Fantastic- comes from the Greek concept "phantastike" (the art of imagining).
In the modern sense, fantasy can be defined as one of the types of literature that is able to create a magical, wonderful picture of the world, opposing the existing reality and the concepts familiar to all of us.
It is known that fiction can be divided into different areas: fantasy and science fiction, hard science fiction, space fiction, combat and humorous, love and social, mysticism and horror.
Perhaps these genres, or as they are also called, subtypes of science fiction, are by far the most famous in their circles.
Let's try to characterize each of them separately.
Science Fiction (SF):
So, science fiction is a genre of literature and film industry that describes events taking place in the real world and differs from historical reality in some significant way.
These differences can be technological, scientific, social, historical, and any other, but not magical, otherwise the whole idea of the concept of "science fiction" is lost.
In other words, science fiction reflects the impact of scientific and technological progress on everyday and familiar human life.
Among the popular plots of works of this genre are flights to unknown planets, the invention of robots, the discovery of new forms of life, the invention of the latest weapons, and so on.
Among admirers of this genre, the following works are popular: "I, Robot" (Azeik Asimov), "Pandora's Star" (Peter Hamilton), "Attempt to Escape" (Boris and Arkady Strugatsky), "Red Mars" (Kim Stanley Robinson) and many other great books.
The film industry has also produced many sci-fi films. Among the first foreign films, the film by Georges Milies "Journey to the Moon" was released.
It was filmed in 1902 and is truly considered the most popular film that was shown on the big screens.
You can also note other paintings in the genre of "science fiction": "District No. 9" (USA), "The Matrix" (USA), the legendary "Aliens" (USA). However, there are films that have become, so to speak, classics of the genre.
Among them: "Metropolis" (Fritz Lang, Germany), filmed in 1925, struck with its idea and vision of the future of mankind.
Another film masterpiece that has become a classic is 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, USA), released in 1968.
This picture tells about extraterrestrial civilizations and very much resembles rather scientific material about aliens and their lives - for viewers of the distant 1968, this is really something new, fantastic that they had never seen or heard before. Of course, you can't ignore Star Wars.
Episode 4: A New Hope (George Lucas, USA), 1977.
Each of us has probably watched this tape more than once. It is so addictive and attracts with its special effects, unusual costumes, chic scenery and heroes unprecedented for us.
Although, if we talk about the genre in which this film was shot, I would rather classify it as space fiction than science.
But, to justify the genre, we can say that, probably, not a single film is shot in a certain genre in its pure form, there are always digressions.
Hard science fiction, as a subgenre of sci-fi
Science fiction has a so-called sub-genre or subspecies called "hard science fiction".
Solid science fiction differs from traditional science fiction in that scientific facts and laws are not distorted during the narrative.
That is, we can say that the basis of this subgenre is the natural scientific knowledge base and the whole plot is described around a certain scientific idea, even if it is fantastic.
The storyline in such works is always simple and logical, based on several scientific assumptions - a time machine, ultra-high-speed travel in space, extrasensory perception, and so on.
Space fiction, another sub-genre of sci-fi
Space fiction is a subgenre of science fiction. Its distinctive feature is that the main plot takes place in outer space or on various planets in the solar system or beyond.
Planetary novel, space opera, space odyssey.
Let's talk about each type in more detail.
Space Odyssey:
So, the Space Odyssey is a storyline in which the actions take place most often on space ships (ships) and the heroes need to complete a global mission, the outcome of which depends on the fate of a person.
Planet Romance:
The planetary novel is much simpler in terms of the type of development of events and the complexity of the plot. Basically, all the action is limited to one particular planet, which is inhabited by exotic animals, people.
A lot of works in this kind of genre are devoted to the distant future in which people move between worlds on a spaceship and this is a normal phenomenon, some early works of space fiction describe simpler plots with less realistic modes of movement.
However, the goal and main theme of the planetary novel is the same for all works - the adventures of heroes on a particular planet.
Space Opera:
Space opera is an equally interesting subspecies of science fiction.
Its main idea is the maturing and expansion of the conflict between the heroes with the use of powerful high-tech weapons of the future to conquer the Galaxy or free the planet from space aliens, humanoids and other space creatures.
The characters in this cosmic conflict are heroic. The main difference between space opera and science fiction is that there is an almost complete rejection of the scientific basis of the plot.
Among the works of space fiction that deserve attention are the following: Paradise Lost, The Absolute Enemy (Andrey Livadny), Steel Rat Saves the World (Harry Harrison), Star Kings, Return to the Stars (Edmond Hamilton ), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) and other great books.
And now let's note some bright films in the space fantasy genre. Of course, you can not get around the well-known film "Armageddon" (Michael Bay, USA, 1998); "Avatar" (James Cameron, USA, 2009), which blew up the whole world, which is distinguished by unusual special effects, vivid images, rich and unusual nature of an unknown planet; "Starship Troopers" (Paul Verhoeven, USA, 1997), also a popular film in its time, although many film fans today are ready to revise this picture more than once; It is impossible not to note all the parts (episodes) of George Lucas' Star Wars, in my opinion, this masterpiece of science fiction will be popular and interesting to the viewer at all times.
Combat Fiction:
Combat fiction is a type (subgenre) of fiction that describes military operations taking place in the distant or not-so-distant future, and all actions take place using super-powerful robots and the latest weapons unknown to man today.
This genre is quite young, its origin can be attributed to the middle of the 20th century during the height of the Vietnam War.
Moreover, I note that combat fiction became popular and the number of works and films increased, in direct proportion to the growth of conflicts in the world.
Among the popular authors-representatives of this genre are: Joe Haldeman "Infinite War"; Harry Harrison "Steel Rat", "Bill - Hero of the Galaxy"; domestic authors Alexander Zorich "Tomorrow War", Oleg Markelov "Adequacy", Igor Pol "Guardian Angel 320" and other wonderful authors.
A lot of films have been made in the genre of "combat fiction" "Frozen Soldiers" (Canada, 2014), "Edge of Tomorrow" (USA, 2014), Star Trek: Retribution (USA, 2013).
Humorous fiction:
Humorous fiction is a genre in which the presentation of unusual and fantastic events takes place in a humorous form.
Humorous fiction has been known since antiquity and is developing in our time.
Among the representatives of humorous fiction in literature, the most striking are our beloved Brothers Strugatsky "Monday begins on Saturday", Kir Bulychev "Miracles in Guslyar", as well as foreign authors of humorous fiction Prudchett Terry David John "I'll put on midnight", Bester Alfred "Will you wait? ", Bisson Terry Ballantine "They are made of meat."
Love Fiction:
Love fiction, romantic adventure works.
This type of fantasy includes love stories with fictional characters, magical countries that do not exist, the presence in the description of wonderful amulets with unusual properties, and, of course, all these stories have a happy ending.
Of course, you can not get around the films made in the genre. Here are a few of them: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (USA, 2008), "The Time Traveler's Wife" (USA, 2009), "She" (USA, 2014).
Social Fiction:
Social fiction is a type of science fiction literature that focuses on the relationships between people in society.
The emphasis is on the creation of fantastic motives in order to show the development of social relations in unrealistic conditions.
The following works were written in this genre: The Strugatsky brothers "The Doomed City", "The Bull's Hour" by I. Efremov, H. Wells "The Time Machine", "451 degrees Fahrenheit" by Ray Bradbury.
Cinematography also has films in the genre of social fiction in its piggy bank: The Matrix (USA, Australia, 1999), Dark City (USA, Australia, 1998), Youth (USA, 2014).
Fantasy:
Fantasy is a genre of science fiction that describes a fictional world, most often the Middle Ages, and the storyline is built on the basis of myths and legends.
