Editorial
An Inconvenient Truth

It's an unfortunate truth that those of us first who got involved in science fiction because we loved it so much that we could barely live without it—spending our teens watching hours of television each day, going to several movies each week and reading multiple books each day—found when we eventually became science-fiction professionals that we no longer had the time to bathe as constantly as we once did in the things we loved.

I've understood that sad fact for years. I spend so much time surveying the field to make sure I understand it and that nothing escapes my notice that (to invert a cliche) I often miss the trees for the forest. In order for me to be aware of everything in all the various sci-fi subcategories you see arrayed in the navigation column at left and report on what's meaningful for you, I'm forced to experience less and less of it at first hand. Which means that, with my free time limited, I've had to become far more selective about what I watch and read and play.

I've ended up having to rely on my reviewers and the group mind of the blogosphere, and as a result, I ingest proportionally less of the bad and more of the good. I'm witness to the great and the good, and miss much of the cheese. Which may not always be a bad thing, because it's saved me from quite a few turkeys, but it sometimes make me nostalgic for the time when I had the luxury to just let all of sci-fi wash over me in its unadulterated state. Not every film has to spring from the mind of Darren Aronofsky; sometimes the moment can be right for Uwe Boll.

Which means that as I look back on 2006, I can see that the highlights have been culled from a smaller pool than they might have been decades ago. Last year left no time for guilty pleasures ... just pleasures. Here are my personal favorites from 2006.

Celebrating the Spin cycle

My favorite novel of last year was Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson. (Though it was first published in 2005, I didn't have time to discover it until last year in its paperback edition.) A membrane suddenly appears in the sky, encircling the Earth in a prison that steals the stars. What happens next as our characters are affected by that change brings with it an exhilarating sense of wonder and grand characterization. I tend to prefer short stories to novels, which to me often seem to go on far too long after their points have already been made, but Spin managed to restore my faith in the science-fiction novel. A sequel, Axis, is scheduled for publication later this year, and is at the top of my must-read list.

My favorite movie was V for Vendetta. I know that as a fan of Alan Moore's original comic book, I should hate it as a show of solidarity, since he disavowed it to such an extent that he refused to have his name associated with the film adaptation. But it was the most exciting sci-fi film of the year, both moving me and making me think—as opposed to a film such as Fantastic Four, which only succeeded in embarrassing me. Vendetta may not have been a perfect film, but it at least tried to explore moral and philosophical points. And in a time when our freedoms are under attack in many different ways all over the world, it stood up for personal liberties and the rights of humanity.

My favorite short fiction was "Pop Squad" by Paolo Bacigalupi, a story originally published in the October/November issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Bacigalupi won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for 2005's "The Calorie Man," and I imagine that with this piece he'll be an award contender again. Without giving away too much of the plot, it's set in a future in which immortality can be ours—but there's a special punishment for those who'd continue to make it too crowded. Bacigalupi attacks a controversial theme with power and precision.

As for television, my favorite series started out last year as Lost but as the year came to a close, it ended up being Heroes instead. The first six episodes of Lost, devoted to the Others, riled me up, making me feel the way some did at the cliffhanger ending of season one. Heroes came along with its own set of unanswered questions, ones that captivated me more and seemed to deliver greater rewards. But as Lost returns with new episodes, I'll look forward to seeing which one most wins over my heart and mind.

If your 2006 ended up with a different set of bright spots from mine, let me know. Meanwhile, as 2007 begins, one of my resolutions is to try to approach science fiction as I used to—by reading more books, going to more movies, and watching more television.

And hopefully leaving time for a guilty pleasure or two.