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Robert Gibson - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Robert Gibson, born in 1954, lives in Windermere, England. He is part Scottish and part Belgian, and went to school for a while in Brussels, which is ironical in view of his support for UKIP. He is a private tutor with degrees in History (Cambridge) and science (London), and is married to Mary who is his partner in the tutoring business. He won the BBC Mastermind competition in 1998, his special subjects being the ... [More]
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- What to Do When Surrounded by Nugs
[Reference-and-Education:Future-Concepts] Cultural vandalism can be one of the most depressing aspects of life. One reason for it may be the sheer accumulation of cultural riches; the pressure to live up to it can get to be too much for some people.
- The First Clear 2000th Anniversary?
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] As time goes on we will begin to reach 2000th anniversaries of events AD. Perhaps the first clear and famous example is that of the loss of Varus' three legions in Germany in AD 9.
- Data-Mining in One's Own Head - Sifting Thoughts as Evidence
[Writing-and-Speaking:Writing] Rather than discard old ideas that don't work, one can treat them as flawed evidence. One can sift these pieces of evidence, solemnly treating them as if they were unreliable manuscripts which nevertheless contained a germ of truth.
- Voluntary Constraints - Setting Yourself Boundaries in Science Fiction Writing
[Writing-and-Speaking:Writing] It may sometimes be a good idea for a writer to narrow his options deliberately - like an escapologist will imprison himself in a straight jacket and get the audience to watch with bated breath to see how he gets out. I give examples from non-science fiction and then give my perspective as a writer.
- Putting Time Into Your Invented World - Timekeeping and SF Writing
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Inventing a world, you will need to invent its axial spin and orbital period. These data may have a huge effect on the culture you describe. I describe one option, which is to have the day/night cycle depend upon something other than the planet's rotation.
- Love Interest in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Surprisingly, the "love interest" in an sf story can be an integral part of it, however improbable the juxtaposition of "science" and "love" may seem. Pressures and tensions, which are what keep the plots of love stories going, can come from anywhere, which means they can arise from sf-related themes. Two famous stories by C L Moore are particularly important instances of true sf and true love running hand in hand.
- Interstellar Invasion - How to Make it Sound Plausible
[Reference-and-Education:Paranormal] The problem with stories of Earth being invaded by an interstellar foe is that if the enemy is advanced enough to cross interstellar space, how could we possibly put up a fight? The answer could be, if the enemy is a "freeloader", using technology it scavenged without fully understanding it.
- The Far Future and the Deepened Culture Layer
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] "Culture layer" is a general term for the stratum of physical evidence left by civilization. In the far future we can assume, barring catastrophes, that this layer will be much thicker. Science fiction writers have occasionally contributed memorable imagery connected with this theme.
- Elbow-Room in Plotting - The Example of Overgovernments in Science Fiction
[Writing-and-Speaking:Writing] The theme of an Overgovernment - a vague supranational or supraplanetary authority - can be useful when plotting a story. It can give the writer elbow room to create a sense of mystery and open-ended freedom.
- Creating Worlds - Turning Inconsistencies into Data
[Writing-and-Speaking:Writing] Imaginary worlds are apt to be created during a large period of one's life and embody conflicting ideas. This can easily lead to contradictions between different tales. But the clashes in one's notes can be viewed positively, as genuinely rival historical traditions that need to be sifted.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Theme of the Mad Scientist
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] ERB has the reputation of only writing about stereotyped characters. However, the three mad scientists in the latter part of the Barsoom series are far from being identical in personality.
- Help for the Science-Fiction Addict - Try the History of Earth
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Earth is an amazing planet, full of strange beings and weird civilizations. If, between SF novels, you want a really bizarre thrill, try sampling some historical fiction - surely a subgenre of planetary romance. I recommend Alfred Duggan on medieval and ancient times and Robert van Gulik on Tang Dynasty China.
- The Turing Test, Artificial Intelligence and Science Fiction
[Reference-and-Education:Future-Concepts] Much discussion on the subject of AI is philosophically shallow. In this century it may become an urgent issue for us to face. We need to acknowledge that consciousness is transcendent and cannot be "created", but it can perhaps be triggered.
- The Chequered Board - Filling in the Gaps in a Series
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] With particular reference to science fiction, I examine the decisions involved in writing a series of tales spanning several volumes. The freedom SF gives to the author can also lead to problems. A linear series makes it easier to avoid inconsistencies, but restricts the author to one viewpoint. A network series allows more exploitation of the background, but makes it more difficult to preserve consistency.
- Getting Away From it All - Means of Transportation in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Some memorable moments in SF come from the sense of freedom and awe provided by futuristic vehicles. The article examines some examples. Especial emphasis is placed on the originality and spookiness of the vehicle in "Lambda One" by Colin Kapp.
