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| Hearsay: |
Science Fiction books are getting in on politics. Wait a minute… this is news?
Two years from now, terrorists under the banner of the “Progressive Restoration” will take over Manhattan in a larger attempt to overthrow the government. Thirteen years later, President Chelsea Clinton and Vice President Michael Moore will haul out the good White House china for Osama bin Laden’s state visit. By fiddling with your radio, you may be able to catch an underground broadcast by Sean Hannity. If you own a radio, that is; folks living in states that are under Sharia law won’t even be that lucky.
These aren’t my fantasies or nightmares. All of these vignettes are ripped from science fiction thrillers that have hit shelves in just the last 18 months.
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December 19th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Why are these books called “science fiction?” Where’s the science?
December 19th, 2006 at 3:00 pm
“But the new genre of culture war and terror war novel is different. In “Prayers for the Assassin,” an awful and believable event — coordinated nuclear attacks on American cities, with Israeli terrorists framed as the culprits — kick-starts a future that’s too ridiculous to be fearsome. Egged on by Hollywood celebrities, millions of Americans convert to Islam. Families haul their kids to the thrill rides at Palestine Adventures. Battleships are renamed for Osama bin Laden.”
Bwahahahaha. Oh man, that is gold. I want this book… but I mean, at the same time, but buying it I’d be encouraging him, wouldn’t I?
December 19th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Instead of calling these books “sci-fi,” we should call them something else. Perhaps “para-fan” for “paranoid fantasy.” These books belong to a completely different genre than science fiction.
Sap, if you actually pay money for that novel, the terrorists have won.
December 19th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
1. Franklin Carter says:
December 19th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Why are these books called “science fiction?” Where’s the science?
Where is the science in most sci-fi?
If you really want to define sci-fi as books that deal with theoretical but realistic fictional science, you are cutting out most of the famous SF (star wars, vonnegut novels, Dune, etc.)
December 19th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
The technical, bland term, which I don’t like very much on aesthetic grounds even though it’s very useful, is “speculative fiction.” It’s an umbrella term for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and alternate history. The latter is where I’d place these crazy stories, BTW.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:16 am
I think the term “speculative fiction” is horrible. I also wouldn’t say it is a “technical” term, how is it anymore “technical” than the others? If anything, the fact that it isn’t really used outside of that community makes it less technical.
But the problem with that term is that no one really agrees what counts. Some people just say sci fi and fantasy. Others add supernatal horror. Others add all horror no matter how spectulative and alternative history. Secondly, it often seems like a desperate attempt for Sci-Fi/Fantasy to be more “literary” by using a vague term with which they can claim authors with little real connection to the fantasy or sci-fi tradition (Pynchon, Murakami, Delillo, etc.)
December 20th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I read stories by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury (among others). Those authors attempted to put “science” into “science fiction.” However, they also imagined unusual cultures, economies, religions, political systems and psychologies for their books. Frank Herbert’s Dune is a good example of a novel that breaks free from the straightjacket term “science fiction.”
But the novels described in David Weigel’s article don’t even pretend to have scientific themes. The books merely sketch dystopian futures (and convey right-wing political points as well). We’re all supposed to be horrified by the ridiculous prospect of President Chelsea Clinton and Vice-President Michael Moore entertaining Osama bin Laden in the White House.
These novels have more in common with the paranoid fantasies of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World or Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta. But after reading Mr. Weigel’s book review, I suspect that the new crop of post-9/11 dystopias aren’t nearly as good.