Literature of Horror, Sci Fi, and Fantasy

The future: we've read a lot about it so far. What makes Hitchhiker's Guide so different? Why does it matter? The scientific parody category of genre has opened my eyes to what it feels like the other sci fi had been trying to teach me about, but couldn't completely send it home until now. A lesson about the future. The genre of sci fi as a whole, though often depicting the future, is often describing the present. It has often forced me to reevaluate the present. Hitchhiker's , though a parody, was no exception. Most obviously, Hitchhiker's taught me to laugh even in a dark present. If the world was ending, why should I sweat the small stuff? Or, alternatively, if the world is ending, I might as well go enjoy the smallest, most mundane little things about life that I can, while I still can. And finally, at the very least, at least I can still say "at least the world isn't about to explode in place of a new interstellar bypass." Hearing about th

In a fun short story, Stanislav Lern comments on the utility of relying on other people, particularly those in government you might elect to represent your interests. In The Seventh Voyage , other beings claiming to represent himself and his own interests actually end up delaying his salvation far longer than needed be. Every individual in the story thought that he knew better than his counterparts and would actively try to oppose them to prove it. Seniority never mattered to the younger versions, and the older versions seemed too preoccupied with their claimed superiority to want to cooperate with the demands of the younger versions. At one point, two characters looked at a door, expecting the other to open it. Neither of them did. You would think that having lived through it, he would see the flaw in what was about to happen in interacting with his past self, as he had already seen it from the other end. And yet, each time he tries, and each time he fails. He resorts to lying and

Parable of the Sower is wise beyond it's years and contains striking commentary on religion and why we practice it. I adore this book, and would love to read more by this author. Rich with symbolism, Parable of the Sower introduces you into an apocalyptic world in a beautiful, almost poetic way: by telling us that we can see the stars. It sounds so normal, doesn't it? But if we can see the stars, what must we not be seeing? City lights. In a world after city lights, we delve into a landscape where civilization has dissolved and the true horrors of humanity can be seen in the real light of nature. As someone who adores the concept of an uncaring "God" or an uncaring universe, I found that Parable of the Sower reached me very well, and put to words many of the thoughts I'd had myself. Though her religious ideology differs from mine slightly, I still found her point of view highly respectable and very critically thought-out given to the world around her. Lau

Neuromancer takes place in a futuristic neo-Japan that explores the effects of technological and urban sprawl on humanity. It offers a quick paced noir writing style that you'd half expect to see inside a detective's report. Only key details are mentioned, with very little fluff or pause for reflection. This suits the purpose of the novel quite well as it speaks to the nature of the changes of humanity in this new world. Much of Neuromancer feels like a commentary on human nature. While it is a sci fi novel, like most sci fi that I've experienced, uses technology as a tool rather than the subject. As well, the use of placing this novel in the future is a literary element used to believably exaggerate human nature. In this world, people are seen with much less individuality than we know today. Case spends his days and nights in small pod-like rooms called "coffins" that he rents every night. Very little mention of houses or individual residences are made, so

1) What is your reaction to the text you just read? I am equal parts disgusted and interested. While the specifics of this text were gorey and gross, the premise of it is very interesting. The social dynamic between Gan and T'Gatoi is unique and forms a relationship I feel there is so much more to than the short text allows. Meaning, their relationship is hinted as being far more complex than it is shown to be on the surface. I am also fascinated by the relationship between humans and the Tlic. It was said that humans or "Terrans" were fleeing from their homeworld to avoid enslavement, and found salvation as hosts for the Tlic. I'm interested in the fate of humanity on Earth. How did humans evolve to be compatible hosts for these creatures? What is Tlic society like? How do they truly see humans? What is outside of the Preserve? These questions posed by the short story leave me curious about the world created by it. 2) What connection did you make with the stor

The Left Hand of Darkness was the first book I've read this semester that I've had very mixed feelings about. For a number of reasons, I found this book to be successful, but to an equal degree, found it lacking. One thing that I do adore about this book is the bold exploration of gender and sexuality. Written during a time where anyone not straight and cisgender was likely to be ostracized, The Left Hand of Darkness stands in contrast. To allow even closed minded readers to undestand, Le Guin places you into another planet, as a foreigner. You are a human from Earth, dropped in the middle of a new world and struggle to interact with other beings that are entirely new to you. She does this purposefully, to place you into an entirely new frame of mind and rid you of your preconceptions about what a person is and what their gender and sexuality might be. In many ways, this was very successful, but in some ways I found this to falter. While I adore that the creatures are ase