This genre is characterized by such heroes as gods, sorcerers, gnomes, trolls, ghosts and other creatures. Works in the Fantasy genre are very close to the ancient epic, in which the characters encounter magical creatures and supernatural events.
The fantasy genre is gaining momentum every year and it has more and more fans.
Probably the whole secret is that in our primitive world there is a lack of some kind of fairy tale, magic, miracles.
The main representatives (authors) of this genre are Robert Jordan (the fantasy cycle of books "The Wheel of Time", including 11 volumes), Ursula Le Guin (the cycle of books about Earthsea - "The Wizard of Earthsea", "The Wheel of Atuan", "On the Last Shore", "Tuhanu ”), Margaret Weis (cycle of works “DragonLance”) and others.
Among the films made in the Fantasy genre, there is quite enough to choose from and will suit even the most capricious movie fan.
Among foreign films, I will note such as: "The Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter", beloved at all times "Highlander" and "Fantômas", "Kill the Dragon" and many other wonderful films.
These films draw us in with great graphics, acting, mysterious plots, and watching such films gives emotions that you will not get from watching films in other genres.
It is fantasy that adds additional colors to our lives and delights again and again.
Mysticism and Horror:
Mystery and horror - this genre is probably one of the most popular and attractive for both the reader and the viewer.
It is able to give such unforgettable impressions, emotions and increase adrenaline like no other genre of science fiction.
At one time, before films and books about traveling to the future became popular, horror was the most unusual and favorite genre among fans and admirers of everything fantastic. And today, interest in them has not disappeared.
The prominent representatives of the book industry in this genre are: the legendary and beloved Stephen King "The Green Mile", "The Dead Zone", Oscar Wilde "The Picture of Dorian Gray", our domestic author M. Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita".
And there are a lot of films in this genre, and it is quite difficult to choose the best and brightest of them.
I will list just a few: everyone's favorite Nightmare on Elm Street (USA, 1984), Friday the 13th (USA 1980-1982), The Exorcist 1,2,3 (USA), Premonition (USA, 2007 ), "Destination" -1,2,3 (USA, 2000-2006), "Psychic" (UK, 2011).
As you can see, science fiction is such a versatile genre that anyone can choose what suits him in spirit, in nature, will give you the opportunity to plunge into the magical, unusual, terrible, tragic, high-tech world of the future and the inexplicable for us - ordinary people.
Fantasy (from other Greek φανταστική - the art of imagination, fantasy) is a genre and creative method in fiction, cinema, fine arts and other forms of art, characterized by the use of a fantastic assumption, an "element of the extraordinary", a violation of the boundaries of reality, accepted conventions. Modern fiction includes such genres as science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism and many others.
Origins of fiction
The origins of science fiction are in the post-mythological folklore consciousness, primarily in a fairy tale.
Fantasy stands out as a special kind of artistic creativity as folklore forms move away from the practical tasks of mythological comprehension of reality (the oldest cosmogonic myths are essentially non-fantastic). The primitive worldview is colliding with new ideas about reality, the mythical and real plans are mixed, and this mixture is purely fantastic. Fantasy, in the words of Olga Freidenberg, is “the first offspring of realism”: a characteristic sign of the invasion of realism into myth is the appearance of “fantastic creatures” (deities combining animal and human features, centaurs, etc.). The primary genres of fantasy, utopia and fantasy travel, were also the oldest forms of storytelling as such, most notably in Homer's Odyssey. The plot, images and incidents of the Odyssey are the beginning of all literary Western European fiction.
However, the collision of mimesis with myth, which produces the effect of fantasy, has so far had an involuntary character. The first one who deliberately pushes them together, and, therefore, the first conscious science fiction writer, is Aristophanes.
Fiction in ancient literature
In the era of Hellenism, Hekatey of Abdera, Eugemer, Yambul combined the genres of fantastic travel and utopia in their works.
In Roman times, the moment of socio-political utopia, characteristic of Hellenistic pseudo-travels, had already weathered; there was only a series of fantastic adventures in different parts of the globe and beyond - on the moon, connected with the theme of a love story. This type includes "The Incredible Adventures Beyond Thule" by Antony Diogenes.
In many ways, the continuation of the tradition of a fantastic journey is the novel of Pseudo-Callisthenes "The History of Alexander the Great", where the hero finds himself in the realm of giants, dwarfs, cannibals, freaks, in an area with strange nature, with unusual animals and plants. Much space is devoted to the wonders of India and its "naked sages", the Brahmins. Not forgotten is the mythological prototype of all these fabulous wanderings, visiting the country of the blessed.
Fantasy in medieval literature
In the period of the early Middle Ages, approximately from the 5th to the 11th centuries, there is, if not rejection, then at least the suppression of the miraculous, the basis of the fantastic. In the XII-XIII centuries, according to Jacques Le Goff, "there is a genuine invasion of the miraculous into scientific culture." At this time, one after another, the so-called “books of miracles” appeared (Gervasius of Tilbury, Marco Polo, Raymond Lull, John Mandeville, etc.), reviving the genre of paradoxography.
Fiction in the Renaissance
The development of fiction during the Renaissance is completed by M. Cervantes' Don Quixote, a parody of the fantasy of knightly adventures and at the same time the beginning of a realistic novel, and F. Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, which uses the profane language of a chivalric novel to develop a humanistic utopia and humanistic satire. In Rabelais we find (the chapters on Theleme Abbey) one of the first examples of the fantastic development of the utopian genre, although it is primordially uncharacteristic: after all, among the founders of the genre, T. Mora (1516) and T. Campanella (1602), utopia gravitates towards a didactic treatise and only in “ New Atlantis” by F. Bacon is a sci-fi fantasy game. An example of a more traditional combination of fantasy with a dream of a fabulous realm of justice is Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Fiction in the 17th and 18th centuries
By the end of the 17th century, Mannerism and Baroque, for which fantasy was a constant background, an additional artistic plane (at the same time, the perception of fantasy was aestheticized, the living sensation of the miraculous was lost), was replaced by classicism, which is inherently alien to fantasy: its appeal to myth is completely rationalistic.
French "tragic stories" of the 17th century draw material from the chronicles and draw fatal passions, murders and cruelties, demonic possession, etc. These are the distant predecessors of the works of the Marquis de Sade the novelist and the "black novel" in general, combining paradoxographic tradition with narrative fiction . Infernal themes in a pious frame (the story of the struggle with terrible passions on the path of serving God) appear in the novels of Bishop Jean-Pierre Camus.
Fantasy in Romanticism
For romantics, duality turns into a split personality, leading to a poetically beneficial "sacred madness." “Refuge in the realm of fantasy” was sought by all romantics: among the “Yenese” fantasizing, that is, the aspiration of the imagination into the transcendent world of myths and legends, was put forward as an initiation to higher insight, as a life program - relatively prosperous (due to romantic irony) in L. Tick , pathetic and tragic in Novalis, whose "Heinrich von Ofterdingen" is an example of a renewed fantastic allegory, comprehended in the spirit of the search for an unattainable and incomprehensible ideal spiritual world.
Romantic fiction was synthesized by the work of E. T. A. Hoffmann: here is a Gothic novel (“The Devil's Elixir”), and a literary fairy tale (“Lord of the Fleas”, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”), and an enchanting phantasmagoria (“Princess Brambilla”), and a realistic story with a fantastic background ("The Choice of the Bride", "The Golden Pot").
