Well, it took quite a while for this to happen, but here we are. I pop open my mails yesterday, and find the following. Quote:
Mr. Morgan,
It is unfortunate that you have decided to become an agent of subversion for the homosexual lobby. I quite liked your books until now.
Seeing as you did not bother to offer (me the reader) the courtesy of indicating the abnormal political/sexual sub-plot of your book on it’s dust jacket, I choose to reciprocate by not offering you the courtesy of perusing any of your future titles.
With Regards,
Anthony Diener
Eek.
Reminds me a bit of Agent Smith’s spiel to Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. That scary-polite government psycho thing before he glues Neo’s mouth shut and dumps a cyber-worm in his belly-button. “Tell me, Mister Anderson, of what use is a word processor if you’re unable to….sell your books?” Or maybe: “From this day forth, Mister Morgan, either you choose to write red-blooded, violent and manly science fiction – or you choose to seek your readership elsewhere.” It’s that strained politeness, so squee-gee-and-soap-on-thin-glass, so nails-on-a-chalkboard screechy and brittle, that you’d almost rather you’d reeled in a roaring, foaming-at-the-mouth, Klan-robed ultra-thug – mainly because you know that really that’s what’s lurking just under that patina of psuedo-civilised disdain.
Homosexual lobby, fer fucksake???
Oh yes. “They are believed by some, Mister Anderson, to be the most dangerous lobby alive.”
To be honest, I had expected something like this much sooner. But my inherent lack of faith in human nature was confounded, and a remarkably cool attitude to The Steel Remains has prevailed up until now. Oh, there were a few adverse amazon rants, but I’ve grown accustomed to those (and seem to garner them anyway, whatever I write about). And we had some rather queasy talk about gratuitous sex scenes in a few web reviews and on some messageboards. But there was no actual nut mail before now.
But now, I’m left with this rather creepy image of a shadowy bookcase somewhere out in the mid-west, where my novels are shelved alongside Atlas Shrugged, the Sarah Palin autobiography, and the collected works of Ann Coulter.
Shudder.
Wow! I never knew Gay sex requires certification clearly labeled on the cover. You learn something new everyday, even if it how small minded some people can be…
“I’m with the faggot!”
I have read every book that you have released and a few of the black widow comics. To say I am a fan is an understatement. I have to admit the visuals that I was left with in some of the gay sex scenes I don’t particularly enjoy. “The smell of shit from his open anus” would have to top the list. It’s just more than I needed to know. In the same vein, I would not need to read about a gigantic cum shot delivered to a woman’s face and then her being cock slapped. There is nothing wrong with any of this, I just don’t read books that have graphic depictions of sex. I thought that was reserved for Danielle Steele? ; )
What I find funny is that books require no warning sticker what-so-ever while video games get raped by legislation constantly. A teenager could just as easily pick up this book as they could Grand Theft Auto. Movies and TV both have to warn about content. Music too. Funny that books have somehow managed to slip under the fascist-legislation radar.
Anyway, while I did not want to imprint my mind with a man-on-man sex scene, I still absolutely love the character and the world. I hope you do more stories of your three anti-heros in this universe. It is hands down the funniest book that I have read in years. I would love to hang out with you someday, I am positive that you are just as funny, sarcastic and cynical in real life. As long as we don’t have to do any gay shit : )
My only question is why you left out the graphic lesbian scene!! You even set it up, then skipped it. I was like “wtf man.” Thats the real tragedy here.
sincerely,
RKM Fan for life
Congratulations! I don’t think you can truly be said to be an artist until you shock and appall enough people.
The homosexual lobby. OH NOES!
This may be a precursor – after all, the tpb is coming out Tuesday in the U.S., and people are more apt to spend money on a paperback. So you might be hearing more of this type of response!
BTW, I have heard from my sources that after Xmas, many people returned the Palin book to the bookstores.
Linda
Possess your soul in patience, man – I got you covered. Dark Commands is coming…..
MUST we pander to this ridiculous male hypocrisy where an explicit m/m scene is an effort against nature, sure to arrest your testosterone production and make your dick fall off, while a f/f scene is merely the ultimate in titillation. It really gets tiring after a while.
My only question is why you left out the graphic lesbian scene!!
Possess your soul in patience, man – I got you covered. Dark Commands is coming…..
Ah, but you misunderstand me, Theresa. There’ll be lesbian sex in TDC for the same reason there was male on male action in TSR – because it serves the plot and character. Not like you couldn’t see it coming last time around, after all.
