neuromancer.
Of course, I felt largely the same way vis-a-vis the damage and emphasis on style, but that’s the whole pitch of the genre: the world is damaged and the punk aesthetic is the only non-corporate culture remaining, and that largely out of spite.
Will second not enjoying Neuromancer very much.
Dunno whether it’s an unpopular reaction in any particular circles, but it’s pretty much how I felt about _Neuromancer_ too.