When you choose a book to read would you choose a Dystopian novel over one that shows a Utopian society? Or maybe I could re-phrase the question and say Star Wars or Star Trek which show would eliminate from existence if you had a choice? In the following video I'll explain why I prefer Dystopian fiction over and above a Utopian story. Want more?

source If you think about it science fiction is really just fantasy, isn't it? Fantastical ships which travel faster-than-light, are just as impossible as Harry Potter flying on a broomstick, a motorbike or in a Ford Anglia. So what makes science fiction different from a fantasy story? The answer may surprise you .

People who like to read science fiction all know about a mythical list of books, that you must read . This list allows us to share a common experience which we can then use to recommend other books to each other. For example the book Ringworld by Larry Niven would be considered part of this mythical list of science fiction books or canon .

Source When I was younger I tried my hand at writing a few science fiction stories, I then presented them to my Grandfather to proofread and provide some feedback. He tore my stories to shreds and went to great detail describing how scientifically impossible my stories were. I know he meant well, but it did shake my confidence in writing. It wasn't until many years later that I realised we were both looking at these as science fiction stories but from totally opposite ends of the scale. To make it a metaphor, I presented him with an omelette and asked him what he thought of my egg cooking skills not knowing that he only liked his eggs, hard boiled.

As I've aged, and hopefully matured, I've become more interested in philosophy. Its amazing how much philosophy there is in a good science fiction story. However it shouldn't have been such a surprise to me as it was, considering both science fiction and philosophy deal with questions like how one can know anything at all , and how a person ought to live . A good science fiction writer will deal with the latter question especially in light of how new ideas and technologies create change, how this change will affect us and where it may take us in the future. Both make you think about the human condition and the consequences of these ideas. Philosophy helps us see that ideas have consequences and, as Ray Bradbury puts it, science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world because it is the history of ideas. They seem to be two sides of the same coin. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Liked what you...

Sturgeon's Revelation: In Defence Of Science Fiction TL:DR? Want a short concise article about this? Try  Sturgeon's Revelation: In Defence Of Science Fiction . I've loved science fiction (SciFi) for as long as I can remember. The stories of spacemen flying around in space ships and fighting off B.E.M's* with ray-guns fired up my imagination more than anything else. But apart from my family only two other people really encouraged me to read science fiction and Fantasy, my Year Six teacher who encouraged my imagination and my Year Seven English teacher who pointed me in the direction of some great classics. Everyone else either dimissed the genre or openly mocked it. I'd hear taunts from peers like: " At least sports-ting is something real, McTavish, not like your Buck Rogers stuff!, that's for people who can't handle the real world."  Or from Teachers I'd hear, " Science fiction is not real literature, this is why we're...

What is Sturgeon's Law Sturgeon's Revelation first appeared in the March 1958 issue of Venture (a science fiction magazine) and is a defence of Science Fiction (or SciFi). It is Sturgeon's Law that is in the most common usage which says " ninety percent of everything is crap ". Although I believe  the word he used was ' crud '. I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of  Science Fiction  is crud. Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as crud it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. is crud. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is crud is ultimately uninformative, because  Science Fiction  conforms to the same trends of quality as all other artforms. Theodore St...

Have you ever come across a story set in such a wonderful universe that long after finishing the book you find yourself thinking about the worlds these story's are set in and the possibilities of how these would affect our own lives?  I do! In this series I don't want to talk about the books story line, per se, but the actual mechanics or world building which carries the plot, that makes the book all that more memorable. Memorable Reads:The Long Earth Series. Stepper Box Schematics In the Long Earth Series , a device called a Stepper  was made freely available over the internet, it is a box which contained some rudimentary wiring, a three-way switch, and a potato as the power source. The idea explored is that our Earth sits in one of many parallel universes and that this Stepper  device allows people to step through them, sort of like moving from one card to the next in a deck of cards.

A lot of Science Fiction stories deal with a Dystopian future and, for the most part, I'm alright with that because Dystpoian stories work well with my view of human nature and entropy. This is why I have trouble reading Utopian stories. To me the Universe in which these stories are set is as much a character as the Human and Alien characters and as such should have a believable back story (or history). The history of the Universe in which these Utopian society are set need to be well thought out and allow us, the reader, to suspend our disbelief .

