Chapter 6: On Science Fiction

Answer. In this article, the author has identified different types of novels: sports history, westerns, jungle history, and science fiction. He elaborates that “science fiction is a considerable literary world because science fiction is its essence, not its content, but its background.” The author accurately lists the characteristics of each type of novel, thus showing their differences. The story “must have some competitive activities, usually sports”. A ‘western story’ revolves around the nomadic life of American western cowboys in the second half of the 19th century. The jungle story includes the dangers associated with tropical forests and deserts. Science fiction has parts of interstellar travel and alien creatures. The author continues to argue that when another type of content is placed in a social context that is significantly different from ours, it becomes science fiction.

Answer. Asimov established that John Campbell was wrong that a science fiction mystery can’t be fair to a reader in the same way as a classic mystery is. He said that John misinterpreted science fiction and imagined it was impossible to write a science fiction mystery in a moment of failure. He provides the example of a classic mystery of Sherlock Holmes, where the detective was given exceptional capabilities of sight to traverse the plot. Yet, it remained fair to the readers. He argues that if such stories were appropriate in classic mysteries, then using the latest scientific findings that the reader is unaware of can be used by the author in penning down a science fiction mystery. They do not need to adhere to the rules of classic mystery, and still, it would be fair to the readers.

Answer. Writing a scientific mystery has its extraordinary pitfalls and difficulties. In writing a science-fiction mystery, the writer must be aware of his content and rationalise how to modify or conclude that science topic. John Campbell thought writing science fiction is difficult but not impossible. Ideally, it is possible to adhere to the game’s rules in science fiction mysteries as in ordinary ones.