But you’re right, of course – perception of these things is skewed; I could have rolled out page after page of girl on girl in TSR and it would barely have made a dent with the reviewers.
Brittle thing, the male sexual psyche…….
The other real issue that people are ignoring here is why Books do not have a warning system in place while every other form of entertainment does. I am not saying this because of the gay scenes but just sex and violence in general. Gil smashes a child’s head into pulp. That would never fly in a game, movie or on TV. Ever. Doesn’t anyone else find it odd. Maybe teenagers don’t read books ; )
Brittle thing, the male sexual psyche…….
Well put and very true. It is a double standard for sure. Girl on girl is very mainstream and not seen as “gay” but thats mostly to do with the fact that the girls depicted are very feminine and it’s shown as drunken experimental promiscuity. It would be called “gay” I’m sure and not “porn” if the two women had short hair, wife beaters, levi’s, work boots and they were built like brick shit houses : )
I can’t wait for the new book and to know which games you are doing for EA!
The other real issue that people are ignoring here is why Books do not have a warning system in place while every other form of entertainment does.
Books do have a warning system: Children’s books are in the Children’s section. Young adult books are in the Young Adult section. Adult books are in the adult section.
If what you are asking for is warnings for adults based upon content within the book (e.g. GAY PROTAGONIST! Main character is really a MASS MURDERER! VIOLENCE against women!) so that you can decide before hand whether your sensibilities will be offended, well, that’s sort of an internet fiction way to go, and hardly appropriate (necessary or desired) for books.
Then, of course, if you are talking about video games and movies, you would have to talk about the difference between visual representations and print. Or is the issue video games and comics as children’s toys developing an adult application over the course of years as the format matures and its audience ages?
In any event, it’s apples and oranges — which is why it’s rather difficult to address you comparison.
Ah, but you misunderstand me, Theresa. There’ll be lesbian sex in TDC for the same reason there was male on male action in TSR – because it serves the plot and character.
That’s good to know. I never felt the graphic sex in TSR was gratuitous, and though i appreciate different opinions on the matter, it seemed very obvious to me that the main character had allowed his sexuality to define his life as a result of parenting, personality and trauma, and instead of adopting a modest amount of conformity to allow his proclivity to fly under the radar, he overcompensates in the other direction by being so aggressive about his sexuality as to make it the single most important thing in his life. Hence, it seemed to fit in my mind that all the sex scenes, and the Seethlaw scene in particular (especially the first one) had a graphic, sharp, startling quality since we were viewing the story from the pov of a character for whom sex is very important. The situation with Seethlaw, in particular, was unique, and required an articulation of that uniqueness in the context available (given that the main character had no long bouts of introspection where the startling nature of the interaction could be sussed out). Or I could simply look at the explicitness as an extension of a refreshing stylistic choice, in line with the use of profanity and anachronisms — all of which, when taken together contribute a whole lot to the story.
In any event, porno flicks are gratuitous. Explicit sex scenes aren’t gratuitous simply because they’re explicit.
Unfortunate that in a world of atheism and social democracy that we would have to be subject to this hate speech.
Part of the beauty of an M&M combo would be an end to this homo-phobe mentality.
ps. Richard, I do like graphic sex.
What is wrong with Atlas Shrugged? Too Chinese for you?
All this homophob venom reminds me of the worst in Allah and Hitler.
Which begs the question: which is worse: turning to a closet atheist who puts saint wannabes to the test or to an unrelenting god who nails people to crosses for humor and then sentences them to eternal damnation in hellfire?
I am always amused by sodomy comments and the like. I can’t think of any “gay” sex act that straight couples don’t perform and perform often (or often enough that they are not remarked upon even if not discussed over dinner).
I wonder what would happen if you had MF anal sex in a novel.
“Which begs the question: which is worse: turning to a closet atheist who puts saint wannabes to the test or to an unrelenting god who nails people to crosses for humor and then sentences them to eternal damnation in hellfire?”
Well, it is a really hypothetical question since only one of these two things can actually exist in the real world (and it isn’t the second one!).
I’m sorry, but my bullshit detector has been set off a bit by RM’s comments.
First let me say I’m just as big a fan as the poster se7en above, but like him, I also was a bit put off with the over the top descriptions of “manly love”. Now we could go on for pages arguing back and forth with well reasoned extrapolations of how much of an intolerant asshole that makes me, but to cop out with the statement that “because it serves the plot and character” is a bit disingenuous.