Fantasy in realism
In the era of realism, fantasy again found itself on the periphery of literature, although it was often used for satirical and utopian purposes (as in Dostoevsky's stories "Bobok" and "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man"). At the same time, science fiction proper was born, which in the work of the epigone of romanticism J. Verne (“Five weeks in a balloon”, “Journey to the center of the Earth”, “From the Earth to the Moon”, “Twenty thousand leagues under the sea”, “Mysterious island”, “Robur the Conqueror”) and the outstanding realist G. Wells is fundamentally separated from the general fantastic tradition; she paints the real world, transformed by science (for worse or for better) and opening up in a new way to the gaze of the researcher. (True, the development of space fantasy leads to the discovery of new worlds, which inevitably somehow correlate with the traditional fairy tale, but this is a passing moment.)
More about the genre
The question of singling out fantasy as an independent concept arose as a result of the development of science fiction in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. literature, strongly associated with scientific and technological progress. The plot of science fiction works was based on scientific discoveries, inventions, technical foresights… Herbert Wells and Jules Verne became the acknowledged authorities of science fiction of those decades. Until the middle of the 20th century. fantasy kept a little apart from the rest of literature: it was too closely connected with science. This gave grounds for the theorists of the literary process to assert that fantasy is a completely special kind of literature, existing according to rules inherent only to it, and setting itself special tasks.
Subsequently, this opinion was shaken. The statement of the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury is characteristic: "Fiction is literature." In other words, there are no significant barriers. In the second half of the 20th century old theories gradually receded under the onslaught of changes that took place in science fiction.
Firstly, the concept of "fantasy" began to include not only "science fiction" proper, i.e. works that go back basically to the samples of Jule Verne and Wells production. Under the same roof were texts related to "horror" (horror literature), mysticism and fantasy (magical, magical fantasy).
Secondly, significant changes have also taken place in science fiction: the “new wave” of American science fiction writers and the “fourth wave” in the USSR (1950–1980s of the 20th century) led an active struggle to destroy the boundaries of the “ghetto” of science fiction, to merge it with literature. "mainstream", the destruction of the unspoken taboos that dominated the classic science fiction of the old style. A number of trends in "non-fantastic" literature somehow acquired a pro-fantastic sound, borrowed the entourage of science fiction. Romantic literature, literary fairy tale (E. Schwartz), phantasmagoria (A. Green), esoteric novel (P. Coelho, V. Pelevin), many texts that lie in the tradition of postmodernism (for example, Mantissa Fowles), are recognized among science fiction writers as “their ” or “almost their own”, i.e. borderline, lying in a wide band, which is covered by the spheres of influence of both the literature of the "main stream" and science fiction.
At the end of the 20th and the first years of the 21st centuries. the destruction of the concepts of “fantasy” and “science fiction” familiar to science fiction literature is growing. A lot of theories have been created, one way or another, fixing strictly defined boundaries for these types of fiction. But for the general reader, everything was clear from the surroundings: fantasy is where witchcraft, swords and elves are; science fiction is where robots, starships and blasters are.
Gradually, “science fantasy” appeared, i.e. "scientific fantasy" that perfectly connected witchcraft with starships, and swords with robots. A special kind of science fiction was born - "alternative history", later replenished with "cryptohistory". And there, and there, science fiction writers use both the usual entourage of science fiction and fantasy, and even combine them into an indissoluble whole. Directions have arisen in which it does not really matter at all to belong to science fiction or fantasy. In Anglo-American literature, this is primarily cyberpunk, and in Russian literature it is turborealism and "sacred fantasy".
As a result, a situation has arisen where the concepts of science fiction and fantasy, which previously firmly divided science fiction literature in two, have been blurred to the limit.
Fantasy - genres and subgenres
It is known that fiction can be divided into different areas: fantasy and science fiction, hard science fiction, space fiction, combat and humorous, love and social, mysticism and horror.
Perhaps these genres, or as they are also called, subtypes of science fiction, are by far the most famous in their circles. Let's try to characterize each of them separately.
Science Fiction (SF)
So, science fiction is a genre of literature and film industry that describes events taking place in the real world and differs from historical reality in some significant way.
These differences can be technological, scientific, social, historical, and any other, but not magical, otherwise the whole idea of the concept of "science fiction" is lost. In other words, science fiction reflects the impact of scientific and technological progress on everyday and familiar human life. Among the popular plots of the works of this genre are flights to unknown planets, the invention of robots, the discovery of new forms of life, the invention of the latest weapons, and so on.
Among admirers of this genre, the following works are popular: "I, Robot" (Azeik Asimov), "Pandora's Star" (Peter Hamilton), "Attempt to Escape" (Boris and Arkady Strugatsky), "Red Mars" (Kim Stanley Robinson) and many other great books.
The film industry has also produced many sci-fi films. Among the first foreign films, the film by Georges Milies "Journey to the Moon" was released. It was filmed in 1902 and is truly considered the most popular film that was shown on the big screens.
You can also note other paintings in the genre of "science fiction": "District No. 9" (USA), "The Matrix" (USA), the legendary "Aliens" (USA). However, there are films that have become, so to speak, classics of the genre.
Among them: "Metropolis" (Fritz Lang, Germany), filmed in 1925, struck with its idea and vision of the future of mankind.
Another film masterpiece that has become a classic is 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, USA), released in 1968. This picture tells about extraterrestrial civilizations and very much resembles rather scientific material about aliens and their lives - for viewers of the distant 1968, this is really something new, fantastic that they have never seen or heard before. Of course, you can't ignore Star Wars.
Hard science fiction, as a subgenre of sci-fi
Science fiction has a so-called sub-genre or subspecies called "hard science fiction". Solid science fiction differs from traditional science fiction in that scientific facts and laws are not distorted during the narrative.
That is, we can say that the basis of this subgenre is the natural scientific knowledge base and the whole plot is described around a certain scientific idea, even if it is fantastic. The storyline in such works is always simple and logical, based on several scientific assumptions - a time machine, ultra-high-speed travel in space, extrasensory perception, and so on.
Space fiction, another sub-genre of sci-fi
Space fiction is a subgenre of science fiction. Its distinctive feature is that the main plot takes place in outer space or on various planets in the solar system or beyond.
There is a division of space fiction into types: planetary novel, space opera, space odyssey. Let's talk about each type in more detail.
- Space odyssey. So, the Space Odyssey is a storyline in which the actions take place most often on space ships (ships) and the heroes need to complete a global mission, the outcome of which depends on the fate of a person.
- planetary romance. The planetary novel is much simpler in terms of the type of development of events and the complexity of the plot. Basically, all the action is limited to one particular planet, which is inhabited by exotic animals, people. A lot of works in this kind of genre are devoted to the distant future in which people move between worlds on a spaceship and this is normal, some early works of space fiction describe simpler plots with less realistic modes of movement. However, the goal and main theme of the planetary novel is the same for all works - the adventures of heroes on a particular planet.
- Space Opera. Space opera is an equally interesting subspecies of science fiction. Its main idea is the maturing and growth of the conflict between the heroes with the use of powerful high-tech weapons of the future to conquer the Galaxy or free the planet from space aliens, humanoids and other space creatures. The characters in this cosmic conflict are heroic. The main difference between space opera and science fiction is that there is an almost complete rejection of the scientific basis of the plot.
Among the works of space fiction that deserve attention are the following: Paradise Lost, The Absolute Enemy (Andrey Livadny), Steel Rat Saves the World (Harry Harrison), Star Kings, Return to the Stars (Edmond Hamilton ), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) and other great books.
And now let's note some bright films in the space fantasy genre. Of course, you can not get around the well-known film "Armageddon" (Michael Bay, USA, 1998); "Avatar" (James Cameron, USA, 2009), which blew up the whole world, which is distinguished by unusual special effects, vivid images, rich and unusual nature of an unknown planet; "Starship Troopers" (Paul Verhoeven, USA, 1997), also a popular film in its time, although many film fans today are ready to revise this picture more than once; It is impossible not to note all the parts (episodes) of George Lucas' Star Wars, in my opinion, this masterpiece of science fiction will be popular and interesting to the viewer at all times.
