Best selling science fiction books. What makes that winning difference!

 

Best selling science fiction books. What makes that winning difference!

The best indication that the #scifi book is the one you would like or prefer to read, is not the general buzz around it in the market. So what is it then?

The best scifi book should convince you to be a scifi reader forever, with a desire that is not grappling with abetment of any sort. When you read the opening paragraphs of a scifi book if you feel you are sailing on the calmest surface of the scientific thought that is willing to ferry your own thoughts into its bosom. And then at the deepest point, where the author’s thought elevates into a crescendo of imaginative prowess, if it lets you sink into its bottom where the currents of scientific wisdom drift you in the direction where the author wanted to lead your thoughts. Without letting you feel disowned by your own imagination. This is the #scifi book with that winning difference. A scifi book that has everything to keep the scifi reader completely drawn into its literary aura and scientific innovativeness.

And this entire process has to be slow, and so enticing; that you like riding these currents of wisdom, seeping into your every imagination until you feel like a scifi reader who is not reading words written by someone else, but you begin to feel every word is a portrayal of your own thoughts. A different version of your own imagination.

If you have experienced a similar feeling whenever you read a best selling scifi book, or just a least known scifi book, then you are the scifi reader who knows what scifi euphoria feels like. 

But all scifi readers are not so lucky. Either they never come across the right scifi book or they fail to understand that anything of this sort could even exist. 

So, who should be blamed for this tragic deprivation of the scifi reader? Where he/she never gets to experience the euphoric waves that reading an interesting scifi book can cause.

Should we blame the author or the reader? It has to be either of the two. But being judgemental may not serve the purpose here, because the author’s passion is to write and he/she performs it with a lot of dedication. And just like the author, the scifi reader’s true desire is to read a scifi book with dedication, and he/she fulfils it without any leniency. Yet, the scifi reader does not experience the enjoyment or the scifi pleasure that would excite him/her to such an extent that he/she would compromise on anything, but stop reading the scifi book that he/she is going through.

 In such cases, something is wrong somewhere. But what and where?

There are a few very likely suspects:

1- The scifi reader likes something else. Not what the scifi author is trying to express via his/her scifi book.

2- The author of the scifi book believes more in fiction. Therefore he/she tends to drift yonder from scientific realities.

3- The plot of the scifi story is simple, but the main scientific idea being proposed by the author adds confusing complications to the entire story, making it less palatable for an enthusiastic scifi reader.

4- The scifi author is unable to tap into the general IQ of the target audience. As a result of this ignorance he/she is unable to appeal to a larger audience via his/her scifi book. Thus subjecting the scifi book to scifi reader’s cavil, that in most of the cases is a well founded objection of the scientific views being expressed by the scifi author.

5- The scifi reader feels like he/she is being married to a concept that he/she finds too awry.

If a scifi book is conceived by the scifi author without attempting to overcome any of the above mentioned points, then that scifi book is not going to be the best selling scifi book. Because such scifi books are like a litigation, where there is only one litigant. And this single litigant assumes two roles: the accused as well as the one defending his/her innocence. Such a situation will always lead to mockery and unavoidable temperamental skirmishes. Because a litigation of this sort can never be resolved. 

The single litigant when acting as the accused will have to deal with different thoughts and realities, and when acting as a defendant, the same litigant will have to address different thoughts and realities. And there are many #scifibooks which get caught in a similar struggle.

Where the scifi reader feels his/her own thoughts and views about the proposed scientific idea are being accused by the author’s views and ideas. And when the #scifi reader perceives being subjected to this accusation, he/she immediately turns into the defendant, and that too an aggressive one. Because he/she feels hurt by the author’s passively accusative views.

The scifi reader begins to believe that he/she is being labelled as ill informed, or not at all aware of the scientific realities that the theme of the scifi book is trying to promote. And it is this scifi book that makes the scifi reader feel accused that is very unlikely to make it to the list of the best selling #scifibooks.

