An essay on speculative fiction

I read this conscientious essay on speculative fiction and the literary establishment and thought it worthy of calling attention to it. Mr Sanford has done a good job of bringing the literary facts to light on critical commentary.

A few acknowledgements included in his essay mirror my published views. Most prominently, he agrees that Cormac McCarthy has written in the speculative fiction vein and gotten appropriate critical attention. However, most critics seem to fail to give credence to other speculative fiction writers in the process. It's as if McCarthy is an island in the sea of fiction.

To address this issue, Mr. Sanford writes: "What lovers of great speculative fiction must do now is simple: When deserving literary novels like The Road employ speculative fiction themes and tropes, praise the novels. If the novels are not deserving, condemn them. Either way, readers and critics should make sure to point out the previous works of speculative fiction upon which the novels built."

Proudly, although I'm not a critic...but a participating writer with an opinion, I have praised McCarthy's work as Sanford suggests up to a point. My failing was the final suggestion he makes. You'll find lots of historical speculative fiction comparisons in the contents of this blog. I should have employed more in my praises of McCarthy.

Personally, I pledge to strive to continually praise deserving works of speculative fiction. Hopefully, others will also take Sanford's advice and do the same.