Fighting fiction
Combat fiction is a type (subgenre) of fiction that describes military operations taking place in the distant or not so distant future, and all actions take place using super-powerful robots and the latest weapons unknown to man today.
This genre is quite young, its origin can be attributed to the middle of the 20th century during the height of the Vietnam War. Moreover, I note that combat fiction became popular and the number of works and films increased, in direct proportion to the growth of conflicts in the world.
Among the popular authors-representatives of this genre are: Joe Haldeman "Infinite War"; Harry Harrison "Steel Rat", "Bill - Hero of the Galaxy"; domestic authors Alexander Zorich "Tomorrow War", Oleg Markelov "Adequacy", Igor Pol "Guardian Angel 320" and other wonderful authors.
A lot of films have been made in the genre of "combat fiction" "Frozen Soldiers" (Canada, 2014), "Edge of Tomorrow" (USA, 2014), Star Trek: Retribution (USA, 2013).
humorous fiction
Humorous fiction is a genre in which the presentation of unusual and fantastic events takes place in a humorous form.
Humorous fiction has been known since antiquity and is developing in our time. Among the representatives of humorous fiction in literature, the most striking are our beloved Brothers Strugatsky "Monday begins on Saturday", Kir Bulychev "Miracles in Guslyar", as well as foreign authors of humorous fiction Prudchett Terry David John "I'll put on midnight", Bester Alfred "Will you wait? ", Bisson Terry Ballantine "They are made of meat."
Love fiction
Love fiction, romantic adventure works.
This type of fantasy includes love stories with fictional characters, magical countries that do not exist, the presence in the description of wonderful amulets with unusual properties, and, of course, all these stories have a happy ending.
Of course, you can not get around the films made in the genre. Here are a few of them: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (USA, 2008), "The Time Traveler's Wife" (USA, 2009), "She" (USA, 2014).
social fiction
Social fiction is a type of science fiction literature that focuses on the relationships between people in society.
The emphasis is on the creation of fantastic motives in order to show the development of social relations in unrealistic conditions.
The following works were written in this genre: The Strugatsky brothers "The Doomed City", "The Bull's Hour" by I. Efremov, H. Wells "The Time Machine", "451 degrees Fahrenheit" by Ray Bradbury. Cinematography also has films in the genre of social fiction in its piggy bank: The Matrix (USA, Australia, 1999), Dark City (USA, Australia, 1998), Youth (USA, 2014).
As you can see, science fiction is such a versatile genre that anyone can choose what suits him in spirit, in nature, will provide an opportunity to plunge into the magical, unusual, terrible, tragic, high-tech world of the future and inexplicable for us - ordinary people.
How is fantasy different from science fiction?
The word "fantasy" came to us from the Greek language, where "phantastike" means "the art of imagining". "Fantasy" comes from the English "phantasy" (tracing paper from the Greek "phantasia"). The literal translation is “imagination, imagination”. The words art and imagination are key here. Art implies certain patterns and rules for the construction of the genre, and the imagination is limitless, the flight of fantasy does not obey the laws.
Science fiction is a form of reflection of the surrounding world, in which a logically incompatible picture of the Universe is created on the basis of real ideas about it. Fantasy is a type of science fiction, a type of fantastic art that depicts fictional events in worlds whose existence cannot be logically explained. The basis of fantasy is a mystical, irrational beginning.
The fantasy world is a kind of assumption. The author sends his reader on a journey through time and space. After all, the basis of the genre is the free flight of fantasy. The location of this world is not specified in any way. Its physical laws cannot be explained by the realities of our world. Magic and magic are the norm of the described world. The "miracles" of fantasy operate according to their own system, like the laws of nature.
Heroes of modern science fiction, as a rule, oppose the whole society. They can fight a mega-corporation or a totalitarian state that controls the life of society. Fantasy is based on the antithesis of good and evil, harmony and chaos. The hero goes on a long journey, seeking truth and justice. Often the plot of the plot is some kind of incident that awakened the forces of evil. The hero is confronted or helped by mythical fictitious creatures, which can conditionally be united into certain "races" (elves, orcs, dwarves, trolls, etc.). The classic example of the fantasy genre is JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
conclusions
- The word "fantasy" is translated as "the art of imagining", and "fantasy" - "representation", "imagination".
- A characteristic feature of works of fiction is the presence of a fantastic assumption: what would the world be like under certain conditions. The fantasy author describes an alternate reality that is not connected to the existing reality. The laws of the fantasy world are presented as a given, without any explanation. The existence of magic and mythical races is the norm.
- In fantasy works, as a rule, there is a conflict between the norms imposed on society and the protagonist's desire for freedom. That is, the heroes defend their dissimilarity. In fantasy works, the main conflict is connected with the confrontation between light and dark forces.
Cinematic fiction
Film fiction is a direction and genre of artistic cinematography, which can be characterized by an increased level of conventionality. The images, events and surroundings of science fiction films are often deliberately removed from everyday reality - this can be done both to achieve specific artistic goals, which are more convenient for the filmmakers to achieve with the help of science fiction than with the help of realistic cinema, or simply for the entertainment of the viewer (the latter is typical primarily for genre films). movie).
The nature of the convention depends on the specific direction or genre - science fiction, fantasy, horror film, phantasmagoria - but all of them can be broadly understood as cinematic fiction. There is also a narrower view of sci-fi as a mass purely commercial genre of cinema; according to this view, for example, "A Space Odyssey 2001" is not a fantasy film. This article uses a broad understanding of cinematic fiction, which allows you to give a more complete picture of the subject.
The evolution of cinematic fiction has largely followed the evolution of the much more dynamic fantasy literature. However, cinematography from the very beginning possessed the property of visuality, which written literature is practically devoid of. The moving image is perceived by the viewer as authentic, existing here and now, and the feeling of authenticity does not depend on how fantastic the action unfolding on the screen is. This property of the viewer's perception of cinema acquired special significance after the advent of special effects.
Film fiction actively uses the mythology of the technical era. Mythology is part of science fiction films.
Introduction
The purpose of this work is to analyze the features of the use of scientific terminology in the novel "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" by A.N. Tolstoy.
The topic of the course project is extremely relevant, since in science fiction we often find the use of terminology of a different nature, which is the norm for this type of literature. This approach is especially characteristic of the genre of "hard" science fiction, to which A.N. Tolstoy "Hyperboloid engineer Garin".
Object of work - terms in science fiction works
In the first chapter, we consider the features of science fiction and its types, as well as the specifics of the style of A.N. Tolstoy.
In the second chapter, we consider the specifics of terminology and the peculiarities of the use of terminology in SF and the novel by A.N. Tolstoy "Hyperboloid engineer Garin".
Chapter 1. Science fiction and its style
The peculiarity of the genre of science fiction
Science fiction (SF) is a genre in literature, cinema and other arts, one of the varieties of science fiction. Science fiction is based on fantastic assumptions in science and technology, including both the natural sciences and the humanities. Works based on non-scientific assumptions belong to other genres. The topics of science fiction works are new discoveries, inventions, facts unknown to science, space exploration and time travel.
The author of the term "science fiction" is Yakov Perelman, who introduced this concept in 1914. Prior to this, a similar term - "fantastically scientific journeys" - was used by Alexander Kuprin in relation to Wells and other authors in his article "Redard Kipling" (1908).
