“Suvudu - Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, and Games”
That’s what it says at the top of this site; it’s in the title. Notice that, front and center is Science Fiction. So where is it? Or, more importantly, what is it?
I’m asking as a Science Fiction fan, but even that needs a clarification (as would nearly any sweeping genre statement of fanhood). I love idea fiction, so I gravitate heavily to a subset of the genre called Speculative Science Fiction. That is to say, I like to consider worlds close to ours, but that have veered off in some important technological way. Or where advancements in technology have altered our sense of self, community, or even the nature of our existence. I enjoy it when fiction asks questions. So that’s me. Of course, I read (and enjoy) books from all over the genre galaxy, so I’m not coming at this as some kind of a snob, please understand. In fact, the whole reason for writing the little article I’m about to write is to ask you for your opinion: Just what the hell is science fiction and where does it start and end?
Let’s pause right here for a second, okay? I don’t have answers, only questions and try as I might to form this into a post with a definitive ending, I can’t do it. Or, I can’t do it honestly. So if open ended posts that are long on questions and short on answers bother you, then you’d be best served to stop reading now. Check out the free library or some of the other great posts here. Just letting you know…
Over the past weekend, I spent one rainy Sunday completely blissed out listening to the audio recording of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. It was a great way to spend a day, but one line in the author’s post script set me thinking. It was when Orson related this (or something very close) when talking about artwork and the differences between fantasy books and science fiction books: “Fantasy has trees, Science Fiction has rivets.”
Yes. But, not quite.
I ended up thinking long and hard about that line: Fantasy has trees, Science Fiction has rivets. And the problem I had was that, the more I thought about it, the more I could think of examples where that would hold true only if you allowed for a cross genre called Science Fantasy. Or does it?
Aargh - my brain is hurting already.
Let's set the table with a few definitions. Not fun, I know, but perhaps it'll help orient us a bit.
Science Fiction - noun A literary or cinematic genre in which fantasy, typically based on speculative scientific discoveries or developments, environmental changes, space travel, or life on other planets, forms part of the plot or background. (source)
Fantasy - noun A general term for any kind of fictional work that is not primarily devoted to realistic representation of the known world. The category includes several literary genres (e.g. dream vision, fable, fairy tale, romance, science fiction) describing imagined worlds in which magical powers and other impossibilities are accepted. (source)
Science Fantasy - noun Science fiction that includes technologies or abilities that are not generally considered to be scientifically possible. (source)
I don't like that definition of Science Fantasy. Were I to write it, I'd define it as Science Fiction with magic. But I understand the reasons, I guess. If we keep the above definition, I would add that Science Fantasy should be amended to read "(...) scientifically possible based on accepted scientific knowledge at the time of publication."
Any-freaking-way, what I'm saying is that sometimes Fantasy has rivets too and it can look an awful lot like straight science fiction. And at that point, is it or isn't it also Sci-Fi?
Let's consider Superhero/Supervillian stories. Bitten by radioactive bugs, smacked in the head with a comet, or the result of government experimentation, superheroes and supervillians always have a back story that is supposed to ground them in the real world. It never works, but we accept them and move on because the story is fun. Let's be real here, though, you go swimming in radioactive sludge, you're more likely to look like the melting thug from Robocop than some supped-up meta-human. Getting hit with (or standing too near to) something falling from outer space? Well, you'll be an interesting aside in some text book somewhere, but your far more likely to be recovering in a hospital ward than you are to be leaping over buildings.
The transfer or creation of super powers is magic. These are people who are imbibed with magic (though there are a few notable exceptions-I'm thinking of Iron Man and Batman-who rely on technology to get them by). Even Superman, whom you could argue is a Space Alien manages to fly in open defiance of physics. Abra cadabra!
Or how about Star Wars? Now hold on - legions upon legions of fans love this franchise. I like it too, so please, let's not get our defenses up thinking I'm going to say something evil. Star Wars, for all it's intergalactic travel, interesting technology, and biodiverse galaxies, still has this one linchpin Fantasy element: The Force.
Spare me your talk of mitoclorians as a scientific grounding. The Force is magic, space magic. Is it fun to think about and cool to watch characters use it? Abso-freaking-lutely! Am I saying it makes Star Wars less fun? Not at all. I'm just saying that it's too big a fantasy element to consider this a purely Science Fiction franchise. It is, however, compelling and entertaining science fantasy.
So you see, sometimes fantasy comes bolted down with rivets too. So where does one begin and one end? And what about Fantasy novels where the science of their time plays an important roll in the storyline? Can books evolve? That is, if the impossible becomes possible, then does Fantasy become Science Fiction? Or are they all so inter-related that these distinctions are really only useful for inventory purposes, and we're all really just wandering through bolted-together forests?
As a reader, I have an interest in seeing plausible science affect the story, but beyond that it's all about character and drama. So you tell me, where's the science fiction?
According to John Scalzi:
"here’s how you know the difference. You walk up to the main character of the story in question and say: “Hey! Main character! That deus ex machina doodad you have on your belt, does it have, like, a battery?”
If he says “Why, yes, there’s a tiny nuclear fuel cell in there that will power this baby for 10,000 planetary revolutions,” well, then, you’ve got some science fiction there. If he says, “Of course not, it was forged in the eternal flames of Mount [insert typewriter spasm here] by the dwarves who serve the elder and/or fallen god [insert second typewriter spasm here], and holds captive his immortal soul” or some such, well, that’s fantasy. Everything else is pretty much elaboration and variation on the point."
According to Orson Scott Card:
"Science Fiction is about what happens to society when something changes.
Fantasy is about the price of power."
Me? If I feel an attack of Definethegenreitis coming on, I just kick back and read some Sherri S. Tepper and I find it goes away quickly.
All things equal, Eris, I think I like your line of thinking best. Well said. Also, thanks for the author rec, never read Tepper before, but now I want to check out her work.