Past blogs have faltered because I rather ran out of things to write about or my enthusiasm for a particular theme waned. What I need is something for which my enthusiasm won’t diminish and the other day it finally came to me…
Science Fiction, SciFi, SF whatever you like to call it has been a passion of mine since the age of 11 when, in the Midhurst Grammar School library for the first time, I discovered Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke, which I read in a single night (getting told off for having my bedside light on way past sleep time). I later discovered that the book was published in 1953, the year I was born and even later I discovered that a film of the book had been made and that MGS was used for a classroom scene. For any Old Midhurstians reading this it was one of the classrooms beneath the library
The next day I went back to the library to begin a systematic plundering of the Science Fiction section
My new-found obsession found no supporters amongst parents or schoolmasters; Science Fiction was considered déclassé by the “establishment”. I’ve always considered this dismissive stance to be narrow minded and lacking in rigour; yes, there is trashy SciFi but there are also some deeply literary and forensic works that tackle big, serious issues. And let’s not forget that the 18th and 19th centuries saw some utter drivel committed to print! My BA dissertation featured a lengthy and carefully researched rebuttal of academia’s dismissive attitude and when I finally get my RAID repaired I’ll dig out the file and publish it on this site
If you’re already a fan of the genre maybe I’ll point you to some new authors. If you haven’t read any SciFi or if you think it’s escapist nonsense, perhaps I can help to change your mind
The forthcoming articles will be broad brush, no spoilers
Onwards…
Reading Space 