Reviewer’s note
A quick one: all reviewers of science fiction should be banned from using the phrase ‘what it means to be human’. If they were, then they might explain what it is they think they see in an SF novel without dropping into safe cliche. I’ll never forget when I was maybe fifteen years old, an English teacher of mine said it wasn’t enough to say that something in a book was evocative, you had to say what it evoked and what that meant. This phrase, which I’ve used often myself, is SF’s equivalent of ‘the imagery is evocative’. Surely we can be smarter than that?
Niall Said,
April 17, 2007 @ 8:21 am
ObException: I would allow it in a review of this, given the title.
Ellen Datlow Said,
April 17, 2007 @ 8:57 am
Uh oh…I thought I remembered using that phrase recently but luckily can’t find it :-)
» Some advice for science fiction reviewers… » Velcro City Tourist Board » Blog Archive Said,
April 18, 2007 @ 3:54 am
[…] … from Jonathan Strahan, who I hope won’t object to me reproducing almost the entire post here: “… all reviewers of science fiction should be banned from using the phrase ‘what it means to be human’. If they were, then they might explain what it is they think they see in an SF novel without dropping into safe cliche. I’ll never forget when I was maybe fifteen years old, an English teacher of mine said it wasn’t enough to say that something in a book was evocative, you had to say what it evoked and what that meant. This phrase, which I’ve used often myself, is SF’s equivalent of ‘the imagery is evocative’. Surely we can be smarter than that?” […]
David S. Said,
April 18, 2007 @ 6:18 pm
Agreed, I’ve been reading reviews like that for yonks now and I still don’t know what it means (to be human). Reading the books they were reviewing didn’t help much either by the way…
Robin P. Said,
April 20, 2007 @ 8:04 am
I think you’re addressing a habit, Jonathan, that touches upon what it means to be human.