I’m so pleased to share today’s guest post with you. It’s an honor to host a wonderful and supportive member of the IWSG today as she shares her thoughts on science fiction tropes, gearing you up to try out her new release (I already have some thoughts I can’t wait to put in the comments). I just started reading this book and am really enjoying it. I hope you enjoy this insightful article.
SciFi Trope: The Vastness of Space and the Resiliency of the Human Mind by Tyrean Martinson
Tropes and audience assumptions in fiction can be helpful for our understanding of plot and character in a fast-paced movie, show, or book. Some tropes and assumptions are obvious, but some are more subtle, as in the case of humans who are not affected by the vastness of space. We don’t even realize it’s a trope or assumption because it fits within our mindset of human conquerors of the universe.
When this trope is in play, we don’t see humans grappling with their tiny humanity in the vastness and silence of space. In many scifi films, we assume via trope that our heroes within the science fiction landscape are fully capable in space, regardless of their background or training. By using this trope, we can create fast-paced stories which focus on other aspects in the science fiction landscape. It’s a tempting trope/assumption to use for this reason alone.
Films which use this assumption include: Star Trek, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, Avengers, Firefly, Serenity, Total Recall, The Fifth Element, The Last Starfighter, the 100, Red Dwarf, Babylon 5, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Jupiter Ascending, and Treasure Planet.
The question is: is this a reasonable trope/assumption to break? Do we really want to add this element into the mix of science fiction? There are two ways this assumption can be addressed:
- Mention the possibility of mental struggles with the vastness of space, but not have it affect the main cast of characters. This was done successfully in The Expanse. We, as an audience, understand that not everyone can cut the never-ending coldness of space when we see a character have a mental breakdown. While this event is a part of the plot in the first episode, we are freed up from spending a lot of time there because it’s not a problem for most of the cast.
- Most of the characters have special training. This is assumed in Stargate, Star Trek, Farscape, and Firefly. It’s shown more directly in The Martian, the Apollo 13, Lost in Space, Buck Rogers, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gravity, Alien (Aliens), Interstellar, and The Right Stuff.
I think it’s an important issue to deal with in one way or another. I know many of us love the idea of space travel, but the question is: are we really trained for it? Could we mentally handle being surrounded by the cold, silent vastness of space every single moment? While I love scifi enough to ignore the moments when this issue isn’t addressed, I didn’t want to completely ignore it in my own work, so I decided to have my main character in Liftoff at least think about it, and wonder at her own ability to handle space travel.
Would you want to travel in space?
Title: Liftoff
Subtitle: The Rayatana Series, Book 1
Blurb:
A spaceship in disguise,
An Earth girl searching for a sense of home,
And a Thousand Years’ War between alien races,
All collide on a summer afternoon.
An old movie theater welcomes Amaya in and wraps her up in the smell of popcorn and licorice. But one sunny afternoon during a matinee, the movie screen goes dark. The theater rumbles.
Amaya gets trapped in the middle of an ancient alien conflict. Angry and frightened, Amaya entangles herself in a life-changing cultural misunderstanding with Sol, a young alien who keeps omitting key information, even while they’re on the run from his enemies.
What will it take to survive a battle between alien races involved in an ancient war?
Liftoff is a fast-paced read for fans of Code 8, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Cobra Kai.
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Release Date: November 10, 2020
Paperback ISBN: ISBN: 978-0-9889933-8-9
Ebook ISBN: ISBN: 978-0-9889933-9-6
Copyright Tyrean Martinson November 2020
Publisher: Wings of Light Publishing, Gig Harbor, WA, USA
Professionally Edited by Chrys Fey
Cover Art and Interior Design by Carrie Butler
LINKS: Kindle – Barnes and Noble – Kobo – Smashwords – Goodreads
About the Author: Tyrean Martinson is an author and teacher from Washington State. As a former fencer and kickboxer, she enjoys writing fight scenes in fast-paced novels and novellas. As a teacher and writing tutor, she loves to get students writing and reading comfortably by any means: talk-to-text, short writing assignments, short stories, novellas, and adventures. She wrote her latest novella, Liftoff, for herself during COVID, but realized it also fits a dream she’s had for a while: to create a short, fast-paced read for teen/YA readers who love popcorn movies, adventure, and sweet romance.
Author Links: Blog – Newsletter – Instagram – Twitter – Facebook
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter
“Heart of the Golden Stag, part 1
