[Crysania]

I'm in the middle of Tad William's Otherland - which some people would not classify as pure Science Fiction. Well, it's SF enough for me to realize exactly what it is about Fantasy I much prefer over SF.

In SF, the worlds tend to be worlds I just don't EVER want to live in. I don't want everything run by computers, I don't want to go, see, be near, deal with outer space or other planets. I want the old ways, I want something simple. I like fantasy. Fantasy worlds I yearn to turn this world back into (if possible) and SF worlds are worlds I fear we're becoming.

Does this make sense?

For instance, in Otherland.....I get ill reading about the decline of the Bushman, and the way VR and computers are used in virtually every single facet of their lives. Personally, I'd rather be in a land that's being threatened by some dark, evil, magical power. Although one could say that's an allegory for the dark, evil power of technology. Ha ahaha! No, I'm not going there.

[Miriamele]

I agree with you completely Crysania. I also am reading the Otherland books right now, because I loved MS&T so I thought I'd try something else by Williams--but I don't really like SF that much either. You're right that much of SF predicts less than desirable outcomes for the future of humanity. Otherland is a good example, not only because of the story itself--it's frighteningly possible--but because of the little news blurbs at the beginning of each chapter, which demonstrate to the reader the disturbing things that are going on in the world outside the story. And a lot of the blurbs, when I read them I shake my head and think, that probably is the way things are going to be by the end of this century. It's not at all enjoyable to think about.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Otherland books are marvelously imaginative, the characters are vivid and interesting and I am enjoying them. Williams is one of the best writers out there. But, like you, I would never want to travel to this time or this world, where in MS&T I longed to visit many of the places in the story and enjoyed the books much more because the world was so appealing.

I guess when I pick up a book I want to escape reality for a little while, and SF tends to be based more on reality than fantasy, so it's not as escapist. It's not that I'm afraid of reality--I read the newspaper every day and read books on history and science, but when I pick up a novel I don't want to think about real life too much. :)

[Bardos]

What's your opinion about Dune? (question for both of you)

I'd really like to know. :)





Alright, I'm curious!...

..weird...

:D

[Qin]

Take Joseph Campbell, add a dash of secular humanism, throw in some intrigue de politique, and you have Dune.

[Hobbit]

.....or for that matter, Jack Vance's The Dying Earth, Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer series or even :D Mary Gentle's Ash, A Secret History. All of these can be read as Fantasy but have an SF element to them.

Personally I like to mix and match my SF & my fantasy (not to mention other genres! :p )

Hobbit

[Crysania]

Hey, Miri, I agree with you 100 percent. That's it exactly! And it's weird, I'm having the exact same reactions to the news blurbs. They freak me out more than anything else I've read. Besides the 'plant' airman, of course.

I haven't yet read Dune. I know, I know... but, again, it seems like a place I just DON'T want to visit. It's on my list for future readings. At this time, when I think of Dune, I think of STING! Yummy! Woohoo! Course, I never saw the movie either...

:)

[ezchaos]

Crysania, I understand where you're coming from. I do enjoy reading Sci Fi from time to time, but I by far prefer Fantasy for the same reasons as you. I don't care for near future stories about VR or computers too much. This is partly because I work in the computer field, and when I read fiction, it's to escape the real world (which includes work ;) ) . I like to read space opera type Sci Fi, probably because it's similar to epic Fantasy.

[Kamakhya]

Heheh....Miri and Chrysania...I think this is exactly why I prefer Sci Fi over Fantasy. I like books that make me think, books that explore where humans are going and what we might do when we get there. Being the idealist that I am, I also hope by showing some of human's worst traits and some of the worst paths humanity is following, maybe, just maybe, we can change.

BTW: I loved Otherland. :)

Kamakhya

[Miriamele]

I've never read Dune before.

Kamakhya, you've got a good point. If any sci-fi has the power to change the world (or even a few people) by depicting how things might turn out for humanity if we don't smarten up, then you're right, it has a lot of value for that function alone.

But personally, I am can see only too well the road humanity is following and it saddens me (call me a cynic). So I still prefer to read something a little more...uplifting, I guess. Something in which the world is still relatively young and unpopulated and there is still hope for a long and glorious future....

[allanon]

Eh, Crysania, you got the point...Hey, now I know who you are!