Addendum of sorts
October 17, 2008
It’s been quiet here as of late, because I’ve been ridiculously busy and burned-out–that’s part of being a student.
On the subject of me being a student (what a segue), I’m also posting all my lit-related stuff on my official university weblog:
Family Values, by Sara Genge
August 10, 2008
This is probably one of the bravest science fiction pieces I’ve ever read.
It’s a cliché that scifi is about alien cultures. It’s also wrong. Science fiction is about our own culture, but tweaked enough that we are able to look at it objectively. The creatures of that society might look completely different (or they might not), but it all comes down to the same thing in the end: eerily recognisable societies and cultures, that are only really alien because they hail from a different planet.
The reason I think this story is brave, is because it takes a few steps away from the tried-and-tested mould of recognisable aliens. Family Values focuses on sentient underwater blobs, with reproductive processes that are very alien indeed.
Why is it brave? Well, the simple fact of the matter is that people, even science fiction geeks, aren’t interested in aliens. They’re interested in people. Well, that’s being very generous. People are interested in people in general and themselves in particular. Literature is usually most enjoyable for the reader when he or she can recognise a character who is similar to themselves, or when they are confronted with a situation that they have had to deal with in real life.
Unfortunately, this piece isn’t as brave as it could have been. Although it is vastly more alien than most science fiction in the creatures presented and the worldbuilding, the narrative itself is incredibly human. There’s bribable politicians, petty squabbling between women based on age and experience (therefore social merit), and there’s men and women using sex to manipulate each other, based on each gender’s unique weaknesses and strengths.
Still, I applaud the author for having the audacity to dare write about something that wasn’t entirely human. It makes it harder for the casual readers, but much more enjoyable for those looking for something more than semi-escapist fantasy.
Why I dislike the use of period-specific gimmicks, redux
June 28, 2008
I just finished H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau, and it’s helped me realise why I dislike the use of narrative elements bound to a specific time period.
Grounders, by Jonathan McGoran
June 27, 2008
Listen to it at Variant Frequencies.
I don’t know why, but I tend to dislike stories that play on ‘gimmicks’ or current events. I’m sure these will be fascinating to anthropologists in centuries to come. But if there’s something that doesn’t interest me right now, then chances are I’m not going to be interested by a story about it, either.
God Juice, by M.K. Hobson
June 27, 2008
This has to be one of the single most enjoyable science fiction stories I’ve read in a long time.
Today’s dreck, tomorrow’s classics
June 9, 2008
Today, I was discussing a number of canonical works of British literature that me and a friend are going to be tested on tomorrow. We discussed The Turn of the Screw, Tess of the D’Urbevilles, Great Expectations, Alice in Wonderland, Wuthering Heights, Lord Jim, Silas Marner, and Sherlock Holmes.
Alien Promises, by Janni Lee Simner
June 6, 2008
When Steve Eley announced on this week’s Escape Pod that the story was YA science fiction, I got excited. I’m a big fan of YA fiction, and not just because it wasn’t that long ago when I was in the target demographic for that particular genre. I believe that children’s fiction and YA fiction contains some of the strongest messages you’ll find in literature. These genres aren’t afraid to tackle the most universal and difficult themes. Lewis Carroll’s Alice books are mostly about the question, ‘Who am I?’ Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is about the question, ‘What is right? What is wrong? What should I believe?’
Charles Chesnutt’s The Conjure Woman
June 4, 2008
Real literature! Yes, I do more than listen to speculative fiction podcasts.
Magic in a Certain Slant of Light, by Deborah Coates
June 3, 2008
I’m all about not judging a book or story by its genre. I believe that just about any genre is capable of producing gems of storytelling, as well as unmitigated dreck. When it comes to genre, I like to think of myself as an equal rights activist.
Psychopaths done properly
June 2, 2008
I generally don’t buy that many horror novels. Sometimes I’ll pick something up, if it’s a name I recognise, or a title I know is a classic. The only writer who many connect with horror that I actively follow is Stephen King. (I’m one of the few people who actually prefers his newer stuff to the stuff he wrote pre-accident.)
Stuff to read 