What SF is for

Some people insist that science fiction exists for the purpose of exposition in an indirect fashion over the affects of technology and or the lack of it upon humans and their most pervasive byproduct society. I'll argue that any fictions first duty is to entertain. If one can pontificate via their literature in a sotto voce manner, much power to them. But, entertainment must come first. To me, nothing is a greater turn off in a work of fiction than a hard sell recruiting pitch to a whatever visionary idea the author is expounding upon. This is why I adore writers with the craftsmanship to create alloy with their fiction, vision, and science. Sometimes one of these is week link, or just too odd to be believed. In A Brave New World,by Aldous Huxley, to me the story telling is probably the strongest element. The science was sketchy even for the time, and the vision was replete with well, vision that made the science seem plausible. In Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn, I think all three elements were of equal strength in the underlying matrix, and few authors have ever managed to do this. There are a few modern writers who do this well, and i have the privilege of introducing you to another excellent book.

Dave Freer and Eric Flint's "Slowtrain to Arcturus" from Baen October 2008

( Slowtrain )