The Cosmic and the Personal

In this blog, I promised to tell you about the philosophical approach behind my writing of the military science fiction series The Misadventures of Fragger Sparks (3 books so far). By philosophical approach, I mean how I addressed the chasm between the personal and the cosmic that exists in all science fiction stories. One the one hand, you have the epic story tellers like Asimov, Benford, et.al, who paint their words on canvases as large as galaxies and universes. On the other, you have the Zelaznys, Nancy Kresses, et. al. who stress more the impact of ideas and technology on the individual. I chose the more personal route for the Fragger series for a simple reason; few of the combat stories I've read in science fiction seemed to have little to do with actual combat. By that I mean that I never tasted the mud, smelled spilled-open intestines, or felt the mind-numbing fear of facing an enemy. (Note: I was in the Army but never in combat: however, I listened closely enough to my friend Dan's stories as a Vietnam medic over the years to realize that few SF writers were getting the real experience of war down on paper.) Joe Haldeman and David Drake probably do science fiction combat stories better than anyone. So, if anyone serves as a model for me, it's those two. My particular fictional tactic to emphasize the brutal reality of combat was to thrust Fragger Sparks into a future where he didn't understand the weapons, the people, or the political situations. He has to learn painful lessons along the way, but, being an Army Ranger, he's highly adaptable and able to apply his skills and experience to (almost) every situation he encounters. And, of course, it's all very personal to him!...Next week, I'll tell you why I became interested in science fiction in the first place. Hint: It had nothing do with science! - See you then.