Bad Science Fiction

Even the best science fiction hovers on the brink of the absurd. All speculative fiction depends on the reader to be completely in tune with it, with the intent of the writer. Mainstream fiction draws you in, seduces you with the story, whereas, to a certain extent, science fiction demands that you already be seduced, at least by the genre.

Is the genre "significant"? Is it capable of the profound statement, the insightful analysis, deep characters? Of course, but do they matter to the sci-fi reader? Probably not. People do not read sci-fi for its literary qualities. They read it for the escapist, fanciful daydreams that it can conjure up, for the sense of play-acting and childlike abandon than it can summon.

Bad science fiction however, is a creature so pathetic as to be beyond scorn or pity. Bad science fiction can be identified by the opening words and should be dismissed easily and without regret, not unlike used toilet paper or a banana peel. As was previously stated, even good science fiction by talented, smart writers hangs over an abyss of failure, always just barely escapes mocking itself. Writing one is not a project for morons or beginners.

The point of good sci-fi is to lure the reader in, to get him to want see what you have to show, to believe a myth with few real-world handles.. Always difficult, that's why sci-fi readers tend to be dedicated solely to the genre. They already what to see, already want to escape.

Technorati Tags: sci-fi, science-fiction, genre, writer, writing, write, literature, pulp, readers, fan, fanfiction, fiction, books, reading