The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

What were some of the distinguishing traits of science fiction from this time period?

I think a noticeable change is the increase in socially conscious science fiction, and dystopian literature becoming more prominent. Some of them popped up after WW2 (1984, Farenheit 451), but Aldous Huxley's Brave New World pre-dates the war by almost 10 years.

I think part of it was the influence from writers like H.G. Wells. And the other part is direct contact with oppressive governments and advancements in science and technology.

Three quintessential dystopian novels that span this era are Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), George Orwell's 1984 (1949), and Ira Levin's This Perfect Day (1970) [I'm guessing at the publication dates] however I don't think these novels typified the science fiction of that time. The authors that come to mind to me as representative of this era are Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clark, and Ray Bradbury. I've read more Asimov and Heinlein than Clark and Bradbury and I enjoy them more.

I haven't really read much of their writing, that's part of the reason I started this Group, I was really looking forward to reading their works. Of the above the only one I have read is Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, and I absolutely loved it, but I read it so long ago I don't really remember it.

What are some unifying themes of some of their works? What did they do that no one before them did?

Dan wrote:
What are some unifying themes of some of their works? What did they do that no one before them did?

For me, Isaac Asimov epitomizes this period. I read a lot of his books in the late sixties to the late seventies. I've reread a few recently. He was prolific, writing science fiction and science non-fiction as well as other topics. In science, he was a great explainer and popularizer, a forerunner of the likes of Carl Sagan, Bill Nye, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. His first work was Marooned off Vesta, a science fiction short story published in 1939 when he was a teen.

Asimov's science fiction was based on real science. If it didn't make sense with authentic scientific principles, you wouldn't find it in his books. He invented the famous Three Laws of Robotics, which have become an oft used device by other science fiction authors.

I really enjoyed Asimov's short stories. His famous, I, Robot is a collection of related short stories. IMHO, he was a better short story writer than a novelist. A lot of his science fiction is space operas, my favorite. His was a major influence in the science fiction era.

The SF stories from this period always impressed me as sensational & that's the word I'd use to sum them up. While some based their stories on science & engineering (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein) a lot just let themselves run wild (Bradbury, Doc Smith, John W. Campbell). The former were all about what could be done with technology & were excited about it. They worked together during WWII for the Army as engineers.

Smith & Campbell wrote pure space opera - nothing more than exciting stories without much regard to reality or anything else. While I've read & liked a lot of it, it's entertaining drivel - candy reads like the Sookie Stackhouse & other PNR books today, IMO. (I like them, too.)

Bradbury was the master of the human condition & just speculated without much regard for science or genre. I wouldn't call his "Martian Chronicles" SF really. Yes, the stories are set on Mars, but that was more a vehicle & there wasn't much science to it. It's a lot like Zelazny's A Rose for Ecclesiastes. He said the pictures were about to come in from the Mars Mariner(?) mission, so he knew reality would cut the legs off Martian stories soon, but he really wanted to write one.

The 60's saw the SF stories becoming less sensational, more based on society's issues. The space program brought a knew level of technical expertise to the general public, too. That ruined a lot of the wilder stuff. Maybe this whole period should be moved back a decade on both ends...

Buck wrote: "For me, Isaac Asimov epitomizes this period. I read a lot of his books in the late sixties to the late seventies. I've reread a few recently. He was prolific, writing science fiction and science non-fiction as well as other topics. In science, he was a great explainer and popularizer, a forerunner of the likes of Carl Sagan, Bill Nye, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. His first work was Marooned off Vesta, a science fiction short story published in 1939 when he was a teen."

I agree completely with this. Asimov's fiction, like Heinlein's, expressed an underlying faith in human rationality as up to solving the problems life and the universe sends our way. This was in marked contrast to, say, cyberpunk, which had a much darker view of human mentality and its outcome.

I wrote to Asimov, back when I was in my early 30s, with my thoughts about the Foundation trilogy. Here is Asimov's reply:

That's neat, Paul!

Yes indeed. Very cool!

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

On the subject of dystopian novels, I would also recommend PKD's Do Androi ds Dream of Electric Sheep?

Written in 1968, The book is set in a post-apocalyptic near future of 1992, where Earth and its populations have been damaged greatly by nuclear war during World War Terminus. The U.N. encourages emigration to off-world colonies, in hope of preserving the human race from the terminal effects of the radioactive fallout.

I think we all know the rest ;-)

I'm thinking it would have made sense to split off the 60's and 70's from this grouping of years, since the New Wave started in this era, so the latter part of this era was very different from the beginning part.

And that was a very cool letter you shared with us, Paul! Thanks for posting it.

David wrote: "I'm thinking it would have made sense to split off the 60's and 70's from this grouping of years, since the New Wave started in this era, so the latter part of this era was very different from the ..."

Done. I created new folders & put this topic in the 1940-1959 one. I think that's a better fit than the New Wave years, 1960-1979 for the original purpose of this topic. Agreed?