Post by yewtree on Oct 15, 2005 16:25:25 GMT
Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction - an excellent theoretical overview of what SF is, how it has developed, and where it's going. Some of the essays are somewhat elderly now, as it's a collection of essays from previous anthologies, but it's very useful to find a book that actually links SF with other literary traditions and explains the similarities and dissimilarities between them. I was very interested in Darko Suvin's essay on the device of cognitive estrangement (basically the same as a Brechtian Verfremdungseffekt). I'm not sure if I think it is a pre-requisite for SF, but it probably is. Personally I think the question "What if...?" is usually the starting point for SF. It should also include some kind of science I suppose, though so-called soft sciences are just as valid a basis for SF as the hard sciences, in my opinion.