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Scifi novel joins gay marriage debate
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 7:51:00 AM
by Duane Simolke
| Gay/Lesbian/Bi |
| When Duane Simolke re-released Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure in June 2004, he made three of the central characters gay, and used them to further delve into contemporary issues, including gay marriage. While the first edition (published January 2002) showed gay marriage as legal and a non-issue, the second edition further incorporates parallels to anti-gay crusades in real life. |
For example, one of the passages explains a series of constitutional amendments that supposedly protected society on the planet Valchondria but actually led to discrimination and a gradual erosion of human rights. At the same time, the invading world Degranon remains as fanatical and divisive as in the original, with characters using religious dogma to justify violence and oppression against each other and everyone else.
A review appearing in the October 1, 2004 issue of X-Factor (http://www.xfactor.com) explains how Degranon’s second edition explores gay marriage and other contemporary issues, saying that “Duane Simolke establishes his voice in gay genre writing” with those explorations.
Though best known for his books, Simolke also writes for This Week In Texas (http://www.thisweekintexas.com/). His Web site (http://duanesimolke.com/) includes Rainbow: Lubbock, an online newsletter for his fellow gays in Lubbock, Texas. With that location, he sees much of the anti-gay debate, usually framed in religious or family arguments.
Despite a Texas law banning gay marriage, at least one Texas politician now seeks to add Texas to the states with constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, even while newly re-elected President George W. Bush continues to seek a federal constitutional ban. Degranon explores many of the arguments that such politicians use to justify these actions, even though it frames them in other-worldly ways and sometimes applies them to discrimination on the basis of race, weight, or other factors.
Paperback ISBN: 0595317138. Hardcover ISBN: 0595663893. E-Book ISBN: 0595765211. 216 pages. Publisher: iUniverse.com.
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