I’ve always loved reading science fiction (sci-fi) and started with the likes of Clarke and Asimov when I was at school. The appeal of some of Clarkes books rested in their quaint view of the future, the tale of a journey to the moon in ‘Prelude to Space’ read long after Armstrong stood on its surface. Still you have to give him credit for writing it more than 20 years before Apollo! Others, such as the 2001 and foundation series, introduced new concepts that remain unrealized today and for some time to come. I think it’s the concepts raised in this type of fiction that I find so fascinating to this day.

My tastes have changed a little, I now read authors such as Banks, Hamilton and Reynolds. The technology they write about has moved on to more closely match the concerns of todays society. The tone also appears to have become darker and I have to admit that it appeals to me. The good and bad guys are often less obvious and this too might reflect modern views, or may be I’m just older and more cynical myself… probably shouldn’t dwell on that too long.

A year or so back, I watched the first episode of a anime sci-fi series on satellite and was intrigued how this shared the dark troubled view of the future. The animation was great and the story line compelling, so I had to watch the rest. Now could I remember the name of this terrific series? Err… no, but its got me interested in the whole sci-fi anime genre. I’ve read good reviews of an anime film called ‘Ghost in the Shell’ adapted from manga created by Masamune Shirow. It appears to follow similar themes to the series watched and is reputed to be satisfyingly dark in its outlook. I think I may have to buy it and see.

Am I being attracted to the dark side through my interest in sci-fi that has become much less like a high tech western? I prefer to think that I have matured to a point where I can admit the fact that which advances are good and which bad is never clear cut and the excitement is in trying to solve the puzzle.