- Excuses for Adventure - Motivation in Planetary Romance
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] What excuses can writers invent in order to send their protagonists out on their adventures? I discuss the kind of structures most conducive to providing a rich supply of opportunities for derring-do.
- Avoiding the Open-Ended in Science Fiction and Fantasy - Pruning an Idea
[Reference-and-Education:Paranormal] Some ideas are too powerful and would result in a story becoming so infinitely open-ended that it would lose coherence and therefore become uninteresting. I give some examples of "pruning" an idea to limit it and at the same time make it more effective.
- No Salvation Outside the Faith? A Metaphor From Science Fiction
[Reference-and-Education:Paranormal] A false dichotomy exists between believing that there is no salvation outside the faith and believing that the faith is not essential to salvation. To explain this I use the metaphor of the Martian atmosphere plant, which in the "Barsoom" tales keeps the planet alive for all, but is only sustained by a few.
- Reincarnation as a Theme in Science Fiction
[Reference-and-Education:Paranormal] Reincarnation features in various SF works, although as a "given" rather than as an explained principle. Examples are cited, and the opportunities it provides for plot are suggested.
- Inventors of Words - Neologisms in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Neologisms can be mere useful abbreviations of existing ideas, or they can designate genuinely new concepts. Both types are to be found in SF.
- Monochrome Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] The impression of "monochrome" I get from certain SF works has puzzled me. I have tried to pin it down in this article. It seems that some stories are "kinetic", succeeding for kinetic rather than visiual merits.
- Humane Measures - Miles not Metric in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] The stylistic superiority of English over metric units is often ignored in favour of the decimal qualities of the latter, favoured by science. But when it comes to far future scenarios, or anthing of archetypal mythopeoetic significance, the wheel turns full circle and returns to English.
- Colourful Institutions in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] The SF genre has invented many fascinating institutions. I discuss some examples from across the range. In particular I cite the work of Jack Vance.
- When Building A Planet - Finding Names
[Writing-and-Speaking:Writing] The invention of memorable, resonant names is a requirement in any good imaginary-world tale. Sometimes, when direct inspiration fails, some prompting is possible with the aid of the random key on a calculator. Other techniques include: using car number plates and typing errors.
- Solar System Development Area - Planetary Romance
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Planetary Romance is that subgenre of SF in which the plot of the story is rooted to a significant degree in the nature of a particular world. Solar System Planetary Romance (SSPR) is a sub-sub genre in which the planet in question belongs to our own sun's family of worlds. The many discoveries made by space probes in recent decades have had an inhibiting effect on SSPR, but this does not have to be so.
- Politics with a Difference - Science-Fictional Constitutions
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Science fiction is a rich field of political speculation. This article points the reader in some sample directions, to discover the variety of constututional polities SF describes.
- A Plea For Pastiche In Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] A story should be judged on its merits, not on its date of publication. Therefore: a story which we would have enjoyed had it been written before modern knowledge, should still be enjoyed even if it has been written recently and is ignoring that knowledge.
- Mood and Action in a Tale of the Far Future - Seeds of the Dusk
[Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] The story "Seeds of the Dusk" by Raymond Z Gallun, published in 1938, is a gem of classic SF. Its 31 pages give us an insight into the lives and fates of three species: an alien invading plant intelligence, the descendants of crows, and the descendants of Man. Great events and a haunting mood are packed into a surprisingly short tale.
- Millennial Anniversaries
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Picking out intriguing millennial anniversaries is a pleasant game. The results can be quite poetic and haunting. Like rhymes, the meaning is somehow in the music of juxtaposition.
- Planetary Intelligences in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment] A 'planetary intelligence' is an entity which comprises, or is peculiarly associated with, an entire planet. In a sense it is the mind of the planetary body. The theme is occasionally to be found in science fiction. Various treatments of the theme are analysed.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs And The Theme Of Invisibility
[Arts-and-Entertainment] Invisibility appears as a theme in no less than 3 of ERB's Barsoom books. It is achieved in different ways in each book. Studying the way the theme is handled on each occasion can give us an insight into how much repetition a series will bear.
- The Three Greatest Ever Works of Science Fiction?
[Arts-and-Entertainment] I give my suggestion for the three greatest SF works of all time. My choice may be biased by the religious or spiritual slant of my mind, but I doubt it because the books work for me through their identity as SF.
- The Good Haunting - Comfort from Reading Dante
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] I give some examples of some lines from Dante that have offered me personal comfort in the past. And I suggest the special value of his poetry, in giving us the numinous sense of being haunted not by something bad but by something good.
- The Great Reason For Learning Italian
[Reference-and-Education:Languages] I offer a personal slant on the importance of Dante's poetry. And I point out that Italian takes us further back into the living past than any other major European language, and it is one of the easiest to learn.
- Small-Town Magic - Familiar Community Life in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] I give examples of how three great SF writers evoke the familiarity of small town life as a foil to the unusual events in their stories. Depictions of threats to a familiar world enhance that world's value and interest in our eyes.
