As a fan of the Harry Dresden series (note: fan of series, not fan of author), this doesn't surprise me. None of this surprises me in the least. After some fail quite a while ago, I generally stay very far away from Butcher's blog and any mention of his name in the news. I just came across this, and... sigh.

I have this theory that a lot of authors take a while (if ever) to admit they're wrong or have done something questionable because it takes a lot of not doing either to get published in the first place. Authors like Jim C. Hines (who actually reacted well to someone pointing out fail in The Stepsister Scheme, and promised to do better, and actually did better) are the exception rather than the rule. All the more reason to avoid reading author blogs and tweets unless you actually are a fan of the author.

Also, I feel weird saying I'm a fan of a series with problematic racial issues. But then again, I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and have started posting a re-read that I know will expose racism, homophobia, and sexism in the canon text (indeed, I'm near the precipice of five chapters of such). And then there's the failfest that is The Lord of the Rings. But Holmes is Holmes, hobbits are hobbits, and Harry rides dinosaurs in the middle of thunderstorms with a hobbyist playing polka on an accordion. Sometimes there is awesome juxtaposed to the awful.

The best thing a fan can do is be aware of the shortcomings of a series. If you still love it, there's nothing wrong with that. If you hate it, then things were never meant to be, and there are many fish in the sea. And even if you love it, it's still your gods-given mission to find other works out there.

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