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Needless to say, the Covid-19 pandemic has made these past three months one of the scariest moments in history. It’s as if we are living in an apocalyptic sci fi, in some respects even a post-apocalyptic one! Even during this time of spring and new life the streets are dead. Things appear to be really down. So, now is a great time for us sci fi and fantasy fans to read some inspirational stories. The problem with much of today’s speculative fiction, however, is that most of it seems to be on the dark side of life.
So as not to sound like a hypocrite, I’ll admit that I’m a writer of dark fiction myself. However, as a reader of science fiction and fantasy, I like to read a fair share of optimistic stories. Even when I write dark fiction I try to work some comic relief into it, something that I personally believe all fiction should have to some extent so as not to traumatise our reading experience. So, I’d like to complement, if you will, the list of post-apocalyptic fiction from a few weeks ago with a list of 9 great optimistic sci fi books to read during this scary time. Hopefully these will restore the hope many of us may feel we’ve lost.
Before we go on to the list, I want to say that a couple of these book titles are actually for whole series. I listed these two as a single work each because each series forms an entire story in which each book is almost equally good. Okay, I admit that it also saved me from having to list so many titles!
Some of these books in the list might be considered hopepunk. Hopepunk is considered by some as a subgenre of speculative fiction. Others say that it’s an aesthetic movement within the speculative genre. I believe that it’s both. It is a subgenre and movement that uses optimistic and more peace-promoting values over violence to deal with adversity. Not that there is no violence in any of these works, but many of them emphasise friendship and social well-being over combat. Because of this, many of the stories convey new futures that are full of hope and progress. Almost all of the stories listed end with a bright or at least brighter outlook. And so here are . . .
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9 Great Sci Fi/Fantasy Books to Read and Restore Hope to Our Lives
“Fahrenheit 451”, Ray Bradbury: Bradbury was one of the most optimistic of science fiction authors. However, he did go dark with some of his work in the genre. So, even though this is novel about a grim future when books are outlawed, it contains optimistic characters, there is a positive change in the protagonist, and the ending is a hopeful one promising a brighter future.“The Martian Chronicles”, Ray Bradbury: The storyline to this one is Earth’s colonisation of Mars and even though some of that colonisation is rooted in greed and some dark subplots run throughout the book, a message of optimism is conveyed.
“Glass and Gardens: Solar Punk Summers”, edited by Sarena Ulibarri: The particular punk genre of this collection of stories is what the title indicates but, because of that, it actually overlaps with hopepunk. And so it speaks of better futures based on advancements in environmental technology and methods that make a more healthy Earth, hopefully one where plagues like Covid-19 won’t exist or at least aren’t as dangerous.
“The Hobbit”, J.R.R. Tolkien: The prequel to “The Lord of the Rings” series (see below), and so like it this novel of high fantasy emphasises the power of friendship and teamwork.
“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien: The same hopepunkish values can be seen throughout this series of novels even though, unlike the above prequel, it is much darker and more realistic in several scenes. However, it still conveys that message of hope.
“Ecotopia”, Ernest Callenbach: As with many of the stories in “Glass and Gardens”, this novel conveys the optimism of most hopepunk fiction. That’s because like “Glass and Gardens” it’s solar punk. It may have been one of the first novels of that punk genre (before the term was coined). In this one a big city reporter goes to the rural nation of Northern California and discovers a much more environmentally friendly society yet not without its problems.
“Direct Descent”, Frank Herbert: This novel is outside of the author’s Dune universe but may be just as good if not better (I have not read the “Dune” series). A future, often peaceful Earth fights to save the known universe’s intergalactic library, archives to be exact. And so a message of education and knowledge as a way to a healthy society runs throughout the work.
“Callahan’s Legacy”, Spider Robinson: This is humourous science fiction. It’s also hard science fiction in certain respects. I do like certain types of hard sci fi, but I was a little lost on the plot when I read this one a few months back. Still, I enjoyed it because of the emphasis on friendship and family, the latter resulting in a new birth. Because of a new-born, it is redemptive in many ways. In addition to these, I found myself laughing at some of the humour. As they say, laughter is one of the best medicines. Since the main setting for the story is a pub, I like to call this one the “Cheers” of science fiction.
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” Trilogy, Douglass Adams: Even though this series takes place after the end of the world and so on a ship basically lost in space, its hilarity and friendly characters give it a big dose of optimism.
Hopefully you can read some of these books especially if you are in a shut-in or quarantine and have the extra time. This is probably not even a handful of the optimistic science fiction and fantasy out there. So, if any of you know of any others then please let us know in the comments section!
Until next time . . .
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No time to read as I do blood runs to local hospitals overrun by patients. But I do listen to audio books. FEAR NOTHING by Dean Koontz is a good one for this pandemic. Thanks for dropping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteNo problem! And thanks for the suggestion. I think it's neat that you're doing blood runs during this crucial time. Hang in there!
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