(no subject)

[james_davis_nicoll]

Seen thanks to Kat Tanaka Okopnik:

Genre Benders: Larry Niven & Joanna Russ

I like this bit (written in 1985):

I don't think this association with Pournelle is doing Niven any good, except at the bank. It's as if he invented the Kzinti, then got so fascinated by them that he had to find one to collaborate with.

Comments

[jessie_c]

I think that was true of Niven in the early '80s. I also think that his crusty shell of right-wing attitudes accreted since then, such that by now he's completely fosilised, like all the other dinosaurs. There is little to distinguish between Niven and Pournelle these days.

[jbwoodford]

In hindsight, I think that his early upbringing predisposed him to a lot of that. That, and the whole "Oh, wow, Important People are listening to me!" thing with ballistic missile defense.

[chrysostom]

Plus, you do tend to become who you hang out with. And he was hanging out with Pournelle a lot.

[armiphlage]

His 2008 suggestion to government officials about how to keep Spanish-speaking patients from accessing health care probably pushed him past the racist stereotypes previously bleated by Pournelle.

http://gawker.com/372651/beloved-author-larry-niven-will-solve-the-heath-care-mess-by-lying-to-immigrants

[ffutures]

Not exactly the only author to fall under the sway of a co-author, but a particularly annoying example. Early Niven was often fun.