Babel Clash: Influence and Labels

In today's post on the Borders Babel Clash site, I talk about my biggest writing influence by far: Frank Herbert's Dune novels. And then I go on to bloviate about how I mistrust the labeling of genre fiction, and how it leads to talk of what counts as "real" sf.

Thinking back over influences got me thinking about how the things we like don’t just influence our style; they also influence how we define what it is that we do and what its place in the overall culture is.

I don’t think there’s been any greater influence on my writing that Frank Herbert’s Dune novels. I love every single one of them and make a point of re-reading them every few years. They never fail to entertain and inspire me, and like all the best literature, I find new things to love about them with every subsequent run at them.

Read the full post over at Babel Clash.