Sort of reminds me of when John Scalzi went off on a reviewer a couple months ago, with beautifully reasoned clever comebacks of course, because he dared suggest that Scalzi’s last book was a mediocre effort at best.
Which is the same sort of argument you get from any artist who’s reached a certain level of success, that basically boils down to the unspoken argument that since said musician/writer is the one with the talent, anyone exhorting anything but their justified greatness and brilliance should just shut the fuck up and take their bigoted, unenlightened views elsewhere.
I’m sorry, but it doesn’t take talent to recognize talent. I don’t have to be a brilliant writer or musician to recognize when I’m reading or listening to a piece of shit or a work of brilliance. It’s something instinctual in all of us, however subjective. So in that vein, I can totally see how some would be put off with the over the top descriptions of sex in TSR. I don’t really recall the descriptions of sex (I can’t now really remember) in any of the Takeshi books nor in Market Forces nor Black Man being as over the top explicit as in TSR. Would they not have served the plot there? Dunno, maybe I’m wrong here, but something just doesn’t quite feel instintually right about dismissing out of hand the politely worded comments of Anthony Diener, even if he decides to go off the deep end with the homosexual lobby comment. Did the descriptions serve the plot and character? Kinda, but something just didn’t feel right when reading them. It sorta came across as the universally considered next big SF writer trying to shock and awe with trying too hard to “shake up” a tired old genre.
Anyway, I might just be told to fuck off now, but regardless, a huge fan of your work RM, you’re an immensely talented man, even if the occasional scene in TSR left me slightly wincing…
To me, Richard Morgan writes good sex scenes. The gay ones were disturbing and *didn’t* turn me on (honest Mum, Dad)!
But i’m sure the Hetrosexual scenes both in T.s.r. and previous books would have a similar effect on gay readers.
Most of the time in novels sex scenes do nothing to further the plot etc, but I would argue most of the time we have sex it does nothing to further the plot either, we still do it, and gladly
.
Laszlo, you need to re-read Mr. Morgan’s novel. His very first published novel had what at least a few people considered an overly explicit sex scene (I remember a reviewer commenting on it at the time and I noticed the scene in the novel).
Of course, it was Het sex so no one cared, right?
He has sex scenes all through his work. The fact that you don’t remember them while bitching about a homosexual sex scene just says something about you, not the author.
Evidently I’m the only one who felt you held _back_ a bit on the sex scenes in TSR. Wardani/Kovacs in Broken Angels stands out in my mind in particular as far more lengthy and explicit than anything in TSR. Although I think you’d have gotten the same supporter-of-the-homosexual-lobby routine whether you’d included a male/male kiss or a sex scene twice as explicit as anything you’ve written thus far.
You know, I wonder. Have you ever once gotten a letter like this from someone complaining about your books being too violent? I mean, Gil cut Grace’s throat “on camera” and the reader was right up there with him the whole time. Just as an example. Ever gotten a “boycotting” letter for that? Or for pervasive drug use?
I’m also curious as to whether there’ll be any fuss like this over the (projected) lesbian sex scene(s). I’m guessing no. That just doesn’t seem to make people squirm. Well. Unless you decide to get _really_ creative, I suppose.
~DJ
Bum-holes, eh?
4 billion years old, and still causing controversy.
Gay lobby indeed. Because, like, everyone knows the world is run by gays and at this rate human procreation is likely to come to a complete halt by the middle of next week when the final heterosexual becomes gay.
Speaking as a member of the Queer Cabal – we’d like you to know we have appreciated all you’ve done for us, especially with regards to the hot swordy gay sex. We look forward to more swords, more uses of the word “cock,” and more hot sex scenes in the service of literary and social subversion. Thanks, and goodnight.
I’m an atheist who believes in All?AH! posers.
Impending question of the day I ask
Which engineering school did allah pass?
Your work shares a bookcase with Atlas Shrugged in my house too. Not to mention The Fountainhead!
It’s ok though, I didn’t mind the bumming
@se7en
I dunno, my Mum and Dad had a rating system for books at home. It was that I could read whatever I could reach on the shelves. Given that the pair of them are basically short-arses that left pretty much anything available to my callow eyes. Didn’t do me any harm. I don’t think explicit sex and violence in books is harmful for kids.
