#33 Exploring The Final Frontier with Science Fiction and Romance

Are you a Trekkie like Jackie? Or do you only read science fiction romance for the spurs, like Jen? This month we're blasting into the stratosphere to look at the evolution of science fiction as a genre, and how aliens and scifi romance started stepping onto the scene. We'll talk about issues of gatekeeping, sexism, lack of diversity, and

Terms:

• Science Fiction - a form of fiction that deals principally with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals.
• Hugo awards -first presented in 1953 and presented annually since 1955, are science fiction’s most prestigious award.
• Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967) - American inventor and publisher who was largely responsible for the establishment of science fiction as an independent literary form.
• Pulp Magazine - Literary magazines printed on cheap pulp paper
• Science Fiction League of America- founded in 1934 and one of the first official fan groups, devoted solely to science fiction; has since spawned into numerous other such organizations

Other episodes to go listen to:

• #9 Fifty Shades of Blue with Ruby Dixon
• #10 Adventures on an Ice Planet
• #11 The Cult of Snowqueens Ice Dragon and 50 Shades
• #21 Into the Unknown with Paranormal Romance
• #25 A (not-so-brief) Brief History of Romance

Books/authors we mention:

• Ice Planet Barbarians (series) and Ice Home (series) by Ruby Dixon
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• The Time Machine by HG Wells
• Jules Verne
• Edgar Rice Borroughs
• Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
• Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein
• Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
• The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey
• Dragonriders of Pern (series) by Anne McCaffrey
• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
• Lost Colony series by Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Anne Krentz)
• Star King by Susan Grant
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
• Johanna Lindsey
• Specifically her Ly-San-Ter Family series
• Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
• The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice
• Anna Hackett
• Calista Skye
• Ilona Andrews

Links:

• Hugo Awards issue Jen was referring to: "Diversity wins at the Sad Puppies lose at the Hugo awards" (Walter, 2015)
• "Pulp Literature and Science Fiction" (Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center)
• "Forrest J Ackerman Papers-An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University" (Syracuse University Special Collections Research Center)
• "Pulp Magazines" (Encyclopedia.com)
• "Writing the future: A timeline of science fiction literature" (BBC.co.uk)
• "Origins of Science Fiction" (Scififilmhistory.com)
• "Science Fiction" (Britannica)
• "Science Fiction And Utopia In 'Gulliver's Travels'" (UKessays, 2018)
• "Enlightenment" (History.com, 2020)
• "Before The Shape of Water, There Was Mrs. Caliban" (Mason, 2019)
• "Science Fiction and Romance: A Very Uneasy Marriage" (Lawson, 2006)
• "The fourth wave of feminism" (Britannica)