Science Fiction

[waterspyder]

I was going through a list of the top 100 science fiction books of the 20th Century, and realized that I've read many of them, or other works by the authors on the list and I started to wonder.

What is it about Science Fiction that makes it so stigmatized?

All of the books on that list are thought-provoking. Many are written with a finesse that is completely lost on the contemporary serial novelist. Is there a ton of science fiction out there that I haven't read that is abyssmally bad? Is the average reader incapable of fathoming the concepts that are presented? What is it that makes sci-fi so inaccessible?

Comments

my explanation

[feli-valkyria.livejournal.com]

Because science fiction, like many fantasy, has too many characters and settings to the point where I get overwhelmed and frustrated, and I already have facial/character recognition problems so why make it worse?

However, I'll take a dystopia any day.

Re: my explanation

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

I think there are varying degrees of this – I can understand the perception.

Re: my explanation

[zenten.livejournal.com]

I'm confused, how do facial recognition problems come up in a book?

And how many characters and settings fit what you'd like?

Re: my explanation

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Try one to two settings and fewer than 10 characters with normal sounding names.

Re: my explanation

[feli-valkyria.livejournal.com]

If author(s) talk about what a character, let's say A, looks like, I can't get A's description correct in my mind and compare them to B and C without thinking that they're the same, particularly if their features are similar.

Character recognition issues are widespread for me and can be annoying (like the other day, I kept thinking every guy with dark stubble and hair looks exactly like Sylar - it's pathetic!).

I don't think there's a specific number of characters or settings but it's rather dependent on how the author(s) present them (i.e., confusing vs. crystal clear). It may be fantasy, but as an example, The Fionavar Tapestry is a novel that I had EXTREME difficulty with due to the character recognition problem. I wasn't able to enjoy that novel, :S.

I also have patience issues and must know every single detail about each character/setting whether or not they're important, so if there are too many characters/settings, trying to get familiar with all of them becomes a burden for me.

For all the above reasons, I can not get myself to read Lord of the Rings.

Re: my explanation

[zenten.livejournal.com]

Ah.

I just never remember what anyone looks like in any book for the most part.

And yes, Lord of the Rings is hard for just about anyone to get through.

Re: my explanation

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

I know I failed. I've never been able to get past Flotsam and Jetsam in Book 2. Try the Hobbit instead. They're all short and interchangeable anyhow.

Re: my explanation

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

A dystopia is science fiction. It's a big genre.

Re: my explanation

[feli-valkyria.livejournal.com]

I know it is, it's the exception to my 'rules'.