What do Christians have against Speculative Fiction? My last article touched on the need for more books with a Christian world view-- Science Fiction being cited as an example. Yet Christian bookstores are noticeably thin on selection, when it comes to Speculative Fiction. Why is that? There is a need, but is there no market? When God makes us a new creation, do we cast off the yoke of Speculative Fiction, and put on the righteousness of Amish Romantic Fiction? Now don't get me wrong, I like a good Amish Romance as much as the next "guy", but I need my weird and bizarre stories too. I need my time traveling cyber soldiers and their holographic companions. I need a mind bending mystery filled with quasi-science and peril! Where are the Christian Amish Werewolf novels? Where are the Prairie Mind Control novellas? I want to read the story about little Hezekiah, who finds a meteorite buried in the old quarry, and now he is able to pick up the family tractor with one hand. Throw a romantic triangle in if you must- heck, I wouldn't mind a romantic quadrangle! Just give me my weird!
Alright, if you hadn't noticed, that last part was tongue in cheek. If you love Amish Romance novels, you can put your pitch fork down. You don't need to storm my castle. I'm merely illustrating a point. The genres of Speculative Fiction are conspicuously sparse in the Christian market, and as a result, many Christian men-- and a couple Christian ladies-- have had to resort to reading books from secular authors. Thankfully that is changing. Over the last few years, there has been a surge in new Christian Speculative books hitting the market. And, not surprisingly, these books are not coming from the main stream Christian publishers. We are seeing a surge in fringe publishers, offering fringe fiction, but is this a good thing? Should we be worried that the gate keepers of Christian Literature are no longer protecting us from these kinds of books?
The question for this article is: what would you consider safe or unsafe Speculative Fiction? Would you read a book about a future where humans inhabit androids? How about the story of Jesus, as seen through the eyes of someone who lived in that day and age? Would a story about cloning Jesus give you the heeby-jeebies? Give an example of Christian Speculative Fiction, and the reason why you think it is safe or unsafe.
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John Michael Hileman: is the Managing Editor of Christian Fiction Book Reviews. He is also a television producer, author, and columnist. His first novel, VRIN: ten mortal gods, is available where books are sold. His second novel, Messages, will hit the streets in the 4th quarter of 2010.
4 comments:
I've never heard the term "Speculative Fiction."
Is the Book of Eli speculative fiction? (I ask, because of the photo) It just so happens that I watched it last night and really enjoyed it. Jackie suggested we watch it, she thought we'd love it. I don't know that I "loved" it, but I did enjoy it and clapped at the surprise ending.
I think it was safe, at least for the age group watching it with me last night. (13+) It might not be appropriate for someone younger.
Sue
I would not consider the Book of Eli "Christian" per say, but I did like some of the themes in the movie. Something odd happened though, while I was watching it. In the middle of the movie, when Eli was teaching the little girl how to pray, and she didn't even know what prayer was, I suddenly got something caught in my eye-- like a dust particle, or a piece of floating, um, metal-- or something. It was inexplicable. Tears started squirting out of my eye all of a sudden. Weird ... Anyway. I chose the image because of the apocalyptic nature of the imagery. Speculative fiction deals with subjects which can only be derived through speculation, like: what it will be like in the future, what it was like in the past, what angels would act like if they had to work at a diner, you know, that sort of thing.
John Hileman
Managing Editor
CFBR
Is not all fiction technically speculative? As with most forms of media, stories gain a following fanbase who often mimick the actions or re-enact the storylines found within. People WILL make decisions in thier lives based on the media around them. There will always be a minority of people who really hold the storyline close to their heart... depending on the content of the book, it could become a controversial issue.
I know that if I were to write anything for release, I would write from a viewpoint that i believe in... so perhaps the real danger of speculative fiction is how the author is perceived by the readers after the readers have finished the book.
All fiction is subjective, but not necessarily speculative. If you've observed something, you can speak we relative truth, but when you are speaking about something unobservable, you must make conjecture or speculation. You're right Salamol, all stories have a measure of fallacy to them. And we would all be better off to remember that point. Fiction, is after all, Fiction.
Unfortunately, fiction has the nasty habit of bending public opinion. Hitler once said if you say something long enough, loud enough, and often enough, the people will believe it. We are so fickle. :)
John Hileman
Managing Editor
CFBR
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