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Science Fiction

Science fiction includes such a wide range of themes and sub-genres that it is notoriously difficult to define. This is a list of definitions that have been offered by authors, editors, critics and fans over the years since science fiction became clearly separate from other genres. Definitions of related terms such as "science fantasy",...more »

Science fiction includes such a wide range of themes and sub-genres that it is notoriously difficult to define. This is a list of definitions that have been offered by authors, editors, critics and fans over the years since science fiction became clearly separate from other genres. Definitions of related terms such as "science fantasy", "speculative fiction", and "fabulation" are included where they are intended as definitions of aspects of science fiction or because they illuminate related definitions — see e.g. Robert Scholes's definitions of "fabulation" and "structural fabulation" below. Some definitions of sub-types of science fiction are included, too; for example see David Ketterer's definition of "philosophically oriented science fiction". In addition, some definitions are included that define, for example, a science fiction story, rather than science fiction itself, since these also illuminate an underlying definition of science fiction.

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, contains an extensive discussion of the problem of definition, under the heading "Definitions of SF". The authors regard Darko Suvin's definition as having been most useful in catalysing academic debate, though they consider disagreements to be inevitable as science fiction is not homogeneous. Suvin's cited definition, dating from 1972, is: "a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author's empirical environment." The authors of the Encyclopedia article - Brian Stableford, Clute, and Nicholls - explain that, by "cognition", Suvin refers to the seeking of rational understanding, while his concept of estrangement is similar to the idea of alienation developed by Bertolt Brecht, that is, a means of making the subject matter recognizable while also seeming unfamiliar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_science_fiction#In_chronological_order « less

Category: Genres | Started February 2007

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Need help with finding a children's sci-fi book - don't know author or title

I was talking to someone yesterday who remembered reading this when she was younger, but didn't know the title or author.

It was a children's book, written in the UK by a UK author. It was either nominated or won a "smarties" award.

It was about a teenager who got pulled into an alien conflict. One alien species were cats with weird tattoos on their hands. She wasn't sure of the details, but thought that the main character had been injured/sick and these aliens had healed him or cured him.

Any ideas? I have never heard of it and looking at the list of Smarties nominations doesn't help me much, since it's a lot of work to get the book's plot.

Travis

Travis C started this discussion 1 month ago. ( reply )

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Crosis

The Cat Who walks through walls maybe?

posted 1 month ago. ( reply )

show 6 replies
- Nee
  
  "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" was wretten by Heinlein. Who is American, and it is not a children’s book.
  Although he has written a number of kids books:
  Orphans of the Sky (1941)
  Rocket Ship Galileo (1947)
  Space Cadet (1948)
  Red Planet (1949)
  the Man Who Sold the Moon, (1950)
  Farmer in the Sky (1950)
  the Green Hills of Earth, (1951)
  Between Planets (1951)
  the Rolling Stones, (1952) [where star Trek stole Tribbles.
  Starman Jones (1953)
  Tunnel in the Sky (1955)
  Double Star (1956)
  Time for the Stars (1956)
  Citizen of the Galaxy (1957)
  Have Space Suit, Will Travel (1958)
  Podkayne of Mars (1963)
  
  posted 3 weeks ago. ( reply )
- Travis C
  
  I've read "Orphans of the Sky" - set on a generation ship where the people on it no longer know they are on a ship. Not a bad book actually and Joe-Jim, the two headed character is great.
  I have not read much other Heinlein though. Just "Stranger in a Strange Land", "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", "Friday", "Magic Inc" and "Starship Troopers"
  
  posted 3 weeks ago. ( reply )
- Nee
  
  Didn't you say that you stopped reading Stranger in a Strange a short way into it, saying that you thought it too Formulaic…? I thought that a bit odd being that it was one of the great formula busting books of the 20th century. Why not try Job or the Cat Who Walked Through Walls. Not that I think those are his best. But I will say that Starship Troopers was his worst. But the movie --though not at all like the book--did have a lot really dope bug splattering special-effects...
  
  posted 3 weeks ago. ( reply )
- Travis C
  
  I did stop reading Stranger in a Strange land, and it was because it was exactly the same (to about half way anyway) as both "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Starship Troopers" - sure, the setting and character names were different, but everything else was the same. "Starship Troopers" as written first as well.
  "Orphans of the Sky" had a similar formula, but a good friend of mine told me that it was one of his favorite books as a kid, and it's a short read. I did like Joe-Jim, but, to put him into the formula, he's the old mentor to the young protagonist. The older mentor appears, as far as I can tell, in all of Heinlein's works, as does the young, up and coming protagonist.
  I enjoyed both the movie and book "Starship Troopers", but for completely different reasons and independent of each other. The movie was almost a comedy.
  I am sure if I'd read "Stranger in a Strange Land" first, I probably would have liked it best, but by fluke, I read "Starship Troopers" first.
  
  posted 3 weeks ago. ( reply )
- Nee
  
  Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land, are completely different formats: maybe you have assigned a meaning to the word Formulaic, that may need further clarification on your part. It looks like what you may be talking about is his style.
  
  posted 3 weeks ago. ( reply )
- Travis C
  
  It isn't style - his style is the same in all his books, however, all of the books of his that I have read have all the same characters in them.
  As I said, there is the older mentor character and the young, up and coming young man who impresses the older mentor. There are always women characters who start pretty strong and then turn into stereotypical touchy-feely woman with absolutely nothing to contribute and loads of neuroses. There are also similar supporting characters in each of the novels, like the guy who people judge badly, but the mentor and young guy don't judge that way and value his strengths...
  Anyway, I've only read a few of his books, but the identical characters slapped me in the face when I read even those few.
  Oh - Waldo inc was different, but then, it was an anthology with lots of different ideas. I found that even his fantasy novel Glory road had the same characters in it as I had already read.
  If you've read more and think that he isn't a formulaic writer, cool - maybe you can convince me.
  Anyway - we have sort of wandered off the topic of this thread. :)
  
  posted 3 weeks ago. ( reply )
Travis C

Hmmm... I just read the plot summary of that book on Wikipedia. It doesn't seem to be the one.
The reason she was so keen to re-find this book was that it was part of a series and when she got through the very enjoyable first book, it wasn't finished, but she could never find the 2nd one.

posted 1 month ago. ( reply )
Archmage

Turning Point by Lisanne Norman ??
Sholan Alliance series
Can't find much else that even comes close. No mention of tattoos anywhere I can see...

posted 4 weeks ago. ( reply )
Travis C

Archmage - no idea. It might be. Thanks for the effort. I've sent that off to the person who was looking and we'll see what she says.
Talk later.
Travis

posted 4 weeks ago. ( reply )
Travis C

Apparently, I inspired my friend to look a little harder.
It was "Memoirs of a Dangerous Alien'" by Maggie Prince. It was short listed for the Angus Book Award (teenaged fiction) in 1996, not the Smarties award.
Thanks for the help guys. Talk later.
Travis

posted 3 weeks ago. ( reply )
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