Five Reasons Science Fiction Is Better Than Fantasy
To supplement the Five Reasons Fantasy Is Better Than Science Fiction, I’ve decided to create this list of the exact opposite. I am a science fiction nut, after all, and what science fiction nut doesn’t think about his/her favorite things about his/her favorite genre? Enjoy: SpaceshipsSure, science fiction doesn’t have dragons and unicorns, but it does have awesome spaceships. Okay, so not all of the spaceships in SF are all that great, but a lot of them are. I wouldn’t mind owning the Enterprise. I’d throw some awesome parties on that ship! Gadgets and Technology (all forms)Gadgets, of course, are better known as a James Bond thing, but SF has a lot of gadgets too. Everything from all those handheld gizmos in Star Trek to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (don’t panic!). Then there’s all the lovely technology that makes SF so wonderful (nanotech, cyberspace, robots, universal translators, automatic, self-cleaning toilets that also clean your bumb for you, give you a quick shave, and send you on your way to work…). Expansive Interstellar GeographyUnlike fantasy, SF is not limited by location. In a fantasy world, you can theoretically see everything there is to see in a single lifetime (or a couple if you’re one of those reincarnated folks). But SF has many planets with many cultures and geographies. Imagine all the amazing things you could see! Aliens cities and artifacts and even new human ones with new cities. And this is, in theory, limitless, because there are likely trillions of planets in our universe. Unfortunately, I think if you visited them all you’d probably explode. It’s one of those rules in the Bible or something…look it up if you don’t believe me. Fantasy SimulationWell, with the invention of virtual reality (cyberspace, etc.), SF has the luxury of recreating any environment imaginable, but in the safety of one’s own home, or in a corporate complex, which likely isn’t all that safe at all. So, while a fantasy world may be wonderful to live in, isn’t there something to be said about having the best of both worlds all in one package? Well, SF offers you that opportunity, or at least the characters that populate SF stories. The FutureThis particular item is mostly to poke fun at LoopdiLou, who vehemently contested my inclusion of the same thing in my Five Things Every Science Fiction Story Should Have right up until Kim Stanley Robinson put her straight during a Q&A sessions at UC Santa Cruz. I’m quite interested in the future, as you all may well know. It explains why I read quite a lot of science fiction for fun, because the future is fascinating and wondering where we will be in ten, twenty, even a hundred years is ripe with amazing speculations and imagery. What things would you add to this list? What thing would you omit? Let me know in the comments!
Would You Rather Live in Science Fiction or Fantasy World?
Marian of Flights of Fantasy recently had an interesting post about what kind of world she would want to live in and it got me thinking about the same thing. Warning: I will be taking this whole idea very seriously even though it’s totally fiction and unreal. My initial reaction to this question is: which world would inevitably be better for me? Both fantasy and science fiction worlds have their good and bad points (for the sake of argument, I’m going to stick with the stereotypical examples of these genres).Fantasy worlds have magic, fantastic creatures, swords, talking animals, fair maidens, noble kings, and other such goodies. But fantasy worlds also have evil overlords, evil creatures, wars, bad food of the bland variety, and prophecies that always seem to put the world in chaos for a short period before some “chosen one” can come along and put things right–why it is more rare that fantasy characters don’t get ticked off about this last one doesn’t make much sense to me.Science fiction worlds have spaceships, alien races, faster-than-light travel, cool gadgets, space adventures, and damn good food. But science fiction worlds also have interstellar wars, alien invasions, evil aliens that can’t talk, but manage to wreak havoc on ship crews, moral quandaries, technology that goes bad, and sterile environments or excessively dirty environments.Which is better? Do I want magic and unicorns or spaceships and aliens with three heads?On the one hand, perhaps I could use magic to escape from all the darkness of a fantasy world, but that assumes that if I lived in such a world I would be fortunate enough to have magic. This also makes me a terrible coward. A fantasy world also means I can’t take all the things I currently enjoy with me. No computers, no Twitter, no WISB, no nothing. A science fiction world means I can keep my gadgets, but