Monday, June 27, 2011

Why do I write dystopian SF/F

Why do I write dystopian Sci-Fi/Fantasy? I could say something profound pretentious like “It is the duty of the artist to reflect the times he/she lives in”. STORMDANCER is a book about the depletion of a magic environment beneath the heel of a pervasive, combustion-driven technology, and one girl’s struggle against that technology. But whenever I mention the word "environment", my blog hits go allllllll the way down to the dank, B.O soaked depths of the internets and flop about like a pilot whale during the annual Faroe cull.

So. Let’s avoid that topic like scary mothers at a Twilight screening, shall we?
I write Sci-Fi/Fantasy basically because I’m a nerd. All the nerdgasmic things I love about feudal Japan are in my book; samurai and ninja and all that good stuff, wrapped up in clanking suits of smoking power-armor beneath an exhaust-fume sky. I think being a nerd is something you’re born with, some genetic agent lurking patient as spiders inside your head, until it’s confronted with something too awesome to ignore. For me, it was this guy I met when I was 8 years old:
Let’s be honest: Skywalker was a chump. Yeah, he got the lightsaber. The “You don’t need to give me a parking ticket” mindtricks. And yeah, ok, there was that business with the Death Star and pwning the Emperor of the galaxy. SO WHAT.
Han Solo was bad ass. Where did Obi Wan and his whiny blonde bitch padawan find Solo in the first flick? “Oh, y’know, kicking back with my seven foot powerhouse sidekick in the middle of this wretched hive of scum and villainy, murdering debt collectors. Sup.”
He had a fast car (well, ship, anyways). A sense of humor. The self-assurance that comes with knowing you are the baddest badass in the room. AND he got the girl. But not just any girl. A 100% bona fide PRINCESS.
So what do we take away from this? That I wrote a book about the destructive effects of combustion-driven technology on a feudal Japanese society because I wanted to be Han Solo, apparently. Which is completely wrong.

But yeah. Skywalker? WHAT A TOSSER.

7 comments:

  1. Oh Luke and his freakin power converters.

    *sigh* Oh Han... You will ALWAYS shoot first in my world.

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  2. So I'm not going to lie, I think I was totally a Luke girl, but Han was pretty badass, I'll give him that.

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  3. Yeah! Han was way awesomeer than Luke. Totally worth aspiring to.

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  4. We played a Star Wars drinking game once (horrible nerds, yes, I know). The guy who drew Luke had to take a shot every time Luke whined/stared moodily at the horizon/looked like he was about to cry. He was senseless by act 2.

    I drew Han. I had to drink every time Han did/said something "awesome". I was semi-conscious before they left Mos Eisley.

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  5. I heartily nerd out with you. Han is the heart of why the original Star War series is so kick-ass!

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  6. Hold on a second! Luke is awesome! Just think about when he shows up at Jabba the Hut's place in his Jedi robe. Yes, I love Han Solo, but we can praise his awesomeness without putting Luke down. I don't think I could pick and choose in Star Wars. It's just such a great series in general and the characters are what make it. (To be perfectly honest, though, Princess Leia is my favorite character.) =)

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