Friday, March 02, 2007
Sci-Fi And The Post Apocalypse
I like some science fiction, but I’m not what you would call a huge fan. I’m very particular about the science fiction that I read. I’m not particularly fond of the space faring variety, with aliens and colonial empires spread throughout the galaxy, warp drive, and what-not. I can’t explain it, but for the most part I just can’t get into it.
Of the science fiction books that I do find myself being attracted to, they are mostly post apocalyptic/ apocalyptic. Things like Lucifer’s Hammer, The Rift, and the stunning Earth Abides. I suppose the pattern here is stories of survival during great change and upheaval. For me, humanity struggling to survive is the ultimate drama and always makes for a good story. Plus, these types of stories seem quite plausible, perhaps even probable. I’m more able to wrap my head around them because of this; at least much more than I am concerning stories about colonial galactic empires and bars full of aliens.
Notice that I didn’t include The Stand in my examples of apocalyptic stories. It’s because I didn’t really care for it. I know, all of you Stephen King fans are falling out of your chairs right now. I did enjoy the story up until the mystical, good vs evil aspect was introduced. It was at that point that it faltered for me.
I will admit some hypocrisy here because I do find alien invasion stories of an apocalyptic nature quite entertaining. For example, Footfall I believe is a great story. Keep in mind that the aliens that invade took thousands of years to get here because they didn’t have a warp drive switch to throw and they were still firmly grounded in the laws of physics as they are understood presently. Also, in this story, it all goes back to the human drama.
I’ve noticed that often times, the theme of post apocalyptic stories are about attempting to rebuild civilization. In Earth Abides, that is the protagonists main drive although ultimately he settles for something less. That theme is present in Eternity Road as well with humanity trying to rediscover the secrets of the Ancients (we being the Ancients). That theme is revisited in the Deathlands series of books as well only with a super dose of testosterone (as far as I can tell from only reading the first book of the series).
One of the best post apocalyptic books to visit the rebuilding civilization theme is The Postman. The book is great, but by all means avoid the film version of it. For what Kevin Costner did to that book, he should have been taken out back behind the woodshed.
One of my very favorite books of the post apocalyptic genre does not contain characters who are trying to rebuild what once was. In Through Darkest America we see an America several hundred years after an unnamed apocalypse that doesn’t give two cents about what was. This is a world transformed and beating its own path, no matter how disturbing and dark that past may be. This book is amazingly epic in scale at only 256 pages. Why some Hollywood type hasn’t made this book into a mini-series for HBO or Show Time is beyond me.