For one, I think, especially in novels, people tend to over-estimate the kids interest in “adult” fiction. I mean that in the sense that Richard Morgan’s fiction is “adult,” rather than the more tedious end of un-erotic fiction that attempts to clumsily provoke a physical sexual reaction from men (and, hey, who’s to say it doesn’t work – we’re a pretty pathetic bunch ahahaha).
I think what I’m driving at is that kids will be (for the most part) bored by properly adult fiction (as they should be allowed to be, they’re kids ferfucksake) and if they do read it and understand the rest of it I think that they should be given enough credit that they can put the sex and violence into its proper context (I know, having been that irritating and precocious little prick
)
Although that dude that emailed you, Richard, was one odd guy. This stuff always comes up though. I posted a video on youtube of the West-end festival in Glasgow and got absolute pelters from this really weird cranky guy who believed in a homosexual conspiracy. Was pretty funny though.
Hysterically funny – though, since I live in the U.S. myself, it’s not as funny as it would be if I lived in a more civil country. I get plenty of both types (the in-your-face nazi-sympathizers and the pseudo-intellectual right-winge-ers).
BTW, when is a Takeshi Kovacs movie going to appear??? I thouht you sold the movie rights YEARS ago! Waiting patiently till I saw what movies I had to look forward to this year (!)… lol.
I, for one, have enjoyed the hell out of every one of your books, and I’m looking forward to the next one.
I’m not sure the intensity of description in The Steel was all that different, it just happened to be gay sex, which went with the character. Hell, like on many of your books, you warned people that they might not like the book! That it would be different! What more could they ask for? Since I read Altered Carbon I have been nervous about picking up each new series or book you put out, figuring they couldn’t match up. I have yet to be disappointed.
I look forward to the next one in the series, and I hope you follow up 13! I think we all miss Kovacs.
I thought Steel sucked because it teased the gay angle and never delivered. Too much time spent in the swamps, not enough adventure amid hard rocky terrain.
indicating the abnormal political/sexual sub-plot of your book
I doubt that this guy has Atlas Shrugged or the Sarah Palin on his bookshelf. Gay Sex = Abnormal, the philosophy of Quellcrist Falconer = Totally fine…. :-/
My word. These people need to go suck an otter pop. Slowly. They’re just as whiny as newborns.
As a female, I was delighted by this book. It was a complete shock and I had to go back a few pages to get the initial reference to the lead being gay. It was too good to be true!
Having collected several additions of most of your books, I saw I most appreciated this and can’t wait for more.
Keep doing you.
Keep writing what you want to write and I can pretty much guarantee I’ll keep reading it and loving it.
Granted, as a guy I prefer girl-on-girl action to man-on-man(chuckle) but I really loved the fact that you decided to break with convention and have a gay protagonist. Keep up the great work!
Ya know.. I check your page damn near every day, looking for your postings and I’ll be damned if you didn’t slip another one by me. Christ.. 32 comments already! I need to be quicker.
Anyway…
I don’t know what goes on in Europe, vis a vis the “Gay Agenda”, or whatever the fuck. Don’t hear anything over here regarding same, so I’m guessing it is something of a non-issue. I could be wrong.
Here in the land of Mega-Churches and FOX News, however, the status quo remains pretty much the same as it was in, no doubt, the Dark Ages, when it comes to anything considered to be whatcha call deviant behavior. The irony being, of course, the number of people annually caught with their hands in that particular cookie jar; and, of course, who those people invariably turn out to be. I’m guessing a hint isn’t even necessary.
But, yeah, no surprise you would get some off the wall bullshit like that – eventually. I, too, am surprised it took so goddamn long. Then, again, one has to suspect the number of these people who are actually literate is most likely a small percentage of the whole.
As for the complaint that there should be some warning, I have to take exception with that for a couple of reasons. Up front, like someone else mentioned, if you buy a book in the ‘Adult’ section of a book store, you really should expect it to have adult themes. For another, I seem to recall hearing some months before the book in question was even available that it sported a gay lead character and that, yes, there would be sex.
Honestly.. I, being a male of the species, would have much preferred the woman on woman sex scenes explicitly described, but I also understand your need to include the mano a mano one. If I weren’t prepared to accept that up front, I would never have picked up the book in the first place. And, seriously, I’ve seen much worse in books with a helluva lot less to offer beyond said descriptions, so it seems a tad disingenuous to piss and moan about it after the fact anyway.
Just my opinion, of course. I’m sure Bret Hume would have a different one. Fair and Balanced, to be sure, but different.
Belatedly Yours,
Rich
For Americans, The Steel Remains just came out today in trade paperback. There’s a nice excerpt from THE COLD COMMANDS – so go buy a copy!