- My Route to Dante
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Many of our reading habits arise from recommendations by others. In the spirit of comparing notes I give an account of my "discovery" of Dante, in the hope that others may benefit, as I have done from chance remarks. This is a personal, chatty essay.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs' Finest Novel?
[Arts-and-Entertainment] My choice of best ERB novel is the seventh volume in the Barsoom series, A Fighting Man of Mars. Its plot is more subtle than those of most of the Mars books, while it also has all the of the series, which in general ranks as the author's finest achievement.
- Periodicity in American History
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] In addition to round-figure anniversaries, one can pick out interesting periodicities in American history: years spaced at regular intervals which are striking in some way. I have found several with 3 dates, and one good one with 4.
- American History and the Science Fiction Addict
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] The American landscape is haunted by the imagined future just as the landscape of Britain is haunted by the mysterious past. A reader who has temporarily run out of SF reading matter might do worse than take up the hobby of American history.
- How Much Can You Cram Into A Science Fiction Story?
[Arts-and-Entertainment] James H Schmitz's novella "Agent of Vega" is the ideal specimen for literary analysis if we wish to study how much idea-density an SF story will stand while still remaining readable and enjoyable. Schmitz's achievement in keeping the reader "grounded" through what would otherwise be bewildering complexity, must surely be ascribed to his deft portrayal of familiar emotions.
- Small-Town Cataclysm
[Arts-and-Entertainment] The mundane setting of a small town provides an enthralling backdrop for many great science fiction stories. When the alien impinges on the everyday, both gain in interest for the reader.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars And Venus - A Comparison Of Two Worlds
[Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] ERB's Mars has had a better press than his Venus. It is supposed to have more "zap". The main reason for this, I suggest, lies in transportation - the flyer gives the characters more mobility on Barsoom. Amtor, by contrast, is full of isolated mysteries, cut off from one another by distance.
- Jack Vance and the Medium Future
[Reference-and-Education:Future-Concepts] The medium future - a few tens of thousands of years ahead - poses a problem for the science fiction writer. We are not yet in the far future, in which man may have evolved into just about anything you care to invent. Constraints of credibility still apply: man is likely to be more or less what he is now. Jack Vance's approach to this is interesting. He has man amazingly similar to us, yet the far future setting is convincing.
- Sentence Structure in Edgar Rice Burroughs
[Arts-and-Entertainment] I focus upon one particular detail of ERB's style, his sentence-structure. In particular I analyze the importance of his long 'L-shaped' sentences.
- How to Cope with the Really Far Future in Science Fiction
[Reference-and-Education:Future-Concepts] At first glance it might seem that the problems of writing about the far future are overwhelming. Actually, it is easier than the near future. The opportunities it gives for layering of ideas, and for stories based on mood, greatly increase the author's freedom of action. Ways exist meanwhile for keeping the reader 'grounded' in a sense of reality, with the perception that no matter how much time has elapsed, not everything changes.
- Intelligent Plants in Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] The theme of intelligent plants has been variously handled, but only once really convincingly. Most of the efforts have been at least fun.
- Intelligent Plants in the Science Fiction of Olaf Stapledon
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] The theme of vegetable intelligence has occurred from time to time in science fiction, but for the most part it has been vulnerable to the charge that such a notion is hopelessly unrealistic, belonging more to fantasy than to true science fiction. In particular it is argued that a plant species has no evolutionary need to develop intelligence, so that a vegetable brain is a nonsensical concept.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs And His Imitators - The Case Of Lin Carter
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Lin Carter's Callisto series is an attempt to imitate Burroughs' Barsoom series. Both writers are inventive, and the reason why Carter seems to fail where Burroughs succeeds, must lie somewhere in the underlying tone or attitude of the works. Burroughs seems to go into a trance of belief; Carter stays intelligently in control, breaking the spell.
- Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Secret of Storytelling
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] To isolate the mysterious X factor which makes for good storytelling, we need to turn to a "bad" author who is nevertheless great. ERB's characters are mostly stereotypical, yet somehow they live absorbingly in the settings he provides for them. He succeeds where he ought not. "X" here may be something to do with his characteristic L-shaped sentence-structure.
- Empires And The SF Imagination - The Theme Of The Imperium In Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] The idea of empire is tailor made for the richness of science fiction: its dramatic portrayal of varied settings and cultures. Empires can extend over space, over time and over a network of probability worlds.
- H P Lovecraft - Unrecognized Master of Science Fiction
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] Some authors are misrepresented. Lovecraft's work is usually cast as part of the genre of ghoulish loathsomeness. Actually most of his best work either borders on, or actually is, science fiction.
- Science Fiction Future Histories - Criteria for Success
[Arts-and-Entertainment:Humanities] What makes a good Future History? Analysis of how far various great sf authors succeed in creating series of stories set against a common background, with overlaps and developments like a real history.
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