People are certainly not happy with things now. matter of fact, I would argue that some of the highlights of sci fi were written during the immediate post ww2 period, when things looked bright (relatively speaking). Maybe people are writing more fantasy to escape more completely from this world? Anyway, back to my point:
I think its a combination of things: 1. there are/have been huge advances in scitech in the last 50 years - more so, some would argue, then there has been in the last two centuries combined. It takes someone of a huge imagination to create something that hasn't been done or take a technology that does exist and apply it in a new and compelling way.
2. Perhaps because of this, a good scifi writer would have to be someone who knows their stuff, science wise, and also be able to spin a really good yarn . Thats two traits that is hard to find in one person
3. This leaves open the possibility of the genre of cultural/religious scifi (change something about the human condition as opposed to technology), which is perhaps not as much fun to write. And this is also often interspered with fiction. The Sparrow is a good example - it is considered to be a shining example of sci fi in this genre, but many people class it in fiction.
And....
Fantasy is perhaps a pretty easy category to define. But sci-fi is not. i know how I define sci fi - I agree with Robert J Sawyers definitions of sci fi vs fantasy myself, but ask a dozen people and get a dozen answers....
And because of this, it gets watered down. There is a lot of "sci-fi" that also gets mixed in/cross-over'd with fiction, horror, and even romance. that doesn't help the genre any.
no subject
I think its a combination of things:
1. there are/have been huge advances in scitech in the last 50 years - more so, some would argue, then there has been in the last two centuries combined. It takes someone of a huge imagination to create something that hasn't been done or take a technology that does exist and apply it in a new and compelling way.
2. Perhaps because of this, a good scifi writer would have to be someone who knows their stuff, science wise, and also be able to spin a really good yarn . Thats two traits that is hard to find in one person
3. This leaves open the possibility of the genre of cultural/religious scifi (change something about the human condition as opposed to technology), which is perhaps not as much fun to write. And this is also often interspered with fiction. The Sparrow is a good example - it is considered to be a shining example of sci fi in this genre, but many people class it in fiction.
And....
Fantasy is perhaps a pretty easy category to define. But sci-fi is not. i know how I define sci fi - I agree with Robert J Sawyers definitions of sci fi vs fantasy myself, but ask a dozen people and get a dozen answers....
And because of this, it gets watered down. There is a lot of "sci-fi" that also gets mixed in/cross-over'd with fiction, horror, and even romance. that doesn't help the genre any.