Sci-Fi Lite

Maxx

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I think I sort of understand when I read an agent asking for "Urban Fantasy and Light Sci Fi" (or even "I want hard-hitting, hard Sci-Fi and hard -boiled Urban fantasy, but it has to happen on Earth. I don't care if I have to toss my hard cookies as long as it happens on a hard object that is definitely the Earth").

Sometimes a little light romance is also suggested.

Now comes the hard part:

Mulling this over, I wonder what might be too heavy for these lighter versions of the genre. Apparently "hard and light" would be okay in many cases. And "hard, light and on Earth and Urban" would be even better.

I like to think my own oeuvres (does that mean eggs?)
are pretty light. But are they light enough or is that lightness just a function of avoiding heaviness?

For example, I mention torpedoes in one of my novels. This sounds heavy and not very urban, though it is "Earth-neutral" as we say in our lighter moments. On the other hand no torpedoes are ever loaded, gassed, calibarated, braced, targetted, fired or even seen and no mention of their special military COMCASTCOM-$-4-ACE-BACKSLAP-DONT-SHOOT-SARGE-AGAIN military thing is ever even hinted at. So I think the bare mention of torpedoes is getting off lightly. But who knows. They just are not very urban. Those torpedoes.
 
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BradCarsten

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Torpedoes are fine, its when the average non-scientific reader has half a dozen WTF moments before he/she understands that a special military COMCASTCOM-$-4-ACE-BACKSLAP-DONT-SHOOT-SARGE-AGAIN gizmo is just a torpedo, that you may have crossed the line.
 

Maxx

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Torpedoes are fine, its when the average non-scientific reader has half a dozen WTF moments before he/she understands that a special military COMCASTCOM-$-4-ACE-BACKSLAP-DONT-SHOOT-SARGE-AGAIN gizmo is just a torpedo, that you may have crossed the line.

Right. This is why I think I understand the lightness thing.
A gizmo is a gizmo. End of gizmology. On to the light romance.
 

PaulLev

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I sort of understand, but it seems like something could be light and hard at the same time, as long as the MC had no idea what was happening or why.

Yeah, a diamond would be hard and light, in contrast to coal, which would be soft and dark, right? ;)
 

sciencewarrior

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If I understand these definitions correctly, "hard and light" is already bordering on techno-thriller. You have a Sci-Fi element that isn't too fantastic, some romance, perhaps the only difference is the amount of action.
 

Maxx

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If I understand these definitions correctly, "hard and light" is already bordering on techno-thriller. You have a Sci-Fi element that isn't too fantastic, some romance, perhaps the only difference is the amount of action.

Good point. But don't techno-thrillers have the Tom Clancy problem with hard-glinty people with difficult childhoods that explain their tragic flaw as well as the
techno-problem of not only having absurdly cranky terminology for COMSATCOM PRESNAT GET OFF THE FORAMEN MAGNUM uh, acronym-infested (that's AI little f or AIf which means Acronym-Infested not artificial intelligence, uh sarge, can I call you sarge or is NON_COM that's NC required?) but adding more of it that could not prossibly even work? That's a question gentlemen. Talk to me people. Talk people to me. People talk to me, right Major? Majors talk to me too, Right Mr. President?
 
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