Only a minority of science fiction dystopias attempt to plumb the real existential roots of oppression, the flaws in humanity's nature that undermine our best attempts at organizing ourselves into social units. Paul Di Filippo More Quotes by Paul Di Filippo More Quotes From Paul Di Filippo As many authors have said, if the writer is not surprised by events, then chances are that the reader will not be either, and grow bored. Paul Di Filippo boredeventschance That was asking a lot of my readers, I realized, but I was trying to write the novel I would most enjoy decoding. Paul Di Filippo askingwritingtrying What had happened was this. When still young, I had gotten the idea from somewhere that I might be able to write... Maybe the deadly notion came from liking to read so much. Maybe I was in love with the image of being a writer. Whatever. It had been a really bad idea. Because I couldn't write, at least not by the bluntly and frequently expressed standards of anyone in a position to offer any encouragement and feedback. Paul Di Filippo encouragementwritingideas The clock indicates the moment-but what does eternity indicate? Paul Di Filippo philosophyhistoryart Science fiction at its best should be crazy and dangerous, not sane and safe. Paul Di Filippo crazysafefiction The emotional tone or affect of the tale should be hot and engaged, not remote and dispassionate. Paul Di Filippo toneemotionalhot Its a heartening fact about the human race that utopian fiction precedes dystopian fiction in the evolution of literature. Paul Di Filippo dystopian-fictionraceliterature Immensely clever and libidinously hilarious.The most astonishing thing about Love in a Dead Language is its ingenious construction. Insofar as any printed volume can lay claim to being a multimedia work, this book earns that distinction. Paul Di Filippo languagecleverbook Every new generation of SF writers remakes cyberpunk - a genre often laced with dystopian subtexts - in its own image. Paul Di Filippo subtextgenregenerations The three touchstones that woke Buddha up - sickness, old age, and death - are a pretty good place to start when crafting a tragic tale. And if we need to get more specific: heartbreak, destruction, miscomprehension, natural disasters, betrayal, and the waste of human potential. Paul Di Filippo goodold-ageagedeath Certainly the highest posthumous praise that can be conferred upon any writer is the assertion that his or her writing permanently altered the literary landscape for the better, opening new textual doors and engaging new readers. That the author's oeuvre was essential and irreplaceable and transformative. Paul Di Filippo newbetterwritingdoors Any debut novel is usually a case of spitting into the wind - or, just maybe, casting your bread upon the waters. Without an established audience in place, first-time authors have to hope for resonant word of mouth and a receptive reviewer or three. Paul Di Filippo yourplacehopewind Every Luke Skywalker needs his Darth Vader. Paul Di Filippo darth-vaderhiseveryneeds Thomas Pynchon surely inaugurated or crystallized a new genre in 1963 when he published 'V.' The seriocomic mystery or thriller with one foot set in the present and one in various historical eras received its postmodern baptism from Pynchon. Paul Di Filippo presentnewmysteryhistorical You could engineer a human to survive the greenhouse effect because you think that's what's going to happen, and then all of a sudden the glaciers are creeping down on you. Paul Di Filippo survivedownthinkyou Science offers no brief for the telekinetic powers of Darth Vader and hardly any greater justification for the faster-than-light travel that makes his empire possible. And yet what is 'Star Wars' if not pure quill SF? Paul Di Filippo possiblepuresciencetravel Everyone can guess what 'Corn Flakes' tastes like, even if you've never had them. But what, pray tell, does 'High School Musical' or 'Spider-Man' cereal possibly taste like? In this late era, we have reached the ultimate deracination between product image and what actually sits on our spoon. Paul Di Filippo neveryouhigh-schoolschool Writers begin changing the instant they append 'The End' to a novel. Readers begin changing the moment they encounter that same phrase. And even the novels themselves, through the strange transmutations of time and shifting tastes and mores, exhibit changes as we look backward upon them, acquiring retroactive meanings and tonalities. Paul Di Filippo endlookmomenttime The lives of most authors - even, or perhaps especially, the great ones - are necessarily a catalogue of tedious inwardness and cloistered composition. Globe-trotting Hemingways and brawling Christopher Marlowes are the exception, not the rule. Paul Di Filippo ruleevengreatcomposition Generally speaking, by the time a subculture such as steampunk secures the attention of major media, resulting in extensive coverage of the craze, said phenomenon is already on the way out. Paul Di Filippo mediatimeattentionway
