Great Science Fiction

Recently, I started to compile a list of what I feel are the greatest Science Fiction novels of all time. I may post that list here at some point, but I am still considering the list. Starting the list was easy.

• Dune, by Frank Herbert
• Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
• The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick

It has taken much longer to expand the list and considering the list brought up another line of thought.

What makes a great Science Fiction novel?

Are there any things that all of the novels above, as well as the others I added later, have in common? Well, aside from reside on bookstore Science Fiction section shelves, and winning awards?

Science Fiction is an interesting place to consider such questions, because the genre has not always been of the highest literary quality. I suppose that some might still make that claim. I never cared. I started reading Science Fiction as a teenager and I have never stopped. I like Science Fiction, and I am often bored by "mainstream" fiction. Whatever its literary value, Science Fiction is generally exciting, and at its best thought provoking, and I like that.

So, on to a list, if you will, of the things that I think make up a great Science Fiction novel. I am not going to deal, at length, with the things that make up great writing, or a great novel. You can look those up in other places. Obviously, a good grasp of language, including grammar, characterization, and plot are all important to Science Fiction, just as they are important to other fiction. My intent is to discuss those things which, while not unique, are more important to Science Fiction than to other types of fiction (though I would probably put up a similar list for Fantasy fiction).

Locale - while exotic locations are not unique to Science Fiction, I think that they are generally important to Science Fiction. Would The Moon is a Harsh Mistress be quite as good without the Moon as it's setting? Dune without Arrakis? Sometimes, the exotic locale is a well-known locale with a twist, say like New York with a massive ship hanging over it, or the United States split into 3 countries. The exotic location helps move the reader out of their comfort zone, which I feel is very important to Science Fiction.

It is often said that Science Fiction requires "suspension of disbelief." I agree, and I think that getting the reader to accept an alien (as in unfamiliar, not as in ET) environment, an alien setting helps readers with that suspension. Whether it be the sterile environment of a starship, or simply details about the moon's gravity, the location of the story helps carry us away from ourselves, and into the world of the author.

Every author must take you from your world into theirs, but this is so much easier for the mainstream writer, whose world is exactly like the readers, or very nearly. The Science Fiction writer often, but not always, has the task of painting for the reader a world that exists only in the imagination.

Extrapolation - Science Fiction is sometimes called the fiction of "what if...?" Much of Science Fiction is set in the future, where things that we dream of today are common. Even writers like Jules Verne and H.G Wells looked into the future for ideas. Looking into the future is a common exercise for Science Fiction writers.

Some books are set so far into the future that the author has no need to figure out exactly how we got there. Dune and Foundation (Issac Asimov) are good examples of this, even though, whether originally or later, Asimov did give thought to how human history led to the time of his first Foundation novels. Robert Heinlein, to give the alternative, set many of his stories in the near future and these stories are often tied together into what is called Future History.

Science Fiction is often created by taken something from the present, a political movement, social trend, or fad, and pushing it out into the future. Sometimes, this is done to look at where a movement might really lead, and sometimes, an author will provide a cautionary tale by pushing an idea in ways that seem a little absurd when considered in the light of day.

There is even a whole branch of Science Fiction known as alternative history, where some past event is changed, and then a new past, present or future is built out from that change. The Man in the High Castle shows that this is not a new trend in Science Fiction, and a case could be made for The Time Machine having certain elements similar to alternative history.

The last item is something that I think is key to Science Fiction, but I could easily make a case for it being key to all good fiction.

Makes You Think - I like fiction that makes me think. No, I should rephrase that as...I think books that make me think. I believe that is why I got interested in history. Studying history makes me think about the connections between events and how one leads to the next. Sometimes it is how a series of past events tie together, and sometimes it is thinking about what I would do were I where the protaganist is. It has to do with that "what if..." concept, but the best Science Fiction causes me to think about whether or not I think the author got his "what if..." right. It may also make me think about what I would do on a starship when it was attacked, or how I would try to communicate with an alien.

Okay, I lied. I have one more to add to my list.

A Sense of Wonder - that is why I read Science Fiction, for the "wow" moments, when the author takes me so completely out of myself that I look to the sky to see if I can see the hovering ship, or imagine what I would do in the deep desert, or how I would walk on the Moon, or maybe just how I would deal with something completely new and different.

All of these are what I think makes great Science Fiction, and naturally, my favorite books will have all them, to one degree or another.

Bored

I went through a long period of depression, and whereas I am no longer as depressed, I am still just as bored.

I have been trying to find something to catch my interest, and in fact I did get back to doing more reading, as you can see by the several books added to my was-reading list. Unfortunately, anytime I find a really good book I feel a let down when I finish it. The most recent three on my list have been that good, and I have not gotten into The Gunslinger enough for it to truly capture my attention.

I have been playing Oblivion more lately, but even that is not working all that well anymore. I reached level 32, which is high enough that most things are easy. Oblivion scales very well, but there is a limit to everything. I played Morrowind (the predecessor to Oblivion) all the way to level 80 but I do not think I will be able to play Oblivion that long.

I have been wanting to do more writing, but my personal inertia seems to great to overcome. This blog is an attempt to get that going again. I am thinking that if I can write in my blog it may help me to get writing in other areas as well.

So, here's to hoping, and see you again soon.

I hope.

Testing 1, 2, 3

Yes, this is a test of Windows Live Writer, which is supposed to be easier to use than just opening up my blogsite and posting.  Who knows if it will actually be easy?  Most things from Microsoft aren't. 

So, this is the first test, and we shall see what comes of it.

That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

Whether or not this overused platitude is true is NOT the subject of this essay. Long debates can and have been held on the subject, but not here...or at least not today.

