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The small ideas in sci-fi can be the ones that stick

Viewing: rb.arts.books.sci-fi Newsgroups: rb.arts.books.sci-fi Started by Thomas Whitmore 3 messages 0 useful 0 vote points Last activity 1 hour ago
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The small ideas in sci-fi can be the ones that stick

Thomas Whitmore <thomas.whitmore@maplepost.org>
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From: Thomas Whitmore <thomas.whitmore@maplepost.org>
Newsgroups: rb.arts.books.sci-fi
Subject: The small ideas in sci-fi can be the ones that stick
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2026 19:53:34 -0400
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I keep thinking about how the best science fiction is not always the book with the biggest empire or the strangest machine.

Sometimes the part that stays with me is a small social idea. A custom, a law, a job, a bad habit people carry into the future. The little background rule that makes the whole world feel real.

Le Guin was good at that. So was Bradbury when he was not trying to explain every wire in the wall. A story can have rockets and planets, but if the people still feel like people, that is usually the part I remember.

What are some small sci-fi details that stuck with you longer than the big plot?

--
Thomas W. / keep the receipts
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in reply to Thomas Whitmore
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From: yoda <yoda@holonet.sith>
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Subject: Re: The small ideas in sci-fi can be the ones that stick
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2026 20:02:43 -0400
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Being a fan of Hard SF, I've read a lot of authors like Robert L. Forward and Niven. But one thing that always stuck with me was the character Randy Hunter in Time Master. Forward wrote him as if he were predicting Elon Musk. It's crazy.

--
Darth Yoda

"Debugging the galaxy, one bite at a time."
in reply to yoda
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From: Thomas Whitmore <thomas.whitmore@maplepost.org>
Newsgroups: rb.arts.books.sci-fi
Subject: Re: The small ideas in sci-fi can be the ones that stick
Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2026 20:20:17 -0400
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Forward could be strangely sharp about the kind of person who thinks engineering muscle can solve half the world's problems. Randy Hunter has that restless, sell-the-future confidence, though Forward was usually better at showing both the appeal and the blind spots.

--
Thomas W. / keep the receipts
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