An end to hopeless dystopia?

It's said that literature reflects the age it's written in, and even SF isn't immune to that kind of influence.  But recently I've read a couple of 'end of days' dystopias that have left me with no hope at all.  And found them deeply dissatisfying,

Personally, I'm a 'the glass can be refilled' kind of person.  Despite all the horror and danger that is in the world, there is always much that is good and hopeful taking place every day.  And I'd rather read about inspiring people, even if they are fighting for their lives in the direst of circumstances.  But one of the stories I read was nothing more than an aimless wandering through a ruined land.  None of the characters seemed to have any dreams or hopes, no plans or desires to make the future better.

If I was stuck in a ruined world I'd set to work improving it.  One of my favourite books which does this is Anne McCaffrey's Catteni series, beginning with Freedom's Landing.  There the dystopia is back on Earth, which has been invaded and destroyed by the Cattini.  But that's not what the book is about.  The book follows the struggles of humans transported to a brand new world to survive and rebuild their civilisation.  This is my kind of dystopia, one that shows people struggling to better things, one that allows the characters to dream of a better life, and work to make it happen.

Stephanie Saulter's Evolution series does just that.  Gemsigns has terrifying god gangs murdering gems, genetically modified humans being used as slaves.  The book has a lot of the sense of disorder and violence that many dystopias do.  But there is also hope in the midst of the violence.  One of the gems, the winged Aryel Morningstar, is a charismatic and wise leader.  You sense she can lead the gems to greatness.  There is much darkness in the book, but it's tempered by seeing events through the eyes of characters who are actively working towards their dream of equality and freedom from indentured servitude.

That's my kind of dystopia.  And in the third book, the now freed gillungs are busy building their own society, one where their ability to breathe underwater as well as in air allows them to develop revolutionary new technologies.  Of course, the old order still opposes and threatens them, but in the end this story is hopeful.  And a dystopia without any hope is not one I want to read, thank you.

The precious gift of words

As I'm writing this blog post on Christmas Day, my mind has turned to the subject of gifts.  And it's got me thinking about some of the stories and ideas which other writers have gifted me with.

There are some books which I read and re-read, and re-read.  Books that I get addicted to, like a drug  I can't crack and have to keep going back to for another fix.  When l stumble across a book like that, finishing it is a shock, a massive disappointment.  I don't want to leave that world - but more often, I don't want to leave the ideas that the story encompasses.

The books that really make an impression on me leave more than their surface stories on my mind.  They insinuate their ideas and themes into my awareness, and subtly change my world view.  I find myself going back and re-reading favourite sections of text, absorbing the ideas again.

One such book is Anne McCaffrey's Decision at Doona.  The scene that sticks in my mind is of a small Human boy and a small Hrruban cub, their bodies curled up around each other, fast asleep in the Human's bed.  It's the start of a friendship between the two that allows them to persuade the xenophobic elements of their peoples to let them live together on Doona. The boys grow up to be life-long friends, owning a ranch together.  The piece that sticks in my mind is the two fathers' simple decision not to wake the boy and cub up, to allow the friendship to blossom.

Another such book is Stephanie Saulter's Gemsigns.  Genetically engineered humans, and the terrifyingly hostile way some humans respond to them, will always stick in my mind.  A cautionary tale (as if we needed another one) about the misuse of religion for bigotry, discrimination, and hate.

My latest candidate for the title of gift is Karen Traviss's Halo - Kilo Five book Mortal Dictata. This story takes place after the war has ended, and the book is a superb exploration of human morality - or lack of it, in some cases.  Tough marines wrestle with the knowledge of ethically wrong medical augmentation programmes that snatched small kids for their subjects.  And when the father of one of those girls acquires a battle cruiser to force those on Earth to tell him what happened to his daughter, duty and morality collide.

It's the ideas, the concepts explored in these stories that stick in the mind.  They're a precious gift which prises my mind wide open and forces me to examine my own morality and values.