There is much debate among critics and literary scholars about what counts as science fiction. However, most of them agree that science fiction is literature based on some assumption in the field of science: the emergence of a new invention, the discovery of new laws of nature, sometimes even the construction of new models of society (social fiction).
In a narrow sense, science fiction is about technologies and scientific discoveries (only supposed or already made), their exciting possibilities, their positive or negative impact, about the paradoxes that can arise. SF in such a narrow sense awakens the scientific imagination, makes you think about the future and the possibilities of science.
In a more general sense, science fiction is fantasy without the fabulous and mystical, where hypotheses are built about worlds without otherworldly forces, and the real world is imitated. Otherwise, it is fantasy or mysticism with a technical touch.
Often the action of SF takes place in the distant future, which makes SF related to futurology, the science of predicting the world of the future. Many science fiction writers dedicate their work to literary futurology, attempts to guess and describe the real future of the Earth, as did Arthur Clark, Stanislav Lem, and others. Other writers use the future only as a setting that allows them to fully reveal the idea of their work.
However, futuristic fiction and science fiction are not exactly the same thing. The action of many science fiction works takes place in the conditional present (K. Bulychev's The Great Guslar, most of the books by J. Verne, the stories of G. Wells, R. Bradbury) or even the past (books about time travel). At the same time, the action of non-science fiction works is sometimes placed in the future. For example, the action of many fantasy works takes place on an Earth that has changed after a nuclear war (Shannara by T. Brooks, Awakening of the Stone God by F. H. Farmer, Sos Rope by P. Anthony). Therefore, a more reliable criterion is not the time of action, but the area of fantastic assumption.
G. L. Oldie conditionally divides science fiction assumptions into natural sciences and humanities sciences. The first includes the introduction of new inventions and laws of nature into the work, which is typical for hard science fiction. The second includes the introduction of assumptions in the fields of sociology, history, psychology, ethics, religion, and even philology. Thus, works of social fiction, utopia and dystopia are created. At the same time, several types of assumptions can be combined in one work at the same time.
As Maria Galina writes in her article, “It is traditionally believed that science fiction (SF) is literature, the plot of which revolves around some fantastic, but still scientific idea. It would be more accurate to say that in science fiction, the initially given picture of the world is logical and internally consistent. The plot in science fiction is usually built on one or more supposedly scientific assumptions (a time machine is possible, faster-than-light travel in space, “supra-space tunnels”, telepathy, etc.).”
The advent of fantasy was caused by the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Initially, science fiction was a genre of literature describing the achievements of science and technology, the prospects for their development, etc. The world of the future was often described - usually in the form of a utopia. A classic example of this type of fantasy is the works of Jules Verne.
Later, the development of technology began to be viewed in a negative light and led to the emergence of dystopia. And in the 1980s, its cyberpunk subgenre began to gain popularity. In it, high technologies coexist with total social control and the power of omnipotent corporations. In the works of this genre, the plot is based on the life of marginal fighters against the oligarchic regime, as a rule, in conditions of total cybernetization of society and social decline. Notable examples: Neuromancer by William Gibson.
In Russia, science fiction has become a popular and widely developed genre since the 20th century. Among the most famous authors are Ivan Efremov, the Strugatsky brothers, Alexander Belyaev, Kir Bulychev and others.
Even in pre-revolutionary Russia, individual science fiction works were written by such authors as Faddey Bulgarin, V. F. Odoevsky, Valery Bryusov, K. E. Tsiolkovsky several times expounded his views on science and technology in the form of fictional stories. But before the revolution, SF was not an established genre with its own constant writers and fans.
Science fiction was one of the most popular genres in the USSR. There were seminars for young science fiction writers and clubs for science fiction lovers. Almanacs were published with stories by novice authors, such as "The World of Adventures", fantastic stories were published in the magazine "Technology - Youth". At the same time, Soviet science fiction was subjected to severe censorship. She was required to maintain a positive outlook on the future, faith in communist development. Technical reliability was welcomed, mysticism and satire were condemned. In 1934, at the congress of the Union of Writers, Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak assigned the science fiction genre a place on a par with children's literature.
One of the first science fiction writers in the USSR was Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoy ("Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin", "Aelita"). The film adaptation of Tolstoy's novel "Aelita" was the first Soviet science fiction film. In the 1920s - 30s, dozens of books by Alexander Belyaev were published (“Fight on the Air”, “Ariel”, “Amphibian Man”, “Professor Dowell's Head”, etc.), “alternative geographical” novels by V. A Obruchev (“Plutonia”, “Sannikov Land”), satirical-fiction stories by M. A. Bulgakov (“Heart of a Dog”, “Fatal Eggs”). They were distinguished by technical reliability and interest in science and technology. The role model of early Soviet science fiction writers was HG Wells, who himself was a socialist and visited the USSR several times.
In the 1950s, the rapid development of astronautics led to the flourishing of "short-range fiction" - solid science fiction about the exploration of the solar system, the exploits of astronauts, and the colonization of planets. The authors of this genre include G. Gurevich, A. Kazantsev, G. Martynov and others.
In the 1960s and later, Soviet science fiction began to move away from the rigid framework of science, despite the pressure of censorship. Many works of outstanding science fiction writers of the late Soviet period belong to social fiction. During this period, the books of the Strugatsky brothers, Kir Bulychev, Ivan Efremov appeared, which raise social and ethical issues, contain the views of the authors on humanity and the state. Often, fantastic works contained hidden satire. The same trend was reflected in science fiction, in particular, in the works of Andrei Tarkovsky (Solaris, Stalker). In parallel with this, a lot of adventure fiction for children was filmed in the late USSR (“Adventures of Electronics”, “Moscow-Cassiopeia”, “The Secret of the Third Planet”).
Science fiction has evolved and grown over its history, spawning new directions and absorbing elements from older genres such as utopia and alternate history.
The genre of the novel we are considering A.N. Tolstoy is "hard" science fiction, so we would like to dwell on it in more detail.
Hard science fiction is the oldest and original genre of science fiction. Its feature is the strict adherence to the scientific laws known at the time of writing the work. The works of hard science fiction are based on a natural scientific assumption: for example, a scientific discovery, an invention, a novelty in science or technology. Prior to other types of science fiction, it was simply called "science fiction". The term hard science fiction was first used in a literary review by P. Miller, published in February 1957 in Astounding Science Fiction magazine.
Some books by Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robur the Conqueror, From the Earth to the Moon) and Arthur Conan Doyle (The Lost World, The Poisoned Belt, Maracot's Abyss), the works of HG Wells, Alexander Belyaev are called hard science fiction classics. A distinctive feature of these books was a detailed scientific and technical base, and the plot was based, as a rule, on a new discovery or invention. The authors of hard science fiction made a lot of "predictions", correctly guessing the further development of science and technology. So, Verne describes a helicopter in the novel "Robur the Conqueror", an airplane in "Lord of the World", space flight in "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Around the Moon". Wells predicted video communications, central heating, laser, atomic weapons. Belyaev in the 1920s described a space station, radio-controlled equipment.
Hard science fiction was especially developed in the USSR, where other genres of science fiction were not welcomed by censors. Particularly widespread was the "fantasy of the near sight", telling about the events of the alleged near future - first of all, the colonization of the planets of the solar system. The most famous examples of science fiction "close range" include the books of G. Gurevich, G. Martynov, A. Kazantsev, the early books of the Strugatsky brothers ("Land of Crimson Clouds", "Interns"). Their books told about the heroic expeditions of astronauts to the Moon, Venus, Mars, to the asteroid belt. In these books, technical accuracy in the description of space flights was combined with romantic fiction about the structure of neighboring planets - then there was still hope to find life on them.