So, a scifi author has to be exceedingly cautious when writing a scifi book; and make every effort to avoid creating a plot or using words that the reader treats as accusations. Because the scifi reader feels that the author is challenging his/her knowledge. And in this monologue like litigation, the reader always wins and the author always loses. Because the reader can always choose not to read further. But the author has no such choice because he/she has already written and published his/her views in the form of the scifi book, that he/she hopes would be the best selling scifi book. But the author either forgets to treat the reader as his/her scientific accomplice or the author is too convinced that the reader will always believe what he/she is trying to express via his/her scifi book. This lack of forbearance on part of the author becomes the executioner of his/her every effort to impress the scifi reader. Therefore leading to the scifi book that will always witness the scifi reader as a single litigant playing two parts, the accused and the defendant as well. And it can be frustrating for any scifi reader.

But, that is not the case with all scifi books. At least that is not the case with best selling scifi books. They always manage to convert litigation-like situations into a dialogue and not a monologue. Where roles may flip, but there will always be two litigants.

Sometimes the author is the accused and the scifi reader is the defendant. And at a few occasions, the scifi reader feels like the accused and the author is cast as the defendant. And if a scifi author can create such a flow in his/her scifi story, then nothing can stop that scifi book from becoming the best selling #scifi book. Nothing at all!

Have you read Dune?

The magical and wonder drug, called the Melange. Is the main cause of interstellar war. Now a scifi reader might think, this is taking human imagination too far. Because how can a drug like Melange, enhance the capacity of thinking being’s minds to such a degree that their minds begin to think in different dimensions at the same time. And that too with the highest degree of accuracy and guaranteed output.

But the moment this question arises in the mind of the scifi reader, and he/she is about to enter into a litigation process, where he/she is about to evolve as a litigant playing both roles, that of the defendant and the accused as well. The author’s wit subconsciously counters this process of the reader’s transition into this aggressive and non submissive litigant. Because the well informed reader is instantly prompted by his/her mind about the effects of cannabis, weed and magic mushrooms ( famous as shrooms ) on the human mind.  

( Please note : I do not promote or recommend use of any of these hallucinating herbs/fungus/drugs because they can even kill. It is just used as a reference to improve the interactive flow of this blog post. ) 

Anyway!

The moment this scifi reader is reminded of magic mushrooms or cannabis, he/she pauses, thinks about it, and silently his/her mind confesses, “well, it is possible.” And the moment this realisation strikes his/her mind, he/she reads further. 

All scifi authors cannot achieve this silent dialogue with the scifi reader via a book that does not converse through the medium of speech, but only talks via words which are printed on the pages and cannot be altered to suit the mood of the scifi reader. And a seasoned #scifi author is able to prejudge these scenarios in advance, and comes up with subsequent lines or paragraphs that counter these situations. But it is a talent only few scifi writers possess.

Because when I read Dune, for a  moment I too thought how can a drug like Melange heighten the output of one’s mind? As I was dealing with this thought, my mind led me to the effects of magic shrooms and cannabis on the human mind. And immediately I continued reading further. 

The author had indirectly entered into a conversation with me and instructed me to think with a broader perspective. Because when it comes to science, anything and everything is possible. You just need the right approach, iron will and a lot of honesty along with strength of character. Then one cannot only terraform planets; one can even change the makeup of the entire galaxy, and create habitable zones in it. At least I think it is possible.

Now you know what a scifi author should do in order to retain the interest of the scifi reader. And he/she has to maintain this rule throughout the book. As for the scifi reader he/she should never refrain from taking his/her imagination a little further and allow the scifi author’s concept make some sense, without jumping to premature conclusions. Just like what I did when I read about Melange in the scifi book Dune. I probed my own knowledge and I finally concluded, it is possible. Had I been too adamant then I may never have been able to experience the euphoric waves scifi books can offer. And I say never, because Dune was my first scifi book, and if I had not been able to deal with the reality of Melange, I would have abandoned the scifi book then and there.

There is one such scifi book that carries a similar scifi punch. It is titled: They Loved in 2075. It is a romance science fiction, where the plot is gripping, the scientific concepts are exciting, the theme of the story is one you all can easily relate with. Because it is the scifi story, that can be the story of your sons, your daughters or grandchildren in 2075. If you care for them and you do not want them to live loveless and sterile lives in 2075, then you must try reading the scifi book, They Loved in 2075.

It reveals the unthinkable. A reality that shall not spare those alive in 2075. Especially those who want to feel human, express human-like feelings and emotions in 2075. And it is a potent reason to discover the #scifi book, They Loved in 2075.