![]() All art (and arguably communication) is simulacra–a representation of our emotions, our worldviews, all the things we can sense vicariously through our nervous systems. But the spread of mass media, from the printing press to our modern system of debunking false information through social media, has all but driven the traditional myth to extinction. However, the concept of the meme (an abbreviation of the Greek word for “imitated thing”– what does that remind you of?) can be traced back all the way to cave paintings and myths. You need look no further than the most obvious example, the internet meme, to see this in action. Before we get in too deep, it should be noted that the school of memetics has received a lot of criticism for apparently viewing ideas as self-replicating organisms from a higher dimension, but it’s based on some pretty solid psychological concepts. See, memetic evolution is the overarching concept that all people are linked through the communication of ideas, and that those ideas develop as they are passed from individual to individual. I can’t determine for sure if the crippling loneliness has been driving me insane, but I’m telling you, there’s a pattern, and it all leads back to one idea: memetic evolution. The countless, sleepless hours I’ve spent scouring cyberspace for any morsel of data concerning media genres and subgenres have all added up to something big, really big, and I won’t be able to rest until I’ve put all forms of visual media that have been infected by cyberpunk under the microscope. ![]() Divya is available via 47North.Because I have nothing better to do than to illegally connect to the ‘net via brain implant in my iso-cube, I like to spend my time researching obscure subjects. This is a second-chance story that follows the two as they find clues, track down suspects, and discover that they have both changed just enough to find their love again-all while possibly saving the future of humanity. The romance takes place between a detective, Mossa, and her academic ex-girlfriend, Pleiti. The primary plot here is a murder mystery set on artificial rings built around Jupiter, and the vibe has a strong steampunk overtone even though the setting is in our future. Malka Older, The Mimicking of Known SuccessesĪ novella by the author of Infomocracy, that takes place after Earth’s ecosphere has been rendered uninhabitable. Romance doesn’t take center stage in their interactions, but sparks definitely fly even as Martine goes deeper to explore cross-cultural relationships and the challenges associated with them. In this novel, the two women are thrown together once again, this time while dealing with an alien first-contact situation that teeters on the brink of catastrophe. The sequel gets deeper into the relationship between Mahit Dzmare, an interstellar diplomat, and Three Seagrass, an agent of the imperial Information Ministry, who first acknowledge their feelings for each other at the end of book one. ![]() It provides a fertile soil in which to explore romantic relationships, taking the subgenre beyond wormholes and laser battles.Īrkady Martine, A Desolation Called PeaceĪ follow-up to Martine’s breakout debut, A Memory Called Empire. Space travel creates worlds with varied societies and life forms. They range from older works to some that came out in the last few years.Ī common theme across all of these is that the two leads not only cross the vast distances between stars they also bridge the treacherous gaps between cultures. When most people hear “space opera,” they probably think of Dune or Star Wars rather than romance, but I’ve discovered that many books blend these two genres. The central question isn’t, “Will they or won’t they,” but rather, “How will they find their way back to each other?” When I sat down to write my latest novel, Meru, I knew I wanted to write an interstellar epic but I didn’t have a plot, so I drew upon one of my favorite Indian mythological stories, “Nala and Damayanti.” Unlike many love stories, this one is about a couple whose adventures begin mostly after they get married. When I became a writer, my focus was on the former, but my stories often include a romantic relationship, sometimes at its start but just as often in its later stages. I fell in love with romance after reading Jane Eyre, which my uncle gave me. I have loved reading science fiction since age ten, when my school librarian handed me a copy of Jill Patton Walsh’s The Green Book.
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