Science Fiction History Theatre

Welcome to Science Fiction Sunday*, friends and dear readers. Today, I plan to start a new segment: Science Fiction History Theatre. During these segments I will be giving brief highlights from the history of science fiction instead of a review.

Before I begin, I think we should also make a quick distinction: science fiction is an entirely modern concept. Before the industrial revolution, and the advent of modern technology, there was no science fiction. The genre was a product of our burgeoning relationship with technology. That’s not to say there aren’t elements of science fiction as early as the 2nd century—they would have just been considered fantastical at the time.

Image Courtesy: Digital Humanities Research Studio, University of Alberta

Science fiction as we know it is commonly thought to have originated with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). Shelley’s novel was written with scientific detail in mind—according to scientific thought in 1818, it was entirely plausible to reanimate human flesh with electricity. Now we understand that to be false. In addition to plausible scientific detail, Shelley also created a plausible scientist almost 20 years before the term was actually coined in 1834.

Alongside Mary Shelley, Jules Verne was another early writer who contributed to the foundation of science fiction. Verne’s novels were characterized by engineering marvels unlike any seen at the time: giant flying balloons, massive ships, and fantastical submarines. Perhaps his most famous novel, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea features a voyage along the bottom of the ocean in a working submarine. Verne was dedicated to more than engineering marvels, however—he was also keen on writing about the future. His novel Paris in the Twentieth Century depicts Paris in 1960, or 97 years in Verne’s future.

Image Courtesy: Business Insider

Shelley and Verne were joined by other writers who contributed to the foundation of science fiction as well. HG Wells (War of the Worlds, The Time Machine) and Robert Louis Stevenson (The Invisible Man) wrote numerous works of early science fiction. Together, these writers propelled science fiction towards the future where it would explode into the genre we know and love today.

For the next Science Fiction History Theatre, we’ll find ourselves deeper in science fiction’s future. Check back two weeks from now to hear about science fiction’s explosion in the pulps.

If you have any interesting tidbits from science fiction’s early years, comment below! Thanks for reading.

Stay strange, friends,

Dylan

*(By Sunday, I mean Tuesday this week! Sorry for the delay friends. Look for more posts later this week.)

Technical Difficulties

Hello, happy readers!

I hope you find yourselves well on this lovely Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, I will be unable to adhere to our regularly scheduled post. Please check back Monday afternoon for a new Science Fiction Sunday post.

My apologies!

Stay strange, see you Monday,

Dylan

Louisa May Alcott-Little Women

I have so far looked at romantic love and sacrificial love, but there is a type of love that stems from the beginning of our very lives: family love. Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women highlights this family love.

Little Women tells the story of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. These four sisters go through life facing adventures and hardships. Life isn’t always easy, but even death cannot keep these girls from counting their blessings and the eternal love they will have for each other.

Now, just because they love each other doesn’t mean they always like each other. Jo doesn’t want to take her little sister to the theater with her, so Amy burns her manuscript. Little fights happen between little women. But when Jo and Amy go ice-skating, Amy falls through the ice, and despite Jo’s anger and hesitation, she does not let her sister drown.

The standard sister situation. As one of four girls, I can relate to the realities of family love very well. Do we fight? Of course! Bridget, I told you that you couldn’t use my shoes. Kelly, give me my teddy bear back. Maeve, turn that back on; I was watching it! I have been literally kicked out of the car and left in the rain. I have been teased and yelled at. I do not always like them.

But, I have also been called on for advice. I have been asked to be a Confirmation sponsor. I have met guys at the door to make sure they were acceptable for my little sisters. I have arrived home late and been covered for. In the middle of the night. I have woken up all three of them to talk and laugh in whispers about our lives. We hug and every time before I leave again for college, I tell each of my sisters that I love them. Because I do.

Family love is a special type of love, and Alcott does an excellent job of portraying it in her novel. The weaving together of the lives of four sisters and their antics keeps readers laughing, crying, and turning page after page. This is a classic that will always have a place on my shelf and a special place in my heart.

With all my love,

Moira

Gone With the Wind | Margaret Mitchell

I didn’t ever think that I would read a book like this.  Not because of the subject or because everyone tells me to read it (which always brings out a negativist attitude), but because it’s a brick.  This book is seriously huge.  I received it as a gift and instantly questioned how well this person actually knew me and my reading habits.  After some pestering from my sister, who frequently reads massive books like War and Peace, I finally picked it up and instantly regretted resisting for months.  This book is seriously awesome and has a kind of feminist edge that is really refreshing to see in a historical book.

