Orson Scott Card is an immensely talented science-fiction writer, but he’s far from a perfect person. In recent years, Card has become more and more vocal about his antigay beliefs.
Today, a new Twitter hashtag encourages people to buy a big gay novel in Scott Card’s honor. The hashtag, #buyabiggaynovelforscottcardday, has the LGBT community and its supporters recommending science fiction novels with gay authors, characters or themes.
The hashtag comes in the wake of the publication of Scott Card’s latest book, Hamlet’s Father. According to reviewer William Alexander, the book is a retelling of Hamlet in which King Hamlet’s supposed homosexuality compels him to evildoing:
“Here’s the punch line: Old King Hamlet was an inadequate king because he was gay, an evil person because he was gay, and, ultimately, a demonic and ghostly father of lies who convinces young Hamlet to exact imaginary revenge on innocent people,” wrote Alexander.
The review picked up steam this morning after being featured on Free Thought Blogs, Publisher’s Weekly and fantasy author Scott Lynch’s blog where writers and commenters alike expressed their outrage at Scott Card’s bigotry.
“Boring in its execution and blatantly false in its premises, it’s hard to imagine why the publisher thought it was worth printing, even if it was delivered on a contract with an advance,” wrote Stephanie Zvan at Free Thought Blogs.
People took to Twitter, declaring today Buy A Big Gay Novel for Scott Card Day. Among the recommendations, Twitter users are cracking jokes at Scott Card’s expense.
“Hm. The homoeroticism is why I liked Ender’s Game,” wrote @clancynacht.
