Dear Michael Damian and Lynne Thomas: Good Things
Come in Short SF Stories
By
Gloria Choi
The majority of the stories I read all my life were
giant fantasy novels that had seemingly endless amounts of sequels. Those were
the days I read to imagine myself in a different world, time, or place. I was a
sheltered child and somedays the only way for me to get out of the house was
through a book. I was so engrossed in these stories and as I grew older I
became even more invested in the fantasy novels by joining fandoms on tumblr
and various forum websites. I did just about anything a pre-teen in a fandom
could do: cosplay, roleplay, write and draw fanwork with myself inserted. I was
engrossed in a world that was not my own, a world where neither my parents nor
my friends could control. But my life changed, for the first time I had freedom
at IMSA. Fantasy to me had lost its escapist value once I had begun living my
own life in high school. I tried to revisit fantasy during my time at IMSA but
it was not the same. I would read one of Rick Riordan’s book over a school
break only to find myself three books behind on the series and another sequel
coming out next month. It became harder to appreciate these novels and I found
myself disconnected from the books I had once cherished. It seemed at the time
that there was no way I could enjoy SF the way I used to.
For some reason, the thought never occurred to
me to try out stand-alone fantasy novels or short fantasy stories. They would
occasionally be scattered in my elementary school’s English curriculum, but I
never tried actively seeking them out. The same was with science fiction, it
interested me but I never read more than the occasional best-selling soft
science fiction. It was not until I took Speculative Fiction Studies when I
discovered an appreciation for science fiction in general as well as short
science fiction and fantasy. I enjoyed “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by
Brian W. Aldiss for its usage of androids to explore what it exactly what it means
to be human. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Phillip K. Dick was
another reading that I enjoyed that also used androids to create a theme of
what it means to be human. Even though “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” was a
short story and “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” was a novel, “Super-Toys
Last All Summer Long” was able to create a just as meaningful statement on how
there is no definitive way to determine if something is “real”. I love SF short
stories because they can convey the same emotions and worlds in novels in such
a short framework. Having written my own science fiction short story for the
class, I am able to partially recognize the level of expertise and difficulty it
take to build a fictional world with such a short length constraint. It amazes
me how professional short fiction writers can do it so well, such as H.P.
Lovecraft with his anthologies of SF, each with its own personal horror.
I love short science fiction and fantasy
stories because it has allowed me to keep in touch with a part of my life even
when it is not my highest commitment. My life will never be like a fantasy
story like how my junior high self may have dreamed of. However, that should
not stop me from enjoying the speculative fiction genre as a whole. Short SF
stories allows me escape into another world without the commitment of a series
that is 4 or more books. One of the biggest takeaways from this class is that the
quantity of SF writing does not affect the quality. You do not need to read a
full novel to appreciate world building, themes, and interesting characters.
Thankfully, good things come in short SF stories.
Gloria,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me how often I see students on this blog writing about their reading habits basically the way you'd write about having commitment issues. But it comes down to a lot of the same things: concerns about what you're missing, struggles to make priorities, lack of knowledge of options, constant searching and the feeling that the search may not be working. If you had to pick a short fiction author in sff to keep reading now, Gloria, I wonder if you'd know who that is? Or is even that maybe a bit more commitment to a voice or vision than you feel you really need, as a reader?
Best,
TT