LETTERS Sci fact
Sir: Michael Harrington's dismissal of sci- ence fiction (Books, 4 July) betrays such selective and dated knowledge of the genre as to be a pretty bad piece of fiction itself. I look forward to the day when a commenta- tor on SF in a mainstream publication gives evidence of having heard of any names in SF later than Verne, Wells and Gernsback. It is perhaps worth pointing out that SF writers have included Kipling, Robert Con- quest and C.S. Lewis.
I suggest a balanced picture of recent lit- erary SF might include the epic works of Poul Anderson, the alternate histories of Harry Turtledove, the military SF of David Drake and the combination of hard science and fantasy of Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Dean Ing among many others. Har- rington suggests most SF authors are sim- ply reworking Wellsian ideas — has he read The Mote in God's Eye, Footfall, Ringworld, The Dragons of Heorot or Anderson's tremendous cycle describing the world's slow recovery from nuclear holocaust — or for that matter the many successfully funny SF works like Anderson's The High Crusade or The Makeshift Rocket?
If, as Harrington says, 'the pulp maga- zines have mostly folded', the literate, well- crafted SF novel has never been in better health — much better health, in fact, than the mainstream novel, as a glance at the shelves of most bookshops makes clear.
Hal Colebatch
10A Grosvenor Street, Cheltenham, Glos.
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