Auxiliary Memory

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis should not be considered a science fiction novel, it follows more in the footsteps of The Devine Comedy and Paradise Lost than it does with H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. I would go so far and say Out of the Silent Planet is an anti-science fiction novel, although it reads much like Stanley G. Weinbaum and other pulp writers of the 1930s, and was inspired by the 1920 fantasy novel, A Voyage to Arcturus. Strangely enough, it reminds me of the recent film Avatar.

Please do not read any further if you haven’t read the book and want to avoid spoilers. What I have to say is a reply to the philosophical implications of the novel and that indirectly gives away plot elements.

The reason why I claim Out of the Silent Planet is anti-science fiction is because the story wants to convince its readers that outer space is the supernatural heavens of religious myths and is full of spiritual beings, even beings who live in the void between planets. Essentially Lewis does this for religious reasons, and not scientific, and the story feels like medieval philosophy. Now, this isn’t to say the story isn’t a ripping good yarn, nor does it imply a lack of old fashion sense of wonder about alien life on Mars, like most SF fans love from science fiction from the 1920s and 1930s.

What C. S. Lewis attempts is to claim outer space for Christianity, which is pretty interesting since most Christians focus heavily on Earth and ignore cosmology. The ending to Out of the Silent Planet reminds me of the ending in Have Space Suit-Will Travel, where in both, humanity and Earth come under the judgment of higher life forms on other planets. Strangely, the bad guy in Out of the Silent Planet makes the same case as the good guys in Have Space Suit-Will Travel.

Now this is a very essential difference in philosophy, and why I’m making a case that C. S. Lewis is writing anti-science fiction. Heinlein and most of science fiction is pro mankind, even to the point of taking Satan’s attitude in Paradise Lost, “Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven.” Weston, a pathetic, spiritually blind, scientist in Out of the Silent Planet wants mankind to conquer the heavens and spread humanity to all the planets. Oyarsa, the archangel like ruler of Mars, or Malacandra, has godlike powers and considers Weston bent, or evil.

I am reminded of Lester del Rey’s “For I am a Jealous People” where God takes the side of aliens and mankind declares war on God. Science fiction is the ultimate hubris. Of course all of this assumes there are spiritual beings and dimensions we cannot see with our science. If you believe in those dimensions and beings, you will take the side of C. S. Lewis, but if you don’t, I expect most science fiction fans prefer to follow Heinlein and believe mankind is the most dangerous creature in the universe.

I think a new philosophy is emerging, that’s post-Lewis and post-Heinlein. There are no spiritual beings, but then we’re not going to be rulers of the universe either. I think in a few decades Heinlein will feel as archaic as Lewis in his philosophy, and Heinlein is my favorite writer. I grew up believing in the manifest destiny of space but the relentless reality of science is convincing me otherwise.

Out of the Silent Planet is a throwback and could easily have been written in 1838 instead of 1938. It’s the last of its kind, rather than being an early novel of future directed science fiction that dominates the twentieth century. Out of the Silent Planet wants to incorporate the spiritual world into the physical world – to weld them together. If you accept science there is no room in reality for angels, and the only hope of the spiritual world existing lies on the other side of the doorway of death.

JWH – 7/9/10

Online Science Fiction Book Clubs

I created a new blog, Online Science Fiction Book Clubs, with another member of the Modern Science Fiction book club, John Grayshaw. It all started when only two people said they would read this month’s book, A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. I suggested we promote the Yahoo! Groups we’re in that focus on reading science fiction. John volunteered to set up a Facebook page and I did a WordPress blog. In all there are four book clubs that we’re members of at Yahoo! Groups: Classic Science Fiction, Classic Sci-Fi, Modern Science Fiction and Hard SF. You can find links to them all at the new site.

Book clubs are fun but hard to manage. I’ve been in both meet-in-living room and meet-in-cyberspace clubs, and its not easy to get people to participate. Some of the online clubs have hundreds of members, but only a few people read and comment on the monthly books. We assume there are a number of lurkers, but many people sign up, check that they want to read the messages online and never come back.

Actually, it doesn’t take that many people to form a good book club, either in the real world or the digital universe. Ten or twelve members, with six to eight that regularly attend or post, with at least four or five people that read the book. Online book clubs aren’t as social as meeting in each other’s living rooms, but it’s more convenient. You read comments when you feel like it, and you can comment any time, and have your own say in the peace and quiet of your home where you can compose your thoughts carefully. Online is better for shy folk.

