Great Minds Think Alike (but not)

I blogged about Galaxy Quest recently, and now I get an update from Sci Fi Dimensions touting their most recent post, which discusses Galaxy Quest. Great minds think alike, right? Maybe, maybe not. You'll have to hop over there to read their discussion about this film, which won a Hugo Award in 2000. For those of you who are not science fiction fans, the Hugo is the big one. It's the Oscar of science fiction. Famous episodes of television shows have won best dramatic presentation, such as the marvelous "City on the Edge of Forever" from the original series of Star Trek. Other films which won include such icons as Star Wars and Alien. My favorite science fiction author, Lois McMaster Bujold, has won best novel four times and won best novella for her superb "The Mountains of Mourning."

Will the new Trek win the Hugo this year? People are talking about it; that's for sure.

Star Trek Update

Over at the Sci Fi Dimensions ezine, which is now a blog, I read some of the recent reviews. While watching the reboot of Star Trek, I kept noticing that the writers borrowed some concepts, and Bill Ritch has pointed those out in this post. Hop on over and enjoy his "Name that Movie" entry.

A Brief History of SF

One of my main interests, in reading and on screen, is the various sub-genres of Science Fiction. However, it is important to know the past, so my "very brief" history of science fiction is now a short video.

Enjoy!

Star Wars at 30

Yep, on May 25th, the movie that finally made it cool to love science fiction was released. At that time there was little fanfare, because no one in the industry had a clue what was about to happen. I didn’t see it until a few weeks after the release, in the middle of summer, having read an article about this movie which was sweeping the nation. Fortunately for me, I was dating a guy who was a rabid fantasy fan, and he liked science fiction well enough. We saw it in Athens, Georgia, our most frequent date spot, and rode home in his mom’s metallic green Buick Skylark. What a seventies ride!

The movie itself is very much a product of the seventies, despite the “timeless” labels that fans foist upon it. However, for a generation whose parents laughed at the ridiculous stories set in outer space and who had fought for a chance to see Star Trek on Friday night, the lovingly produced Star Wars was an affirmation that these stories could appeal to a mass audience. Lucas and his crew believed they were filming something which would at best be a cult classic, but instead they made a movie which would change the film industry.

I’ve been doing a bit of research for my panel at SFSC, and in so doing, I contrasted the list of all-time box office champs based on actual dollars earned with a list adjusted for inflation. Either way, Star Wars ends up in second place. However, the “actual income” list is dominated by special effects science fiction blockbusters, even when they aren’t called sci-fi. Indeed, the so called prequels, Episodes I and III are also on this list, along with ET and the first two Spiderman movies. Modern movie fans love the films that Star Wars spawned, and that is clear when you look at what is popular now, verses what films made a big splash prior to it.

There were comparatively few special effects in the original Star Wars, due to budget constraints, but it was clearly a space opera, and the movie lovingly embraced the themes and plot devices of bygone eras. Margaret Mead dismissed it as, “just another western” and it may have been, but it was a western dressed up with space ships, blasters, and comic androids, along with the most menacing villain that anyone had seen in quite a while. The opening sequence dispelled any notion that Star Wars was like science fiction films of the past.

Thirty years have gone by, and some people don’t understand why this film was so important. But a look back at the cheesy science fiction like “Lost in Space” or a look ahead at the current box office champ list yields an answer for even the sternest critic. Star Wars made science fiction a genre for everyman, and that’s only one reason that I love it.

Will Write for Food— Not!

I’ve had some interesting comments regarding my new novel, and fortunately, those who have read it seemed to really enjoy the story. One person commented on the ethics and convictions of the characters. Another mentioned the commitment to motherhood.

However, I’ve been a bit disappointed by the number of people who have said they won’t even look at it because they “don’t care for science-fiction.” Marketing people have this comment for such a situation, “There’s no market for it.” Going with that idea, either I switch genres or find something else to do. At this point, I’m tempted to find something else to do.

