I want my jet-pack

Andrew Wheeler looks at the seventeen replies to SF Signal's question "If you could change any aspect of the science fiction field itself - publishing, mainstream acceptance, fans, or whatever - what would it be and why?"

Not all of the answers were created equal but I'll use one of them for a later post.

I want my jet-pack

Andrew Wheeler looks at the seventeen replies to SF Signal's question "If you could change any aspect of the science fiction field itself - publishing, mainstream acceptance, fans, or whatever - what would it be and why?"

Not all of the answers were created equal but I'll use one of them for a later post.

I want my jet-pack

Andrew Wheeler looks at the seventeen replies to SF Signal's question "If you could change any aspect of the science fiction field itself - publishing, mainstream acceptance, fans, or whatever - what would it be and why?"

Not all of the answers were created equal but I'll use one of them for a later post.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it

In an article referenced in an article reference here, Ken MacLeod said:

It's just rare to see stories written about a future that the writer believes in and the reader can get excited about - let alone one they'd like to live in. What we need is a new intellectual engagement with the real possibilities, coupled with a new confidence in humanity's capacity to deal with them.

Outline such a future [of your own creation]. Extra points for not tucking "embrace poverty" into it in one form or another, not creating a backswing setting [1], not praising the virtues of oligarchy or dictatorship and on and so forth. In other words, outline my Nightmarish Future or something equally attractive.

I have a report to do on something that is the exact opposide of MNF so my entry will have to wait until tomorrow.

1: Settings where the author slaughters ninety nine of a hundred people to give his characters more room for their sword's backswing. I think Andrew Wheeler invented the term. He certainly has expressed distaste for settings that as a side-effect wipe out his kids.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it

In an article referenced in an article reference here, Ken MacLeod said:

It's just rare to see stories written about a future that the writer believes in and the reader can get excited about - let alone one they'd like to live in. What we need is a new intellectual engagement with the real possibilities, coupled with a new confidence in humanity's capacity to deal with them.

Outline such a future [of your own creation]. Extra points for not tucking "embrace poverty" into it in one form or another, not creating a backswing setting [1], not praising the virtues of oligarchy or dictatorship and on and so forth. In other words, outline my Nightmarish Future or something equally attractive.

I have a report to do on something that is the exact opposide of MNF so my entry will have to wait until tomorrow.

1: Settings where the author slaughters ninety nine of a hundred people to give his characters more room for their sword's backswing. I think Andrew Wheeler invented the term. He certainly has expressed distaste for settings that as a side-effect wipe out his kids.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it

In an article referenced in an article reference here, Ken MacLeod said:

It's just rare to see stories written about a future that the writer believes in and the reader can get excited about - let alone one they'd like to live in. What we need is a new intellectual engagement with the real possibilities, coupled with a new confidence in humanity's capacity to deal with them.

Outline such a future [of your own creation]. Extra points for not tucking "embrace poverty" into it in one form or another, not creating a backswing setting [1], not praising the virtues of oligarchy or dictatorship and on and so forth. In other words, outline my Nightmarish Future or something equally attractive.

I have a report to do on something that is the exact opposide of MNF so my entry will have to wait until tomorrow.

1: Settings where the author slaughters ninety nine of a hundred people to give his characters more room for their sword's backswing. I think Andrew Wheeler invented the term. He certainly has expressed distaste for settings that as a side-effect wipe out his kids.

How not to do it

From 1998:

Lihu'e- A Kalaheo man trying to be a Good Samaritan ended up causing the evacuation of several city blocks in downtown Lihu'e (the biggest town on the island - J) Wednesday when he parked a pickup truck carrying five sticks of aging dynamite in front of the Kaua'i Police Department.

Nicked from viktor_haag

How not to do it

From 1998:

Lihu'e- A Kalaheo man trying to be a Good Samaritan ended up causing the evacuation of several city blocks in downtown Lihu'e (the biggest town on the island - J) Wednesday when he parked a pickup truck carrying five sticks of aging dynamite in front of the Kaua'i Police Department.

