Space- The Final Frontier
That used to be one of my favourite programmes when I was young- Star Trek that is. Not the original series (slightly too tacky for my liking), but The Next Generation and then Voyager when it came along. Of course, it wasn't long before I discovered the books as well. And that's when I started to become interested in reading Science Fiction. And it was only a short time later that I discovered that it could be more than just a good plot.
Douglas Adams is a prime example. His books are not only funny, they're hilarious, wild and ridiculous. They're set in space, so I guess they're science fiction, but they're more than that. Space just happens to be where his mix of cultures, politics, and misunderstandings is based. And I guess that's what I like about science fiction- the emphasis on understanding what's here on our own world.
One of my favourite authors, Ursula le Guin, is really good at this. Her books include cultures with 3 genders, multiple partners and malee-female role reversals almongst other things. But, enough of that for now, more when I get to letter U ;)
The point is that science fiction writing can be much more than spin-off TV tales, or tales of spotting a UFO with aliens that take over the world. It's a whole universe just waitig to be discovered. So, if you haven't already, why not boldy take that leap and go where you haven't gone before?!
