I absolutely love Science Fiction. Some people call it the “fiction for escapists” and some readers may not agree with that or perhaps find it offensive but I am happy with this description. A large part of the appeal of Science Fiction to me is exactly the fact that it allows me to escape to other more interesting and different worlds of the future, or even to alternative histories of the past. The same can be said for Fantasy in general but personally I much prefer the worlds of Science Fiction rather than those of knights, wizards, elves and dragons because they are based on Science and so they are potentially possible.
The type of Science Fiction I prefer is what is known as “hard science fiction” that is fiction with a strong scientific basis. I enjoy books that utilise true or at least realistic scientific ideas and probable technology of the future coupled with philosophical ideas, preferably grand-scale concepts. I started reading this type of Science Fiction when I was young, still going to school, and these stories had a profound effect on me.
My initial contact with Science Fiction was the books of Arthur C. Clarke and later on the books of the brilliant Isaac Asimov, translated in Greek by a publishing company which used to specialise in this type of literature. After learning English, I had the ability to access a huge selection of authors in their original format and that allowed me to extend my reading to other authors such as Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein, Ursula Le Guin, Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, Kim Stanley Robinson, Stephen Baxter, Peter Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and many others.
Nevertheless, it was Arthur C. Clarke the author I mostly liked who also played a major role in shaping my thoughts, the writer who made me interested in science, technology, space exploration and philosophical ideas about the future of humanity. Books like “Childhood’s End” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”, the first two Science Fiction books I read, expanded my mind and greatly affected my thoughts and interests, perhaps because of the young of my age.
I remember that there was a bookshop close to my house owned by a highly cultured and thoughtful person who spent his time at the shop reading all kinds of books, a truly exceptional man. One could ask him anything related to literature and he knew what books to propose suitable for what one was looking for. In the late 70s there was no Internet, no Amazon and so one had to visit bookshops and spend a lot of time browsing the available books to find something of interest to buy. He was the one who suggested these books to me when I told him that I was interested in reading books with stories related to space exploration and science. He could have directed me to the usual comics that children read but instead he introduced me to the world of quality Science Fiction.
From that point on, as I was growing up, I considered everyday life around me to be boring, uninteresting and without importance or substance while thinking that perhaps I was born in the wrong country. I watched the other children of my age pursuing interests that I found to be stupid, naive and meaningless. How can one care about mundane things like playing basketball, spending time at a coffee shop with friends, parties, summer holidays, riding motorcycles etc. after being exposed to all these amazing ideas and worlds of Clarke? Anything else looked trivial and unimportant to me. One could argue that this is not right because that way a child does not socialise with others of his own age and consequently he does not develop the social skills required in life. I partially agree with that but I still believe that I did not miss anything important and I certainly have no regrets. It is also important to consider the kind of environment one grows up in. Is it stimulating enough and appropriate for a young person with a lot of questions and dreams for the future? I can assure you that this was not the case for Athens in the late 70s, neither it is the case for today’s Greece, which is the reason why so many young people who are interested in a higher education have left this backward, theocratic country, full of corrupted politicians and people kept in ignorance and superstition, as I did many years ago. I return to my home as a tourist for summer holidays and that is all one can hope to enjoy in Greece.
I am still thrilled by remembering all I learned and experienced reading Science Fiction of a high calibre so early in life. I came in contact with the brilliant mind of Arthur C. Clarke, an author, a philosopher, a scientist and a dreamer, the person I consider to be my spiritual father who influenced me to pursue a career in science and engineering but mainly in my endless thirst for learning about the physical world and how it works. How can I possibly compare this mind-blowing experience with the typical interests of schoolboys in Greece? Everything else seemed to be trivial, meaningless and a complete waste of time when compared to the ideas and dreams for a great future implanted in my brain. Eventually, I read other authors but nobody else had affected me as much as the books of Clarke certainly because he had unique and beautiful ideas but also because of being young looking forward for the marvels of Science yet to be discovered. And I still read and enjoy Science Fiction a lot trying to discover new authors with new great ideas and thoughts.
I also enjoy Science Fiction in the cinema. Unfortunately, there are only a few movies of his genre that one can recommend which are worth of the term Science Fiction. These are movies made by either masters of the cinema like Stanley Kubrick or by good directors who love this genre and know how to make a good Science Fiction movie without compromising the story attempting to reach a wider or younger audience. Furthermore, it is very hard to find a good movie which is based on a story written by professional screenwriters. If you happen to watch a Science Fiction movie with a good solid and interesting story then it is more likely based on the book of a known author. And in this case the screenwriter may alter the story and the characters in order to present his own version, under the illusion that he can improve on the original story or in an attempt to make it more relevant to today’s world, which I find absurd and insulting for the book and the author.
Although Hollywood is great at producing impressive visuals in movies it usually fails in terms of storyline. Particularly when the story tries to mix science with mysticism, magic and religion, a problem common with screenwriters who try to express their religious and supernatural beliefs in their work, desperately trying to find a place for such ideas within a science-based background. The only author who achieved that with great success is Frank Herbert in Dune and this is certainly not within the abilities of a typical Hollywood screenwriter of low intellect and education when his main motivation is money and glory.
There are also some Science Fiction movies which are not that good in ideas but they manage to create a visually stunning and detailed universe with attractive characters. A typical example of this is Star Wars with all its associated books, cartoons and comics. It is a great universe, a whole world of its own which can be very hard to explore unless you dedicate a lot of time. Of course, you are not going to encounter any powerful ideas that will affect your thinking as it is more of a story made for entertainment and this has never been the primary focus of Science Fiction writers. It is a fact that most people see Science Fiction movies as a large-scale entertainment spectacle which is why so many movies of poor quality are produced. The Art of Cinema is unfortunately also a business and the main motivation behind the production of movies, at least in the U.S., is profit and not Art. The situation is even worse in television series where the budget and the talent of those involved are usually much lower. Fortunately, Capitalism has still not completely destroyed the writing of books so one can still find brilliant authors who write Science Fiction books of high quality and they can still make a living without compromising the genre.
Regardless of whether it is a book or a movie, Science Fiction is an escape from the mundane reality to a different world, a far more interesting environment compared to today’s world, even in dystopian novels. There is a particular variant of the genre called “space opera” which lately I’ve come to appreciate a lot. A typical representative of this genre is the amazing Culture series of books written by the late Iain M. Banks. This type of Science Fiction involves the creation of various civilisations, the detailed description of many different places and events of a large scale that affect the whole galaxy. These books are rich in drama, action, a variety of personalities described in detail and, if the writer is good, great ideas. Books of his type are usually large in size and the story may extend to several books.
I have also been greatly impressed by the books of China Miéville and in particular his book “The City and the City” with its original and very impressive storyline. He is a brilliant author.
Personally, I cannot imagine reading anything more fascinating than a good Science Fiction book written by a charismatic author. Although most of the great names of this genre have died, I always keep an eye for new writers with quality books and the promise of even better books in the future.
I don’t care if this is an escape from the real world because I have no appreciation for the world we have created so far. I am fascinated by the natural world, the wonders of the universe and the revelations of Science. So, any book that describes other worlds, science, technology and the universe is far more interesting to me than books or movies that refer to the current society, this miserable and ugly world of exploitation and competition we have created. Sometimes I feel like an alien in a human body or perhaps a human being from the future or an alternative timeline, stuck to this bizarre world that humans have created. When reading Science Fiction books, I feel like going back home to a world I can understand and appreciate. So, for me Science Fiction does not feel like escaping to a fantasy but rather like going back home.
Prometheus Unbound 