To start off, I FULLY admit my ignorance on this issue, since I haven't read a ton of modern sci-fi yet (Mercy of Gods however was by far my favorite read last year). I'm more a fantasy guy who's read some classic SF and have been tryin to branch out
That being said, I have consumed my fair share of the work of HG Wells, Asimov, PKD, and Clark. One thing I've noticed however in most of the writing podcasts and and books on the craft I've consumed…is the SINGULAR focus on character-based stories. Not just as a preference, but rather this notion that character arcs and stories as a whole are in fact in fact synonymous and cannot exist without the other.
At first it was more a minor annoyance but the sheer amount of material that preaches this view is in my opinion, kinda a problem? Don't get me wrong I'm 100% certain most of the stories that get the most emotional reactions out of me are fully character based and rooted deep in empathizing with human struggle, flaws, and the push towards growth.
But…where does that leave works like Wells' War of the Worlds & The Time Machine? Asimov's Foundation or The Last Question? Clark's 9 Billion Names of God or, need i even say it, 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY
None of these stories particularly care about deep characters or personal growth, but rather focus on big, imaginative ideas and fascinating "what if" scenarios, rife with interesting conflict and philosophical implications. If they were forced to narrow focus on one person or one family, it would distract from the larger point the author was trying to make, and while that can of course be done well in the right hands, I don't think it's NECESSARY for every writer to have to be everything. Sometimes you wanna just do things like ponder the vastness of the cosmos and humanity's place in it, like in Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker, which remains the biggest source of inspiration for my current story (which IS character-focused, actually. These stories have value even to people who prefer tales more grounded in humanity).
All in all…I would understand thinking less of these idea-focused stories if maybe they got too obsessed with "oh wouldn't it be cool if-" and simply never really moved on from concepts that were just superficially neat or aesthetically pleasing but almost always they have something more interesting and deeper to say about humanity, existence and consciousnes itself! If people could enjoy a philosophy, science or nonfiction book about these things, why not experience those same core messages/ideas in the form of an interesting story? Do we not love fairy tales for their messages despite an absence of deep characters?
Anyways, I stand by these sentiments either way but i might as well still ask: Is there any good science fiction still being published where the main draw is the ideas and the plot? What are your thoughts on this topic?
by jesster_0
4 Comments
The trend at the moment is to write things like a movie script with focus on constant plot beats and characters interactions. Much like prescriptive magic systems in fantasy are popular, people seem to be more into explicit sci-fi word building sets up and less so on pulling back to take a philosophical look at things. The books you want are still out there but it’s less marketable and popular in the algorithm.
Give the Polity series by Neal Asher a try.
Ted Chiang may scratch your itch. Not every story is amazing, but most people are familiar with Arrival, and the compilation of short stories i picked up at the airport was mostly what you’re talking about.
They still get written (check out Adrian Tchaikovsky to name an author who mostly writes this sort of ‘idea’ Sci-fi). But they are niche I agree. Right now the market, and authentically so I think because readers have an easier time with such stories, is much more character/character development focused. So idea scifi still gets written but it’s narrower and not as openly advertised as hot genres that sell gangbusters.