I also would have to face dystopian societies, interstellar wars, space pirates, and the like.Do you see the dilemma? In some ways, I think science fiction worlds are harsher than fantasy worlds. Sure, in science fiction worlds a lot of things are handed to the characters: they rarely have to worry about food or water or running out of laser guns or whatever. But, these same characters live in a world (or galaxy, I imagine) where governments turn into Big Brother, robots reject and kill their masters (a simple snap of the neck will suffice), interstellar wars rage for decades, decimating planet after planet, civilization after civilization.That’s not the say that fantasy worlds are a picnic. At least in science fiction worlds death is quick (usually). Laser guns tend to kill people a lot faster and less painfully than bleeding to death on a battlefield. Characters in fantasy worlds also don’t have the luxury of food processors or good storage methods (no fridges in Narnia, I’m afraid). Plenty of salted meat, moldy fruits and vegetables, and food poisoning. Plus, the “chosen one” is almost always some stupid farm boy who takes forever to fulfill prophecy, which is unfortunate if you’re impatient like me. While fantasy characters are waiting for someone to rescue them, evil warlords are turning them into slaves or outright killing them in droves (I suppose similar happens in science fiction worlds).But a fantasy world allows me to do things that can’t be done in a science fiction world, primarily because science fiction worlds should adhere to standard rules of science. I’ve always wanted to shoot fireballs out of my hands or take a trip on the back of a dragon. Having my own set of armor and an enchanted sword would be pretty cool too. Or, I could be a bard and travel the world telling amazing stories about people that lived or never lived, captivating the minds of children and adults alike! When I think about fantasy worlds that way, it certainly makes them much more appealing.How do I decide, though? Would I be willing to give up Twitter or computers or the possibility of travelling into space? Would I be willing to give up dragons or magic fireballs or enchanted swords? Which one would be the best fit?If I had to take a guess, I would say that the science fiction world would fit best, but only because I can see how difficult it would be for me to give up technology. Technology is as much a part of my everyday life as breathing and I can’t imagine being able to toss that away without thinking long and hard on it, and even then I would be apprehensive and might even regret going to a fantasy world. But I might regret going to a science fiction world too. It all depends how it turns out. Would I end up in a good fantasy/science fiction world or a bad one? Perhaps if I knew that information ahead of time it would make the decision easier. I’d be much more likely to forego science fiction for fantasy if I knew that the fantasy world would inevitably be a better place for me, one where I wasn’t going to end up enslaved by evil three-eyed squid-like aliens.I guess I’m still on the fence. What about you? For the sake of making this argument easier, let’s assume that you could choose between a perfect fantasy world or a perfect science fiction world. Which one would you choose?
C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L’Engle Meme
Discovered this interesting, but short, meme here while perusing Google. Anyone who wants to do it for their blog is welcome to (I’m too lazy right now to tag people individually). Here goes: Have you read any of Madeleine L’Engle’s books?Yes, but unfortunately not a lot. Which is your favorite?A Wrinkle in Time happens to be the only book I’ve read of hers. This is probably the case for a lot of people. Have you read any of C.S. Lewis’ books?Quite a few, actually, though not as many as I would like. Which is your favorite?I’m quite partial to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s a classic and a good opener to an entertaining series. Do you like fantasy fiction?Actually, while I babble a lot more about science fiction on this blog than I do about fantasy (which is a fault of mine, unfortunately) I do enjoy fantasy fiction about as much. I simply don’t allow myself to become delusional about the genre–I accept that cliches exist and pay more attention to the story and how the author presents everything. Are you a science fiction fan?Goodness no. Why would I blog about something unless I hated it? And yes, that is sarcasm. What is your favorite genre of book?Edit: Apparently I’m an idiot today!Favorite genre? Science fiction, obviously, although I love fantasy as well. If I had to pick a favorite subgenre of science fiction it would likely be dystopian or space opera.
