Customer Reviews

The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book for those interested in Science Fiction. It helps the laymen understand scientific concepts and is written in a way that is easy to understand. We often see scientific books as being hard to understand, being too mathematical and way above our heads. This book is definitely not that way. If you want to learn about science, this is the book. There is a section on creating an alien life bearing planet, detail by detail. A section on spaceships and space stations, and a section on designing a future. There is even a section on remodeling humans. All this in an understandable format. Writers will find it of unmeasurable help in their writing science fiction.

I am just starting out writing science fiction, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in writing in the genre. It is not a "how to write science fiction", but rather a handy reference book. It the various areas of science that a science fiction writer might find useful, with chapters devoted, inter alia, to: space and spaceships, planets and planet design, aliens, designing a future setting, nanotechnology, intelligent machines, bioengineering, and alternate universes.

I found the book to be well-organised and easy to read. All sections are written in a clear, easy to understand manner, assisting the non-scientist layman in writing convincing science fiction. One of the best features, in my view, was that the authors point out all the "wrong science" blunders common to science fiction, thereby helping you to avoid them. They also point out examples of excellent science fiction and how those authors used known science in a convincing manner.

The only significant shortcomings of this book relate to its age: it was printed in 1993 so the science risks becoming dated as we move further from its publication. Additionally, this means that it has gone out of print and one can only obtain used copies. However, there is nothing newer out there that covers all the areas that The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe so it is still well worth it.

I have also read the Science Fiction Writing Series (edited by Ben Bova) "World Building" and "Space Travel" and I preferred The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe. There is nothing wrong with the Bova books, they were excellent as well, but I found Messrs. Ochoa and Osier's book easier to read and more insightful. Plus, it is nice having everything in one place. On the other hand, the Science Fiction Writing Series books are more comprehensive and still in print.

Though I read this straight through, this is really more of a reference book. It covers chapter-by-chapter the various areas of science that a science fiction writer might find useful, starting (not surprisingly) with space and spaceships. Other topics include designing a planet, aliens, designing a future, nanotech, intelligent machines, and alternate universes. The authors do a good job of pointing up common cases of bad science, from lasers visible in space to human-alien halfbreeds and other Star Trek-type errors. They also point up shining examples of science fiction stories that are based on particular concepts and make suggestions based on other ideas that haven't been fully mined yet.

Definitely a worthwhile book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is starting out writing science fiction. It is very easy to read and understand, and it discusses topics frequently found in science fiction. Not only does it have information about world-building, but it also covers topics like aliens, space travel, and futuristic civilizations. If you're just starting out, or if you just need some guidelines in your fiction, check this book out.

I bought this book because I'm writing scifi and really wanted a good guide/reference book on science fiction writing. I first assumed it was going to cover various elements of scifi, but it was just outer space and that's fine since that's what I write.

My issue with the book is it seems miss-titled. I found most of the information interesting but it didn't help me with my writing in any way really. It might have triggered a few ideas but other then that it read like your average science book. To me, this isn't a guide, more of just an explaining on space science, our current technology along with some ideas and theories of futuristic use.

These guys obviously know their science, and it shows, but it doesn't help with much creativity. In fact, I found several instances where my creativity was being shot down. They constantly tell you what is "wrong or right" science but that's irrelevant for a fiction story. Yes, you need to take science and technology in as a factory but it's not the bases or most vital element of your story. Not many people care or ask about the technicalities or how what they see really works.

Two of the chapters explained about creating an alien and planets and it felt like a biology lesson. They said your readers will won't to know: how it functions, evolved, brain development, how and who it mates with and their reproduction cycle, it's digestive system, where on the food chain they are, how many offspring they have. These are pointless and irrelevant questions and no reader thinks of this stuff. Their focus is on the characters, the emotion, the tension, the conflict and a satisfying experience.

For me and the type of writing I'm working on, it was pretty useless. I find some of the information interesting on a science level, but that's it. But say you are writing a story set in a not too distance future, about colonization of another planet, exploration, you probably will find some useful information here but you could get the same, if not more, by picking up a space science book.

I give it three stars for the clarity it's written in, some good science information and can become useful on specific science fiction stories.

This is not a 'how to write science fiction' book. It is an informative yet easy to read and understand reference guide. The author makes sure to point out 'common mistakes' in science fiction and gives good ideas on how to avoid them.

This is a good manual to use in avoiding the pitfalls of writing science fiction. It gave good technical information about science, tips on the natural progression of technology, human exploration and scientific research. I will use it as a good reference book on the subject. The only problem that I had was that it needs updating. I understand that even with an updated copy, the information will be outdated by the time it is published but that is the reason I gave it 4 stars.