The Science Fiction Novel

Over the past year or two, in the midst of my normal reading posts and general discussion, I've also gone through my Goodreads' library and taken a look at the mystery genre and some of its sub-genres. I finished of in December with the American mystery novel - legal dramas. It wasn't a complete listing but it included authors I've been reading and interested in.

Jack Kirby's New Gods (Sci-Fi?)

So what I thought I might do next is take a look at the science fiction novel. When I was in high school, my go - to genre of story was science fiction / fantasy, both in books and in comic book forms. I read so many science fiction and fantasy and sword and sorcery type adventures; Edgar Rice Burroughs's John Carter of Mars, Robert E. Howard's Conan books, etc. In university, I took a science fiction novel course and was introduced to so many new authors; Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert (Dune), John Brunner, Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, Robert Heinlein, etc.

I kind of got away from science fiction in later years and switched to the mystery genre, as evidenced by my present series of posts about the genre. But I've always hearkened back to science fiction and in more recent years, I've found myself exploring the genre anew. I've since discovered a number of new authors who explore other aspects of the genre, but I've also gone back to some of the classics and authors from the 50's and 60's.

My problem with exploring the genre is how to limit it. Let's start with a definition in Wikipedia to see how they consider it.

"Science fiction (sometimes called sci-fi or simply SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It has been called the "literature of ideas", and often explores the potential consequences of scientific, social, and technological innovations."

It goes on to say that sci-fi is often related to horror, fantasy and super-hero fiction and has many sub-genres. I think that means it's kind of wide open. Some of the sub-genres listed include - apocalyptic / post - apocalyptic fiction, climate fiction, cyberpunk, feminist science fiction, military science fiction, steampunk, dystopian fiction, space opera, etc. I repeat... kind of wide open.

Isaac Asimov, one of the pioneers of the genre, describes sci-fi as "'Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology'.". Robert Heinlein, one of the great story tellers in the genre says, "A handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method." Lester del Rey wrote, "Even the devoted aficionado or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and the lack of a "full satisfactory definition" is because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction."

Not much help is it. So how am I going to present my entries dealing with the science fiction novel. I don't think I will limit myself to space novels, as I will probably cover fantasy as well, as a sort of parallel genre. I think what I will do is go through my Goodreads' booklists and work from the earliest authors to the most current. I will try to define where the stories might fit, but what I'll probably end up doing is just listing my favorite sci-fi authors and let you know the books I've enjoyed and what else these authors might have written. I'll let you judge if you think they are sci-fi or not. Let me know what you think.

So in my next entry on this topic, I'll take a look at a couple of authors who may have helped start out the sci - fi genre or at least the fantasy / adventurer type novel. I may find that this is broader than I planned, but hey ho!

One thing I find interesting as I write this is that when early science fiction was written, it seems that often the future that was being explored was in the 2000's or later. And here we are. 

Happy 2020!