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Originally Posted by Giovanna Clairval  Still wondering what the definition of a novel is... |
The Huga Award defines a novel is anything over 40,000 words.
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Originally Posted by Giovanna Clairval And also... in the 60s, before the arrival of new writers like Roger Zelazny (and Moorcok, and many others), SFF literature was stuck with well-worn icons; this topic has already been explored here. But with the new authors, the accent was put on renewal as personal growth and belief in the possibility of a deep change in society--all revolving about spiritual advancement seen as a quality intrinsic to Humanity. |
The New Wave stressed "inner space" over outer space, but I'm fairly sure spiritual advancement wasn't on the agenda. They were a pretty secualr bunch.
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Originally Posted by Giovanna Clairval After the Watergate scandal in the US, and the concomitant reaction against the students' (and workers') tentative revolution in Europe, the genre has mirrored the general loss of hope, reverting to either comfortable clichés or dark post-modern pseudo-nihilistic streaks. |
And yet there is no comparable event in British history - the Winter of Discontent, perhaps; although that was the late 1970s. Certainly the Brits had plenty to be miserable about, and it showed in their fiction.
And now, it seems the situation has reversed - the Brits have the optimism, and the americans don't. There was a panel devoted to the subject at Novacon. Charles Stross suggested that this is because the US confidence is at an all-time low - an unpopular government, embroiled in pointless wars, the realisation that they're no longer liked abroad...