Some Words on SciFi

I've found that there are an overwhelming amount of people who do not respect science fiction. I was, in fact, laughed at (no bullshit) for saying that I liked to read science fiction.

I remember talking to one of my professors in school, and I was shocked when he told me that SF and Fantasy are not respected as genres, by and large, by the academic community. This seems absolutely ridiculous to me for many reasons, not the least of which is that the genre called "Magical Realism" or "Slipstream" (of which Jorge Luis Borges reigns supreme and Haruki Murakami figures promenently) is legitimate in academia. This is fine, but I feel as though it is a branch of SF, just like Steampunk and Cyberpunk.

Main point being, books like The Lord of the Rings and Dune and authors like Philip K. Dick and Philip Pullman are thrown to the wayside with incredible speed. There is a large difference between not liking SF and laughing at it. I, as a fan, have issues with it: it's phenonmenally difficult to write SF well, to write it in a compelling manner such that your reader does not drop it for either lack of ability to understand all of the new information being thrown at them, or simple disinterest. To write SF well, one needs to create a universe, and that is NOTHING to scoff at. Look at the biographies of Tolkien and Frank Herbert, and from there it's easy a fraction of the work put into these worlds.

One point, though it is not fair to make as much as it is worth considering, is that good SF is more difficult to write than good regular fiction, whatever that means. One has to create a world that is potentially based on the one we inhabit, and make new languages, hierarchies, never before thought of systems of operation (including, but not limited to, computers, lifestyles, occupations, etc.)... essentially a whole new everything, and very few people understand this.

Imagination at its finest, I believe, is embodied in creation. And what better way to showcase it, than writing a new place to exist and function?

Warren Ellis and His Work

Warren Ellis is a writer who has rocked various genres. Visit his homepage to find out what's in his brain. Search for him on amazon to find a bibliography. .

Anyway, two weeks ago, the week of July 23rd, was a big week for him. His first novel, Crooked Little Vein, hit the stands, and the next day the first issues of two new comic books he's writing hit the stands as well. These two new comics are Doktor Sleepless, and Black Summer.

For those who have not read Transmetropolitan yet, I highly recommend it. A brilliant critique of the future of America. A future that's not so distant that one cannot see the relations between now and the later/present presented. It is not for the weak or feeble minded, so if you think yourself among them, run now.

I came to tell that Ellis knows his audience incredibly well. After all, he built it from the ground up. People like me have been worked over by the meme that is Warren Ellis' persona.

All three of these books are filled to the brim (overflowing, in the case of Doktor Sleepless) with the Strange and the Weird. Ellis' love for these is immense.

Anyway, I was going to say more, but I decided to go and read Doktor Sleepless and Black Summer again. So good-bye.