John and I have both heard from email administrators that young people hate email and prefer Facebook. I was even told that kids are moving away from texting and tweeting, preferring Facebook. Most of the members of the four book clubs are past fifty, and because it’s email based that might explain why we don’t get many young people joining. We got 38 people joining the Facebook group on the first day, but we don’t think any of them have joined the Yahoo! Groups.

Since young people like tweets, texting and wall jotting, we’re wondering if the verbose emails of the book clubs will be unappealing. We also wonder how many young people who like to read long books when they love to communicate in short bursts of words?

Now there’s an opposite trend among the older book club members, many of them don’t like newer science fiction books. Which is weird. Back in the old days science fiction books were often under 200 pages. Modern science fiction books are usually longer than 400 pages, and often belong to 3, 5 and even 10 book series. Could it be the young people have so little to say because they are engrossed in epic novels and don’t have the time to write long emails? And the old people have time to write long emails because they are reading shorter books? Who knows?

At the beginning of the year when I was making my new year’s resolutions I decided to read less science fiction in 2010 and more brand new non-fiction. Because I’m in these book clubs I’m still cranking through the SF. But I am learning something from reading so much science fiction, and that’s that I prefer the newer stuff. I went through a nostalgia period for my old favorite SF, but I’m really digging the new stuff more.

It’s great to be in the two classic SF book clubs and talk with other people my own age about our life-long love of science fiction. However, I’m learning that there is a style of writing in the books from 1950-1975 that they like and I don’t. There’s a lot to be learn from being in four book clubs. Look at the July books we’re reading:

The Dragon Masters (1963) by Jack Vance
The Dispossessed (1974) by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) by Vernor Vinge
Permutation City (1994) by Greg Egan

That’s quite a snapshot of science fiction evolution. They all deal with the far future of humanity, but each shows such vividly different views. What’s really fascinating is the impact of computers on the last two stories. The Dragon Masters is almost primitive in its ideas compared to the others with its future feudal society and medieval warfare between genetic monsters. And it’s funny how A Fire Upon the Deep was influenced by the now archaic Usenet internet technology that was so exciting before the world wide web covered the Earth.

Science fiction has many dimensions, and many reasons for people to take up reading it, but I’m finding what I like best about science fiction is surfing the cutting edge of ideas. I love both the science fictional speculation and the evolution of writing styles.

JWH – 7/8/10

Clarion West 2002

Eight years ago around this time of year I attended the Clarion West writer’s workshop in Seattle. Seventeen of us all shared the same ambition to become science fiction writers, but so far I’ve failed to succeed. A few of my classmates haven’t. We were told only a handful of us would get ahead with our dreams, and it would take years, and it would not always be as planned. And that’s come true.

Strangely enough, my Clarion West 2002 group had three guys who were 50 that year, seeking new ambitions for the second half of their lives. Most of the class were in their twenties, with a couple in their thirties. At 50, I decided to do something new with my life by going back and pursuing one of my teen ambitions, to write science fiction. In the eight years since I’ve written damn little fiction, but I’ve written a lot about science fiction on this blog and at Classics of Science Fiction.

Dario Ciriello has taken a different tack and started Panverse Publishing, and editing anthologies of original stories, with an emphasis on the novella. With two titles in print and another due in September, Dario has hit the ground running with a promising new career as an editor. The books have been getting good reviews and they have stunning covers.

You can get Panverse One and Eight Against Reality now at Amazon, or order direct from the Panverse site. Panverse One is even available as a Kindle book. Panverse Two will come out in September. If you are a patron of writers and small presses, you can get copies of the books and make donations at Wonder. Story. They’re Back! where Dario talks in a short film about his small press and publishing new writers.

The other Clarion West student that was 50 like me back in 2002 is Doug Sharp. Doug has spent years living out in the wilderness finishing up his wild science fiction novel and is now looking for an agent. The epic adventure turned out so long after many revisions that it will be two novels, Channel Zilch and Hel’s Bet! Doug’s blog Walden 3.0 is fascinating account of a modern Thoreau living in a cabin in the Minnesota woods with his dogs while writing science fiction. Doug takes beautiful photos of the wilderness and wildlife and should write a book his real life, something I envy.

