It's Not Just Robots! Why We Need Science Fiction

There seems to be a prevalent belief that if it contains robots, spaceships, or aliens, then it's science fiction, and that is all science fiction really is.

The truth is that science fiction need not have any of those things in it, and just because a book, film, or television show contains them it doesn't necessarily mean it's best placed in the science fiction genre.

Star Wars is possibly the best known and most divisive example of that; it's mostly fantasy, but with many science fiction elements which — funnily enough — all fall squarely into the robots, spaceships, and aliens category. The story itself combines two fantasy tropes: "The Hero's Journey" and "The War Between Good and Evil". Everything else is window dressing, and the actual story would probably suffer no ill effects if it were set in Middle Earth instead of a galaxy far, far away.

So how do we tell if something is science fiction, and what use is it anyway?

Ruling the Universe

One of the things that really annoys me about modern science fiction — and I mean on the screen, as well as in books — is the constant reliance on trite clichés. So, in developing the Armada Wars universe, I have taken the time to set down ground rules that will prevent me from falling into the same traps.

In this blog post, we'll take a look at some of the principles that help shape the worlds, situations, technology, and people in the books. Read on to discover some of the rules of the universe!