Living Science Fiction
…or the good, the bad, and the ugly of the advancing, technologically and politically charged world. I feel like I’m living in one of those science fiction dystopias right now. If you had told me that I would live to see a new civil rights movement as politically charged as the African American movement rise from the ashes of ignorance, I would have told you that you didn’t know what you were talking about. Yet here we are with millions of people across the country protesting the assault on homosexuals. I’m living in a time I never thought would exist; it never occurred to me that there could be such a vicious battle between religion and the other or such a divide between our peoples–a divide that has relegated one group of people into the position of “second class citizen” because a majority says it’s right.In some respects, I don’t know how to take all of this. I grew up making fun of homosexual men while sharing the common masculine mentality that allows homosexual women to be reduced to sexual objects. It was never really brought up that saying “that’s gay” or “you’re such an f*g” were actually derogatory phrases that shouldn’t be said. Yet here I am, looking into the face of hatred and finding myself almost unable to cope. How do you fight hate?Then only a week or so ago we saw violence spring up yet again between Israel and Hamas. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised and forgive me for being naive, but I don’t understand the necessity for violence from either end–I understand that hatred exists, but it seems utterly illogical and pointless to me (couldn’t they just spend the time ignoring one another?).But not all is bad, right? Sure, there are those dystopic moments where things really look down, but there are good moments too. We elected the first African American President, Barack Hussein Obama, in the United States, for one. And what about all those fantastic scientific discoveries/inventions in the last year or so? The Australians discovered a genetic link for transsexuality, the Large Hadron Collider went online (and then broke, for now), cell phone use has increased at a massive rate, eBook readers have started to take hold in the market, and Space X, a privately run space company, had a successful launch of its Falcon rocket (which, I imagine, helped earn it a launch contract with NASA). It seems like we’re inching closer and closer to that point where we can send non-astronaut folks into space–hopefully for pleasure.With our global society grasping so readily at technology, it’s no wonder why it feels like we’re living in a science fiction story. I said at the beginning of this post that it feels like a dystopia with all the darkness surrounding us. Maybe that’s because I’ve paid too much attention to the dark and not enough to the light.So, despite all the bad, at least things are looking up in some departments, right? The economy might have taken a dive, but other things are rising up from the ashes. Ten years ago I never would have thought that I would have the opportunity to see space with my own eyes; now it looks like it might actually happen within my lifetime. Should I be happy for our successes or concerned over our failures? Can you be both?
Five Things Every Science Fiction Story Should Have
What makes a good science fiction story? What elements do you need? Well, the following list are what I think are necessary elements to every science fiction story, including elements that should be givens for stories in general. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments section of this post. In no particular order: Sympathetic CharactersTack onto this characters that your audience can identify with. Science fiction is known for having aliens, robots, and other bizarre things as centerpieces to the story. If one of those oddities happens to be a significant character that you want your readers to be interested in, then you have to make them somehow “human.” The readers need to sympathize with those characters, understand their struggles and motives, etc. Technology (or a damn good reason for the lack thereof)Science fiction doesn’t exist without technology. A story set in 1776 is not science fiction, unless you can make a convincing time travel story (but then, in theory, your story would have started in the future rather than 1776). If you have a complete lack of technology, then you should be able to justify that–dystopias can still be science fiction even if there is little to no technology present. The FutureWell, duh, right? This requirement is somewhat difficult, though, because for obvious reasons a lot of novels that are science fiction aren’t set in a real future. 1984 is technically set in the past, now. So, to amend this, I will say that the future must be the future at the time of publication. Yeah, procedural-ish and annoying, but so be it. Science fiction is about the future, so it must be there. ConflictBecause what story can exist without some sort of conflict? Okay, so there are stories that have no conflicts, but those stories aren’t generally remembered for being good, right? Science fiction stories do well with some sort of conflict. I’ve never read a successful science fiction story in which nothing happened. Ever. Something InterestingThis can be a conflict, a character, or maybe a fancy new technological idea. Regardless of the “interesting thing” you choose, it has to coincide with the plot and make us, the readers, interested. Think back to some of your favorite science fiction stories. What made them interesting to you? Cool tech devices? Space travel? Weird aliens? A clever dystopic view of society? Take the good things away from your favorite stories. They were successful for a reason! There you go. Five Things that every science fiction story should have! What do you think? I may do another list in the future, by the way, so keep a lookout!
