Thanks for the shoutout and for the thought-provoking read. I’ve been turning over this question for quite some time—as have many others; I don’t think any of us will quite solve it.
I like your claim that it ultimately comes down to narrative structure and purpose… inward-vs-outward…. The problem arises when we compare that categorization with the widely-held descriptors. Dune is held as sci-fi and yet one could make a compelling argument that it isn’t based on the above.
I don’t quite know how to square that circle, but this was a great analysis and if I write on this topic myself I hope to back reference to it. Thanks again for making this
Funnily enough, I actually almost mentioned Dune towards the end as an example for how the genre lines get muddled based on this interpretation...I would consider it a soft science fiction that sometimes leans into fantasy, but I also wanted to respect its legacy as being a famous and much-regarded science fiction work, so I decided against talking about it for this post.
If you do write on the topic, I am interested to see what you post! Thanks again for your response.
Have you ever read C.S. Lewis and/or Brian Aldiss on this topic?
I have not, but I will have to check them out - thank you! Have you read them?
Thanks for the shoutout and for the thought-provoking read. I’ve been turning over this question for quite some time—as have many others; I don’t think any of us will quite solve it.
I like your claim that it ultimately comes down to narrative structure and purpose… inward-vs-outward…. The problem arises when we compare that categorization with the widely-held descriptors. Dune is held as sci-fi and yet one could make a compelling argument that it isn’t based on the above.
I don’t quite know how to square that circle, but this was a great analysis and if I write on this topic myself I hope to back reference to it. Thanks again for making this
Thank you!
Funnily enough, I actually almost mentioned Dune towards the end as an example for how the genre lines get muddled based on this interpretation...I would consider it a soft science fiction that sometimes leans into fantasy, but I also wanted to respect its legacy as being a famous and much-regarded science fiction work, so I decided against talking about it for this post.
If you do write on the topic, I am interested to see what you post! Thanks again for your response.