Antebellum south is a charming place to be.  Everyone is depicted as happy-go-lucky and in search of a husband.  We get to peek into the barbecues and balls of the southern elite and swoon over the charms of the gentlemen.  War is not a main concern of the young Scarlett O’Hara as she lusts after her attractive neighbor Ashley.  This doesn’t last too long as the war starts, progresses into her territory, and destroys her beloved plantation.  The trials and tribulations after only showcase more her drastic change into the strong feminine character we grow to love/hate.

Scarlett was not a pretty girl, but she could capture any mans attention and frequently turns down multiple marriage proposals.  She starts out as a young belle of 16 and as she ages and deals with the aftermath of the war, she turns into a mature, powerful woman, whom I would definitely be intimidated by.  She takes control of her life in a very difficult time period and does what she can to survive and eventually thrive once more.  She is an incredible person, and while the reader may not be in love with all of her actions or choices they definitely can get on board with her business savvy and entrepreneurial skill in post-antebellum south.

The historical accuracy is kind of questionable.  There are pretty accurate descriptions of what it would be like to live pre- civil war and post- civil war, but some phrases used by the characters are definitely not too accurate.  I don’t know how often you would ever read that a southerner during the civil war would use the word “sissy” or the phrase “like a bat out of hell”**.  Rhett also has some dialogue that comes with insight into the war that would not have been on the average southerners mind at the time.  These 21st century additions are not really terrible to read, but can be kind of annoying if you were expecting something true to the civil war.  I was not however, as this book is penned as more of a love story (which I don’t like to read it as), but overall I have and would recommend this to friends to put the time and effort into reading.

Until Next Time,

Emily

** I recently just discovered that Margaret Mitchell did in fact respond to these claims of anachronism  in a separate book called Gone With the Wind Letters, 1936-1949.  On page 26 She explains that she found support for her use of the word sissy in a letter from a boy to his father in 1861 on why he did not what to join the local outfit in the war.  She also supports her use of the word Gotterdammerung on pg. 25 and of the use of iodine as an antiseptic on pg. 95.  So she did in fact heavily research not only all of the battles and every day life, but also her characters dialogue.  Pretty amazing feat I’d say!

Well Behaved Huxley’s Seldom Make Banned Book Lists

In the same vain as the famous quote “well behaved women seldom make history,” Huxley’s novels are anything but well behaved, as they have constantly found themselves placed on banned book lists all over the country. Within Huxley’s archive, however, there is one book that is usually talked about more than most others and that is one of the definitive novels in the dystopian genre: Brave New World.

Initially bashed for poor plot and narrative, Alduous Huxley’s Brave New World has come a long way since its initial publication in 1932. What was once considered a rather shallow commentary on technology’s growing grip on society has evolved into a very real (to a degree) interpretation of what our society has become, which is how it constantly finds itself becoming more and more relevant in the world’s literary circle. Not to sound repetitive from my post about Orwell’s 1984, but unfortunately most of my feelings for the two coincide, as they have always been the two novels that immediately come to my mind when I hear anything involving the dystopian novel, as they have been drilled into my head as THE dystopian novels since my high school career – which is fine with me.

Centering around two differing protagonists, one an outcast in this drug-induced “brave new world” and the other a savage brought in from the old world to seek out his father, the story is able to provide two very different points of view from two different outcasts. Usually when a novel or story is given more than one narrative, it is a different format than others, as the perspective constantly switches between them, yet in Huxley’s novel, one of these protagonists isn’t even introduced until the end of the first act. John the savage is not brought into the novel until the first protagonist, Bernard, encounters him while on a romantic getaway with the female lead, Lenina, and brings him and his mother, Linda, back to their new London with them to search for John’s father.

In many cases, individuals who choose to tackle this novel find themselves disappointed with a somewhat predictable story and a difficult degree of reading, and though the story is a little easy to see coming, Huxley’s style of writing simply adds to the complex narrative, as a whole. It is very possible you find yourself having to read sections – or even pages – over again to get the full appeal, but who doesn’t like the challenge of a book like that? True, when reading a novel that isn’t easy to comprehend for school, it can be easily frustrating, but when you give a novel like Brave New World the chance it deserves, in a setting when you are not rushed by various time constrictions, it is a fun story powered by a complex narrative and an author that knows their way around the English language.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress | Robert A. Heinlein

Happy Easter happy readers and welcome to Science Fiction Sunday.

“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch,” or so the saying goes. The same holds true in Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1996; G.P. Putnam’s Sons), nominated for the Nebula Award (1966) and winner of the Hugo Award (1967), in which underground lunar colonies, scattered across the moon (referred to as Luna in the novel), rise in revolt against a future-Earth society.