I on the other hand, have written practically no fiction since 2002. I found a writing outlet with blogging and my website The Classics of Science Fiction. But the longing to write fiction never stops gnawing at me, and every summer around this time, I remember fondly my weeks at Clarion West and my ambition to write short stories and novels. Each year I reevaluate the question: Can an old dog learn new tricks.

I’ve taken off this week to work on a short story as a mental return to Clarion West. I agonize over my lack of discipline, but the reality of me not writing fiction is probably not about discipline but talent. Hard work and talent does pay off. T. L. Morganfield, one of my younger Clarion West classmates has had great success with publishing a string of short stories based on Aztec mythology. Recent publications include one in the July issue of Realms of Fantasy and another story in Dario’s anthology Eight Against Reality. What I admire about Traci is her constant work at achieving her goal. I wish I could be more like her.

Ysabeau S. Wilce, another younger Clarion West 2002 alum, won the 2008 Andre Norton Award for young adults, for her novel Flora’s Dare. I haven’t heard much about my other classmates except for notices about a story published here and there, and other kinds of artistic success. I especially wish the young classmates all the luck in the world. They have the time to make their dreams come true and I hope they succeed.

I hope by next summer when I think of my time at Clarion West that I will have finished the short story I’m working on now, and maybe a few more. I want to prove that an old dog can learn new tricks.

JWH – 7/6/10

How Kindle and Nook Can Better Compete With The iPad

Last weekend I wrote “To Ebook or Not To Ebook” and I’m still agonizing over which ebook reader to get. There are two main issues I’m still worrying over. First, which book is the most comfortable to read for long periods, and second, which ebook reader is the most universal in terms of buying ebooks. I imagine the light E-Ink readers, the Nook and Kindle, are easier to hold for long periods of time, but it’s obvious the iPad can read books from Amazon, B&N, iBooks, and many other smaller ebook sellers. The iPad is almost the universal ebook reader and I’m leaning towards buying it.

My need for reading comfort might put me in a limited market so my buying desires are of less concern to ebook engineers, but I wished they’d consider them. I have bad eyes, and back problems that make it uncomfortable to sit long in one position, and an arm problem that makes holding a book pain inducing over time. I’m getting old and wimpy. I’d love to sit and read for hours like I used to, but it’s a struggle. That’s why I fear the iPad – many reviewers have complained its difficult to hold for lengthy reading sessions.

And, besides that, I don’t want Apple to just crush the competition, so how could the Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Sony ereaders better compete with the iPad?

Universal Reader

First off, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders should make a cross license deal to display each other’s DRM material. That way any Kindle, Nook or Kobo owner could buy and read books from all the leading booksellers. The obvious solution would be a universal ebook format and DRM, but that might take years to hammer out. It might be easier to add competitor’s software to each others readers. Obviously, the iPad does it with ease.

The reason why I’m leaning towards the iPad is because I can buy books from all the major ebook retailers and read it on the iPad. If the E-Ink readers want to compete they need to do the same thing. It was foolish of Amazon to start the trend for proprietary readers.

Add a Handle with Trigger

The second way to compete with the iPad is make the E-Ink readers even more svelte and easier to hold. I wished they came with a detachable handle so the ebook reader would look something like a church fan. A nice handgrip with a trigger to page forward would make holding an ebook reader nicer, and make the page turning more convenient. You can leave the back page button on the reader because it wouldn’t be needed that often. I don’t know this for sure, but I imagine a handgrip handle would be more comfortable to hold than holding the ebook reader like a book.

I’m talking about making the device comfortable for reading 8 hours at a stretch. This is where the iPad is weak.

The Third Option

I’ve even thought of another option, but this one by-passes the E-Ink technology. Keep the books in the handle and beam the content to a pair of special glasses via Bluetooth. I wonder if it’s possible to make a pair of glasses that displays words that are even easier to read, something that helps the reader tune out the world and become one with the word. In the music world we’ve moved the speakers into the ears, why not move the page right in front of the eyes?

Why Reading is Specialized

iPad fans lord their gadgets over the E-Ink readers claiming its a universal solution. They ask why anyone would want a specialized device when one device, the iPad, can do so much. I think the iPad is a revolutionary device, it moves the computer screen off the desk or lap and into the hands where it makes a big functional difference. But is that the ultimate location? And is it the right weight and form factor?

