No great SF characters??

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March 20, 2008 at 7:23 am #20232

March 20, 2008 at 7:23 am #20233
	I’m on a mission. I interviewed the famous US sci fi writer, Dan Simmons, for Escape Velocity mag #3. He disturbed me with a statement:(If there’s ever – ever – an SF character to equal, in power and “reality,” say, Huckleberry Finn, or Holden Caulfield, or Von Humboldt Fleischer, or Herzog, or Zuckermann, or Jay Gatsby, or Elizabeth Bennet and that damned “Mr. Darcy” — I will be the first to herald it to the world and trumpet the author’s name. So far, I believe, there hasn’t been. Not one.). Damn, he may be right. I’ve sent a request for its refutation but no responses so far. I reckon Pirx the pilot in Stanislaw Lem’s books is my candidate. Tricky Help me out please readers. Name me some great science fiction characters. Geoff
March 20, 2008 at 10:30 am #20234
the english assassin	I think this is a fair point to make (by the way, where is your interview published? I’d like to read it). I feel SF (apart from the new wave) can be sadly lacking in many essential literary devices. Even fantasy would seem to have a better record in this respect. I struggle to think of a sf character as beautiful and twisted as Steerpike in the Gormanghast novels or as deep as Moorcock’s Elric. I guess Bester’s anti-heroes are pretty cool and Kim Stanley Robinson has an eye for character hooks and quirks but I’m struggling to think of many I love or are as important as say Sherlock Holmes…
March 20, 2008 at 11:14 am #20235
	Lazerus Long Jake Stonebender Manny (from Moon is a Harsh Mistress) Kira (from Starmind) Davy (from Davy) Maureen Smith ‘dillo, (from Berlin)
March 20, 2008 at 2:15 pm #20236
Fredosphere	Three characters come instantly to mind, and they’re all in Have Spacesuit, Will Travel. Heinlein’s work may not have the depth of psychological realism that you find in the greatest literary novels, relying as it does on exaggeration, but those three characters–Kip, Peewee, and Mother Thing–sure do stick in the mind. Come to think of it, Mark Twain relies on exaggeration too, and yet you’ve included Huck Finn in your list. I’d say Kip is a bit of a Huck Finn, once you exchange the straw hat for a space helmut.
March 20, 2008 at 5:36 pm #20237
	I knew I could rely on this forum for some answers! The interview is being published in the fledgling magazine, Escape Velocity, issue #3. There are interviews with Jon C Grimwood, and agent John Jarrold in the previous two issues, which you can buy via the mag website http://www.escapevelocitymagazine.com Back to the question. Yes scfi is plot led, more so than the literary novels Dan Simmons mainly referred to where nothing much happens except quirky characters developing themselves. I’d like to think that good scifi novels use imaginative settings, have interesting characters and weave fascinating plot threads. Here’s a list of other memorable scifi characters others have suggested to me today: Ender Wiggin HAL9000 Rick Deckard Pirx Gordon in David Brin The Postman Bill Masen in Day of the Triffids Angus Thermopylae in the Gap Cycle by Stephen R Donaldson Gully Foyle in Bester’s the Stars My Destination / Tiger! Tiger What do you think? Geoff
March 20, 2008 at 7:11 pm #20238
	I agree with Simmons. I’m sure we all could name a hand full of charactors from favorite stories, but does that charactor exist outside of the story. I think one of the marks of a great charactor is we continue to care about the charactor’s life once we’ve finished the story? It seems SF has never been about great charactors, but Big Ideas. On the other hand, once a SF story has made it to the big screen, I believe the charactors start to take center stage (so to speak). Ellen Ripley in the Alien movies comes to mind, and as Geoff mentioned HAL9000.
March 20, 2008 at 8:31 pm #20239
ForgottenPromise	It was only movie characters that sprang to mind for me to, namely the afore mentioned Deckard and Ripley. I’ll also add Han Solo to that list as I can’t imagine StarWars without him.
March 21, 2008 at 12:47 pm #20240
	GeoffNelder wrote: IHere’s a list of other memorable scifi characters others have suggested to me today: Ender Wiggin HAL9000 Rick Deckard Pirx Gordon in David Brin The Postman Bill Masen in Day of the Triffids Angus Thermopylae in the Gap Cycle by Stephen R Donaldson Gully Foyle in Bester’s the Stars My Destination / Tiger! Tiger What do you think? Geoff It’s funny. I really, really, don’t like Ender’s Game, but I gotta say, the character is memorable, sympathetic and unique. I love PK Dick, but Deckard in the novel is a bit of the same everyman you’ll find in Galactic Pot-Healer or, well, most of his stuff. Sky Haussmann in Reynold’s Chasm City struck me as a strong character.
March 21, 2008 at 4:43 pm #20241
	Thanks, Slowclap. I confess to being turned off Reynolds after reading Pushing Ice and finding it.. well, less than well written, but I’m only one opinion. Clearly, I should give Chasm City a try. Geoff
March 21, 2008 at 7:39 pm #20242
	How could I forget Trurl and Klapaucius in "The Cyberiad" by Lem. Charactor driven stories for sure.
March 21, 2008 at 9:56 pm #20243
Matthew Sanborn Smith	I think Paul Atreides is a fascinating character when you look at his evolution from adolescence in Dune through his mad prophet period at the end of Children of Dune. I don’t know if anyone could ever convince Dan Simmons of that.
March 21, 2008 at 10:38 pm #20244
	GeoffNelder wrote: Thanks, Slowclap. I confess to being turned off Reynolds after reading Pushing Ice and finding it.. well, less than well written, but I’m only one opinion. Clearly, I should give Chasm City a try. Geoff The first three novels of the Revelations Space series really impressed me. The fourth novel and some of his other stuff has left me cold. But the character of Sky Haussman was a sociopathic bastard who tries to redeem himself. He’s also an infectious agent. No, really.
March 25, 2008 at 11:06 am #20245
the english assassin	wrote: How could I forget Trurl and Klapaucius in &quot] Good call! I was also thinking Charlie in Flowers for Algernon is a great character. Maybe sf needs more first person naratives to bring its characters alive.
March 25, 2008 at 12:46 pm #20246
	Louis Woo, Ringworld, Larry Niven.