I’ve never been a great fan of science fiction. Years ago when it was popular, I did watch and enjoy Star Trek, both the films and the television series. There were several others I enjoyed too, but there were many I hated. Including 2001 Space Odyssey. So many claimed it a great film – including my dad who dragged, my fourteen-year-old self and my younger brother to see it with him. It was the most boring film I had ever seen. I didn’t understand what it was supposed to be about.
Many years later, I saw it again, and although it’s not one that sticks in my mind, I did understand it and can see the appeal.
Being a prolific reader, I did have a go at reading a few sci-fi books. What I found was that too many had unpronounceable names for planets and characters making them difficult to read and stopped the flow of the story.
In early 2014, I agreed to read one in exchange for a blog review. I hated it. I didn’t understand what was going in and the story kept coming to a halt as I stumbled over the names. It was hard work, but I completed it and swore I would never read a science fiction story again.
Since then, I believe science fiction as a genre has changed immensely. It’s broken out into apocalyptic stories and fantasy. The latter breaking out into sub-genres too. All because the author’s imaginations show no boundaries. And I even decided to write one myself because the possibilities are endless.
As I result, I’m showing you a few of my favourites, some do cross over, but they all came from the idea of a science fiction story.
Read more about National Science-Fiction day.