2008: The Year in Science Fiction Literature

The "outstanding" sci-fi novel of the year was Neal Stephenson's Anathem

During the 1980s, science fiction became more reflective of the present than the future and has subsequently become increasingly interested in short term extrapolations rather than the future a century or more from now. Although there have been notable exceptions, most writers – particularly newcomers to the field – have shown little interest in galactic civilizations and alien worlds except within the subgenre of military science fiction, where they are simply symbols of human rivals. Instead, writers have concentrated on the consequences of ecological deterioration, global warming, overpopulation, the risks of uncontrolled technological development, and similar themes. As authors and publishers understandably sought for wider audiences, many of the traditional themes and devices of the genre were discarded or modified, and mainstream writing techniques became more and more important. While much of this has proven to be beneficial, at the same time, it has resulted in the loss of what made the genre uniquely interesting to many readers.

If you ask a general sample of the population what science fiction is about, they will mention spaceships, other planets, and alien races, even though, for the past several years, most novels dealing with these themes have been largely tie-ins to movies and television shows. 2008 was the first year in quite some time when space opera – adventures in outer space and on other worlds – has actually been a dominant theme in novels. These are not the same kind of space opera that used to be written by Edward E. Smith, Edmond Hamilton, or even Poul Anderson and Robert A. Heinlein, but they are undeniably close relatives.

Modern space opera encompasses a range of different story types varying from near future voyages to other planets within our solar system to vast galactic civilizations in which humanity is just one of many intelligent, space traveling races. Although the terms aren’t precise and lines of demarcation are vague, there are three main forms of modern space opera. First we have what might be called Other Worlds Adventure, that is, space travel might be peripherally involved, but the focus of the story is a civilization on another world. In most cases, these are human colony worlds although some novels suggest that these colonies might eclipse Earth and become new power bases. Other novels depict the interface between human and alien races. The aliens might be relatively unsophisticated, even primitive, and limited to one planet, or they might be a space faring civilization equal or superior to humanity. Travel from one world to another might be common or extremely rare. This form of space opera is more likely to employ hard science as part of the narrative. The specific subject matter is quite varied, and might include political intrigue, high adventure, scientific or other mysteries, social satire, or explorations of possible variations of social or psychological structures.

The second form of space opera is closer to what the term originally suggested, with plots that resemble the traditional western. Travel among planets is almost invariably a common occurrence and the protagonists might well visit multiple worlds during the course of the story. The existence of alien races is almost always assumed, although, in most cases, the aliens generally function as human beings and can be viewed simply as foreigners. Emphasis is usually on high adventure, occasionally mixed with hard science. Most of the tie-in novels in the Star Trek, Warhammer, and Star Wars series fall into this category. The third branch of space opera – military SF – has evolved into a separate sub-genre which overlaps to some extent with tie-in novels. The protagonists are almost always military rather than civilian personnel, or the latter caught up in conflicts between military units. Although there have been some excellent examples of military science fiction – notably David Feintuch and Jerry Pournelle – these stories tend to be written to a more specific formula than other space opera and it is less likely that individual novels will stand out.

The outstanding novel this year is technically an Other Worlds adventure, although the treatment and perspective is so different that the label feels inappropriate. Neal Stephenson’s Anathem takes place on a planet that very closely resembles our own. The inhabitants are human and they have camcorders, cell phones, and other forms of advanced technology, although they have different names. The unique perspective is provided by the fact that the narrator, Erasmas, is living within a cloistered society that constitutes virtually another world of its own. He is part of a community analogous to a monastery and convent combined, except that their order is not dedicated to a particular religion but rather to the accumulation and preservation of knowledge. Civilization has risen and fallen several times in the past, but there is a sense of continuity provided by these sheltered communities. The stability of their culture is challenged, however, when they discover that a manned space vehicle is orbiting their planet and studying them from outer space. It is almost certainly the most impressive accomplishment in science fiction for 2008.

Mars Life by Ben Bova

Ben Bova has been mixing hard science with adventure for several years now with his Grand Tour novels, a very loosely related series which examines in very realistic terms the conditions we might expect to encounter on various planets within our own solar system. His latest, Mars Life, demonstrates that discoveries on other worlds might have profound effects back on Earth. In this case, a theocratically dominated human government is unbalanced by the discovery of fossils on the planet Mars. Mars was also the setting for Joe Haldeman’s Marsbound, which reverts to a very traditional genre format. The protagonist is a teenager who is emigrating to the colony on Mars with her family, a decision about which she has understandably mixed emotions. Haldeman’s treatment is very realistic and understated, describing the voyage in considerable detail, and suggesting how new colonists might make the transition to life in an unfriendly environment. John Varley continues the sequence begun in Red Thunder and continued in Red Lightning with Rolling Thunder, which describes the habitat on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. A musician travels there from Mars to participate in a cultural exchange and gets caught up in local intrigue. Both Varley and Haldeman evoke some of the feel of the young adult novels of Robert A. Heinlein, although both are marketed for adult audiences.

