02-10-2013, 12:47 PM | #241 |
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But there are plenty of alternate histories that you wouldn't think of considering as SF.
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02-10-2013, 01:21 PM | #242 | |
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02-10-2013, 05:42 PM | #243 |
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02-10-2013, 09:58 PM | #244 |
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Because A Handmaid's Tale reminds me a bit of books like 1984 and A Brave New World. To me, it's sci-fi in the same way that they were. They imagine a future earth should some possibility progress towards its logical extreme.
But this book scared me a little mainly because of the ending. You read through this horrific account of a society with its extreme views towards women and then you're presented with this academic view of the whole thing that echoes the way we sometimes whitewash our own past or present. We apply a level of understanding about distant cultures or history that I think we couldn't possibly apply to that of the main character - because we experience it throughout the novel! I felt this was the most upsetting aspect of the book and why I thought it was brilliant. And like many novels (such as 1984 etc..), it makes me examine the world around me and start assessing if we're actually that different or whether, in fact, we're heading in a similar direction. Sorry - this was all outrageously off topic, but I couldn't resist sharing my love/horror of A Handmaid's Tale. |
02-11-2013, 01:42 AM | #245 |
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I haven't read the whole thread (yet), but one point that may or may not have been mentioned is the aborted attempt to reverse the ghettoization that happened to the genre called "science fiction". I remember many years ago, when some authors and editors were trying to encourage use of the term "speculative fiction" instead, which tried to take off some of the onus of cheesiness. It never really took hold though, and I don't see very many places using the term any more.
And I agree that some of Atwood's writing definitely falls in the speculative mode. Don't foreget "Oryx and Crake", and "Year of the Flood." Both of them are great, but yeah, "Handmaid's Tale" is one of my all-time favorites, I've read it 4 or 5 times, and get something new each time. |
02-11-2013, 03:17 AM | #246 |
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We tho share similar tastes in lots of books. He is our major difference
For the record I loved A Handmaidens Tale. I did see the sci fi undertones, but techie it was not. So yes I can see some hard core sci fi fans saying it is not sci fi. But I define sci fi as anything set into the future. I prefer post apocalyptic for my future, my husband Asimov world. Both huge on watching anything Star Trek, but would not read it in a pink fit. applesauce |
02-11-2013, 03:50 AM | #247 |
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And why oh why? The local bookstore (and the only place available to buy paper books in English) on the military base where I work seems to think that "sci-fi" is ONLY Star Trek and Star Wars, and their clone cousins, with a few Terry Prachett titles thrown in for variety. I am not exaggerating to say that the sci-fi section is one section 6-feet long by 5-feet high. I assume the buyer is not interested in the genre.
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02-11-2013, 07:09 AM | #248 | |
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02-12-2013, 02:56 AM | #249 |
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Apache, I wish I could. The buyer is located in Texas (we're in Japan), and they don't seem to pay much mind to my comments on their Customer Comments website. Sigh... It's a good thing I happen to enjoy re-reading old favorites from years (decades) past.
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02-13-2013, 11:59 PM | #250 |
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Ah but some SF is about how societies are somehow different from our present day. For example H.G. Wells "Time Machine" was more about how things could turn out if the social classes of his day (the elite and the commoners) went their own ways down different paths. The Eloi descended from the elite upper crust of society and the Morlocks were the descendants of the commoners of Wells England. The actual Time Machine was just a vehicle by which Wells set his story up.
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02-14-2013, 01:25 AM | #251 | |
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02-14-2013, 05:57 AM | #252 | |
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02-14-2013, 07:35 AM | #253 |
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I also don't like the Foundation series, but enjoyed the Robot novels and his short stories.
One thing that has been totally ignored by this thread (as far a I can tell) is that Asimov's fiction output is just a part of what he published. If he wasn't writing fiction, especially from the 1950's onward, he was editing anthologies, collections and magazines or writing non-fiction. He's one of the most prolific writers I've ever enountered. If memory serves, there are 3 titles, Opus 100, Opus 200 & Opus 300 which were written & published to mark the milestones of his having 100, 200 & 300 books published. (If I've got this wrong I'm sure someone here will correct me). |
02-14-2013, 07:36 AM | #254 |
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For those looking for a list of Asimov's short stories and their publication dates, try Asimov's page on the Fantastic Fiction website http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/isaac-asimov/.
Just keep scrolling down as this is towards the end of his very long entry. |
02-14-2013, 07:55 AM | #255 | ||
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In fact, for most of the 60's Asimov was a primarily a non-fiction writer. Over his entire career, he wrote everything from textbooks to popular science to mysteries to SF to Scholarly Guides to both Shakespeare and the Bible. Quote:
Kinda hard to over-rate that kind of career. |
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