Wiki Fiction: Science Fiction

This blog is mostly concerned with science fiction stories because that is my favorite kind of fiction. I view science fiction as an intellectual playground where we can use our imaginations to explore change, the kinds of changes that happen when parts of the universe (such as the human species) develop complex technological cultures and come to understand their place in the universe. I like the idea that science fiction is a sub-genre of fantasy where the reader can expect to find stories that are built upon a sense of scientific plausibility rather than magic or supernaturalism.

The needed film

For more information about my favorite kinds of science fiction stories see my page about the Fermi paradox.

Most of my fiction is set in the Exodemic Fictional Universe.

Major Influences...

I've been reading and writing science fiction stories for over 50 years. Here are 10 of the people who influenced my thinking about science fiction writing....

Asimov. The first science fiction novel I ever read was The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov. The way Asimov unified his Foundation Saga with his positronic robot stories was an act of literary genius. I find it hard to write a blog post without mentioning Asimov's fiction. Foundations of Eternity is my fan fiction story that picks up where Asimov left off. My favorite novel by Asimov is The End of Eternity.

Andre Norton. Daybreak - 2250 A.D. was one of the first science fiction novels I ever read. Some parts like the tool-using mutant rodents are still memorable, even after five decades.

Vance. I fell in love with the prose of Jack Vance about 40 years ago. I always face the temptation to explore what Vance's characters did after the end of the stories that Vance told. In the pages of this blog I partake in fan fiction adaptations of his Demon Princes Saga, his Alastor Cluster stories and his Cadwal Saga. Even Ghyl Tarvoke does not escape my meddling.

Sydney Van Scyoc. Assignment Nor'Dyren...a biologically crafted alien species, designed for a galactic civilization. What's not to like?

Sagan. He only wrote one science fiction story (Contact), but it covers interesting ground. It even led to a good SciFi movie. The Contact story would also make a nice television show.

Carolyn Janice Cherry. The Faded Sun novels stick in my mind like Level 7. Brothers of Earth is another favorite of mine.

Clarke. For me, the three "grand masters" of science fiction are Asimov, Vance and Clarke. That's a purely subjective selection based on my personal interests. Clarke's ability to imagine alien species that are much older and more technologically advanced than the human species was a great inspiration for me.

Kate Wilhelm. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang...global cooling and cloning gone wrong. It's like the inverse of my Exode Trilogy.

Roddenberry. Before I ever knew that there was written science fiction, I was a fan of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek. My science fiction writing was heavily influenced by Assignment: Earth.

Doris Lessing. When I was young and impresionable, Shikasta blew my mind. By my standards it is more fantasy than science fiction, but as a story about the secret past of our planet, it certainly had a major impact on me and my development of the Exodemic Fictional Universe.