Heinlein, Robert A – Expanded Universe

But how is one to distinguish between legitimate science fiction and

ridiculous junk? Place of original publication is no guide; some of the best have

appeared in half-cent-a-word pulp magazines, with bugeyed monsters on their covers;

some of the silliest have appeared in high-pay slicks or in the “prestige” quality

group.

“The Pretzel Men of Pthark”-that one we can skip over; the contents are

probably like the title. Almost as easy to spot is the Graustark school of space

opera. This is the one in which the dashing Nordic hero comes to the aid of the

Page 157

rightful Martian princess and kicks out the villainous usurper through superscience

and sheer grit. It is not being written very often these days, although it still

achieves book publication occasionally, sometimes with old and respectable trade

book houses. But it does not take a Ph.D. in physics to recognize it for what it is.

But do not be too quick to apply as a test to science fiction what are

merely the conventions of better known fields of literature. I once heard a

librarian say that she could not stand the unpronounceable names

given by science-fiction writers to extraterrestrials. Have a heart, friend! These

strings of consonants are honest attempts to give unearthly names to unearthly

creatures. As Shaw pointed out, the customs of our tribe are not laws of nature. You

would not expect a Martian to be named “Smith.” (Say-how about a story about a

Martian named “Smith?” Ought to make a good short. Hmmmm-)

But are there reliable criteria by which science fiction can be judged by

one who is not well acquainted with the field? In my opinion, there are. Simply the

criteria which apply to all fields of fiction, no more, no less.

First of all, an item of science fiction should be a story, i.e., its

entertainment value should be as high as that which you expect from other types of

stories. It should be entertaining to almost anyone, whether he habitually reads the

stuff or not. Second, the degree of literacy should be as high as that expected in

other fields. I will not labor this point, since we are simply applying an old rule

to a new field, but there is no more excuse here than elsewhere for split

infinitives, dangling participles, and similar untidiness, or for obscurity and

doubletalk.

The same may be said for plotting, characterization, motivation, and the

rest. If a science-fiction writer can’t write, let him go back to being a fry cook

or whatever he was doing before he gave up honest work.

I want to make separate mention of the author’s evaluations. Granted that

not all stories need be morally edifying, nevertheless I would demand of

sciencefiction writers as much exercise of moral sense as I would of other writers.

I have in mind one immensely popular series which does not hold my own interest very

well because the protagonist seems to be guided only by expediency. Neither the

writer nor his puppet seems to be aware of good and evil. For my taste this is a

defect in any story, nor is the defect mitigated by the wonderful and gaudy

trappings of science fiction. In

my opinion, such abstractions as honor, loyalty, fortitude, self-sacrifice, bravery,

honesty, and integrity will be as important in the far reaches of the Galaxy as they

are in Iowa or Korea. I believe that you are entitled to apply your own evaluating

standards to science fiction quite as rigorously as you apply them in other fiction.

The criteria outlined above take care of every aspect of science fiction but

one-the science part. But even here no new criterion is needed. Suppose you were

called on to purchase or to refuse to purchase a novel about a Mexican boy growing

up on a Mexican cattle ranch; suppose that you knew no Spanish, had never been to

Mexico and were unacquainted with its history and customs, and were unsure of the

competence of the author. What would you do?

I suspect that you would farm out the decision to someone who was competent

to judge the authenticity of the work. It might be a high school Spanish teacher, it