March 8, 2004

It’s going to be a Breeze to get across Lake Ontario. At least until you dock besides Toronto’s as yet non-existent custom’s tent in the middle of an industrial area in the portlands, a situation the Americans have started to notice and wonder about. 9:29:14 PM

Literary Snobbery? Tor editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden responds critically to a Salon.com book review that describes Andrew Sean Greer’s science-fiction novel The Confessions of Max Tivoli as much more advanced then "$3 mass-market sci-fi/fantasy paperbacks". The book is described as: A high-concept premise that seems perfect for one of those $3 mass-market sci-fi/fantasy paperbacks. A man lives his entire life aging in reverse, born with the wrinkled, feeble, elderly body of a 70-year-old, and steadily growing younger and younger in his physical attributes and appearance. The reviewer contrasts this to those cheap sci-fi books: Of course, in a cheap sci-fi book, the main character's name would have to be something that sounds like a new brand of antidepressant medication -- and the story would be trite, gimmicky and shallow. While being ignorant about other science-fiction books, most of which are nowhere near $3 in price and can have extremely deep and thoughtful plots and characterization is bad enough, the review fails to explain why this book is any better, or worth reading at all. 9:09:18 PM