Science Fiction has become a poisoned well . .

7-27-06 | Marc Costanzo

[marc costanzo]

The essay below was originally written in the early Spring of 2001:

With the passing away of LEXX ends an intriguing albeit tawdry experiment in Sci-fantasy. One that breaks with conventions, or should I say cliches of TV sci-fi of the 90's . The politically correct pabulum, the multicultural indoctrination, the BladeRunner motifs, and not the least; the steroid mutated superbabes that can punch the lights out of men, but never get punched back in return !?

How about creating a new sci-fi anthology with none of the puerile baggage of Rod Serling, Rockne Obannon, Michael J. Stracinsky, etc .. It is time to end their reign of un-American cynicism and fatalism !

[BlueLancer]

If you liked VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE, you might very well like THE STARDUST VOYAGES and THE RAMSGATE PARADOX by Stephen Tall. The first is a compilation of short stories of the explatory starship STARDUST, and the second is a novel about the STARDUST.

Very entertaining, extremely interesting stories.

[BlueLancer]

For a series of books that specifically uses Muslims "fleeing from burning Mecca" as a protagonist, see the S.M. Stirling/David Drake series, THE GENERAL. There are five books in the series, all dealing with the societies on a planet cut-off from the rest of human civilization and its fall to barbarity and rise to a new civilization.

[Calvin Locke]

Caterers are unionized? Oh for the old days, when the roach coach guy just paid off the union guy in charge at the job site.

[31M20RedDevil]

I used to have that one,

Looked like a tribble holding a butter knife on the cover

[Brucifer]

Murtha and Kerry were awarded medals. Whether they earned them seems to be pretty much in doubt. Stone I don't know much about. Rod Serling earned his the hard way.

Much of Serling's writing was influenced by his war experiences, and he had nightmares for the rest of his life because of them.

Benedict Arnold actively fought for the British. Only a clown or a blackguard would impugn Rod Serling with such an invidious comparison.

Don't give me that BS about being made to fight in WWII. If a man didn't have ass enough to be there he could do plenty of things to get out, and jump school is for volunteers.

You call Serling a cultural barbarian, but offer no proof. I wonder if you have any other big words or expressions you like to use that you don't know the meaning of? Maybe they might impress us.

Rod Serling did not rip off Alfred Hitchcock any more than he ripped off Shakespeare or Jules Verne.

Your juvenile (shall I say puerile?) attacks on a man who is no longer alive to defend himself show that Rod Serling was a better writer and a better man than you'll ever be. Back off slug!

[RightOnline]

Screw it. Bring back "Firefly". Best sci-fi series ever created, hands down, bar none.

[LexBaird]

Lots of authors are touted as being "the Next Heinlein", but the recent works of John Varley really are remarkably evocative of RAH.:

Steel Beach: Setting very reminiscent of Moon is a Harsh Mistress, with a lunar based society, with everything provided for them by a super computer, slowly sinking into hedonism. Then, what happens when the AI that runs everything goes insane?
The Golden Globe: Set in the Steel Beach milieu, this follows the story of an affable rogue actor, who somehow runs afoul of the Satan worshiping mafia of Pluto.
Red Thunder What happens when a group of teens befriend a washed up astronaut and his brain damaged savant cousin? Well, it starts when that cousin twists physics to achieve "free energy"...
Red Lightning The sequel.

If your tastes run more to intricate plotting, "Hard SF": anything by Neil Stephenson. His best is Necronomicon, with Snow Crash and The Diamond Age excellent as well.

[From many - one.]

Slan.

I remember that when it came into the library and I got it first there was a near war in my class for borrowing rights ... no one wanted to wait until I returned it.

[RebelBanker]

Scroll down a bit for the links to the complete Seremuppety comic:
http://walkerboh.deviantart.com/journal/8697619/

So wrong on so many levels, absolutely hilarious!

[Chairman Fred]

Right now I'm rereading The Demon Princes.

Baron Bodissey posts at Gates of Vienna blog.

[TheLion]

"Screw it. Bring back "Firefly". Best sci-fi series ever created, hands down, bar none."

Got to agree with you. I bought the series on DVD and it is awesome. Never saw it on tv. I have watched each episode a few times and still enjoy them.

[reg45]

There are no muslims in the future

Frank Herbert's Dune is an allegory of Islam

[Mr. Thorne]

Well, I can see where your sympathies lie...

Any sign of a Bolo Movie?

= )

[Liberty Valance]

>>>"Screw it. Bring back "Firefly". Best sci-fi series ever created, hands down, bar none.<<<

I haven't seen all the episodes. May have to get the DVD.

http://www.foxhome.com/firefly/main.html

[dynachrome]

"Any sign of a Bolo Movie?"
Not that I am aware of. Would make a good one with questions of what are duty, honor and country to a self aware machine.

[Eepsy]

I loved Rick Cook's novels. That kind of stuff is right up my alley.

Don't tell me, though, that I'm the only one around here who reads Cordwainer Smith. Nobody could write a story like he could.

[marc costanzo]

>>"VOYAGE OF THE SPACE BEAGLE"
Would you believe, I re-read that a few months ago! One great story. I have many of his books.

I have "Voyage of the Space Beagle" in a trilogy form called "Triad"....with "Slan" and "The World of A".

I read a little every day, usually with my coffee, when I get up.

<<
I had an original hardcover copy of THE WORLD OF NULL 'A' in my hands a few years ago, and did not buy it .

SLAN is a story that is the basis of every Star Trek knock-off, Tolerance indoctrination, , the soul destroying poison of Canadians - -
Political Correctness = The Dictatorship of Tolerance,

and the cowardice of excuse making for the enemy !

That is why I say that Canadians, both in their own country with its' 4000 mile common border with America and here in our own Media(think Peter Jennings)

Tolerance is a license for Moral Corruption

Latitude is a license for criminality

All of the above, Canadians are guilty of . . .

Canada is a country that enacted Thought Crime Laws along time ago, and now practices rigid gun control - van Vogt was opposed to the latter(he was originally from Canada)

[marc costanzo]

>>You can't look at the last 25 years without looking at the years before. Trends tend to be a reaction to other trends. Shiny-happy-future bored a lot of people, some of them writers and directors. Alien started the rebellion against that kind of SF, but it got legs and a brand when Neuromancer came out.<<

Don't forget Blade Runner . .

[marc costanzo]

>>
For a series of books that specifically uses Muslims "fleeing from burning Mecca" as a protagonist, see the S.M. Stirling/David Drake series, THE GENERAL. There are five books in the series, all dealing with the societies on a planet cut-off from the rest of human civilization and its fall to barbarity and rise to a new civilization.
<<

I am not sure, but I think one of E.E. Doc Smith's last books(he died in 1965) had a similar theme(though not with Muslims),
called: THE PURITY PLOT

[Minus_The_Bear]

"Screw it. Bring back "Firefly". Best sci-fi series ever created, hands down, bar none."

Nahhh.. was better