# Explain the Sad Puppies (Science Fiction Controversy) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [December 2, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019 "2020-12-02T16:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019/302 "2020-12-23T20:35:14Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I’m assuming the intent was to make that even more horrifying. What’s the one where the character finds out he has gorilla ancestry or something like that? “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family”. The titular protagonist finds out that a male ancestor’s “Portuguese” wife was actually a Congolese “white ape.” There is a bit of nastiness in the implicit comparison of a Portuguese to an ape, and the story can certainly be read as a horror of miscegenation. But I think a more plausible reading is as a horror of family secrets and tainted family blood, rather than racial pollution per se. There’s also “The Rats in the Walls”, where a solidly WASPish protagonists finds out that his ancestors apparently interbred with _rats_…or something even _worse_. It’s definitely a recurring trope in his fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019/303 "2020-12-23T22:15:44Z")
But without context, you can’t interpret those numbers at all. Is 58th in “Space Opera” “hugely popular,” “popular,” “average” or “obscure”? What more popular book should have been under consideration? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019/304 "2020-12-24T00:18:27Z")
No, since total sales are what I was talking about. Middle game= Best Sellers Rank: #104,694 in Books Ready Player Two: A Novel = Best Sellers Rank: #17 in Books Rejected (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 1) Kindle Edition by Jaymin Eve Best Sellers Rank: #3 in Kindle Store - #1 in [Paranormal & Urban Fantasy (Kindle Store)](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6157853011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_digital-text) - #1 in [Romantic Fantasy (Books)](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/13922577011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_books) - #1 in [Paranormal Romance (Kindle Store)](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6190484011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_digital-text) Bestsellers arent getting awards while the ones that are getting awards are Best Sellers Rank: #18,760 in Books . ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019/305 "2020-12-24T00:24:04Z")
Both those books came out this year. Neither was eligible to compete against Middlegame for the Hugo. Furthermore, book sales generally peak when a book is first released. What was Middlegame’s rating when it was first released. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019/306 "2020-12-24T00:34:07Z")
Back in the good old days (1992) one of the bestselling books of the year was Neal Stephenson’s Snowcrash. A great book that got onto the NYT bestseller list (not the top but still on the list). It still sells very well. The Hugos ignored it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019/307 "2020-12-24T21:00:23Z")
Go ahead and research that if you like. I can tell you that it didnt hit the Best seller list, but that is about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-sad-puppies-science-fiction-controversy/927019.md?page=15)