To
Uncanny Magazine: From a Fan
By
Samuel
Rousser
The world
of fandoms is, to say the least, a many-splendored wonder. From classic
literature to webcomics or television, almost everyone can admit to some guilty
pastime with an origin in fiction. As trips to the library begin to lose out to
Netflix, e-Books and other digital entertainment, speculative fiction continues
to thrive in any medium it is presented in. Being transported to another world,
meeting new characters and learning the rules of this new world has an appeal
that transcends any sort of human boundary, and lets us all gather together to
fight over which imaginary friend is the cutest, or which make the best couple.
Some say that Goku vs. Superman cannot, or should not be answered, because the
universes that they live in are completely different (Though many of us have
our own opinions on who’s more super). The ability to take all of these
characters, these worlds or, the ideas themselves and mix whatever you want is
my favorite thing about fiction.
The reason
I read so much speculative fiction isn’t because I like a particular type of
story. I don’t really care if the hero wins or loses in the end, nor am I picky
about their methods for reaching the end goal. All I’m interested in is taking
in the world, and knowing the exact details. Stories that bore me don’t always
have a stereotypical plot; they simply don’t have fun ideas. The what-if’s that
drive the story are just as important as the answer. I find the most enjoyment
in stories with a plot that’s not very complicated, and the driving force is
the imagery of the world I’m taken to. They devil is in the details, and the
easier it is for me to dream up the world that I’m being placed into, the
better. Being able to constantly update and expand the world while I’m reading
allows me to draw connections, insert myself, and enjoy some what-ifs of my
own.
This
curiosity for new ideas is what keeps me reading. If music is food for the
soul, ideas feed the imagination. I enjoy sitting back and ‘digesting’ a story,
trying to piece together the various themes and tropes that came together in a
new way to create something I’ve never read before. In short, I just want to be
entertained. Speculative fiction is growing at a rate far higher than I could
possibly take it all in, and that’s for the best. No matter how much I read or
watch, there will always be a new chapter, another book or a different series
to keep me going.
Samuel Rousser
Sam,
ReplyDeleteI love that you're in it for the fun ideas. That seems to me the purest motivation, and probably also about the hardest definition of what appeals to pin down. Different things will be fun and engaging at different times, for different characters, written in different ways. It's almost akin to saying there's a "je ne sais quoi" of imagination that a story has to offer, a world rich enough to imagine the nooks crannies of, to pass muster.
And for the record? I'm a Marvel comics gal myself, but Superman wins against Goku, hands down.
Best,
TT