An old friend recently asked me if C.S. Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy (also know as the Space Trilogy ) would make it into my top 100 list.  My response was 'Yes, it would'. Masterpieces such as The Screwtape Letters , The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity still stand as some of the best Christian writings since John wrapped up the book of Revelation. But nestled somewhere in Lewis’ back catalog are three books that remain somewhat obscure and are simply referred to as the ' Space Trilogy.' The result is a work that is much more complicated than a single reading can capture but also one that is rewarding beyond words for any reader willing to seek out these books. These books capture Lewis at the top of his creative game and his ability to distill his favorite themes and ideas into the universe. [1]

Do you have a Kobo eReader or a Kobo Books account? If so I have great news for you, Kobo is now offering a Price Match Guarantee.  It works a bit differently than you would expect it to, it takes a little bit of work, but Kobo will honour it and add an extra 10% on top. You need still need to pay the full price marked on the Kobo web site, you then have seven days to submit a request for price-matching and if approved you will receive a store credit.  I've tried it and it works. From a business point of view I can understand why they took this route as it keeps the money within the Kobo ecosystem. You can find out more on Kobo’s website  here . Click on the image to get a better view.

If you've spent anytime reading my book discussions/reviews you'll probably know that I love a novel that has a well developed backstory or universe. There are some stories which can get away with not having it but I do love those which hint that the story line is just one of many other stories happening consecutively within this universe (sort of like real life).  To this end I love many novels written by Stephen Hunt .

What type of media are you using to read books?  Do you still read ' real ' books or are you now primarily reading digitally?  While I still love my physical books, there is not enough space in my home and I have had to reduce my library drastically, I've had to give away a lot of my print books.   I still proudly display my remaining print books where I can but most of my reading lately has been electronically. I had intended to write another article on e-books versus print books, but came across the following posts which I think sums up what I had wanted to say better than I could.  

People are Not Reading the e-Books they Buy Anymore Are people reading the e-books they purchase from companies such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Kobo? There is growing research data that is supporting the notion that people are not reading the digital titles they buy online and for the most part, they are never even opened. Full article here .    My thoughts follow ... I highlighted the above article a few weeks ago in one of my RAW compilation posts , because I though it was a bit silly (yet here I am creating more content about it too). The gist of the article is that 'there is growing amount of research which supports the notion that people are not reading the digital titles that they buy online and for the most part, they are never even opened.'  This comes from tracking software and other types of analysis that e-book sellers have attached to your e-book.  The author of the article speculated a few reasons for this: current lifesty...

Is there a list of essential science fiction books that all Sci-Fi reader should have read?  A canon so to say? I recently read an article about The Benefits of Reading a Book You Don’t Like , I also read a post which was written in response to it.  Basically they agreed that, for each field of endeavour, in order to be able to communicate effectively with your colleagues, you need share common experiences or texts. They both said that when you study a subject academically, there are certain texts that you need to be familiar with. 

Nothing is fun when it seems like a chore, and when reading becomes a chore you're not going to set aside time to do so.  Sometimes you want to read but have no idea where to start.  If this is how your feeling then you're in a reading slump. So how do you get out a reading slump?  I've had a look around the internet found a few articles, read a few comments and have come up with a list of ideas that you can try to break you out of your reading slump.

Have you noticed it? I find it happening to myself.   People today are too busy, too tired and too distracted to read.  I have a pile of non-fiction books, mainly on theological topics, which I want to read.  I longingly stare at them on my bookshelf and promise myself, this weekend or during the next holidays when I have more time.  Then promptly power-up one of my electronic devices and spend the next few hours watching YouTube or playing video games. If I read at all it will be a novel, something that helps me escape this world.  I find myself to tired or to blasé, to grapple with the big ideas in these books.

Do you still read ' real ' books or have you moved across to digital e-books?  While I still love my physical books and proudly display them in every room of my home, most of my reading lately is done with the help of some sort of electronic device. I've found that migrating to the digital platform has had many advantages for me, the biggest being convenience.  If you are considering going digital then read on.  I will take you through a few of the advantages that I have experienced by going digital in my reading, and then we can look at some of the drawbacks or disadvantages that I see with taking this path.

How to collect your children's e-books, from various sources, into one library which includes a discussion about Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions that are placed on many e-Books that you purchase...

Am I Able To Start Reading From Where I Left Off, On Any Device? I love the freedom I now have of being able to read what I want almost anywhere without having to take a physical book with me.  When I am out and about I always have my phone on me, so while waiting at the Barbers I can pull it out of my pocket and continue to read the book I was reading last night on my iPad, which is still laying on my bedside table.