Christina’s Reviews > Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy > Status Update

'There comes a point in writing, and it's a spear-point, it's very small and sharp but because it's backed by the length and weight of a whole spear and a whole strong person pushing it, it's a point that goes in a long way. ... When Duncan picks the branches when passing through trees, he's just getting a disguise, but we the audience suddenly understand how Birnam Wood shall come to Dunsinane.'

'Narrative variety broadens thinking. Every time translations give us access to new cultural traditions, the thrill of “The ghost did what?!” is also a window on what is formulaic in the media we’re used to, where so often Fortune favors the plucky and the pure.'

'By 1700 in Europe the saturation of printing presses reached the point that in big cities (e.g. Paris) authors could live on sales without a patron on separate salary for the first time. Result? Giant burst of philosophical novels packed with Persian princes, romantic intrigues, porn, and all that good Enlightenment jazz.'

'Learning to read books with world-building and incluing [scattering pieces of information seamlessly through the text to add up to a big picture] is difficult for adults who aren't used to it. Most imprint SF&F readers learned to do it when we were kids because that's how kids read everything ... Rivendell or Ecuador, kids' days are filled with terms we don't yet know.'

The first essay looks at the author-reader contract, which generally cannot be violated without burning the reader. The mystery must be solved. Someone must die in a tragedy. Then there's Diderot's Jacques the Fatalist and His Master, (1765-80) which violates basic story expectations left and right, but with so much humor it's both irksome and deeply enjoyable.