Science Fiction books of the of the Victorian age and the Belle Epoch echo certain themes. After all, this was the age of Edison and Tesla, of mechanized war. It was an emerging era of shocking scientific theories such as evolution and flight. 19th century science fiction novels chart the course of these shocks with themes of science run amok and strange encounters with monstrosities. Steampunk imagery is generated from works of the fantastic such as Frankenstein, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. So, when I first saw The Project of Machines de l'île in Nantes, I felt for a moment that sense of wonder at that strange convergence of science and fantasy, machine and dream. All the beautiful and terrible possibilities of the future exist in these odd mechanisms. The machines are built in the warehouses of the former shipyards of Nantes, France by François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice who were also inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci's infernal machines. And every so often they come alive. Setting up The Sea Life Carousel Riding the … [Read more...] about Steampunk Carousels & Infernal Machines
Future Shock: Writing Sci Fi, Drones & Paranoia
Dystopia. The word hisses off the tongue with sibilant ease, a slow slide into the dark cellar of the collective psyche. The black regimes of our fears, the fascism, the rage, the oppression which mirrors our inner shades, often realized in nightmarish reality. Conversely, Utopia sounds so hopeful, so inclusive, like a suspended note of a celestial choir. A future where technology is used compassionately to further creative pursuits, knowledge and collective awareness. What's it going to be? One of the great tasks of Science Fiction is to explore humanity in the context of earth shattering change. In the case of Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 with its mechanical hound or George Orwell's 1984, the startling portrait of the darker probabilities of the future, shaped the minds of a generation. The word "Big Brother" is now part of our lexicon of ideas. On the Utopian side, Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek inspired cell phones, interactive computers and has scientists noodling over the possibility of matter transfer and warp drive. Because I'm writing a dystopian novel, I … [Read more...] about Future Shock: Writing Sci Fi, Drones & Paranoia
