The Current State of Science Fiction w/
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- In episode 269 of the Parker's Pensées Podcast, I'm joined by Christopher Ruocchio, the author of the Sun Eater science-fantasy series, and Jordan Hill of the channel iWizard. Jordan and Christopher help me get my bearings as we discuss the history of science fiction, the current state of the art of science fiction, the philosophy of science fiction and fantasy, and just about everything else.
Check out more from Christopher Ruocchio here: @SunEaterBooks
and more from Jordan here: @iWizard
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Thanks for having me on, man!
Dude the people love you. Can't wait to talk again!
Thanks so much for having me on, brother! I appreciate it. :)
Dude I'm hoping this becomes a regular thing. My audience loves you guys
This was a great discussion! I think everybody can agree we need more of this team up! I (selfishly) would love for you guys to make it a regular thing. Anytime I see CR is on a podcast, it’s an instant watch. Bonus having a great group like this that can speak intelligently about these topics and bounce off each other so well. Keep up the great work!
29:30 Samuel Delany shout out! Always here for that; Dhalgren is one of my favorite books of all time
Good conversation. Some of the points Ruocchio made remind me of this quote about weird fiction from Clark Ashton Smith:
“It might be argued that this craving is not, as many shallow modernists suppose, a desire to escape from reality, but an impulse to penetrate the verities which lie beneath the surface of things; to grapple with, and to dominate, the awful mysteries of mortal existence.”
Another great guest to talk about sword & sorcery would be Alexander Palacio. He’s written a couple indie books in a Mesoamerican-inspired setting and he speaks eloquently about topics like Robert E Howard, Jack Vance, Tolkien, and combat sports. And he’s Catholic.
@@chetarchbold970 oh nice!! Ant idea how I can reach him?
You could check with Aaron Irber, too. He’s had him on his pod (I Might Believe in Faeries). That’s where I first heard him.
@@chetarchbold970 thanks!
You’re welcome!
Please bring them all back to talk about Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun series. If you haven’t read it you should!!!! You’d love it!
Yes!
iwizard has some videos hosting Ruocchio to discuss those books. It’s great!
@@sw3dge they are! Definitely a great guide to me when I first read it.
This was very timely encouragement. Thanks, gents!
Great conversation! You three should make this a regular thing (once a month/ once a quarter) if possible!
For what it’s worth, there a sci fi novel called Combat Codes in which the protagonist almost literally doing jiu jitsu/mma is the whole plot impetus.
So there’s one!
❤ From wizards to wormholes 😊 I want to take that class 😂
Great eloquence and thought and I have hopes of recreating the latter but not the former. Anyways, I’m pretty sure E. E. “Doc” Smith was a food scientist, to that Campbell point.
If memory serves that's correct, but Doc Smith was also autodidactically expert in a ton of other fields.
My 3 favs
Great guests, great convo
Thanks! I need to get them back for more
Make philosophy in Sci-fi great again! Lol
Jordan where can I find the source of the quote on sci-fi you mentioned early in the video.
Bruh, Sun Eater is 🔥
🙌🙌🙌
The primary reason women read more us because men watch their pvrn while women read it. Most of the literature consumed by women is softcore 50 shades of greyesque.
Parker. You are too good to us! I love your podcasts and you’ve brought on one of my favorite TH-camrs and favorite authors for two hours??? Truly we have been blessed by the Almighty. 🫡 🙏 😅
I am getting sick of the identity elements being squeezed into sci-fi pulp fiction today. In nearly every story for the past three years the first thing you learn about a character is their skin color and race. This is followed in a subsequent chapter with their sexual orientation. These traits end up having no relevance to the story so they were only put in to "check the box." I've now taken the step of stopping my reading at that point and down rating the story/book. This is really the only way to get attention to the issue. In the past month or so I've noticed that Amazon is offering up new book suggestions where this does not occur.
Far out, now I get why Ruocchio's books are so polarising. He's got one of those personalities.
What do you mean?
@@offworlder4694 loves to hear himself talk and show how smart he is.
Actually, sir, it causes me no end of grief, as I am forced to endure rude remarks and psychoanalysis from strangers such as yourself on an almost daily basis. I would be much happier writing the books and never making a single public appearance, digitally or otherwise, but I do so because I must sell books to support my wife and my little girl, and because Parker is my friend and he asked me to come on his channel.
@@SunEaterBooks it's a tough world out there my guy.
But as Kevin from The Office so eloquently stated:
"Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?"
@@steaminghottake6221holy shit dude I think you're the one with one of those personalties
You don't know a whole bunch of science fiction protagonists to emulate--you need to read some Robert A. Heinlein.
Man, I started with Stranger and idk if I wanna keep going 😅😅😅
I don't like Stranger in a Strange Land even a little, but Heinlein is still my favorite author.
I recommend grabbing (or checking out from a library) his short story anthology, "The Past Through Tomorrow." I like all the stories in it, but I especially recommend, "The Long Watch," "If This Goes On--," and, "Methuselah's Children." Shorter time investment for his redemption round.
You'll find less hippy dippy free-love obsession and more competent men and women of action striving to do what's right equipped with their wits and character. Lazarus Long, for example, would be at home adventuring alongside Doc Savage, Conan or John Carter.
The, "...specialization is for insects," quote Jordan cited, for example, is from RAH's character, Lazarus Long.
very tedious discussion. I gave up.
😂😅😓