Although the main works of hard science fiction were written in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, many authors turned to this genre in the second half of the 20th century. For example, Arthur C. Clarke, in his Space Odyssey series of books, relied on a strictly scientific approach and described the development of astronautics, which is very close to the real one. In recent years, according to Eduard Gevorkyan, the genre is experiencing a "second wind". An example of this is astrophysicist Alastair Reynolds, who successfully combines hard science fiction with space opera and cyberpunk (for example, all his spaceships are sublight).
Other genres of science fiction are:
1) Social fiction - works in which a fantastic element is a different structure of society, completely different from the real one, or which is bringing it to extremes.
2) Chrono-fiction, temporal fantasy, or chrono-opera is a genre that tells about time travel. The key work of this subgenre is Wells' Time Machine. Although time travel has been written about before (for example, Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court), it was in The Time Machine that time travel was first intentional and scientifically based, and thus this plot device was introduced specifically into science fiction.
3) Alternative-historical - a genre in which the idea is developed that an event happened or did not happen in the past, and what could come out of it.
The first examples of this kind of assumption are found long before the advent of science fiction. Not all of them were works of art - sometimes they were serious works of historians. For example, the historian Titus Livius argued what would happen if Alexander the Great went to war against his native Rome. The famous historian Sir Arnold Toynbee also dedicated several of his essays to Macedonian: what would have happened if Alexander had lived longer, and vice versa, if he had not existed at all. Sir John Squire published a whole book of historical essays, under the general title "If it all went wrong."
4) The popularity of post-apocalyptic fiction is one of the reasons for the popularity of "stalker tourism".
Closely related genres, the action of works in which takes place during or shortly after a catastrophe of a planetary scale (collision with a meteorite, nuclear war, ecological catastrophe, epidemic).
The real scope of the post-apocalyptic received in the era of the Cold War, when a real threat of a nuclear holocaust loomed over humanity. During this period, such works as “The Song of Leibovitz” by V. Miller, “Dr. Bloodmoney" by F. Dick, "Dinner at the Palace of Perversions" by Tim Powers, "Roadside Picnic" by the Strugatskys. Works in this genre continue to be created after the end of the Cold War (for example, "Metro 2033" by D. Glukhovsky).
5) Utopias and anti-utopias - genres dedicated to modeling the social structure of the future. In utopias, an ideal society is drawn, expressing the views of the author. In anti-utopias - the exact opposite of the ideal, a terrible, usually totalitarian, social structure.
6) "Space Opera" was dubbed an entertaining adventure SF published in popular pulp magazines in the 1920-50s in the USA. The name was given in 1940 by Wilson Tucker and, at first, was a contemptuous epithet (similar to "soap opera"). However, over time, the term took root and ceased to have a negative connotation.
The action of "space opera" takes place in space and on other planets, usually in a conventional "future". The plot is based on the adventures of the heroes, and the scale of the events taking place is limited only by the imagination of the authors. Initially, the works of this genre were purely entertaining, but later the techniques of the "space opera" were included in the arsenal of the authors of artistically significant science fiction.
7) Cyberpunk is a genre that considers the evolution of society under the influence of new technologies, a special place among which is given to telecommunications, computer, biological, and, last but not least, social. The background in the works of the genre is often cyborgs, androids, a supercomputer serving technocratic, corrupt and immoral organizations/regimes. The name "cyberpunk" was coined by writer Bruce Bethke, and literary critic Gardner Dozois picked it up and began to use it as the name of a new genre. He briefly and succinctly defined cyberpunk as "High tech, low life".
8) Steampunk is a genre created, on the one hand, in imitation of such classics of science fiction as Jules Verne and Albert Robida, and on the other, being a kind of post-cyberpunk. Sometimes dieselpunk is distinguished from it separately, corresponding to the science fiction of the first half of the 20th century. It can also be attributed to an alternative history, since the emphasis is on the more successful and perfect development of steam technology instead of the invention of the internal combustion engine.
FANTASTIC IN LITERATURE. The definition of fantasy is a task that has caused a tremendous amount of discussion. The basis for no fewer disputes was the question of what science fiction consists of, how it is classified.
The question of singling out fantasy as an independent concept arose as a result of the development of science fiction in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. literature, strongly associated with scientific and technological progress. The plot basis of fantastic works was scientific discoveries, inventions, technical foresights... Herbert Wells and Jules Verne became recognized authorities of science fiction of those decades. Until the middle of the 20th century. fantasy kept a little apart from the rest of literature: it was too closely connected with science. This gave grounds for the theorists of the literary process to assert that fantasy is a completely special kind of literature, existing according to rules inherent only to it, and setting itself special tasks.
Subsequently, this opinion was shaken. The statement of the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury is characteristic: "Fiction is literature." In other words, there are no significant barriers. In the second half of the 20th century old theories gradually receded under the onslaught of changes that took place in science fiction. Firstly, the concept of "fantasy" began to include not only "science fiction" proper, i.e. works that go back basically to the samples of Jule Verne and Wells production. Under the same roof were texts related to "horror" (horror literature), mysticism and fantasy (magical, magical fantasy). Secondly, significant changes have also taken place in science fiction: the “new wave” of American science fiction writers and the “fourth wave” in the USSR (1950–1980s of the 20th century) led an active struggle to destroy the boundaries of the “ghetto” of science fiction, to merge it with literature. "mainstream", the destruction of the unspoken taboos that dominated the classic science fiction of the old style. A number of trends in "non-fantastic" literature somehow acquired a pro-fantastic sound, borrowed the entourage of science fiction. Romantic literature, literary fairy tale (E. Schwartz), phantasmagoria (A. Green), esoteric novel (P. Coelho, V. Pelevin), many texts that lie in the tradition of postmodernism (for example, Mantissa Fowles), are recognized among science fiction writers as “their own” or “almost their own”, i.e. borderline, lying in a wide band, which is covered by the spheres of influence of both the literature of the "main stream" and science fiction.
At the end of the 20th and the first years of the 21st centuries. the destruction of the concepts of “fantasy” and “science fiction” familiar to science fiction literature is growing. A lot of theories have been created, one way or another, fixing strictly defined boundaries for these types of fiction. But for the general reader, everything was clear from the surroundings: fantasy is where witchcraft, swords and elves are; science fiction is where robots, starships and blasters are. Gradually, “science fantasy” appeared, i.e. "scientific fantasy" that perfectly connected witchcraft with starships, and swords with robots. A special kind of science fiction was born - "alternative history", later replenished with "cryptohistory". And there, and there, science fiction writers use both the usual entourage of science fiction and fantasy, and even combine them into an indissoluble whole. Directions have arisen in which it does not really matter at all to belong to science fiction or fantasy. In Anglo-American literature, this is primarily cyberpunk, and in Russian literature it is turborealism and "sacred fantasy".
As a result, a situation has arisen where the concepts of science fiction and fantasy, which previously firmly divided science fiction literature in two, have been blurred to the limit.
Fantasy as a whole is today a continent populated very variegatedly. Moreover, individual "nationalities" (directions) are closely related to their neighbors, and sometimes it is very difficult to understand where the borders of one of them end and the territory of a completely different one begins. Today's science fiction is like a melting pot in which everything fuses with everything and melts into everything. Within this cauldron, any clear classification loses its meaning. The boundaries between the literature of the main stream and science fiction have almost disappeared, in any case, there is no clarity here. The modern literary critic does not have clear, strictly defined criteria for separating the first from the second.
Rather, the publisher sets the boundaries. The art of marketing requires appealing to the interests of established readership groups. Therefore, publishers and sellers create so-called "formats", i.e. form the parameters within which specific works are accepted for printing. These "formats" dictate to science fiction writers, first of all, the entourage of the work, in addition, the methods of constructing the plot and, from time to time, the thematic range. The concept of "non-format" is widespread. This is the name of the text that does not fit in its parameters to any established "format". The author of a “non-formatted” science fiction work, as a rule, has difficulties with its publication.
