Alan DeNiro
Q-1.
Do you think a certain generation gap really exists, or, if not exactly a gap, do you feel some kind of distance between veterans who started their careers before 1960s and the younger generation Y in our genre, at least?
A-1.
I think it depends on the individual writer--but I would actually lean toward no. There are many younger writers working today who look back at the earlier Golden Age of SF for inspiration -- just as there are some older writers who are taking some of the same sources as some of the more innovative writers (i.e., those outside of the genre), and doing interesting things with them.
Q-2.
Do you think the general atmosphere for the genre is less passionate now than, say, thirty years ago? I know there are fewer voters for the Hugo, and even those voters usually vote for their favorite works now, rather than the ones we can boast about as the representative masterpieces of the genre that particular year, as cornerstones of SF history.
A-2.
I think there has always been a smaller cadre in fandom; the difference is that, now, the people who care about the Hugos are flanked on all sides by media fans.
Q-3.
Has fandom changed? Or is it writers who have changed? What are the things that concern them most? They used to be the moon, rockets, a-bombs, wars, urbanization, etc.
A-3.
It's mostly a media fandom now; print science fiction fandom is just a drop in the bucket.
Q-4.
What do you think about the current state of SF? How do you like recent works by the newer generation of writers? Who is your favorite among them, or writers to watch? Can you recommend them to your personal friends who have never read our genre?
A-4.
Oh yes! (In regards to the last question.) I do that all the time. I think it's a mixed time for science fiction--which, without the comfort of nostalgia, it's always been. There's some really innovative stuff being done and some...less so. I would say that the award-winning material has tended to be less adventurous than it has been in, say, the 70s (when Tiptree was winning Hugos). There is a writer named Wells Tower who has a short story collection called Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned -- just fabulous.
Q-5.
Which of your works would you like to be read by Japanese readers?
A-5.
I'm very interested to see how any of my work would translate! My new novel would be an interesting experiment. Does the Mississipian culture translate well? Who knows?
Q-6.
What is your current work? Your next project?
A-6.
I have a novel coming out from Spectra called Total Oblivion, More or Less, in November in the U.S. It's about ancient European tribes (e.g., the Scythians) swooping down into America and taking over -- with one family's journey down the Mississippi for safety. I also have stories forthcoming in Strange Horizons and Interfictions 2. My new novel I'm working on is a work of speculative fiction set in a MMORPG.
