The great escape

When it comes to genre fiction, as something of an evangelist for the form, I’ve heard all the common misconceptions about fantasy and science-fiction. One that has come up a number of times is that these genres are nothing but ‘escapism’ – a sort of infantile retreat from reality, that is somehow worth less for presenting settings in an alternative version

When it comes to genre fiction, as something of an evangelist for the form, I’ve heard all the common misconceptions about fantasy and science-fiction. One that has come up a number of times is that these genres are nothing but ‘escapism’ – a sort of infantile retreat from reality, that is somehow worth less for presenting settings in an alternative version of the future or other world entirely.

The Golden Age

In trying to trace back this idea of escapism, it’s worth delving into the history of SFF in order to find its roots. A retrospective on the early days of science-fiction will find the world a rather more innocent place and time – a