Thus, in fiction, the critic and the literary critic do not have a serious influence on the literary process; it is directed primarily by the publisher and bookseller. There is a huge, unevenly defined "world of fantasy", and next to it - a much narrower phenomenon - "format" fantasy, fantasy in the strict sense of the word.
Is there even a nominally theoretical difference between fantasy and non-fiction? Yes, and it applies equally to literature, cinema, painting, music, theater. In a laconic, encyclopedic form, it reads as follows: “Fiction (from the Greek phantastike - the art of imagining) is a form of displaying the world, in which, on the basis of real ideas, a logically incompatible (“supernatural”, “wonderful”) picture of the Universe is created.
What does this mean? Fantasy is a method, not a genre and not a direction in literature and art. This method in practice means the use of a special technique - the "fantastic assumption". A fantastic assumption is not difficult to explain. Each work of literature and art involves the creation by its creator of a "secondary world" built with the help of imagination. There are fictional characters in fictional circumstances. If the author-creator introduces elements of the unprecedented into his secondary world, i.e. that, in the opinion of his contemporaries and fellow citizens, in principle could not exist in that time and in that place with which the secondary world of the work is connected, then we have a fantastic assumption. Sometimes the whole "secondary world" is completely real: let's say it's a provincial Soviet town from A. Mirer's novel House of wanderers or a provincial American town from the novel by K. Simak All living things. Suddenly, something unthinkable appears inside this familiar reality for the reader (aggressive aliens in the first case and intelligent plants in the second). But it can be completely different: J.R.R. more real than the reality around them. Both of these are fantastic assumptions.
The quantity of a work unprecedented in the secondary world does not play a role. The very fact of its existence is important.
Let's say times have changed and the technical fiction has become something ordinary. So, for example, high-speed cars, wars with the massive use of aircraft, or, say, powerful submarines were practically impossible in the time of Jules Verne and HG Wells. Now this will surprise no one. But the works of a century ago, where all this is described, remain fiction, because for those years they were.
Opera Sadko- fantasy, because it uses the folklore motif of the underwater kingdom. But the ancient Russian work about Sadko itself was not fiction, since the ideas of people who lived at the time when it arose allowed the reality of the underwater kingdom. Movie Nibelungen- fantasy, because it has an invisibility cap and "living armor" that made a person invulnerable. But the ancient German epic works about the Nibelungen do not belong to science fiction, because in the era of their appearance, magic objects could appear as something unusual, but still really existing.
If the author writes about the future, then his work always belongs to science fiction, since any future is, by definition, an unheard-of thing, there is no exact knowledge about it. If he writes about the past and admits the existence of elves and trolls in ancient times, then he falls into the field of fantasy. Perhaps the people of the Middle Ages considered the presence of a “little people” in the neighborhood possible, but modern world science denies this. Theoretically, it cannot be ruled out that in the 22nd century, for example, elves will again become an element of the surrounding reality, and such a representation will become widespread. But in this case, the work of the 20th century. will remain fiction, given the fact that it was born fiction.
Dmitry Volodikhin
I am a big fan of science fiction and science fiction as well. At one time I read a lot, now much less because of the invention of the Internet and lack of time. While preparing the next post, I came across this rating. Well, I think I’ll run now, I probably know everything here! Aha! No matter how. I haven't read half of the books, but that's okay. I hear some authors almost for the first time! Wow, how it is! And they are CULT! How are you doing with this list?
Check...
1. Time Machine
A novel by H.G. Wells, his first major science fiction work. Revised from the 1888 story "The Argonauts of Time" and published in 1895. The Time Machine introduced the idea of time travel and the time machine used for this into fiction, which were later used by many writers and created the direction of chrono-fiction. Moreover, as Yu. I. Kagarlitsky noted, both in scientific and world outlook Wells "... in a certain sense anticipated Einstein", who formulated the special theory of relativity ten years after the publication of the novel
The book describes the journey of the inventor of the time machine into the future. The plot is based on the fascinating adventures of the protagonist in a world that is 800 thousand years later, describing which the author proceeded from the negative trends in the development of contemporary capitalist society, which allowed many critics to call the book a warning novel. In addition, the novel for the first time describes many ideas related to time travel, which will not lose their attractiveness for readers and authors of new works for a long time.
2. Stranger in a foreign land
A fantastic philosophical novel by Robert Heinlein, awarded the Hugo Award in 1962. In the West, it has a "cult" status, being considered the most famous fantasy novel ever written. One of the few science fiction books included in the Library of Congress list of books that have shaped America.
The first expedition to Mars disappeared without a trace. The Third World War pushed back the second, successful expedition for a long twenty-five years. New researchers made contact with the original Martians and found out that not all of the first expedition died. And they bring to earth "Mowgli of the space age" - Michael Wallentine Smith, brought up by local intelligent beings. A man by birth and a Martian by upbringing, Michael bursts into the habitual everyday life of the Earth as a bright star. Endowed with the knowledge and skills of an ancient civilization, Smith becomes the messiah, the founder of a new religion and the first martyr for his faith...
3. Saga of the Lensmen
The Lensman saga is the story of a million-year confrontation between two ancient and powerful races: the evil and cruel Eddorians, who are trying to create a giant empire in space, and the inhabitants of Arrisia, the wise patrons of young civilizations emerging in the galaxy. In time, the Earth will enter this battle with its mighty space fleet and the Lensman Galactic Patrol.
The novel instantly became incredibly popular among fans of science fiction - it was one of the first major works, the authors of which ventured to take the action outside the solar system, and since then Smith, along with Edmond Hamilton, is considered the founder of the space opera genre.
4 Space Odyssey 2001
"2001: A Space Odyssey" is a literary script of the film of the same name (which, in turn, is based on Clark's early short story "The Sentinel"), which has become a classic of science fiction and is dedicated to human contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, reworked into a novel.
The film "2001: A Space Odyssey" is regularly included in the list of "greatest films in the history of cinema." It and its sequel 2010: Odyssey Two won the Hugo Awards in 1969 and 1985 for best fantasy films.
The influence of the film and book on modern culture is enormous, as is the number of their fans. And although the year 2001 has already arrived, "Space Odyssey" is unlikely to be forgotten. She continues to be our future.
5. Fahrenheit 451
The dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 by the famous American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury has become, in a sense, an icon and a guiding star of the genre. It was created on a typewriter, which the writer rented from the public library and was printed for the first time in parts in the first issues of Playboy magazine.
The epigraph of the novel states that the ignition temperature of paper is 451 °F. The novel describes a society that relies on mass culture and consumerism, in which all books that make you think about life are to be burned; possession of books is a crime; and people who can think critically are outlawed. The protagonist of the novel, Guy Montag, works as a "fireman" (which in the book means burning books), confident that he is doing his job "for the benefit of mankind." But soon he becomes disillusioned with the ideals of the society of which he is a part, becomes an outcast and joins a small underground group of outcasts, whose supporters memorize the texts of books in order to save them for posterity.
6. "Foundation" (other names - Academy, Foundation, Foundation, Foundation)
A science fiction classic that tells of the collapse of a great galactic empire and its rebirth with the help of the "Seldon Plan".
In later novels, Asimov connected the world of the Foundation with his other cycles of works about the Empire and about positronic robots. The combined cycle, which is also called "Foundation", covers the history of mankind for over 20,000 years and includes 14 novels and dozens of short stories.