The problem with this well-worn phrase is that some seem to feel that it is an excuse to seek out the difficult, the dangerous and the unpleasant. Rather than trying to avoid things that hurt, they complacently accept it, because it will make them stronger.

This makes about as much sense as letting the bus graze you. Not enough to let it kill you, but enough to make it hurt a lot. Now, that is an extreme example, and most who quote this phrase are not referring to physical injury, but far too many seem willing to quote this phrase and abrogate any responsibility to avoid that which causes pain.

Unfortunately, in their masochistic desire to experience pain, they often carry other along the same path, and when their victims complain, they pull out their shield of righteousness, quoting the phrase, as if they were doing their victims a favor.

Worse still, believers in this unproven platitude often rush towards pain in the belief that they will become stronger, and again they often drag victims in their wake. They believe so firmly that they fail to see that while pain may bring strength (remember, unproven), it also leaves scars and that pain does not create wisdom. It is in learning how to avoid pain that we learn wisdom.

Also, those who quote the phrase are often masking their own inability to avoid pain. In point of fact, they often become weak, without the strength or wisdom to get out of the way. They often seem to display a laziness, being unwilling to work to avoid pain.

On occasion, pain does make us stronger, but far too often, it leaves us scarred, bitter and permanently damaged. These are not strength. When hard times approach, the greatest strength and the greatest wisdom are shown when we do the right things to avoid and lessen the pain. In this way we show that we have learned the lessons of life, and have the strength to use them.

Changes

Well, I have not posted in a bit, because I had a bit of a problem, which was then compounded by another. The second problem has caused me to rethink a number of things, and face some changes.

I am diabetic.

I discovered this in the aftermath of a lesion that had to be lanced. They tested my blood sugar and it was 455. Now, that may not mean much to some of you, but those who know anything about diabetes will be rather alarmed. As I understand it, normal is somewhere below 100. That day, I was given insulin. Since them I am on medication, and for the last four days, my number has been below 200. Understand, that this is all very recent, and so I have less than a week of numbers to go by.

So, the first change has been Cokes. Yes, I was a coke-aholic. I used to drink 2 liter bottles in 8 hours. My daily intake was huge, and that has stopped completely. That has been a big change for me.

Second, no sweets. I love chocolate, and candy of many sorts, and that must go too. Now, I will admit that I have cheated a little bit on this one, a few candied nuts, a single skittle, and a dark chocolate pastille. If I can find dark chocolate that is not too bitter, then I may be able to give in to this temptation on occasion, but only in small doses.

It has been a depressing time, and it is not going to get better soon. Most of my comfort foods are now denied me. I used to eat, and drink, when depressed. Now I have to find something else.

Well, I thought I would have more to say, but I think it has petered out at this point.

The End of an Era

The last of the big three has left us.

I am sure that many will wax eloquent on the passing of Arthur Clarke. I will not join them in recounting his accomplishments and awards. They were many, and are easily found.

Arthur C. Clarke - Wikipedia
(don't downplay Wikipedia, it is a good source for quick information)

My thoughts are inspired more by the passing of the last of the big three than by the passing of Arthur Clarke. He lived longer than the other two.

I was born during the decade when Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and Arthur Clarke did much of their seminal writing, the 50s. Of course, I did not discover them in the 50s, when they wrote the works that made them giants in Science Fiction, nor even in the 60s, when they confirmed their reputations at the best in the genre.

It was not until Junior High that I really caught the reading bug (thank god my son is already infected at age 10), and it was science fiction that caught my mind.

I cut my teeth on Star Trek, and that was in the 60s. I caught as much of it as I could during its first run, but my parents would not let a 9 and then 10 year old stay up until 9:30 every Thursday to watch it. The third season it was switched to 10pm on Friday, and an 11 year old had an easier time talking them into that. Then it went into syndication, during those same Junior High years, and I raced home every afternoon to watch.

But, Star Trek was only one hour a day. In the other hours I turned to the books in the house, but I wanted books that had the same things as Star Trek. Fortunately, my older brother Roy read science fiction, so I started reading what he had finished, mostly Robert Heinlein. I never looked back. My next discovery was Arthur Clarke, Childhood's End, I think. Asimov was the last of the three, when I encountered the Foundation series. I read everything my brother had, and even bought a few of my own. Because there were so many books by these three to be found in libraries and bookstores in the 70s, I never really finished with them and moved on. I thought I was well read in science fiction until I got to college and took a class on science fiction and fantasy and my classmates knew authors I had never read, like Larry Niven, and Frederick Pohl. Of course, they had far less grounding in the giants than I had.

Science Fiction has been a life-long addiction of mine, since I found Star Trek more than 40 years ago. Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov, and Arthur Clarke have been a big part of that, and with the passing of Arthur Clarke, that era of Science Fiction is ended. Science Fiction is not dead, far from it, but it would not be where it is, and I would not be who I am, without the thoughts, musings, surmisings, and above all, entertaining writings of these three giants.

Not Looking Forward to Anything

I do not look forward to anything.

I find that I have to expand on that to understand it myself. I do not mean that I do not have anything to look forward to. I mean that I do not anticipate. I mean the little things. I do not look forward to going home at the end of the day.

Now, before my wife explodes, this is not about her, or our son, or anything in particular. I just don't look forward to it. It is just the next thing in my day.

I don't look forward to the weekend. I am relieved when it arrives. I don't like going to work, so I definitely don't look forward to that, but there is nothing wrong with work. There is nothing really wrong with anything. I just don't look forward to anything.

I know how I feel, but I wish I could explain it better.