Critical Article #3

In this Article, critic John R. R. Christie examines the elements of both traditional science fiction and postmodern experimental fiction. He uses Neuromancer by William Gibson to do so.  He says that there is postmodern science fiction and he says there isn’t as well (giving reasoning for both). Then Christie goes on to talk about how genres and generations come and go and that in Gibson’s time the interest was on a steady incline for science fiction with the advancement of technology, they were just waiting for someone to take control. He then compares Neuromancer a postmodern experimental fiction with a traditional science fiction science fiction book Engine Summer. These are conclusions that he came to: 

	Neuromancer (postmodern experimental fiction)	Engine Summer (traditional science fiction)
Tone and Style	Densely packed and hard-edged third-person naturalism.	Discursively rambling, warmly hued first-person, softly-toned realism.
Plot	Pulp-book or popular film caper.	Traditional quest-romance.
Characters	Stereotypical science-fiction cardboard cut-outs.	Idiosyncratically individualized and sympathetically portrayed humans.
Setting	Near-future world where the nation state has withered away and power lies with multinational corporations.	Tale is set by contrast in a relatively far, post-holocaust future.

After comparing the two novels you can can tell that they have few similarities but you can tell that they are somewhat relatable. This further backs up the question he asked in the second paragraph: Is there a postmodern science fiction? By examining the two it is evident that science fiction as a fictional genre attempts to be 'post' whatever modernity happens to be current. 




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John R. R. Christie, "Science Fiction and the Postmodern: The Recent Fiction of William Gibson and John Crowley." Essays and Studies 43 (1990): 34-58.