The novel, which begins in the year 2075, is narrated by a computer technician, Manuel Garcia “Mannie” O’Kelly-Davis, who discovers that Luna’s Holmes IV supercomputer (nicknamed Mike, after Mycroft Holmes) has gained self-awareness. After calculating that Luna will shortly exhaust its resources, Mike and Mannie, with the help of the libertarian Professor Bernardo de le Paz and Wyoming “Wyoh” Knott, orchestrate a revolution to free Luna from Earth’s control.

In The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein portrays what many (myself included) consider to be one of the most plausible and well-constructed future-Earth and Lunar societies. He starts, as all good science fiction should, with the question: what if? In this case, the “what” is Luna and her citizens and the “if” is their dissent from a distant Earth rule. Heinlein, in the vein of the British Empire, populates his colonies with criminals, political dissidents, and their descendents. That’s not to say Luna is lawless, however. Loonies (the inhabitants of Luna) follow a strict code: pay your debts, collect what’s yours, and honor the reputation of your family.

The result? An incredibly complex novel that fully explores its libertarian society and the consequences of its revolt. Heinlein—considered one of science fiction’s finest—had written a vast amount of science fiction before his death in 1988 and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is one of his best. If you are looking for a comprehensive exploration of plausible paths for our society, if you are looking for a rich, thematic novel, or even if you just want a good science fiction read for a lazy Easter Sunday, then The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is the perfect place to start. There’s a reason Heinlein is considered one of the finest, and he is fully on display in this novel.

Stay strange, readers, and I hope you enjoy The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress,

Dylan

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

“Love is not affectionate feeling but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” C. S. Lewis

Since today is Good Friday, it seems appropriate to discuss a story about sacrificial love. C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe parallels the sacrifice of Aslan with the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Aslan, the innocent and pure lion, takes the place of the traitor Edmund and dies for the sins of another person. Lewis alludes to Jesus in his novel through Aslan. Jesus too was betrayed by a friend and while innocent, willingly gave his life for the sins of others.

The sacrificial love of these two stories at first seems tragic and unjust. People, or lions, should not have to die for others. So why do it? What is so powerful about sacrificial love?

The answer lies in the endings of these two stories. After Aslan is tortured and killed, he comes back to life and the Stone Table cracks in his place. He has reversed the power of nature with the even greater power of love. Jesus does this same feat as well. Upon his death, the veil of the Ark of the Covenant is torn, and Jesus rises from the dead on the third day. In both cases, the laws of science and nature are torn and cracked by the power of unconditional love.

While The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is an allusion to the stories of the Gospels, C. S. Lewis presents his own narrative in a beautifully written novel that captures the reader and keeps them turning pages until the end of the seventh book in the series. The adventure of the plot, the depth of the characters, and the power of the symbols and themes all weave together a story of love and sacrifice that deserves its place among books to be remembered. While written for a younger audience, the novel and its message are timeless and can be enjoyed by older audiences as well.

When we first hear of love as a theme in novels, we tend to immediately think of romantic love. However, C.S. Lewis conveys the depth and perhaps even more fascinating realm of sacrificial love. Readers are left wondering if they could ever love in the unconditional ways of Aslan and Jesus. Where do we see this love today? This inspirational story of love and sacrifice has truly won its place on shelves with the classics, and is a great read that I highly recommend!

With all my love,

Moira

Memoirs of a Geisha | Arthur Golden

Today I am going back to one of my favorites and one of my first historical novels. This one is the classic, Memoirs of a Geisha.  This was made into a movie, just like the book thief. It doesn’t do the book justice, but if you must, it’s available. When we read we are thrown into the life of a young geisha and her journey to becoming one of the best; all told through her own viewpoint. Except it’s not written by her. It’s actually written by a guy who’s done his research. Which makes this book not only extremely entertaining, but also an accurate depiction of what becoming a geisha would actually be.

We start off seeing a young fisherman’s daughter, Chiyo. She is carefree and enjoys her life playing on the cliffs with her friends and sister. Chiyo is bright and beautiful with uniquely grey eyes. She is uprooted pretty quickly by a businessman who “adopts” her and her sister to help out the family financially. They, of course, are not really adopted, but sold. Young Chiyo is sold to a geisha house and her less pure sister to a brothel. Escape is tried and failed. So she settles in reluctantly and starts her training to become a geisha. She learns dancing, singing, and how to converse with clients. She learns how to flirt by just showing her wrist, how to be the company a client wants, and how to sleep on a little wooden block so her hairstyle doesn’t need to be redone the next day. She makes the transformation from young village girl to beautiful novice geisha, Sayuri. As Sayuri she entertains, performs in shows, tries her best to find a danna (patron), and hunts for the businessman that has caught her eye. I won’t ruin the rest of it for you, but it’s definitely worth the read.

