Hello Everyone.

It’s time for our first subject of the week post. Since my first book recommendation was Science Fiction I thought I’d keep with that theme. So here it is.

What’s your favorite Sci-Fi universe and why?

I’ll go first. My favorite, despite what Disney has done to it, is still Star Wars. Not so much the new stuff, especially the movies, but the old expanded universe novels and comics.

Personally I think it’s a great playground, if only they’d give creators more of a free hand. There’s so much lore and rich history that could be developed into wonderful stories.

For me, where the current stuff runs into trouble is when they feel the need to insert modern politics into what is basically a fantasy setting. Maybe if it was more subtle, but they seem to feel the need to bash us over the head with it. Whoever’s in charge seems to have forgotten that this is first and foremost escapism.

But despite all that, think what annoys me the most is the way they treat their fans. Saying their stuff is great and the fans are idiots or worse for not loving it. I could maybe overlook the missed opportunities and horrible storytelling, but dumping on the fans is one thing that I find unforgivable. And it is surprisingly common across modern entertainment platforms. I have no idea why that is. It strikes me as the stupidest move they could make.

These are the people that watch your movies three times on opening day, make youtube videos, write blogs and fan fiction, and evangelize for your stories. They should be treated like the valuable assets they are, not like the enemy.

All that said, the universe itself still enthralls me. it’s such a primal, good vs evil, light vs dark struggle. I love the Jedi and the Sith. I love smugglers and bounty hunters.

In the end, what I really love are the fictional people living in this imaginary world.

It’s the people in the real world controlling them that I’m not so fond of.

So over to you. Do you have a favorite Sci-Fi universe? There are a bunch of other ones I like and we’ll talk about them later. For now I want to hear what you like best.

Until Next Time.