Posts Tagged ‘Space’

27
Feb

Is Science Fiction a Failing Genre?

   Posted by: Dave    in Science, Writing

Is Science Fiction a Failing Genre?

Here is a test: walk into a real world bookstore, preferably a major chain like Waterstones, and stand by the door.  Look around carefully (hopefully avoiding being approached by the store detectives) and try to find the Science Fiction section without moving.

I will give you even odds that you cannot find it and I am not normally a betting man.

Of course, if you go into a specialty bookstore the case is different, but in a mainstream bookstore with active management of stock you are very unlikely to see a row of books marked Science Fiction (SF).  Why should this be so?  Have all science fiction writers suddenly acquired writers block, retired, died, or merely rebranded?

Rebranding of Science Fiction

Oh dear.  It seems that I might have hit on something.

Standing by that same doorway you may well be able to see “The Time Travellers Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger, or “Next” by Michael Crichton or maybe even “Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood.  All of these books have solid SF themes but avoid the label or any of the usual symbols associated with the genre.  Even a modern hero of British SF, Iain Bank’s, steadfastly refuses to be classed as a science fiction writer.

The problem with SF appears to be that in large part it is about future technology and mostly that future is already here.

The Victory of Science Fact

Want to write about super computers, nanotechnology, gene alteration, atomic energy or space exploration?  Many of these technologies are now well-developed and the research currently happening in those fields easily surpasses the wild imaginings of SF writers of earlier decades.  If you doubt this, go read Scientific American or any other significant technology-based magazine.

The only one of those fields that present or near future technology does not appear to have fully developed is space exploration.  The fact still remains that man has not been past the moon and space programs are currently suffering large cutbacks.  There is scope to write about something fantastic, but will an audience educated in Einsteinian physics buy it?  Probably not.

Instead we see age old SF themes, such as time travel, being weaved into a romance plot and entering the best seller lists as “chick-lit”.  Michael Crichton’s “Next”, despite its heavy use of genetic technology, is often billed as a “techno-thriller”.  And finally, Margaret Atwood was once offended that “Oryx and Crake” was referred to as a science fiction novel, although she later amended this statement.  If professional writers of this stature seek to avoid the SF label, then maybe science fiction really is a failing genre, at least for the moment.

So, for the time being, science fiction writers will have to remain unseen and undercover.  Slowly, silently, plotting, making their plans against us…

Regards,

Dave Felton – wannabe science fiction writer and endangered species member.

The Time Traveler's WifeThe Time Traveler's Wife
NextNext
Oryx and CrakeOryx and Crake

Z7BB38QXXFY6

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments
19
Feb

On a Rocket to the Stars!

   Posted by: Dave    in Science, Space, Writing

Something that I personally find difficult when writing science fiction stories is where to set the technological level.

Most of the time, I tend to bypass the technology in SF in large measure.  I guess that my personal slant on SF isn’t so much the gadgets, but rather where we are going as a species.  For me the plot, or at least the effects of the technology on the characters is more important than the actual science.

These attitudes clearly place me in the “soft” SF category, but I want to resist this label vigorously.  Sometimes I do really feel the lack of a background in hard science.  Call it research if you like, or call it “loafing around on the internet” but I do try and improve my knowledge of science every day with the hope that it will deepen my fiction.

My current novel is about early space exploration and space tourism and the attitudes of people to the ever increasing space program.  As research for this I have been looking at semi-realistic methods of getting the mass into space, as this is probably our current number one restriction on space development.

While researching future possible methods of propulsion I came across this video and thought it was worth sharing.

Woohoo!  Methane rocket to the stars!

Methane is at least a realistic fuel for space travel as it is so common in space, but there are other contenders. 

Maybe I should just call the engines “Felton-drive” or something? :-)

Dave Felton

Tags: , , , ,

No Comments
6
Feb

Panspermia – space exploration for the very small?

   Posted by: Dave    in Science, Space, Writing

Panspermia, or the idea that life could be spread between planets throughout the galaxy by travelling through space, has been generally discounted in the serious scientific community for a long time.  The reason for this is this is that it has been generally believed that no organism could survive the harsh environment of space.

Recent experiments by the European Space Agency might have recently forced a rethink on this belief however.

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM72XRJR4G_index_0.html

Not only can some lichens survive long exposures to the vacuum of space, but also some simple animals and plants can too.  The key appears to be that the organism must have a low water content.  In addition to these findings experiments are currently underway to look at the survivability of micro-organisms in space like environments, although the experiments are currently being conducted on Earth.

Now don’t let these findings disturb you too much and make you start reaching for your copy of “Day of the Triffids” or “War of the Worlds”.  The current problem preventing general acceptance of the Panspermia theory is the extreme heat generated by the friction of re-entry through atmosphere.  No organism has yet been found that can survive that – although experiments to investigate this are due next year.

There just has to be some good SF stories in this…

Tags: ,

4 Comments
Back to top
Page 1 of 212