Bookworms like to read for hours on end, and the ultimate ebook reader will cater to that need. I tend to believe the lower weight of the E-Ink technology gives it a chance to compete with the more glamorous and universal device of the iPad if they are optimized for streamline reading of text.

Many bloggers and journalists have written about the approaching doom for the E-Ink reader, but I tend to doubt those predictions. That doesn’t mean I won’t buy an iPad any day now, but it also doesn’t mean I won’t buy a Kindle 3 when it comes out. The new Pearl E-Ink technology is appealing. It just galls me to think about buying ebook reader that can’t read all ebooks.

The Deciding Factor

To be honest, the universal ebook reader of the iPad sways me more than comfort of the smaller E-Ink technology readers, and I’ll probably buy an iPad for now. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t buy an E-Ink reader too, especially if they become a universal reader. I’m greatly disappointed that most books I’m reading right now aren’t available for any ebook reader. That sucks. But we’re living in transitional times for books and times will change soon.

JWH 7/4/10

Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson

Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson is the fourth novel I’ve read that’s up for the Hugo Award this year.

Boneshaker, Cherie Priest
The City & The City, China Miéville
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, Robert Charles Wilson
Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente
Wake, Robert J. Sawyer
The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi

This is the first time I’ve tried to read all the nominees before the awards were given and it has proven to be a rewarding endeavor. I’ve got Boneshaker and Palimpsest to read before September 5th. I listened to all four books, and will listen to Boneshaker next, and Palimpsest last, since it won’t come out on audio until August 15th. This is a sign about how successful these novels are because they are all getting the audiobook treatment.

Even though I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each of these books, so far I’d bet that The Windup Girl will win because it’s gotten the most attention. Wake has been the story most like a traditional SF novel, and covered my favorite subject matter, but the other three have been the most literary ambitious. The Windup Girl makes for an interesting bookend to Julian Comstock since they are both about the 22nd century after the oil runs out. Strangely, their imagined futures couldn’t be more different.

The Windup Girl portrays science progressing after the collapse of oil, whereas Julian Comstock pictures the world de-evolving into technology that’s downright 19th century, and some people have even called the novel steampunk, but I wouldn’t. For instance, people of the United States in Robert Charles Wilson’s future live under a flag of sixty stars but ride horses again and sail across the oceans on schooners. They even have to reinvent the repeating rifle and have reverted back to silent films with a strange twist.

These books don’t try to predict the future but tell complex stories set in strange worlds far different from ours. Each book does speculate on current trends, but they diverge in fascinating ways. In Julian Comstock America is ruled by the Executive Branch of the Presidency, the Military and the Dominion of Jesus Christ, a new Orthodox church that apparently grew out of today’s fundamentalism. Society has restructured itself around severe class distinctions, including indentured servitude, feudal land owners and an aristocracy.

Julian Comstock is a rich story that has the flavor of 19th century dime novels. The Dominion of Jesus Christ has brought back puritanical beliefs and censorship so the characters think and speak like people from the pioneer days of the old west. Julian Comstock is the nephew of a murderous President who must hide out in the western states because the Presidency has become an inherited title and his uncle fears any possible challenges to his rule. Julian is raised with Adam Hazzard, a son of an indentured worker who narrates this modern picaresque tale. Wilson uses Adam to make some fun swipes at his own profession of writing.

Julian Comstock is a colorful novel that would make a beautiful movie, perfect for Hollywood’s liberal philosophizing, but I’d like to see a more balanced treatment. Even though I’m a liberal myself, I think the story could have been improved if the Dominion of Jesus Christ hadn’t been so one dimensional. It would have been far more fascinating and scary to see a more realistic theocracy taking over America, as many fundamentalists dream about. This is an odd subject for science fiction, but Heinlein explored it back in the early 1940s with some of his first stories collected in Revolt in 2100.

Wilson never gives enough reasons why in his world of Julian Comstock so much technology and science from our era is forgotten, like radio communication, or needs to be reinvented, like machine guns, which leaves me to think the story is less science fiction and more allegory about the dangers of religion in politics. But this story does make me wonder just how much we could forgot?

JWH – 6/27/10