International Science Fiction

Because the stories of science fiction are set in the greatest extremes of both place and time, the genre is able to present themes and symbols common to all humanity without the trappings of any particular culture to hinder understanding.  That ability to bridge cultural gaps is one reason that science fiction attracts a diverse set of storytellers, as well as having exploded in popularity internationally in the last few decades.

A new display at the Al Harris Library highlights some of the best science fiction authors from diverse cultures and languages.

One is Octavia E. Butler, the first science-fiction writer to win the MacArthur award, who believed that her existence as an African-American woman “equipped her spectacularly well to portray life in hostile dystopias where the odds of survival can be almost insurmountable,” according her obituary in The New York Times.

 Also featured are authors from around the world, such as Cixin Liu, perhaps China’s most popular science fiction author, and Carlos Ruiz Zafón, a Spanish author who writes both young adult and adult science fiction.

Science fiction’s popularity has ensured that works such as these are translated into several languages in order to reach the international audience hungry to experience places and times that don’t exist – yet.