The degree of worldbuilding exhibited in The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester was astounding. From my perspective, it seems like the author decided to implant a few drastic changes to our current reality, and simply let the rest of the universe fall into place around it. In The Stars, those changes were the setting, and the ability of humans to teleport. He considered every possible way that our reality would be affected by these two changes. Everything from planetary systems as a whole to the individual man or women would be affected by these changes. How would we go to work? Without a need for public transportation, people in The Stars have created platforms with black and white symbols for easier memorization to aid their daily "jaunte". But, then, what happens to manual forms of transportation? You would think that cars and bikes would become extinct. However, ever more appropriate is the conclusion that Bester came to: in a world where everything moves in a

Ocean at the End of the Lane was easily one of my favorite books that I've read so far this semester. The grim but gripping writing style flavored this book differently than most, who prefer to keep violence and gore tamely described. It was something I didn't enjoy in the moment, as I could be found often audibly yelling my disgust when reading some of the more gory passages, and yet I wouldn't dare turn my eyes away. I found that every gruesome detail made the experience seem all the more real. The author, Neil Gaiman, spoke extensively in an interview on what creates genre. He describes genre through elements that he says the reader would feel cheated without. With Ocean at the End of the Lane  as my window into the genre of contemporary urban fantasy, I might be able to gather some of it's key elements. Part of what I noticed most about fantasy in general is that it doesn't always try to get you to escape reality, but help you understand it. Many of these s

Night Circus offered a world of wonder for it's readers to explore. By pacing out the development and description of the interworkings of the circus, Erin Morgenstern was able to create the feeling of discovery and magic. This feeling was carried through until the end. Mirroring the development of the circus, it's mother and father, Celia and Marco, grew alongside it. The commentary on upbringing in The Night Circus is well timed for a teenage audience, struggling to understand the world that seems to operate by magic. The world of adults, to a teenager or a child, seems like a machine that spins and whizzes with so many perfectly timed smaller machinations that all fit to fill their grander whole of society. It seems like there is no place for feelings of imperfection, but we all must find a way. At the very start of the book, "you" are thrust into the world of the night circus. "You" debate going inside, or turning back. You debate which tent to go in

"The best thing to do is be who you’ve been, don’t move, stay where you are, drop all ambition as a Leopard Person. Relax. Do not strive too high. Learn but do not use. And only learn the basics. It is best to remain in your protective shell. Ambition is not your friend. Be glad the Leopard world has been opened to you, but remain a mere spectator." (Okorafor, 79) Very rarely have I seen a witch story that isn't eurocentric. In Akata Witch , not a single European character is even introduced. Akata Witch covers topics that many other cultures would rather leave neglected. Rarer still is an empowering story, not for just women, but for people of every sort who posses a trait that society doesn't deem "normal". In essence, everyone. In the Leopard world, things that would have gotten you bullied or even outcasted as a Lamb, are regarded as sources of power. This book is so important for kids in their formative teenage years to feel confident in every part

Compared to eastern styles of storytelling, the classic western story The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien places a significant amount of attention to the individual and individual glory over the glory of a group or lineage. Due to this fact, it seems only fair to analyze how The Hobbit approaches it's single hero as he finds a place within his world. Bilbo is not your typical hero. As a middle aged hobbit, he is at first incredibly set in his ways. He declines his natural urges to explore and curiously question things in favor of comfortable ignorance. Rather than the usual young and eager hero, Bilbo expresses no desire at all to change the world or his place in it. He is neither trained nor motivated to help the party's quest. Bilbo's resistance to become a hero or feel like a hero helps me see the average person in him. Normal people don't feel like heroes, they don't know that they might also be on the hero's journey. Most people aren't agile, eager, st

A Condition of New Death A Condition of New Death features the crosshatching of a bewildering event and a familiar newspaper report format. In A Condition, events that we consider impossible are treated as near-normalcy, as no bigger an event than a new strain of disease or a new tragedy, giving the audience almost the feel of culture shock. While many of the viewer's questions were answered, these only opened up more. A Condition details the "what" of New Death very thoroughly, describing the timeline of events with care as any journalist would. However, the "why" and "how" are never addressed, leaving you only to wonder. The laws of physics themselves were altered to create the phenomenon of New Death, and yet, no one within the world of the story seems concerned with why or how such a bizarre event is possible. It leaves me open to wonder myself what other possible mind-bending events have caused the people to be so conditioned to be prepared