Golden does this story justice. You would think that as a scholar he would make the story sound very factual and not colloquial. He in fact does the complete opposite. He allows Sayuri to chime in every once in a while, and make it sound as though she is telling her own story and in charge of her life (at least her memoirs).   The historical accuracy is amazing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read something and wanted to bang my head against a wall because the author decided to re-write history. Golden, however, did his research and I felt like I actually learned something along the way.

If you want to learn about WWII Japan and Geishas without feeling like it, this is the book for you. I started off kind of skeptical, but Golden really pulls you in with the story of Sayuri. I feel pretty confident that if I stepped into a time machine and only had this book, I would have no problems becoming a geisha. This book will forever have a spot on my shelf.

Lois Wow-ry

Transport with me, if you will, to the seemingly distant year of 2014. The world is a bright place, full of light, full of hope, and free of the terrible film adaptation that was The Giver that took a terrifically terrifying story like Lois Lowry’s tale of a small community with an awful secret and turned into something as forgettable as Phillip Noyce’s film. Believe me, there was nothing Noyce about it. Luckily, the terrible turnout of the movie only made me appreciate the original print that much more.

Based around an eleven going-on-twelve year old named Jonas, The Giver is centered in a seemingly ideal town without war or pain where children are assigned jobs that pertain to their skills in a gathering known as the Ceremony of Twelve, which happens to be coming up for Jonas at the beginning of the book. After the Ceremony has completed, Jonas receives the prestigious position of the Receiver of Memory, where he apprentices someone who is referred to as the Giver who passes on memories of war, hunger, love, family, pain, and happiness. With these experiences, Jonas grows to resent his emotionless community and begins to unearth secrets and the truth about where he has lived his whole life.

In my opinion, the scariest dystopian tales are the ones that seem completely normal from the outside, only to later be revealed just how twisted they happen to be from within. Much like the seemingly quaint town in Hot Fuzz, for any Simon Pegg fans out there, for reference. Communities like this in novels or movies, cause you to question your existence within your own society. It’s a strange thing, but when a book’s ability to convey a twisted narrative covered by a layer of normality causes me to question whether or not the person who just delivered my pizza is a simple delivery person or a person to spy on me for the Overlord, I enjoy it. A story like this that uses a lack of emotion within a community, all stored within a twelve-year-old protagonist, is a unique idea made all the more impressive with it actually being a book filled to the brim with mood and emotion. With a main character being twelve, it should surprise nobody that this book is a young adult work of fiction, written to be read by pre-teens going through an emotional point in life that feel as though they don’t fit in with anybody. The book’s use of emotions to sympathize with someone is just why this age group enjoys it so much; not only is it a brilliant narrative, but it is also a book that kids of this age can empathize with when nobody else in the world has the ability to empathize with them.

Yes, it is a book written for a younger audience, but Lois Lowry’s dystopian tale is one of the first instances of this genre being presented in terms of reading levels and it still holds up for readers of a more mature audience, making it a timeless tale of isolation in a rather plentiful community. It is a unique quality for a tale of a twisted society to be one of the more relatable stories for many age groups, one that makes Lowry’s work that much more distinct and loveable.

Science Fiction: What Is That Again?

“When it comes to genres, the borders are increasingly undefined and things slip back and forth with insouciance.” –Margaret Atwood

In other words: science fiction is a mess. It can be hard to define—often there are elements of fantasy that creep into science fiction, and sometimes elements of both creep into the ever-broad speculative fiction. Perhaps it’s more apt to say that genres are a mess.

There are some conventions that you’ll find in all science fiction, however. Isaac Asimov defined science fiction fairly broadly as “the branch of literature that deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.” Generally speaking, that means you’ll find things such as: science, technology, space, general oddities, other cultures, other species, robots, lasers, and space ships!

When reading science fiction, you’ll find the writing often falls into one of two types: hard or soft. Hard science fiction is the kind of writing where attention to scientific detail matters for the plot. Soft science fiction throws that attention to detail out of the window in favor of increased focus on the individual or society in the story. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter whether you’re reading hard science fiction or soft—at the core of each story is the question “what if?”

What if there was a lunar colony on the moon and they revolted against Earth’s rule? What if our society was born without genders, except for a brief period each month when we got to choose? What if a hyper-intelligent, utopian AI culture has to interact with civilizations that do not share its ideals? *

I think you see my point. And, if you didn’t know what science fiction was before, I hope I’ve given you a nice foundation to build upon. Over the next several weeks, I will be giving you a broad sampling of science fiction—from hard to soft; from technology to space oddities—so I hope to see you back.

Please feel free to leave some comments, dear readers; I’d love to hear your definitions of science fiction as well!

Stay strange,

Dylan

*The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks