There’s a kind of story that you just don’t see anymore. Old style science fiction, the kind that sprang not just from visions of the future, but from thoughts and dreams of the past. Elements of the swashbuckler mixed with the great explorer and seasoned with a healthy dose of “imagine if….”.
It was the fiction of my childhood, even though it was already out dated at the time. From John Carter to Flash Gordon, from Professor Challenger to Dan Dare, the greatest escapes were pushed aside by real science and imagination was bottled up by reality. I can still go back to those old treasure and re-live them, many still read just as well to me as they ever did. But to find new adventures, new excitements, that’s rare.
I know of one writer who still inhabits those realms from time to time. Like me, he seems to have grown up on old visions of what the future should have been, and like me, he seems to have had a hard time letting go of those wonderful days.
He’s explored these topics over and over, in books like Ministry of Space and Planetary. His name, of course, is Warren Ellis. And I’ve just heard that he’s going back to that out dated well to bring us back some fresh water. I can’t wait…..
I’m excited about that too – especially since I just finished “Fell” and fucking adored it.