I've decided to be annoying about this
Hey, so what the fuck is up with Cory Doctorow lately?
Earlier this month he posted a review of Pat Murphy's new book Mary Darling and managed to be demonstrably wrong about both Sherlock Holmes and Peter Pan. First, here's what he had to say about Peter Pan:
If you recall your Barrie, you'll remember that it ends with the revelation that Wendy, John and Michael weren't the first Darlings to go to Neverland: when Mary Darling was a girl, she, too, made the journey.
That never happened. You can check for yourself. It may very well be a story element in Mary Darling, but it's not canonical Barrie. Then, Doctorow has this to say about Sherlock Holmes:
Apart from one love interest and a stalwart housekeeper, Holmes has very little time or regard for women.
There are multiple Holmes stories where he deals with women clients, and in most cases he takes them and their concerns seriously — even when the authorities don't. On the most notable occasion where he dismisses a woman's intellect, she thoroughly kicks his ass (and then marries someone else, so if Doctorow considers Irene Adler the "love interest" in question, that's debatable at best). Again, while this may be Murphy's angle on Holmes, it's not fully supported by the canon and it's weird for Doctorow to frame it that way.
Then, last week, he had this to say about The Lord of the Rings:
... the Fellowship of the Ring forms by pulling together disparate factions to join in a shared quest that culminates in a massive battle in which (spoilers) they are victorious. But in the immediate aftermath of that victory, even before the wounded and the fallen have been recovered from the battlefield, we (spoilers) witness another fight, this one between the allies, over what the post-victory order will be.
I have no idea what part of any of the books this could possibly refer to. I consulted two friends on the subject, one of whom is a Tolkien scholar, and neither of them had any clue either. Near as any of us can tell, this never happened.
Has Doctorow actually read these books? If he has, was it so long ago he can't remember anything that happens in them? Is he relying on a hallucinating AI to (inaccurately) summarize things for him?
In the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal for someone to be Wrong About Fiction, but as my dad likes to say: if someone doesn't care about the little details, you can't rely on them to care about the big ones.
New on Ko-fi: "Moriarty & Moran Contribute to Community Welfare," Chapter 5
Jay wrenched his arm from Paul’s grip. “My partner’s still in there.”
“And the whole wing is on fire,” Paul shot back. “You can’t go back in—that’s insane.”
“I’m not leaving him,” Jay said, unwavering.
Paul’s face was still obscured by his mask, but in what little of his expression Jay could see was a kind of understanding. “Right, then,” he said. “Good luck.”
Chapter 5 of "Moriarty & Moran Contribute to Community Welfare" is now available to read on the new Casefile of Jay Moriarty website! If you don't want to read the story in serialized form and would prefer to get it all at once, you can also buy the entire novelette as an ebook.
This Week's Links
23andMe Sale Shows Your Genetic Data Is Worth $17
Monday, the genetic pharmaceutical company Regeneron announced that it is buying genetic sequencing company 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million. The purchase gives us a rough estimate for the current monetary value of a single person’s genetic data: $17.
New German, Swiss, And Austrian Guidelines Recommend Trans Youth Care, Slam Cass Review
German medical societies deem the Cass Review largely inapplicable to their own guidelines due to its numerous methodological shortcomings. One of their sharpest criticisms focuses on the lack of transparency regarding those who advised and produced the review, as well as the limited expertise of those involved.
Starmer’s new plan scapegoats migrants for Brexit’s failings
Although race is never overtly mentioned, the cumulative effect of such language – combined with the focus on “low-skilled” sectors like care, hospitality, and food service – constructs a racialised hierarchy of migrants: white, English-speaking professionals are “global talent”, while racialised workers from the Global South are seen as “cheap labour” or “abuse risks”.
I was contacted on LinkedIn this week by someone whose job title was "Human Resources Specialist at Human Resources," which is giving "definitely a real human being" vibes.
-K
