Posts about science fiction

Oct122017

Boldly Going, Going Boldly

Star Trek Discovery isn’t perfect, but I’m not sure any television show, movie, or comic book franchise will ever be perfect in the eyes of its fans. There’s a passion in fandom that’s tied to nostalgia, to the version of a franchise we first fell in love with.

I grew up on reruns of Star Trek the Original Series. Every day at 6pm on Channel 34 in Oklahoma I visited strange worlds and came to think that people should be judged on more than skin color or by ethnic or national background. When the Next Generation came along, I went happily back to the stars.

I love Star Wars too, but for very different reasons. Star Trek was always about the principles for me—that humanity could grow beyond petty squabbles and conflicts over religion or resources to do something bigger. We could spread out, explore. We could forgo economics, hunger, and internal armed conflict.

For some people, Discovery will be a letdown because while it focuses on the Federation/Klingon war, that’s not what it’s about. It’s about explorers and scientists in wartime. The Discovery is a science vessel. That she’s a science vessel whose research into finding a “better way to fly” must be repurposed for war provides a perfect setting for the show’s primary theme: can the Federation’s ideals survive in a time of war?

Some characters easily resent this, and they run the risk of helping the Klingons win. Other characters pivot to the other extreme, that winning the war is worth any cost. The interesting ones, as always, are conflicted and walk a line down the middle, pulled apart by their principles. The main character in Discovery, Michael Bernam, is a walking example of this: a human orphaned by the Klingons then raised by Vulcans, and now back among humans.

My largest problem with the recent Trek movies is that they failed to understand what Star Trek is truly about. The principles that drove the original series seemed entirely lacking, the scientific curiosity thrown over for a shoot first ask questions later mentality. The writers seemed determined to plumb the depths of the Federation’s dark side and offer up villains whose motivations, while sympathetic, were outright betrayals or rejections of the original series’ principles. “This isn’t your father’s Star Trek” so many reviewers said, and they weren’t wrong. The main issue I had was that it wasn’t my Star Trek either.

I love Discovery. I loved the first two episodes, a prologue to the main event. I loved episode four the most, where the shoot first character blunders into their death because that mentality has put them on too extreme of a vector.

I’m more than excited to see where the series goes. It’s not the original series. It’s not the Next Generation, but it feels far closer to Star Trek: wonder, exploration, and guiding principles, albeit tested against the backdrop of war.

I can’t end this review without mentioning CBS All Access or the controversy around it. Like so many, I hate the subscription service. It’s a lot of money for one show (and for me, there is no other CBS show I’m interested in after they booted Supergirl). For now, I’ll pay the fee to see Discovery, but I would absolutely hate to see it fail because of a short sighted attempt to launch the subscription service. I’d much prefer to buy the season on Amazon and watch the episodes a day later commercial free (like I do the Expanse or Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency).

Subscription aside, I hope Discovery succeeds. It’s the Star Trek I’ve waited a long time for.

Jan132012

Historical Mysteries Out Among the Stars


Big ideas are the foundation of a great Science Fiction story. Where fantasy enchants, science fiction inspires. I know I’ve enjoyed the read when I put down a Sci Fi book and find my brain spinning as I ponder the implication of a technology or social development.

Science Fiction isn’t an easy sell these days. Most agents won’t touch it and few publishers show interest. In a time when fantasy is thriving, largely due to the urban, Science Fiction is languishing. I suspect that a large part of the issue is that Sci Fi is often inaccessible. It isn’t easy on the brain, and stories based on science can be dull.

A good science fiction story needs neither aliens nor lasers (look at Battlestar Galactica) to work. Not that I’m opposed to aliens and lasers. I am after all, a devoted Farscape fan who never got over its cancellation, but it’s depth I’m seeking in a good science fiction novel. I want that feeling of my brain spinning, of big ideas looming on the horizon, and of course I want to be entertained.

Jack McDevitt’s Alex Benedict novels give me all of these things in a slick package. Alex isn’t the most highly regarded guy around: an antique dealer accused of damaging historical sites, he’s nevertheless very good at his profession. McDevitt made a good turn when he switched the point of view in the books from Alex to his partner Chase. She’s a more dynamic character and being out of the loop of Alex’s brilliant insights, is more relatable for the reader.

McDevitt places a juicy mystery at the heart of each novel, and it’s usually something Alex and Chase stumble into on their way to something else. The reveal is always bigger than life, though the victory is occasionally bittersweet.
My original intent in reading this series was to read one, review it, then read another; but I became so entranced that I ripped through the series in a couple of weeks.

I enjoyed Polaris, but find that the books get better with time.* Seeker, with its discussion of the role of history in contemporary life, captivated me. McDevitt seasons the plot with questions on government and politics. The place of religion in a cosmos where man has spread out among the stars is a major theme in all of the books, particular in Firebird, but I think my favorite so far has been the Devil’s Eye. It has everything I love in Science Fiction: the big idea, a terrible secret buried by authority, remote stellar outposts, and even an appearance by McDevitt’s one alien species, the telepathic mutes. The Devil’s Eye delves into the tensions we all face with our governments and our place in things. All of the books use quotes to start new chapters, usually these are from future books McDevitt has created. The Devil’s Eye draws heavily on a series of horror novels, and McDevitt uses them to inject some commentary on the art of writing into things.

*There’s a point I’d like to make on this, which is that mid-list authors are struggling these days. A lack of high sales is pushing a lot of writers out of writing and it’s unfortunate. McDevitt is a perfect example of a talent that needed time to mature, and he’s a great example of tenacity too.

Dec42011

Safe Flying, Anne McCaffrey

Time flying, chronal refugees, eugenics, lost and found heirs to great houses, sexual politics, and of course, dragons. These were all elements of the Dragonriders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey’s wonderful series.

In the eighties science fiction and fantasy were dominated by women: McCaffrey’s books stood beside those of Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton, C.J. Cherryh, Melanie Rawn, and Margaret Weiss (though I must fairly mention Tracy Hickman). Many of these writers discarded the tired retread of Tolkien’s conventions and mashed Sci-fi into their fantasy creations. Pern was such a world.

I haven’t been to Pern in a while, though I can picture the covers in my mind as though I were still a kid browsing my local Waldenbooks. I found out today McCaffrey had died at the age of 85. She had a long run, a long life, which I’d hope for anyone. She was a prolific author with a decorous career.

Safe flying, Anne. We’ll miss you. Thank you for the stories.