Tobias S. Buckell returns to the universe he introduced in his first two novels in Sly Mongoose, although we have skipped forward a few generations and there is only one recurring character. Buckell describes in lavish detail a society created on a hostile but resource rich planet whose population is under further stress because of an alien incursion. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have continued their collaborative expansion of the late Frank Herbert’s Dune series with Paul of Dune, in many ways the most interesting of their efforts. In the original series, there is a noticeable jump from the defeat of the original empire and the aftermath of the Jihad which has destroyed the old order and made Paul Muad’dib the most powerful man in the galaxy. This volume fills in that gap, showing Paul’s ambivalent attitude toward the violence that is being carried out in his name and the efforts by various groups to oppose his rise. On a less grandiose scale, Jack McDevitt continues his series about interstellar antiques collector Alex Benedict in The Devil’s Eye, the sixth and to date best installment in this series. Benedict receives an unusual communication from a woman who has had her memories erased, which results in a mission to discover what happened to her during the past year which caused her to commit what amounts to suicide. Benedict and his companion visit a remote planet which derives its income from a somewhat bizarre tourist trade, only to uncover a plot to conceal an impending disaster.

Two space based adventure stories were also noteworthy. Michael Flynn revitalizes another classic science fiction theme – the alien artifact – in The January Dancer. Captain January and his crew are performing repairs on their ship on an unexplored planet when they discover what appears to be an artifact from an alien civilization embodying a new technology. As word of its unusual potential spreads, the artifact becomes the ultimate treasure in a large scale battle to possess it. Alastair Reynolds carries us into the very distant future in House of Suns, a civilization so far in advance of our own that every day technology often feels like magic. The story involves a clan of effectively immortal clones, all copies of the same original but very much varied after the passage of thousands of years and travel throughout the universe. The clones periodically gather in a great convocation to exchange information, and, on the eve of their next meeting, someone springs a trap, killing the vast majority of them, threatening to wipe out their line forever. The balance of the novel is essentially a murder mystery on a grand scale. It was a below average year for military science fiction, however, and the most noteworthy titles was When Duty Calls by William C. Dietz, the eighth in his Legion of the Damned series. A unit consisting of cyborged soldiers, human bodies augmented with drastic mechanical alterations, gets involved in a combination of military and political struggles during a war against the insect-like Ramanthians. This is one of the author’s best books.

Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams

One other exceptional novel in 2008 involved other worlds, but not planets reached by ordinary space travel. In Walter Jon Williams’ Implied Spaces, Earth has created thirteen pocket universes, in each of which the laws of nature can be altered. The protagonist is one of the original designers who has achieved a form of immortality because his personality can be stored and downloaded into new bodies. In various guises, he visits these artificial realities until his explorations uncover a mysterious plot that could only be possible if one of the godlike artificial intelligences has been subverted. The novel is particularly effective in mixing elements of fantasy and science fiction together in unusual combinations.

Not all of the outstanding novels of the year were set in outer space. Alternate history, which has become a significant subgenre during the past several years, was well represented by Half a Crown by Jo Walton, third in her series set in a world where the British reached an accommodation with Hitler. In the concluding volume in the trilogy, a peace conference is the stimulus for an international crisis that could cause turmoil throughout Europe. Walton’s series is particularly worthwhile because of the depth of her characterization and the convincing manner in which she depicts a population resigned to authoritarian rule.

The late Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl are both considered classic masters of the genre, and The Last Theorem is their first and only collaboration. The story chronicles the life of a Sir Lankan college student who is obsessed with solving Fermat’s last theorem, a puzzle that has fascinated generations of mathematicians. This near future Earth is increasingly subject to local wars and the collapse of authority, a descent into chaos which has attracted the attention of the Great Galactics, an alien race who consider humanity little more than animals. The Galactics decide to dispatch a cleanup crew to scour the planet of life and prevent human violence from spreading to other worlds. Fortunately, a secretive group of humans has harnessed a new technology and uses it to enforce global peacekeeping, just in time to avert the extinction of the human race. The contrast between this latest novel and the earlier work of both authors is indicative of the changes the genre has undergone – an increased concern with social issues, deeper characterization, and careful, precise prose.

Although the return of space opera to a prominent place in science fiction is a welcome sign, the pendulum should not swing too far in the other direction. Science fiction has always encompassed a wide range of settings and story lines. It seems likely that this is a temporary spike and that 2009 will produce a more balanced and varied selection of notable novels. Gardner Dozois’ annual The Year’s Best Science Fiction 25 is up to its usual quality standards and provides a good cross section of the best short fiction published during the year.

Recommended Titles:

2008 was an unusually good year for novels, particularly adventures in outer space. It was less exceptional for anthologies and short story collections than usual. Some of the titles below are from the first half of the year and are covered in the previous volume in this series.

Mars Life by Ben Bova
Sly Mongoose by Tobias Buckell
The Last Theorem by Arthur C. Clarke & Frederik Pohl
When Duty Calls by William C. Dietz
The Year’s Best Science Fiction 25, edited by Gardner Dozois
The January Dancer by Michael Flynn
Marsbound by Joe Haldeman
The Dreaming Void by Peter Hamilton
Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
The Devil’s Eye by Jack McDevitt
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Rolling Thunder by John Varley
Half a Crown by Jo Walton
Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams

– Don D’Ammassa has been reading science fiction since 1960 and reviewing it since 1970.  He edited the Hugo nominated fan magazine Mythologies and has written scores of articles about the field for encyclopedias and other publications.  He is also the author of several science fiction novels and dozens of short stories, including Narcissus, Haven, and Scarab.  He has very eclectic tastes and savors the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs, J.G. Ballard, Robert A. Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, and H.P. Lovecraft, each in its own way.  He is also the author of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror, and The Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction.

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Tagged as: 2008, Anathem, Implied Spaces, Neal Stephenson, sci-fi