According to rumors, Asimov's novel made a huge impression on Osama bin Laden and even influenced his decision to create the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Bin Laden likened himself to Gary Seldon, who rules the society of the future through pre-planned crises. Moreover, the Arabic translation of the novel's title is Al Qaida and thus may have given rise to the name of bin Laden's organization.
7. Massacre Number Five, or The Children's Crusade (1969)
Kurt Vonnegut's autobiographical novel about the bombing of Dresden during World War II.
The novel was dedicated to Mary O'Hare (and Dresden taxi driver Gerhard Müller) and was written in a "telegraphic-schizophrenic style", as Vonnegut himself puts it. Realism, grotesque, fantasy, elements of madness, cruel satire and bitter irony are closely intertwined in the book.
The protagonist is American soldier Billy Pilgrim, a ridiculous, timid, apathetic man. The book describes his adventures in the war and the bombing of Dresden, which left an indelible imprint on the Pilgrim's mental state, which has not been very stable since childhood. Vonnegut introduced a fantastic element into the story: the events of the protagonist's life are viewed through the prism of post-traumatic stress disorder, a syndrome characteristic of war veterans that crippled the hero's perception of reality. As a result, the comical "tale about aliens" grows into some coherent philosophical system.
Aliens from the planet Tralfamador take Billy Pilgrim to their planet and tell him that time does not really "flow", there is no gradual random transition from one event to another - the world and time are given once and for all, everything that has happened and will happen is known . About someone's death, the Trafalmadorians simply say: "Such things." It is impossible to say why or why something happened - such was the "structure of the moment".
8. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Legendary ironic sci-fi saga by Douglas Adams.
The novel tells about the adventures of the unfortunate Englishman Arthur Dent, who, with his friend Ford Prefect (a native of a small planet somewhere near Betelgeuse, working in the editorial office of the Hitchhiker's Guide), escapes death when the Earth is destroyed by a race of Vogon bureaucrats. Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford's relative and President of the Galaxy, accidentally saves Dent and Ford from death in outer space. Also aboard Zaphod's improbable-powered ship, the Heart of Gold, are the depressive robot Marvin, and Trillian, aka Tricia MacMillan, whom Arthur once met at a party. She is, as Arthur soon realizes, the only human left alive besides himself. The heroes search for the legendary planet Magrathea and try to find a question that fits the Ultimate Answer.
9. Dune (1965)
Frank Herbert's first novel in the Dune Chronicles saga about the sandy planet Arrakis. It was this book that made him famous. Dune won Hugo and Nebula Awards. Dune is one of the most famous science fiction novels of the 20th century.
This book raises many political, environmental and other important issues. The writer managed to create a full-fledged fantasy world and cross it with a philosophical novel. In this world, the most important substance is spice, which is needed for interstellar flights and on which the existence of civilization depends. This substance is found only on one planet called Arrakis. Arrakis is a desert inhabited by huge sandworms. The Fremen tribes live on this planet, in whose life water is the main and unconditional value.
10 Neuromancer (1984)
A novel by William Gibson, a cyberpunk canon that won the Nebula (1984), the Hugo (1985) and the Philip Dick Prize. This is the first Gibson novel to open the Cyberspace trilogy. Published in 1984.
This work discusses such concepts as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, transnational corporations, cyberspace (computer network, matrix) long before these concepts became popular in popular culture.
11. Do androids dream of electric sheep? (1968)
Science fiction novel by Philip Dick written in 1968. Tells the story of "bounty hunter" Rick Deckard, who goes after androids - creatures almost indistinguishable from humans, outlawed on Earth. The action takes place in the radiation-poisoned and partially abandoned San Francisco of the future.
Along with The Man in the High Castle, this novel is Dick's most famous work. This is one of the classic science fiction works that explores the ethical issues of creating androids - artificial people.
In 1982, based on the novel, Ridley Scott directed the film Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford. The script, which Hampton Fancher and David Peoples created, is quite different from the book.
12. Gate (1977)
A 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Frederick Paul that won all three major American genre awards - Nebula (1977), Hugo (1978), and Locus (1978). The novel opens the Heechee cycle.
Near Venus, people have found an artificial asteroid built by an alien race called the Heechee. Spaceships were found on the asteroid. People figured out how to navigate the ships, but they couldn't change their destination. Many volunteers have tested them. Some returned with discoveries that made them rich. But most returned with nothing. And some didn't come back at all. The flight on the ship was like Russian roulette - you could get lucky, but you could also die.
The main character is a lucky explorer. He is tormented by remorse - from the crew, which had good luck, only he returned. And he is trying to figure out his life, confessing to a robot psychoanalyst.
13 Ender's Game (1985)
Ender's Game won the Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Novel in 1985 and 1986, some of the most prestigious science fiction literary awards.
The novel is set in 2135. Mankind survived two invasions of the alien race "buggers" (English buggers), only miraculously survived, and is preparing for the next invasion. To search for pilots and commanders who can bring victory to the Earth, a military school is being created, to which the most talented children are sent from an early age. Among these children is the title character of the book - Andrew (Ender) Wiggin, the future commander of the International Earth Fleet and the only hope of mankind for salvation.
14. 1984 (1949)
In 2009, The Times listed 1984 as one of the 60 best books published in the last 60 years, and Newsweek ranked the novel second in its list of the 100 best books of all time.
The title of the novel, its terminology, and even the name of the author later became a household name and are used to denote a social structure reminiscent of the totalitarian regime described in 1984. Repeatedly became both a victim of censorship in the socialist countries, and the object of criticism from leftist circles in the West.
George Orwell's fantasy novel 1984 tells the story of Winston Smith, who is rewriting history based on partisan interests during the reign of a totalitarian junta. Smith's rebellion leads to dire consequences. As the author predicts, nothing can be worse than total lack of freedom...
This work, which was banned in our country until 1991, is called a dystopia of the twentieth century. (hatred, fears, hunger and blood), a warning against totalitarianism. The novel was boycotted in the West due to the similarity between the ruler of the country, Big Brother, and the real heads of state.
15. Brave New World (1932)
One of the most famous dystopian novels. A sort of antipode of Orwell's 1984. No torture chambers - everyone is happy and satisfied. The pages of the novel describe the world of the distant future (the action takes place in London), in which people are grown in special embryorium plants and in advance (by influencing the embryo at various stages of development) are divided into five castes of different mental and physical abilities, which perform different work. From "alphas" - strong and beautiful mental workers to "epsilons" - semi-cretins who can only do the simplest physical work. Babies are brought up differently depending on the caste. Thus, with the help of hypnopedia, each caste is brought up with reverence for the higher caste and contempt for the lower castes. Costumes for each caste of a certain color. For example, alphas go in gray, gammas go in green, deltas go in khaki, epsilons go in black.
In this society, there is no place for feelings, and it is considered indecent not to have regular sexual intercourse with different partners (the main slogan is “everyone belongs to everyone else”), but pregnancy is considered a terrible shame. People in this "World State" do not age, although the average life expectancy is 60 years. Regularly, in order to always have a good mood, they use the drug "somu", which has no negative effects ("soma grams - and no dramas"). God in this world is Henry Ford, they call him “Our Lord Ford”, and the chronology comes from the creation of the Ford T car, that is, from 1908 AD. e. (in the novel, the action takes place in the year 632 of the "era of stability", that is, in 2540 AD).
The writer shows the life of people in this world. The main characters are people who cannot fit into society - Bernard Marx (a representative of the upper class, alpha plus), his friend, a successful dissident Helmholtz and a savage John from an Indian reservation, who all his life dreamed of getting into a beautiful world where everyone is happy.
source http://t0p-10.ru
And on a literary topic, let me remind you what he was like and what he was The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -
