Do you love science fiction?
I do. From the funny, to the serious, to the almost fantasy, science fiction comes in a variety of forms, and I love them all. (Well, almost all. I don’t like anything ultra-grim or voyeuristic – but that’s a taste preference that applies equally to fantasy.)
But while science fiction like Star Wars & Star Trek seem to do hugely well in the box office, and on television, sometimes it seems books don’t get the same love.
That’s a shame. Some of the world’s great breakthroughs were first created in the imagination of a science fiction writer. The creativity, imagination – and sometimes even actual science – that goes into sci-fi is amazing. But it’s not only a fun genre, or one for science nerds, sci-fi is like fantasy in that it gets us to look at the world in new ways. Ways unmuddied by that political tribes. And with emotional impacts that are not always easily translated onscreen.
Iain M. Banks took us to a universe of many cultures, showing sensibilities tied to the high-tech available. Joe Haldeman’s Forever War series comes from the trauma of his military service in Vietnam. It’s memorable because of that and the clever way he used Einstein’s scientific theory of relativity to show a dislocation in time. So the soldiers can never really return home, because home has forever changed. Anyway, that’s just the broad brushstrokes. Read the book, it’s great. 🙂
Science fiction is a wide field and there are so many great authors, I’m sure I’ve missed some amazing ones. Feel free to comment with your favourites below, and I’ll add them.
Miss Lionheart
Did you notice I sneaked Miss Lionheart into all those great science fiction books? Of course you did. And maybe Miss Lionheart isn’t great science fiction, but it is great fun – so if you want to find out more, please check out my post or the original up at https://misslillylionheart.wordpress.com/miss-lionheart-laboratory-death-preview/
Star Trek
What did you think of the last movie in the series? My thoughts, and that of some of my family are here! Do you agree? Drop in and say hello at the end of the post, and tell me what you think?