Ten Reasons Why SF Is Still Awesome
Science fiction isn’t dying, contrary to what people are saying (about literature, I mean)–it might be losing some ground, but proclaiming it on the verge of death is like saying books themselves are dying, which is another can of worms that people really need to research before babbling doomsday theories about. With that in mind, however, here are my nine reasons why SF is still awesome (not entirely about literature, I mean): TVSay what you will about some of the garbage on television, but shows like Battlestar Galactica are prime examples of why SF is very much alive and very much filled with awesome. The constant reruns of other classic shows, such as the multitude of Star Trek series, X-files, and even the original Stargate SG-1 have helped make SF television worth watching–you can get the new and the old in one bite. And don’t forget all the other interesting shows floating around (some good and some not so much)! MoviesLet’s just put aside the arguments about whether or not Star Wars is SF and also just put aside the prequel movies altogether. They don’t count. What does count are movies like Pitch Black, Sunshine, X-men (the first two mostly), Evolution, The Matrix (the first one, not the sequels), Terminator 3, “I, Robot,” The Chronicles of Riddick (say what you will about this one, but it was a good movie), The Island, Spider-Man, Children of Men, V For Vendetta, I Am Legend, Transformers, Iron Man, Wall-E etc. Those are just a few of the titles in the last 10 years that we all most likely remember, or should remember. The movies coming out are still good, some of them playing games with the SF elements (Evolution) and others taking them seriously (Sunshine). I love SF movies and thankfully there are plenty to come in the future that will keep me entertained. Cool IdeasYes, science fiction is still pumping out the ideas. Just because it’s not making us go “oh my lord, that is truly the most amazing thing ever” doesn’t mean the ideas aren’t there. It’s just somewhat more difficult to surprise us with technology anymore. Spaceships and nanotechnology don’t make us jump up and down like school children like they used to. But the ideas are still there, and they’re getting more complex and more fascinating and dangerous every year. The best part is that some of the ideas we’re seeing might actually come true because they are based on real science. Take nanotechnology, which might actually create super-humans and what not. Wouldn’t that be cool? I think so. Scifi GeeksOkay, so this is one of those things that is great and utterly crap at the same time. First off, scifi geeks can be a little too obsessed (like those Star Trek fans who actually think it’s real). The thing is, all forms of geekery, even literary geekery, have these overly obsessed types. That’s just the way it is. For the most part, thankfully, scifi geeks are some of the best geeks out there. They don’t always get it right (some shows/books/etc. really aren’t as good as they make them out to be), but at least they’re keeping the genre alive by consuming the hell out of science fiction books, television, movies, comics, etc. Without them, the genre wouldn’t be where it is today. At least that’s my opinion! Comic BooksOkay, so comics have been around for a hell of a long time, and science fiction comics just as long. But comic book movies haven’t been around quite as long, and good ones haven’t started springing up except in the last 10 years–and most of those have been science fiction or at least close. True, not all of these comic book movies have been all that great (some of them have been downright terrible), but the good ones have, in my opinion, revitalized the movie industry, for the most part, and done wonders for science fiction as a whole. Now we’re seeing a lot of cross over in the opposite direction: science fiction shows being turned into comic books and their stories/characters expanded as a result. True, this type of stuff has been going on for a while, but it seems like it’s more popular these days than in days past. And it doesn’t really matter if it’s an old thing or a new thing: it’s working, it’s cool, and that’s all that matters! Non-Genre Authors Driving FocusThe title isn’t clear, primarily because it’s hard to put all of what will be said here into a short title, but it will have to do. Basically, quite a few authors who have received acclaim outside the genre have written books within the genre and embraced them. Michael Chabon, for example, has basically flipped his middle finger off at all those folks that tried to claim he and other science fiction writers were writing crap. We need more folks like him out there, for sure, but thankfully the genre as a whole has been grabbing a lot of non-genre attention as of late. And, it drives genre readers to work outside of their comfort zone. That’s a good thing! Space OperaIt’s been around for a long time, I know, but the subgenre has really blossomed lately (at least that’s what I see). Whether or not it is “new” as the whole “New Space Opera” title suggests, space opera is still kicking. I love me some space battles and interstellar civilizations, even when it’s all blended together in a dark cup (if that makes any sense). Of course, I’ve always loved space opera, so the supposed revitalization of the genre brings a smile to my face. Give me some Tobias Buckell and John Scalzi any day of the week! And, if you’re feeling friendly, toss some Charles Stross and Alastair Reynolds in there too! Science Fiction Becoming RealityWe may not have nanotech-augmented super humans who can heal on command and survive the vacuum of space, or interstellar transports that can take