From James Nicoll's review of Rocket Girls

[lilfluff]

From James Nicoll's review of Rocket Girls (the novel)

"Japanese Space True Believers seem much less annoying than Anglosphere Space True Believers. I wonder why that is? It cannot just be that it is a comedy; Anglosphere Space True Believer comic SF exists and is generally pretty horrible.

[From comments:

I have a theory about why this worked for me where an Analog-style Purest Lead Comedy wouldn't: the people Nojira spends the most time casting as comic figures are the people on his side, the staff of the SSA. My memory of such comedy musings as the Captain Empirical stuff is that the main targets were uppity third worlders and feminists: the author's enemy.]"

(Note these are both from James Nicoll, top part in the review, the bottom part in the comments section)

You know, I think this is good advice in general. Treat your opponents fairly in what you present, and if you're going to tease then tease your own side. For one thing it suggests that you are yours are capable of taking a joke. It also implies a degree of confidence since you aren't being hyper paranoid.

Comments

[seawasp]

I think it's okay if you take shots at BOTH sides. It's only when your shots of comedic mockery are confined to ONLY one side -- the one you're clearly against -- and YOUR side is always portrayed as correct and not a joke that you are going to fail and sound strident and petty instead of amusing.