This week, hosts/authors Steve Diamond and Larry Correia are joined in the studio with Christopher Ruocchio to discuss Science Fantasy- what it is, what it isn’t, and why it’s useful.
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I don’t know who coined it, but I once heard Star Wars refereed to as not being “science fantasy” but “science mythology”. As a fan of the real (pre-KK) Star Wars, it immediately clicked for me as a description of the series themes and mechanics. The mention that setting’s aren’t game books is a bit ironic when it comes to Star Wars: The majority of Star Wars EU IS based upon West End Game’s RPG books. Never tried to explain the force though.
See, “Ray Bradbury”.
End message.
Great to hear you guys have Christopher Ruocchio again. His books are great and he’s just such a down to earth dude. if ever you decided to add a permanent 3rd regular host, he would get my vote.
And my axe!
But seriously I love when he gets intense. I like to imagine authors I like having sword fights in libraries over minor disagreements.
Whenever Chris speaks I can understand how the Italians managed to build Rome.
Whereas Larry said he didn’t know anyone who liked midichlorians, I’m actually fine with the idea. It explains how children could be determined to be Force-sensitive at a young age and taken from their families before they’re old enough to have any emotional baggage from remembering them.
It also shows how, as the Jedi became more advanced, that they had become more byzantine in the way they viewed everything, which then had to be dialed back to the basics when Luke was put on a crash course about how to Jedi competently.
Sure it explains things. If you’re going to explain a numinous, soft magic system though, then the explanation should be in that character, not some clumsy hard-SF element shoehorned into a series that’s well-known for ignoring the laws of the natural universe.
The whole SWOT was about suspending disbelief, and Lucas decided to take the most fantastical element that we were all pretty much okay with because of the Rule of Cool, and then explain it with microscopic bacteria in the bloodstream?? Not only was it silly, it ruined Yoda’s great explanation of the Force in ESB.
Damnit, now I’m going to have to listen to the episode out of order, despite being desperately far behind.
According to Yoda, life creates the Force, and its energy binds the universe together. Obi-Wan said the same thing in the previous movie. In Return of the Jedi Yoda also said the Force was strong in Luke’s family, indicating a hereditary element to Force-sensitivity.
So then Qui-Gon says midichlorians are found in all living things, make life possible, and help people feel the Force. That doesn’t contradict anything the previous movies said, and it also doesn’t mean midichlorians=Force. This doesn’t bother me at all. I’m fine with it. I can also enjoy looking at a rainbow while understanding how light refracts through airborne water droplets, and marvel at airplanes while knowing about Bernouli’s principle.