On Wed, 16 Apr 2008, Daniel <Krousedp@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>In general, science fiction comes in two broad categories - hard Sci-
>fi and soft sci fi. Hard Sci-fi is that which is as consistent with
>known science as possible - [...]
>But are these definitions too rigid? [...]
>I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
This is a perennial question on the :rasf groups, and occasionally
someone voices a new insight.
Here's my take, Part One: there are real and significant differences
between stories in the speculative fiction realm but the labels
"science fiction" and "fantasy" don't describe them very well, because
they exist for marketing purposes. Intermediate and qualified terms
like "hard SF," "scifi," and "science fantasy" don't work much better.
And Part Two: the differences lie not *what* the story contains
(rayguns, telepathy, dragons, talking weapons, exotic locales), but in
*how* they're used and *why* the author included them.
Some ways this may manifest:
1. Is the author exploring how a particular development (usually
technological, but maybe in a "soft" science) alters current society?
Cloning, automated medicine, contact with aliens, the discovery that
ghosts are real and measurable, replacing wives with robots, our
imminent demise beneath an asteroid, etc.
2. Is it *somebody else's* society that operates very differently from
our own, because of some specific development, and these differences
are entertaining? The people reside in microgravity, have three
sexes, telepathically bond with flying reptiles, are robots wondering
if they evolved from organics, etc.
3. It's an "engineering challenge," which is like a mystery in that
the reader can figure out the solution, given evidence provided by the
author and a knowledge of the applicable sci/tech subject. "I'm
experiencing extreme tidal forces; I'd better crouch at the center of
the ship."
4. A "sensawunda" story, which can include anything real (travelogue),
imaginary, or hypothetical, simply for the jaw-dropping majesty of it
all; "science fiction sensawunda" would focus on the clouds of Saturn,
sky-filling armadas, or telecom systems built of delicately balanced
micro black holes.
5. It's an adventure story, in which swapping-out the props
(swords/six-shooters/phasers, orcs/redskins/Klingons, magic
country/wild west/alien planet) has no effect whatsoever on the plot
or the nature of the characters.
Now, since nothing longer than a one-idea short story is monolithic,
there may be a mix of components and styles. If it contains too much
of a style you don't care for, you're likely to discard the whole
thing as a bad investment of time.
In both SF (hard or otherwise) and fantasy, there's an element of
worldbuilding -- the author transports the reader to a
new/different/unfamiliar place, and has to *invent* that place. A
foreign country or a historical era may be unfamiliar, but it's not
invented. Conversely, the tropes of Extruded Fantasy Product are so
familiar that no invention is required.
--
** Phillip Thorne ** pethorne@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
**************
* RPI CompSci 1998 *
** underbase.livejournal.com ***************************
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