I respect Saunders because instead of latching on to somebody else's creation and whining about how it didn't suit him and he was going to set out to "correct" it, he did what so many of us here advocate -- he created his own thing instead. I think it's pretty telling that so many of us "right-wing white supremacist Nazis" here are at least aware of his work while the douchebag in that Black Gate article apparently never heard of him.
Oliver Brackenbury from the Black Gate article created his own fiction magazine and is publishing original new stories in it. So he
is creating his own thing. As far as I can see, none of the stories in issue #0 are adaptations.
There are plenty of other differences, but the core thing Brackenbury is doing seems exactly like what Saunders did - new stories that feature non-white characters and themes in otherwise the same genre as previous stories. I don't even see that much difference in how they talk about what they are doing. Here is the start and end of an essay from Saunders, for example:
"Die, Black Dog!"
A Look at Racism in Fantasy Literature
For an avid reader of fantasy who happens to be black, the exclamation in the title of this essay pops up far too often for comfort. The genre-related problems of reader identification and suspension of disbelief become immeasurably magnified with these words, because the ethnic epithets that spew from the mouth of a Conan are all-too-well represented in the grim world of reality. When blatant racism does occur in a fantasy tale, the black reader is rudely jerked from its escapist world. And when the escapism dies, so does the story.
Even a cursory examination of the roots of today’s fantasy reveals a great deal about the ethnic attitudes of some of its pioneering authors. I refer, of course, to the Unholy Trinity of the Golden Age of the Pulps: Howard, Lovecraft, and Smith. Though pure fantasy can be traced back to Homer, the sword-and-sorcery that is popular today was born in the pages of Weird Tales. Unfortunately, these beginnings were steeped in racism, as is every other American institution.
And that brings me to the point of answering the question that those who are still reading this must be asking by now; “If you don’t like it, why in Crom's name don't you stop reading it? But I do like fantasy. It is my favorite form of literature. What I don't like is the racism in it.
Being a black fantasy buff can be a somewhat schizoid existence. It is another instance of cognitive dissonance. On one hand, I often feel like killing certain authors, even while I'm enjoying their stories. On the other, I sometimes feel that the wonder, the excitement, the sheer unreality of fantasy may transcend the attitudes of its authors. That I can still enjoy it despite occasional outbursts of rage and disgust is a tribute to the genre -- a tribute I'm still not certain it deserves...
Source:
http://www.reindeermotel.com/CHARLES/charles_blog42_dieblackdog.htmlSo Saunders didn't like the racism he saw in fantasy, and so he wrote his own stories that changed it.
But then, I also don't have a problem with people like Milius who adapt others' work, even though it is stretched far from the original. I have enjoyed many loosely adapted movies like Conan, Men in Black, and The Wiz.
What I dislike is purely negative criticizing and whining. I prefer showing examples of what one likes - or better yet, helping create such.