Linda
Dear Mr. Morgan,
As a fellow agent of subversion for the homosexual lobby, you can thank Mr. Diener for at least one new sale. I just ordered The Steel Remains from Amazon.com.
See you at the sekrit meetings. *cackle* *snort*
Shayla
The homosexual lobby? So that’s where they went after they escaped the closet!
I love that image of your books living next to Palin and Coulter’s. Makes me feel so sad for them, they deserve a much better home.
There’s a nice excerpt from THE COLD COMMANDS
There’s an excerpt! Aw shit! I had planned on ordering this from amazon to arrive with my Mass Effect 2 pre-order, but now I guess I have to make special arrangements…
I’m just so glad that book number 2 is clearly under production, and we won’t have to wait 5-7 years to see a continuation.
Dear MISTER Anderson, uh, Morgan,
not much to add here except to confirm that in times like ours it’s quite an effort to get people to actually write you some hatemail.
As I am a writer in germany, hey nearly no boundries here, I think you should just send the guy a signed copy of the next book and reward him. Although he is a quite a doushbag, “the steel remains” obviously shook his world. I wonder why he didn’t have a problem with the BLACK MAN
Just keep on writing, MISTER Morgan, you ROCK!
Have a good one,
Boris
I find it amusing that he used the term “subversive” as though it were an insult. Most of the great science fiction writers have been subversive… seems more like a compliment to me.
Rich,
I’ll bet if enough fans contacted DelRey requesting a map in the next book, they’d listen. Wanna start a movement?
It would be kinda cool to have a little bit different map from the UK one too, to reflect the possiblity of an alternate reality…??
Not necessarily complaining. But, if anyone has an in with the publishers, my guess is it would more likely be ol’ Rich. So.. we lobby him, he takes it to the brass at the publishing house and our wish is fulfilled.
..er, something.
Rich – re the map: Complain to Del Rey publishing at delrey.com, not Richard!
Okay.. so I wandered by Barnes and Noble last night and had a look-see at the excerpt.
I want a fucking map! Let us all lobby Richard for a map. Seriously. I mean, really, wouldn’t it just make it that much more enjoyable to read? Plus, also, too, besides.. I happen to know that at least one exists, though the copy I got of it leaves a lot to be desired.
Anyway…
What do ya say, Rich?
Can we have a map?
I just started reading The Steel Remains yesterday and I look forward to seeing what all the “controversy” is about. Talk about timing!
RM- “reason there was male on male action in TSR – because it serves the plot and character.”
Of course, but I’m wondering if you didn’t have an evil little grin while writing. Is it really just for the characterisation, or surely there is a certain degree of intentionally provoking many of your less open-minded readers?
I have to disagree with Mr. Diener – I thought the gay scenes were pretty hot
And I’d love to say I’m going to buy your next book because you were brave enough to write a story with a gay protagonist in a genre largely read by straight men. But to be honest I was going to buy it anyway as all your books so far have been brilliant.
your function in life is to piss people off so keep on doing what you do. your not a true writer until someone utterly despises you for what you written.
so let me be the first one to congratulate you. but really i should be the one to have written you such a letter because this book needed more wholesale slaughter
for gosh sakes Takeshi Kovacs is a slaughtering machine. That’s truly what people should be complaining about yes I was put off a little on the gay sex scenes but overall it was a great book. this first book is clearly lacking in this category or it’s just me because I really wanted a another Takeshi Kovacs book and wholesale slaughter only Takeshi Kovacs can provide.
your loyal fan for life
Is anyone sure that guy was not simply jealous? I mean he is probably sitting at his computer right now typing out Kovacs-on-Gil gay fan fiction as we post here.
You should type out a little scene such as that and send it back to him, it will probably get him all hot and bothered.
As for him being in the Mid-West, I hope you’re not right, I am stuck in said Mid-West and the place is overrun with people like him, we can’t fit anymore in here.
I love you and now I must follow your blog. Also, Gil needs a sequel and twice as many gratuitous gay sex scenes, because while maybe ONE closet case claims that he’ll not buy any more of your novels, you know there are THOUSANDS more who will.
I love one reaction to the ‘gay agenda-conspiraloon’ attitude, which went thus – “Oh wow, you’re GAY? Really? Gay, huh? WoWWW!!!…okay, I’m bored already…” Which I think is really way more mature than the bigot-mob freakery.
cheers – Mike