Jeffrey A. Robinson's Blog: Untold Tales
August 23, 2019
Sub-genres
Science fiction, as a genre, is quite complex. There are many sub-genres. They include:
space opera
hard-sf
first contact
time travel
military SF
alternate histories
steampunk
apocalyptic
cyberpunk
humorous SF (e.g. Douglas Adams)
cautionary tales
SF horror
Adolescent SF
SF romance
cross-genre (magic and science, etc.)
Do any of you have favorites?
space opera
hard-sf
first contact
time travel
military SF
alternate histories
steampunk
apocalyptic
cyberpunk
humorous SF (e.g. Douglas Adams)
cautionary tales
SF horror
Adolescent SF
SF romance
cross-genre (magic and science, etc.)
Do any of you have favorites?
August 18, 2019
What is Good SF
Good science fiction is not about technology. Good science fiction is not really about science, at all.
When writers focus on these things, they often take good ideas and create tales that are shallow and superficial. The heart of good science fiction is basically a just good story; a love story, or a murder mystery, a who-done-it, a theft, a rescue, or an adventure.
The science should just be an enabler, a setting, the venue, or the excuse for the story. In good SF, the science and technology should just be window-dressing or a fanciful enabler to frame the tale in a unique setting or to amplify conflicts and personal interactions, growth and change, discovery and loss, empathy and pathos.
The focus of well-told (or well-written) tales should be on the characters not the tech; the action and plot, not the weapons or the spaceships; the conflicts, challenges, hopes and dreams of the people that are introduced, not time machines or futuristic weapons or gadgets (though they can add color and flavor to the stew).
I hope you enjoy these stories, as well as the non-fiction article about Science Fiction as a genre that I have provided at the end of this anthology. I offer these as examples of better than average science fiction that I personally I love to read… and write.
When writers focus on these things, they often take good ideas and create tales that are shallow and superficial. The heart of good science fiction is basically a just good story; a love story, or a murder mystery, a who-done-it, a theft, a rescue, or an adventure.
The science should just be an enabler, a setting, the venue, or the excuse for the story. In good SF, the science and technology should just be window-dressing or a fanciful enabler to frame the tale in a unique setting or to amplify conflicts and personal interactions, growth and change, discovery and loss, empathy and pathos.
The focus of well-told (or well-written) tales should be on the characters not the tech; the action and plot, not the weapons or the spaceships; the conflicts, challenges, hopes and dreams of the people that are introduced, not time machines or futuristic weapons or gadgets (though they can add color and flavor to the stew).
I hope you enjoy these stories, as well as the non-fiction article about Science Fiction as a genre that I have provided at the end of this anthology. I offer these as examples of better than average science fiction that I personally I love to read… and write.
Untold Tales
This blog is about science fiction in general and about the works of Jeffrey A. Robinson, in particular. But posts will also broach topics associated with science fact, writing and publishing.
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