The Generation Starship in Science Fiction, A Critical History, 1934-2001, by Simone Caroti, involved much more detail into individual stories than one would typically imagine in a book that covers so many decades of stories. Definitely not being an expert myself on the subject, but a mere science fiction fan who is decently read but still an infant in so many ways, I was surprised that so few stories fell into this subgenre, which obviously brought about the necessity by the author to go deeper in his analyses of these stories.
And that was fine with me, because the subject definitely proved quite fascinating. Obviously there are differing opinions on just how human behavior might play out in these scenarios, and whether certain authors intended to capture what they thought might actually occur or just plain wanted to tell an interesting tale, the readers of these stories come out the winners.
I must admit that I was not familiar with many of the stories Caroti discussed here. Especially the older stories he talked about, and I applaud him for his research on these. It would be nice if someone out there would take the short stories and novellas presented in this critical book and put them into an anthology. What a great companion piece!
Caroti broke his history down into six logical sections and did a nice job of explaining why he did such, the science fiction that was going on in those eras, and where these stories and ideas seemed to fit in with the science of the day. But the book starts off with a nice introduction of real science and the seeming impossibility of traveling far and long into space, or at least in a faster-than-light mode. If you decide to read this book, which I recommend to any science fiction lover, don’t skip the intro. Although I believe that most science fiction readers already know that some of the best nuggets come from introductions, so I’m probably preaching to the choir.
I must admit that after having read this book I previously had no real reading experience within this sub-genre, although I have read Rendezvous With Rama and a couple of the Vinge books that are mentioned. And Caroti was successful, at least as far as I’m personally concerned, because I’m now interested in reading several of the pieces he discussed, such as the Brian Aldis book Non-Stop and Lungfish by John Brunner. I’ve always been fascinated by how people react when put in controlled situations that are out of their control, such as the TV show Survivor. Though that may come as a “disconnect” to some people, to me there is a relationship; hence, another reason to read generation starship stories.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of science fiction and those who dream of going beyond the stars.
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