Science fiction

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*Kurt Vonnegut, ''Slaughterhouse 5'', ''The Sirens of Titan'' etc.
 
*Kurt Vonnegut, ''Slaughterhouse 5'', ''The Sirens of Titan'' etc.
 
*Roger Zelazny the ''Amber'' series etc.
 
*Roger Zelazny the ''Amber'' series etc.
==See also==
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[[Creationism]]
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==References, pissy comments, and such==
 
==References, pissy comments, and such==

Revision as of 23:36, 4 November 2007

Science fiction, also referred to as Speculative fiction, is a genre of fiction which takes place in a futuristic setting, or wherein the plot-driving idea is somehow related to science, or an extrapolation thereof. It got its start in pulp magazines in the early 20th century, despite a few 19th century precursors (H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, for example).

Science fiction is typically divided in three sub-genres: hard science fiction, soft science fiction, and social science fiction. It is also often distinguished by setting, such as alternate reality, cyberpunk, military science fiction, etc.

"Hard science fiction" in particular has acquired a reputation for being "hard to read", which is not necessarily true. It explores ideas generated from actual real science, theoretical or not, and how people might deal with such situations. The "big three" of science fiction - Heinlein, Asimov, and Clarke - tried to write stories that did not do more than project or extrapolate real science, usually into a hypothetical future.

Much of science fiction has a social message. George Orwell's 1984 was primarily intended as a satire, but was dressed up as science fiction. Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 played with information control techniques as had been tried with varying degrees of success in totalitarian regimes. And then there's Philip K. Dick who experimented with every kind of society in his fiction. Modern near-future science fiction (William Gibson e.g.) often depicts corporations ruling the world, whether overtly or covertly, whereas far-future science fiction is often virtually anarchistic, using the assumption of ultra cheap power and total information availability (Iain M. Banks e.g.) as justification.

Utopian and dystopian societies are frequent subjects of science fiction.

Contents

Sci Fi & Fantasy

In the popular perspective, "Sci Fi" is blended with, and even assumed to be part of, the "Fantasy" genre.

Movies and Television

Many science fiction movies and television programmes fall within the sub-genre called Space Opera: these often draw on archetypical literary themes such as an epic fight between good and evil. A defining characteristic of the genre is exotic and large-scale settings and a focus on story over setting.

A very few hard science fiction films have been made, which are scientifically honest, and explore the possibilities that might occur in our real universe. Here is a short list of them:

  • Metropolis
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Gattaca
  • Cube 2:Hypercube

The TV show Firefly and the movie Serenity, while not being true to science, are among the best Sci-Fi ever.

The list of sucky, crappy science fiction films would reach into the thousands. Even the "Sci Fi" cable channel sucks (mostly because of the supernatural-promoting Ghost Hunters[1]). The best parts of the channel are the reruns of The Twilight Zone, reruns of The X-Files, and the original shows Eureka and Mind Control. Whether their made-for-TV B-movies are awesomely bad or just bad is up for debate.

Authors

This is a short list of SF authors enjoyed by various RationalWikians:

  • Brian W Aldis - a British veteran
  • Poul Anderson
  • Neal Asher
  • Isaac Asimov, I Robot et al.
  • Iain M. Banks
  • Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451
  • David Brin, The Postman, et al.
  • Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 et al.
  • Hugh Cook - One of the few fantasy series worth reading
  • Samuel Delaney - subversive
  • Phillip K Dick - genius?
  • Stephen Donaldson - Gap series
  • Harlan Elison - although he hates the term "science fiction."
  • William Gibson, Neuromancer, Virtual Light, et al.
  • Robert Heinlein
  • Frank Herbert, Dune et al.
  • Cyril M. Kornbluth
  • Walther M. Miller, A Canticle for Leibowitz
  • Richard Morgan
  • Larry Niven - anything
  • Frederick Pohl
  • Gerry Pournelle
  • Terry Pratchett
  • Alastair Reynolds
  • Eric Frank Russell - with a sense of humour
  • Clifford Simac
  • Dan Simmons, the Hyperion Cantos
  • Cordwainer Smith - weird universe
  • Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Cryptonomicron
  • A E. Van Vogt
  • Jack Vance - Amusing
  • Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse 5, The Sirens of Titan etc.
  • Roger Zelazny the Amber series etc.


References, pissy comments, and such

  1. I once wasted an hour of my life on this show. Unlike Arthur C. Clarke's "ghosty" videos, which promise woo but debunk, this stupid show promises debunking, but only offers crappy woo
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