A “hack writer” is someone who writes for hire, which is the opposite of an artist. Yes, I’d like to get paid for my work, but if there is no market for that writing, and I simply try to write what is salable to the masses, without any creative spark from me, then I will descend into being a hack, sorta like standing on the side of the road with a “will write for food” sign.

Ironically, only about seven percent of books sold are science-fiction, yet five of the top ten movies of all time are science-fiction (Star Wars, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, SpiderMan 2, Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, and Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace.) I’m not quite sure why this dichotomy exists. Perhaps science fiction is best in a more visual medium. But there is also this troubling statistic: an estimated 44 million Americans are not literate enough to read a book intended for an adult audience. Maybe I should try movie scripts.

Holiday Sci-Fi?

What should a fan of science fiction have on her (or his) Christmas list?

I’d include one or two of Linnea Sinclair’s books, which are being re- released by Bantam Spectra. In a post back in July, I commented on a review I read for one of her books, Finder’s Keepers. My favorite is An Accidental Goddess, which is due out in December. The main character, Gillie, wakes up 350 or so years in her future and finds that she’s been deified while she was out of action. The resulting sci fi romance is quite a good read.

Catherine Asaro has a new book coming in December as well, and she’s seldom written anything I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. This new addition to the Skolian Empire series is entitled The Final Key.

David Weber has a new book on the shelves. I’m behind on Honor Harrington’s adventures, having purchased The Shadow of Saganami, but not having read it as yet. I did note that At All Costs was published in November. Fans of military fiction and space operas usually like Weber’s sagas which are set in Honor’s universe. His publisher, Baen Books has announced an enlarged version of my favorite of his books, Path of the Fury. I’ve never gotten enough of Alicia DeVries, so I’ll no doubt pick up a copy of In Fury Born, but I’ve been hoping prequel or a sequel for many years.

Star Wars fans can pick up the newly released Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, or indulge in the DVD version of the original trilogy. I find it interesting that the whole saga, all six episodes, is now available on DVD. I can watch the original trilogy over and over, but I don’t find Episodes I or II worthy of repeated viewings.

If you have any younger Star Wars fans, the impossible to find toy this season is Hasbro’s “Build Your Own Lightsaber” kit. I’m still trying to get one for my 12 year old son. Wish me luck!

Space Operas and Speculative Romance— comments on the changing face of Science Fiction

I went to see Star Wars Episode III with my children recently, and while viewing all those special effects, my mind roamed beyond the screen to my own perceptions of science fiction. Few of the current works which bear that label are truly science fiction, of course. In the romance section of any modern bookstore, a few “futuristics” are mixed in with historical and contemporary pieces. Susan Grant and C. J. Barry write in that sub-genre, and I’ve certainly enjoyed their novels. David Weber and John Ringo, both Baen Books authors, write space operas and do it quite well. Star Wars was and still is quintesential space opera, of course, and as one of those kids who grew up watching Star Trek on television, I continue to find such not-so-scientific stories enthralling.

Serious science fiction, which I also read from time to time, tends to fall into two categories, “hard” scifi, which does take real scientific principles and postulates how such technologies might be used or abused in future societies. Arthur C. Clarke’s works fall into this category. When a serious writer speculates more about the human side, then the work is labeled “soft” scifi. Ursula K. LeGuin’s works are among the best examples of this sub-genre. These works tend to be far more serious than the stories which are the basis for television and film science fiction presentations.

Anytime characters speed through space via warp drive or hyperspace, the work has moved away from serious science fiction and into the realm of space opera. Other common plotlines include time travel or alien invasions. In the sixties and seventies, extra sensory perception was often a key element of speculative works, but now readers are more likely to encounter vampires or shape shifters. For some reason, blood sucking is really in vogue!

My latest novel, Trinity on Tylos, has its roots in space opera, with gigantic ships which move characters through the galaxy at a rapid pace, but in large part it also explores surrogate parenthood, a topic which is of growing interest to our society. Indeed, this story borders on being soft scifi, for the main character is torn between her human lover and her role as mother of an alien society. Regardless of how my publisher chooses to label this story, I hope that readers will become engrossed in the conflicts which Venice Dylenski encounters, without worrying overmuch about what makes the ships work.