Hard science fiction

The historical lens is the most effective lens with which to view the novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood because it leads the reader to the intended purpose of the novel. The purpose of Atwood’s novel is to warn the society of what the future will hold if the political and social trends found in the 1980’s were to continue. Atwood uses her skilled writing techniques to allow the reader to reach this purpose; an important secondary lens in which to view this novel is therefore the…

Have you ever peered into the mirror and sensed that you did not appertain to the world in which you are a part of? Within a dystopian society, it is conveyed that your world is ideal, however this is a phantasm hiding the fact that we are living in an oppressed reality. On page 42 of “Harrison Bergeron”, it is expressed that even in a seemingly impeccable society; those who embody imperfection are ladened unequal to those who do not. In Harrison Bergeron, page 44, it is expressed that those…

screams came from the room daily. George decided there was no other choice, they had to shut down the room for a while. The children became dramatic, begging to play inside of it just one last time. They couldn’t leave it cold-turkey. It was just too hard to quit. Some people argue that the theme has to do with anger. It’s reasonable to believe that anger is a theme in this story, but it doesn’t have enough evidence. In fact, anger may actually have to do with their addiction. Any anger they…

delivers an action packed science fiction TV series based on one man, with his time traveling spaceship, exploring the vast expanse of space and time. Imagine a universe where humans not only had the technology to explore beyond the vast expanse of space of our solar system, but also had the ability to time travel, and visit parallel universes. Imagine a spaceship with all these capabilities, but was in the appearance of… an English retro blue telephone box? This is the science fiction world of…

Artificial Intelligence has been a staple of speculative fiction for many years now. Who can forget the murderous “HAL” (so named because each letter is one higher in the alphabet than IBM) from 2001: A SPACE ODESSY? But lately Artificial Intelligence, or “AI” to the techno-hipster set, has been going mainstream in a big way. Life always imitates art, and now IBM has indeed staked its future on AI in the form of their “Watson” product. It is very early in the game, but the promise of AI…

In The cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe vengeance is served viciously. Two Friends, Montresor and Fortunato destiny is determined in two ways only, revenge and murder. In the story Poe uses a feeling of betrayal to build a mysterious and seductive character before ascending to his remarkable strategy to a state of suspense. In fact, throughout the story, the reader slowly realizes that Montresor is an unreliable narrator; that whatever insult Montresor believes Fortunato committed is…

What will be humanity’s next step? This question has been addressed by every science fiction writer in the genre’s history. The predictions made by these writers in their fiction are usually based upon the current state of politics in the time in which they are writing, with some of the most famous works coming in the time following World War II at the height of the Cold War. Some write of a bright future, where all of the world’s nations have unified into one government and humans have become…

world. Kurt originated from a wealthy family, but the trials of the time period initiated shifts in plans and goals that later influenced his writing career, and through his stories, both non-fiction and fiction alike, he laid out his perception on contemporary subjects in the form of satirical science fiction journeys. Born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was the third and youngest…

In the short story, “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury, all of mankind is obliterated by technology made by their very own hands. A house that can do daily tasks and chores that has a maternal figure is used to show how valuable yet threatening technology can be. In the short story “There Will Come Soft Rains”, Ray Bradbury makes people realize the importance of their true existence and take precautions so that technology would not wipe out all mankind like it is feared. In addition,…

Never Let Me Go and Frankenstein both belong to the science fiction genre, but are nearly completely different. Never Let Me Go, written by Kazuo Ishiguro in 2004, is set in the past, in post World War II Great Britain. Kathy, the narrator of the novel, is a clone, who has been created by means of science. On the other hand, Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley in 1618, is set in 18th century Europe. Victor Frankenstein, whose tale is being narrated by Robert Walton, is a scientist who has…