Science fiction is a genre that provokes apprehension in the mind of uninitiated readers, who envision either great tomes of multi-volume space operas, alien literotica, or those utopian techno-futurist novels beloved by renowned weirdos Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. This inaccessibility is often blamed on the myriad of genre-specific tropes and jargons that impose themselves from the very first sentence, as well as its reputation for uncomfortable subtexts (most notably colonialism and rampant misogyny), especially prevalent in so-called “classic” sci-fi of the twentieth century.
Genres, however, are not monoliths. Despite its unfortunate mainstream reputation, science fiction is a vast and varied body of writing with a complex history of subversion and reinvention. Modern sci-fi has a prestigious literary tradition, which, from its 19th century beginnings (originating famously in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818)), has profiled a multitude of compelling subjects, while also spawning a diverse array of sub-genres (like Afro-futurism or Ecofiction). But still, it can be difficult for the uninitiated who want to get into reading sci-fi to navigate its huge and often complex literary landscape. My advice to anyone interested is to start small, with short fiction.
Short fiction has played a prominent role in the development of science fiction, helping to bring the genre to the mass market through the publication of pulp-style magazines like Amazing Stories (1926), The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1949) or Interzone (1982). Many accomplished sci-fi authors debuted their writing in these magazines and published short form/serialised works between novels for extra income. The likes of Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451), Isaac Asimov (I, Robot), Philp K Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), Frank Herbert (Dune) all got their start by writing short fiction in these magazines, as well as contributing throughout their careers.
Short stories are the best introduction to science fiction because they help exhibit the absolute invention that characterises the genre and explore the fullest and truly weird limits of creativity. At the same time, they help limit sci-fi’s worst excesses, leaving little room for needless jargon or excessive world-building. Short story anthologies can also act as a good primer for readers to sample different authors, styles, and sub-genres before moving on to larger novels or series. Below are a few of my recommendations that best illustrate this joy of reading sci-fi short fiction and are good places to start for anyone interested in diving into the genre.
Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel (Ken Liu)
This story is a wistful and thought-provoking alternative history of the building of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel, hypothetically constructed by the American and Japanese states in the 1940s at a time of peaceful cooperation. Mixing conventional first-person storytelling with faux non-fiction elements, Liu ‘s work is compelling, unsettling, and melancholic. It draws the reader into the fictional sub-terranean world of the tunnel and its inhabitants, exploring deeper questions about human rights, race relations and guilt in a parallel world not too different from our own. The story also exemplifies the freedom that short fiction allows for science fiction authors to experiment with mixed story-telling forms, and its amazing results.
Aye and Gomorrah (Samuel R. Delany)
A story of the New Wave sub-genre, written by the acclaimed gay author Samuel R. Delany, Aye and Gomorrah explores sexuality and gender in an age of space colonialism and travel. The story follows a group of ‘spacers’: sexless eunuchs who have been modified from childhood to live, travel and work in space. In the bustling streets of Istanbul, the protagonist meets a frelk (a fetishist obsessed with Spacers and willing to pay them for sexual favours), before embarking upon an unforeseen and intriguing encounter. Written in 1967, this story explored marginal identities and illicit relationships at a time when much of the queer experience remained taboo and repressed. It is also an intricate portrayal of fetishes and fetish communities, a subject that remains taboo even today. Written with flare and containing untold complexity, Delany’s story is a must read for those interested in LGBTQ+ (especially gender-queer) sci-fi.
Armageddon in Retrospect (Kurt Vonnegut)
Tackled with the trademark wit and humility of this legendary author, Armageddon in Retrospect is another example of experiment with form. Written as a letter to the reader, Vonnegut imagines a world where the Devil is discovered to be the root of all evil and so the world declares war on him using modern technology. Engaging and humorous, this story is crafted over only twenty pages but sticks with you for a long time after, exploring Vonnegut’s extraordinary perspective on war and the geopolitics of the mid-20th century. It includes many memorable passages, like this one:
“We estimated that to equip every man, woman and child with one of the electric headsets would cost about $20,000,000,000 and about $70,000,000,000 more a year for batteries. As modern wars go, the price was about right. But we soon found that people weren’t inclined to go that high for anything less than killing each other.”
If you enjoyed Armageddon in Retrospect, he has a short story collection published under the same name or you can check out some of his longer works like Slaughterhouse V or Cat’s Cradle.
Specialist (Robert Sheckley)
Surprised I’ve listed three sci-fi stories but haven’t gone to space yet? Space traversal is so ubiquitous in sci-fi that many mistake it for its defining feature. This list, I hope, has communicated to you that this is not the case. Specialist, however, is about space-traversal, but approaches it from an unorthodox angle. Caught away from a planet with a dead pusher (an essential member for hyperspace travel), the crew of a cargo bioship fear a protracted death in the coldness of the space. In desperation, they approach a planet with recruitment in mind, only to make a surprising and dangerous discovery. It’s hard to say much about this twenty-two-page story without spoiling it, but it wittily subverts the genre-expectations of the premise, exploring philosophical subjects of extraterrestrial life and our ultimate place in the universe, and it is certainly a worthy read.
[By Luke Hills, he/him]
[Image credits: https://unsplash.com/photos/ZGKqdnfbOWo%5D
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