Nicked from viktor_haag

How not to do it

From 1998:

Lihu'e- A Kalaheo man trying to be a Good Samaritan ended up causing the evacuation of several city blocks in downtown Lihu'e (the biggest town on the island - J) Wednesday when he parked a pickup truck carrying five sticks of aging dynamite in front of the Kaua'i Police Department.

Nicked from viktor_haag

Probably only fun to me

Way back when the world was young and people still bought American home electronics, Avon published a book called 2020 Vision, ed. J. Pournelle, which featured eight stories and two essays. The stories were all supposed to be set in the year 2020 and I think they all had to be set on Earth as well. According to isfdb, the contents were:

The Pugilist • (1973) • novelette by Poul Anderson
A Thing of Beauty • (1973) • shortstory by Norman Spinrad
Cloak of Anarchy • [Known Space] • (1972) • shortstory by Larry Niven
Silent in Gehenna • (1971) • shortstory by Harlan Ellison
Future Perfect • (1973) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
Prognosis: Terminal • novelette by David McDaniel
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry • shortstory by Dian Crayne [as by Dian Girard ]
Build Me a Mountain • shortstory by Ben Bova
Do We Live in a Golden Age? • essay by Jerry Pournelle
Preface (2020 Vision) • essay by Jerry Pournelle

[Was Dian Girard the one who had a ditzy female lead who kept failing her way to success?]

Some of these were fairly gloomy (Poul Anderson circa 1973 was not the go-to guy for happy SF and in fact I think it was about this time that he had David Falkayn betray Van Rijn) but I like the basic idea behind the collection. I'd be very curious what a modern reply to it would look like.

Probably only fun to me

Way back when the world was young and people still bought American home electronics, Avon published a book called 2020 Vision, ed. J. Pournelle, which featured eight stories and two essays. The stories were all supposed to be set in the year 2020 and I think they all had to be set on Earth as well. According to isfdb, the contents were:

The Pugilist • (1973) • novelette by Poul Anderson
A Thing of Beauty • (1973) • shortstory by Norman Spinrad
Cloak of Anarchy • [Known Space] • (1972) • shortstory by Larry Niven
Silent in Gehenna • (1971) • shortstory by Harlan Ellison
Future Perfect • (1973) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
Prognosis: Terminal • novelette by David McDaniel
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry • shortstory by Dian Crayne [as by Dian Girard ]
Build Me a Mountain • shortstory by Ben Bova
Do We Live in a Golden Age? • essay by Jerry Pournelle
Preface (2020 Vision) • essay by Jerry Pournelle

[Was Dian Girard the one who had a ditzy female lead who kept failing her way to success?]

Some of these were fairly gloomy (Poul Anderson circa 1973 was not the go-to guy for happy SF and in fact I think it was about this time that he had David Falkayn betray Van Rijn) but I like the basic idea behind the collection. I'd be very curious what a modern reply to it would look like.

Probably only fun to me

Way back when the world was young and people still bought American home electronics, Avon published a book called 2020 Vision, ed. J. Pournelle, which featured eight stories and two essays. The stories were all supposed to be set in the year 2020 and I think they all had to be set on Earth as well. According to isfdb, the contents were:

The Pugilist • (1973) • novelette by Poul Anderson
A Thing of Beauty • (1973) • shortstory by Norman Spinrad
Cloak of Anarchy • [Known Space] • (1972) • shortstory by Larry Niven
Silent in Gehenna • (1971) • shortstory by Harlan Ellison
Future Perfect • (1973) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
Prognosis: Terminal • novelette by David McDaniel
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry • shortstory by Dian Crayne [as by Dian Girard ]
Build Me a Mountain • shortstory by Ben Bova
Do We Live in a Golden Age? • essay by Jerry Pournelle
Preface (2020 Vision) • essay by Jerry Pournelle

[Was Dian Girard the one who had a ditzy female lead who kept failing her way to success?]

Some of these were fairly gloomy (Poul Anderson circa 1973 was not the go-to guy for happy SF and in fact I think it was about this time that he had David Falkayn betray Van Rijn) but I like the basic idea behind the collection. I'd be very curious what a modern reply to it would look like.