One of the core aspects of the Weird genre is that things are larger than you, and that the events of the story are beyond your scope of understanding. To create this sense in Borne , Jeff Vandermeer uses a variety of tactics that are employed to build a world and its creatures that operate on a scale that seems almost cosmic, or at the very least beyond human, in their design. So much is left unsaid in Borne , and so many questions are left unanswered. The Company, for example, works towards a grander purpose that is far beyond the sum of the parts of its workers. The Company in Borne is seen less as a business that we might associate with the word, and more of its own entity. A collective mass of minds that seem less individual and more one collective, foreign whole. The Company's most awe-inspiring creation by my opinion, Mord, also operates on this scale. It was a twist in the book to discover that Mord was once human; once acted like we do, felt as we feel, and lived as we

Present in the writing style of Japanese stories are very different emphasized elements than their western counterparts. One such element is the concept of the self. While most Western stories feature a descriptively introduced min character. The main character tends to be the most deep and fleshed out of all, whos inner thoughts we often hear and relate to. However, the Eastern style of Kwaiden reflects a completely different presentation of characters. All characters tend to be introduced shortly, as just their name, their position in society, and very little if any of their background. People have unremarkable individual existences within Kwaiden, focusing instead on what the character represents rather then materially what they are. The purpose of this is to emphasize the concept of the self, not as its own entity, but as a cog in the universal wheel. One individual is a piece of a whole, whether that whole be a familial unit, a member of a society, or a citizen of Earth. Thus,

One of the most fascinating aspects of Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice is it's cast of characters and their interactions. Vibrant contrast is offered between the three main characters, and between the vampires and the world around them. Interestingly enough, the vampires of both this world and in the film Only Lovers Left Alive consider themselves superior to humans in every apparent way. Even Louis grew tired of the ways of man more quickly than he'd like himself to believe. However, this relationship differs between the two works as the vampires in Only Lovers Left Alive tended to see themselves as higher, more spiritually aware, almost celestial beings, while in Interview they tend to see themselves as hunters with humans as prey. Both works gravitated to a culture of a small group of vampires rather than large communities. The small group in Interview functioned not unlike a family, despite the idea of a family with two fathers being typically viewed as unacceptab

The film Only Lovers Left Alive is an aesthetically pleasing and highly symbolic movie. Straight from the beginning, we see the camera spiraling over our two main characters, Adam and Eve, in their respective environments. The spinning itself is a motif of the film, that to me appeared symbolic of the passage of time. Adam and Eve, being immortal vampires, have a very distorted idea of time compared to us humans. The characters appear calm and at peace with the spinning of the camera and the passage of time, while we, the human audience, might find it dizzying. Instead, they rest with a beautiful, unearthly stillness that also characterizes them as inhuman beings, to whom time has no meaning.  Though their opening scene mirrors each other and establishes their eternal connection, I also get a sense of the differences in the characters through their environment. Eve is surrounded by white and blue, and a great multitude of books. Her hands are outstretched and rest on piles of these

Riveting in innumerable ways, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein caused quite a stir some 200 years ago, and has carried on with such a longevity that it's influence on the Gothic genre lingers to today. Popularized now, much of the original suspense of the story of Frankenstein is lost as the viewer can anticipate the creation and revelation of his monster. As I read through Frankenstein myself, I sought to imagine myself as someone reading the novel, perhaps some 200 years ago, and threw out all preconceptions and anticipations I had towards what I thought I knew of Frankenstein . With this in mind, I found Mary Shelley's work to be otherworldly, melodramatically emotional, and with such a strong sense of suspense that I would imagine left it's first readers terrified. The very premise of the narration yields terror. We are immediately led to the cold, dead world of the arctic, but our hearts are warmed by the young heart of Walton, a boy seeking science, discovery, and

Monster of obscure origin Darkness and dark settings High contrast visuals Shadows Events taking place at night The moon having power over earthly affairs Dungeons/Castles "Multi-chambered environment" Castles and mansions on a mountain Bare trees Owls and ravens as an omen of death Haunted dolls Supernatural elements Prophecies Local legends Rain and thunderstorms Abandoned areas Fog References/allusions to death and death imagery Haunted houses and graveyards Gore Threatened by a monster Powerful man/Frail woman (Damsel in distress) Death of main characters