SCIENCE FICTION VISIONARIES: An Introduction

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

We've come quite a long way, haven't we? We've covered a lot of ground on fantasy writers, and I have so many more on the way. I will admit, though, that I don't really feel about it the way that I used to. Perhaps it has to do with getting little to no response on my entries, coupled with the awkwardness of doing everything on forum features, which entails typing in full on Word documents due to the size and time consumption, which drains me. It felt easier on an actual blog, though that might be nostalgic wishful thinking. But I do intend on continuing with it. Fantasy is a vast, nebulous genre.

Related to that is an epiphany I've had: when speaking about speculative fiction in general, is it really that constructive to talk about only one branch of it for so long? I don't want to seem single-minded, nor do I want to encourage anyone else to think that way. And having covered fantasy for so long, I feel that it would be good for my audience for me to introduce them to other forms. Thus I've decided to give a substantial portion of this blog to discussing one of the most respected, venerable forms of speculation: science fiction.

Perhaps far more than horror, science fiction has been in competition with fantasy as a form of expression. In many ways, it's the mirror of fantasy, yet the two halves complement one another. Since they are distinct enough to warrant separate entries, I will be creating another series that will run at least until I run out of writers. Also, there will be a couple instances of some authors from the Masters of Fantasy series appearing here where I feel that either I didn't represent their other output enough or I could speak more about their relation to science fiction. With any luck, I would hope that I can get any non-sf readers to try it out. I feel it would be well worth the effort.




NOTE: I have mulled over doing a third series based on horror, but I'm not sure my audience would be too receptive to it. For the time being, I will be occasionally be noting any horror authors who deal particularly in the fantastic on both blogs, but I wish to keep a third series in consideration, unless anyone objects. Still, I wouldn't necessarily anticipate it. I will accept any feedback regarding it.