It's been strange for me, too, because I have so much respect for Bear as a writer, and I loved the duology in question.

But what really got to me was the demonisation of Avalon's Willow for saying that she just can't stand to read another portrayal of a black person as a savage cannibal and a slave, even if the writer was intending to take that image and subvert it. Because she has a right to feel that way.