alchemical fantasy
Guys, guys! Have you seen this?
Alien invaders! Giant robots! *swoooon*
Now, story-wise this might be a pretty pathetic movie (*cough*Transformers*cough*), but I’d go just for the special effects. And the robots. Must not forget the robots.
via SF Signal
1. I have a guest post on atypical fantasy protagonists up at the Turtleduck Press blog. Come check it out!
2. Also, you might’ve noticed I’m doing interviews and guest posts recently. This is my Low-Key Sorta Blog Tour for Rainbird’s release. I’m happy to do more of these, so if you have an open spot on your blog that you want to give me, feel free to ask. I’d appreciate it. 🙂
3. Remember that last week I shared the Peter Hollens and Lindsey Stirling version of the Game of Thrones theme music? Well, their Skyrim rendition is even better! I am hooked on this.
How’s your week going?
Those of us who read and write fantasy and science fiction like our conflicts on a large scale. Forget about family feuds and bickering neighbors–we like wars that engulf whole continents, Dark Lords that threaten to drain the life force of the entire world, and weapons that can take out entire planets.
And since I like to spice my fantasy with a dash of science fiction, I am always interested in world-destroying, humanity-menacing threats from outer space and the many forms they can take.
This is the classic threat, really. From H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds onward, aliens have invaded our TV screens and our pleasure reading for decades. V: The Final Conflict was one of my favorite sci-fi TV shows as a teen. In movies like Independence Day, Signs, and Titan A.E. and books such as Ender’s Game and The Kraken Wakes, aliens are bent on taking over Earth and destroying or subjecting humanity.
The Thread in Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books is an interesting variation on the alien invasion trope. Thread is biological, but not sentient, a mindless parasite that consumes everything organic.
And then there are stories like Avatar, where the alien invaders are–us.
We all know how bad a meteorite strike can be–just ask the dinosaurs.
*crickets chirping*
K, so we can’t ask the dinosaurs, but while Earth may survive a big strike by a meteorite or comet, humans may not. This is the scenario in the movies Deep Impact and Armageddon (neither of which I have seen, by the way–these are husband-provided examples).
Or, you can combine the alien invasion and the meteorite strike and get something like Terry Pratchett’s The Fifth Elephant: Giant elephant slams into the Discworld in the dim, dark past, creating vast deposits of fat.
You don’t need to physically harm Earth in order to throw our civilization into chaos.
In John Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids, a shooting star show blinds everyone who sees it. Chaos ensues.
In Blake Crouch’s Run, everyone who witnesses an aurora is suddenly gripped by an uncontrollable homicidal urge to kill everyone who didn’t. Chaos ensues.
In our very real life, scientists warn us that a solar flare could disrupt our technology. Chaos will ensue.
Yes, this deserves its own category. In Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Earth is destroyed in order to make way for an interstellar bypass.
It’s nothing personal.
Besides these categories, there are threats by black hole, rogue planets smashing into our own, the inevitable expansion of the sun at the end of its life, and the ripping of the space-time fabric. All of which make the hearts of apocalypse rubber-neckers like me go pitter-patter.
What other threats from outer space–real and imaginary–can you think of?
* Edited to use the correct terminology. See dkoren’s comment below.
Who else is looking forward to season 2? *bounce!*
