You know... I can deal with it when an author whose books I love has views that I disagree with. Even when it's personal. I can deal with OSC's deeply flawed views of homosexuality, because that really is what his religion teaches, and he doesn't (generally) use it as an excuse to gay bash indiscriminately.
But James P. Hogan is a different story. The first book of his that I read was Thrice Upon a Time, which along with Gregory Benford's Timescape did some of the coolest stuff with time travel that had been done for a while. I picked up Inherit the Stars, and got completely hooked. The scientific detective stuff with Hunt and Danchekker was just brilliant, and the characters really came to life for me.
When he branched into thrillers, I thought that was cool as well. The semi-libertarian-type party he created in Mirror Maze was cool to see, as was the almost communistic society in Voyage to Yesteryear. I've loved almost everything of his that I've read.
Which is why it's so disappointing to see what a nut he's become.
He's all about the conspiracy theories, now. A big defender of David Irving (and no, he's not just opposed to jailing someone for their opinions; I'm opposed to that as well, and I think it's disgusting that it happened), and a big supporter of Arthur Butz and Mark Weber and other anti-semitic lunatics.
I used to correspond with him a little. Nothing major; more like the kind of short correspondences I've had with OSC. I was fascinated at the way he'd abandoned the rigid acceptance of scientific orthodoxy that he'd pushed so hard in his early books. And what I think has happened is that he's got the zeal of the new convert. Once he realized that there are areas in which the scientific orthodoxy is more like a religion than actual science, he must have decided that nothing is as it seems. That everyone is lying, and that the more outrageous a claim, and the bigger the emotional reaction it elicits, the more likely it is to be true.
What I can't figure out is if he's an anti-semite who is glomming onto sites like Rense.com and idiots like the well-named Butz because they provide him a channel through which to spew his ideas, or whether he's just the equivalent of a cult-victim. Either way, I'm really bummed to see one of my favorite authors go down the drain this way.
</rant>
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
quote:Once he realized that there are areas in which the scientific orthodoxy is more like a religion than actual science,
Oh dear... Can we just take it as given that I flamed you over this, and we had several pages of 'discussion'? I just don't have time for it right now.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
Wow, I've only read a few of his books. Those time travel/multiple universe ones he wrote were the only ones that really grabbed my attention in the bookstore.
Looking at his web site now for the first time, I am a little taken aback. Hogan advertising this book alone sends shivers down my spine.
quote:Once he realized that there are areas in which the scientific orthodoxy is more like a religion than actual science,
Oh dear... Can we just take it as given that I flamed you over this, and we had several pages of 'discussion'? I just don't have time for it right now.
Sounds good to me.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
Lisa, did you or someone else post that thread last year about Hogan and his more eccentric beliefs?
Robert Anton Wilson, the author of the linked book, is a fun writer.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
As long as the books are good, I say keep reading. If I igorned works by musicians, artists, and authors I disagreed with, I would be missing out on a lot.
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Morbo: Lisa, did you or someone else post that thread last year about Hogan and his more eccentric beliefs?