5 ms·
Someone has stumbled over strict plot-driven hard SF in the classical mold and decided it's something new. Not to belittle Eliezer (who I think did something n
by cstross 11y ago
Someone has stumbled over strict plot-driven hard SF in the classical mold and decided it's something new.
Not to belittle Eliezer (who I think did something new and interesting) but you can find a large chunk of these elements out there in SF if you look in the right places.
(Note, however, that a large proportion, probably a majority, of what is marketed as Science Fiction is basically swords and sorcery adventure yarns with spaceships instead of dragons or galleons, aliens in place of orcs, and technology porn with added technobabble in place of magic. Personally I blame the fictive family tree of which Star Wars is the most successful branch ...)
- adaml_623 11y agoCould you list some good examples? I was wondering about Niven, Egan and others and realising that I tend to enjoy my fiction without consciously analysing it. (Just realised who I'm replying to... maybe you could blog about it)
- cstross 11y agoNiven and Egan would be classic examples from different decades (Niven's post-1977 work, and his collaborations, not so much). I'd also point to Hannu Rajaniemi's Quantum Thief trilogy, Peter Watts (for world-building -- see below) and the cultural/linguistic side of C. J. Cherryh's Foreigner series (at least the first five or so books). One of the less well understood (especially by non-genre reader) aspects of hard SF is that the world the story is set in can be viewed as a character/participant in the plot, or -- in this sub-field -- as a puzzle that the plot depends on; the outcome of the story simply doesn't work without the world being set up the way it is. (A lot of stuff is marketed as hard SF that doesn't fit this criterion; it just has lots of cheap throwaway references to technology. But the core of the field is about solving the puzzle that the universe has thrown in front of the protagonists.)
- kbenson 11y agoThere's also Charles Stross, a personal favorite. Can't imagine why you would have forgotten to mention him... ;)
- rrss1122 11y agoThat's kinda what I thought. Actually, the first thing that came to mind is, science fiction that isn't fun anymore.
- PhasmaFelis 11y agoIndeed. Also note that there is fantasy that fits these constraints as well, with rigorously-defined magic systems that the characters must manipulate and explore the implications of. Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series is one example.