4 ms·

On the flip side I’m often horrified by what people think “positive” content is.

Mountain_Skies 2y ago
A few years back I was looking for science fiction novels that weren't depressing and dystopian. Turns out I'm not the only one looking and there are novels and short stories that cater to this desire but it's all lip service. The stories were all about a particular ideology fighting against the (strawman) system and eventually winning to become the system itself. That's it. The only positive concept that scifi can come up with now is one's ideology winning over all others and suffocating everything else out.
- trescenzi 2y ago
  I don’t know what sort of not depressing you’re looking for but I’d recommend Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. It’s a fun short read. If you want harder sci-fi I’d recommend the Revelation Space series. It’s far future, somewhat negative in that there is war and conflict, but I wouldn’t at all describe it as dystopian.
  - slowhadoken 2y ago
    I find the best uplifting sci-fi deals with high context observations and stories that illustrate how to think not what to think. ST:NG and Futurama are good examples on TV. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a good example in print.
- slowhadoken 2y ago
  Yeah utopian sci-fi always reminds me of the Dr. Manhattan quote “they claim their labours are to build a heaven yet their heaven is populated with horrors.”
- tpmoney 2y ago
  Some recommendations if you're still looking: The Liaden Universe series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the best description for this I've heard is "regency fiction in space", which is a reasonable descriptor but the series covers a pretty wide range. The Honor Harrington series by David Webber. "Horatio Hornblower in Space". Can be a little trite in the latter books as he has to keep Honor alive and advancing while still in a the stories, but eventually picks up enough threads with other interesting characters. Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. A very "B-Movie" series of books, with horror monsters being real, and a secret society fighting them. They're not deep literature by any stretch of the imagination, but they're fun, even if the main character can be a bit too "perfect in every way".
  - em-bee 2y ago
    "Horatio Hornblower in Space" i am reading the seafort saga by david feintuch, which is also hornblower in space. i am on book 3 now and i find it rather depressing. their unrealistic depiction of the role of christianity and how they enforce discipline. the latter as far as i can remember is modeled on the original hornblower which i have read as a teen. i am curious how david webers take is. btw, the solar clipper series by nathan lowell is also inspired by hornblower, but while the seafort saga seems to very closely follow the original, the only similarity in the solar clipper series is the career of the captain. all in all, the solar clipper series is rather positive though.
- em-bee 2y ago
  our scifi book club recently had optimistic scifi as a theme. the nominations were: Matt Haig: The Humans Cory Doctorow: Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom *Suzanne Palmer: Finder* John C Wright: The Golden Age Ada Palmer: Too Like the Lightning *Nnedi Okorafor: Binti* Nicky Drayden: The Prey of Gods Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Lindsay Ellis: Axiom’s End and a few months before that we had "feel-good scifi": Anne McCaffrey: Partnership Anthology: Adventures in Space Ginger Booth: Thrive Space Colony Adventures: Skyship Thrive *Glynn Stewart: Starship Mage* Meredith Katz: The Cybernetic Tea Shop Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet *Rob Dircks: The Wrong Unit* Suzanne Palmer: Finder the ones marked with a * i have read. i can also share this list: https://best-sci-fi-books.com/the-best-optimistic-science-fiction-books/ https://best-sci-fi-books.com/the-best-optimistic-science-fi...

A few years back I was looking for science fiction novels that weren't depressing and dystopian. Turns out I'm not the only one looking and there are novels and short stories that cater to this desire but it's all lip service. The stories were all about a particular ideology fighting against the (strawman) system and eventually winning to become the system itself. That's it. The only positive concept that scifi can come up with now is one's ideology winning over all others and suffocating everything else out.

trescenzi 2y ago
I don’t know what sort of not depressing you’re looking for but I’d recommend Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi. It’s a fun short read. If you want harder sci-fi I’d recommend the Revelation Space series. It’s far future, somewhat negative in that there is war and conflict, but I wouldn’t at all describe it as dystopian.
- slowhadoken 2y ago
  I find the best uplifting sci-fi deals with high context observations and stories that illustrate how to think not what to think. ST:NG and Futurama are good examples on TV. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a good example in print.
slowhadoken 2y ago
Yeah utopian sci-fi always reminds me of the Dr. Manhattan quote “they claim their labours are to build a heaven yet their heaven is populated with horrors.”
tpmoney 2y ago
Some recommendations if you're still looking: The Liaden Universe series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the best description for this I've heard is "regency fiction in space", which is a reasonable descriptor but the series covers a pretty wide range. The Honor Harrington series by David Webber. "Horatio Hornblower in Space". Can be a little trite in the latter books as he has to keep Honor alive and advancing while still in a the stories, but eventually picks up enough threads with other interesting characters. Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia. A very "B-Movie" series of books, with horror monsters being real, and a secret society fighting them. They're not deep literature by any stretch of the imagination, but they're fun, even if the main character can be a bit too "perfect in every way".
- em-bee 2y ago
  "Horatio Hornblower in Space" i am reading the seafort saga by david feintuch, which is also hornblower in space. i am on book 3 now and i find it rather depressing. their unrealistic depiction of the role of christianity and how they enforce discipline. the latter as far as i can remember is modeled on the original hornblower which i have read as a teen. i am curious how david webers take is. btw, the solar clipper series by nathan lowell is also inspired by hornblower, but while the seafort saga seems to very closely follow the original, the only similarity in the solar clipper series is the career of the captain. all in all, the solar clipper series is rather positive though.
em-bee 2y ago
our scifi book club recently had optimistic scifi as a theme. the nominations were: Matt Haig: The Humans Cory Doctorow: Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom *Suzanne Palmer: Finder* John C Wright: The Golden Age Ada Palmer: Too Like the Lightning *Nnedi Okorafor: Binti* Nicky Drayden: The Prey of Gods Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Lindsay Ellis: Axiom’s End and a few months before that we had "feel-good scifi": Anne McCaffrey: Partnership Anthology: Adventures in Space Ginger Booth: Thrive Space Colony Adventures: Skyship Thrive *Glynn Stewart: Starship Mage* Meredith Katz: The Cybernetic Tea Shop Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet *Rob Dircks: The Wrong Unit* Suzanne Palmer: Finder the ones marked with a * i have read. i can also share this list: https://best-sci-fi-books.com/the-best-optimistic-science-fiction-books/ https://best-sci-fi-books.com/the-best-optimistic-science-fi...