Trope a Dope: Science Fiction Edition (Part 2)

Science Is As Science Does

I've been reading a lot of science fiction lately, dear reader. Admittedly this genre is not always my cup of tea but I must emphasize I've been fortunate enough to read *good* science fiction this go round and, ironically, it's made the bad aspects of the genre look even worse in hindsight. 

What aspects you may ask? Let's dive in. 

1. Bio Lacking Diversity 

Look I know it's easy to make an ocean world or a dust world and while worlds like this inevitably exist in the vast expanse of our collective cosmos not ALL of them can be singular biomes. I mean for Pete's sake it's the universe! Mix it up a little! Make a desert, swamp, ocean planet hybrid. Have fun with it. There's a trope in video games of "forest world, desert world, ice world, fire world, boss"- and if you fall into this formulaic trap youre shooting yourself in the foot because by doing so youre making your planets too bland to be believable. 

2. Tech Porn

If you take a full page to describe a pair of clamps latching onto a platform during a docking process I ought to be legally free and morally obligated to rip said page out of your book and forcibly insert it somewhere on your person that's likely to tickle. We get it: you're very proud of all the gyros and gismos you've created. Big ship. Much wow. There's a time and place for such displays is all I'm saying and a little goes a long way. Too often authors over indulge on this one and there are entire gaps in conversations where characters...what? Just stare gormlessly at a door theyve seen open a thousand times because, well, reasons? Do us all a favor and tone it down. 

3. Thanks For Coming To My TED Talk

So you can't weave the complex nuance of your science maguffin into the narrative, eh? Welp, better just interrupt the story with an info dump so a singular event can make sense! (Just kidding don't do that). I hate this trope in particular, dear reader, as it could easily be cured by dialogue and therefore character- inserting a natural argument between two characters who know what they're doing or having a character who doesn't need an explanation (which allowe the reader to become both informed on the topic and how the characters in question think/perceive it). Dark Matter by Blake Crouch does both perfectly and if quantum physics can get this treatment then so can a series of chemical reactions! Don't be lazy. Weave the science into the narrative. It can work and when it does, it works wonders

4. Use The Force

Look, I like Star wars too, ok? That doesn't mean I'm entitled to make some dollar store, off brand space magic just because I think Luke Skywalker is the GOAT. Be inspired by things sure but there comes a point where you're not so much paying homage as just shamelessly ripping off and trying to paint your creation as grandiose when in reality it's nothing more than glorified middle school fan fiction. This trope is particularly rough in my eyes, dear reader, because more often than not there's no attempt at backing it up with science. A character just touches some space goop and voila! Their letter from Space Hogwarts is incoming. Again this is as easy as saying we've tapped into the full potential of the human brain and can now access the quantum realm or fourth dimension- you just have to give me something! Just don't give me literary blue balls by making me think someone being able to shoot lightning from their fingers is lame. 

So there you have it- the oddly specific yet applicable gripes I’ve been coming across that really burn my grits and chafe my…well, you get the idea.

Until next time.