There are,
or at least were, a few readers/fans of science fiction who got their
undies in a knot upon hearing Margaret Atwood dismiss science fiction
as ‘squids in space’.
Those people seemingly more patronized by Atwood’s literary
leanings than willing to be open to understanding the context of her
comment, a minor rift was born in the science fiction community. Or
so it seemed at the time. Many had forgotten Jonathan Lethem, who in
the 80s openly lamented the Nebula Award’s unwillingness to award a
literary work of genre rather than the entertaining work of genre it
actually did. Everyone seems to have forgotten Brian Aldiss, who in
the introduction to the 1974 anthology he edited entitled Space
Opera, openly dismisses the
content that follows, calling the sub-genre low brow by default. The
whims—ahem, winds of science fiction blow, and in which direction
nobody knows…
Aldiss
describes Space Opera
as an anthology of sixteen stories which are lesser-known, i.e. not
widely re-published (if at all) but yet retain the flavor of what
readers expect seeing the words ‘space opera’. The likes of E.E.
Doc Smith and Edgar Rice Burroughs set aside for the moment, Aldiss
instead looks to writers like Ray Bradbury, Robert Sheckley, Daniel
Galouye, Thomas Scortia, and many others, not all of whom are
typically associated with the sub-genre.
An excerpt
from George Griffith’s Honeymoon
in Space, it tells of a newlywed
couple arriving in the helenic skies of Venus. Though published in
1900, and is somewhat simplistic for it, the story nevertheless
offers a clarity of vision and an effervescence that many
contemporary authors fail to capture, leading one to understand why
Aldiss included it in an anthology published seventy-four years
later. Initially feeling like a precursor to Charlie Stross, “The
Red Brain” by Donald Wandrei takes the reader into the deep future
of time, at the death of the universe, to discover what remains,
making for a vignette with impact.
The
opposite of what most readers would consider space opera, “Zirn
Left Unguarded, the Jenghik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerley Dead”
by Robert Sheckley nevertheless is a bit of the medium. Peering
through the cracks and putting the pieces together, one comes upon a
classic, pulp era tale, deconstructed for the modern (New Wave)
reader, and is thus sure to raise the hackles of the tried-and-true
Gernsbackian reader looking for fluff, but pique the interest of the
next generation’s reader looking for more substance. A strong
precursor to Philip K. Dick before there was Philip K. Dick, Daniel
F. Galouye’s “Tonight the Sky Will Fall” tells of an
up-and-coming executive who seems to have strangers around him,
preventing evil from befalling him. But why? Galouye stringing out
the mystery nicely, the resolution actually becomes for Le Guinian
than Dickian.
As classic
as classic can be, “The Star of Life” by Edmond Hamilton tells of
a space mission gone wrong. Later expanded into a novel, the short
story is packed with character interaction that ends on a surprise
note. Another classic premise resolved in classic fashion, “Breaking
Point” by James E. Gunn tells of a space crew who land on an alien
planet, only to have their expectations of reality take a left
turn—several in fact. Getting to the bottom of the mystery
requires a 50s sf mindset. Pulling a cheap trick but written
superbly, “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury tells of a very
special school day on Venus, and the misfortune of one of the kids.
Again, beautifully written—with an emotional cheap shot.
Man vs.
robot in super-space opera technicolor, “The Storm” by A. E. van
Vogt tells of the universe’s greatest space ship and its encounter
with an enclave of robots bent on remaining hidden, all the while a
massive galactic storm bears down on the inevitable conflict.
Suffice to say, the story is a small slice of a wide-angle angle
sub-genre, written in van Vogt’s shotgun diction.
A
three-chapter excerpt from Leigh Brackett’s famous novel, “The
Sword of Rhiannon” gives readers a taste of David Karse, and the
fantastical, wild west of Mars he becomes entangled in. While
derivative of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Brackett’s prose, lucid story
vision, and imagery make for compelling, albeit pulp, reading. One of
the most singular stories Vance ever wrote, “The Mitr” is the
short tale of a young girl stranded on an alien planet amongst beetle
creatures. The story bears Vance’s name, but if it didn’t, one
would be hard pressed to attribute it to him. Hard and cynical, it
takes the standard male planet exploring hero Vance is so famous for
and puts him on his head—much the same as Tiptree Jr. in Houston,
Houston Do You Read?.
An
unintentional (on the authors' part) pair of stories, “The Last
Question” by Isaac Asimov tells of a supercomputer who, over eons
of time, crunches the world's situations, dilemmas, circumstances,
happenstances, coincidences et al and distills it all into the
titular question. Trouble is, what's left to respond? As an exercise
in philosophy, it is one of Asimov's most successful stories.
Picking up what Asimov put down in perfectly subversive fashion,
“Answer” by Frederic Brown is only a few paragraphs long, but
proves a wonderful counter-point, as well as point on which to close
the anthology.
In the
end, Space Opera is a very odd anthology. From the meta-perspective,
it is a collection of space opera semi-willingly pulled together by
an author who is the antithesis of the sub-genre. His introductory
comments outright bashing space opera, the back cover, publisher
comments glorifying it clash mightily. And the stories themselves
are, in what almost seems a paradox, obscure space opera. The genre
seeming to live or die by popularity, anything that isn't “known”
might almost by default be considered of poor quality. And indeed a
few of the stories in the collection, are. But Aldiss being Aldiss,
and fundamentally having an eye for story, the majority of the pieces
anthologized are of at least some interest to the most jaded science
fiction fan, making for the following recommendation: if you are
interested in a random selection of science fiction predominantly of
the from the 40s, 50s and 60s, some of which aligns with the common
perception of space opera, and stories which move perpendicular, this
is for you. Aldiss' commentary in itself may just be worth it.
All
re-prints, and published (interestingly) between 1900 and 1974, the
following are the sixteen stories anthologized in Space
Opera:
[Essay]
Is Everything an Illusion? by Brian W. Aldiss
Zirn
Left Unguarded, the Jenghik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerley Dead by
Robert Sheckley
Honeymoon
in Space (excerpt) by George Griffith
The
Red Brain by Donald Wandrei
Tonight
the Sky Will Fall by Daniel F. Galouye
[Essay]
"Precipices of Light That Went Forever Up ...." by Brian W.
Aldiss
The
Star of Life by Edmond Hamilton
After
Ixmal by Jeff Sutton
Sea
Change by Thomas N. Scortia
[Essay]
Exile Is Our Lot by Brian W. Aldiss
Breaking
Point by James E. Gunn
The
Sword of Rhiannon (excerpt) by Leigh Brackett
All
Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
The
Mitr by Jack Vance
[Essay]
The Godlike Machines by Brian W. Aldiss
The
Storm by A. E. van Vogt
The
Paradox Men by Charles L. Harness
Time
Fuze by Randall Garrett
The
Last Question by Isaac Asimov
Answer
by Fredric Brown
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