Being the geek that I am, I deeply hate to admit that I do not like to read science fiction. It feels akin to saying an a Luddite or something. The strange thing is I’ve never been quite able to explain why I don’t like it, but Kate sums it up in her post on dystopian futures and science fiction.

The vast majority of SF I have read or attempted to read is terribly depressing. There are plenty of exceptions, and when I have read those books I generally have enjoyed them (Ender’s Game, Cowboy Feng’s Space Bar and Grille, the Callahan series) but the vast majority of what I come across looks like it’s going to make me even more depressed than I already am.

And I just don’t need that.

That’s not to say only SF is guilty of that. I felt off kilter for several DAYS after I finished reading Joyce Carole Oates “Blonde” because it was so terribly depressing. But I don’t read a lot of “literature” either. Possibly for the same reason.

So I suppose my question about SF now would be, what SF is out there that isn’t terribly depressing?

I loved “Ender’s Game” but felt the series went steadily downhill, and quit reading after “Xenocide.” I enjoyed Spider Robinson’s Callahan series, but that’s all but straight up comedy. (Same thing for Steven Brust’s “Cowboy Feng’s Space Bar and Grill.”) I read a book called “Becoming Human” that I very much enjoyed, as it dealt with the issues of human rights and who is and is not deserving of them. And of course I loved reading the Han Solo books by Brian Daley when I was younger–those were pretty much straight up action/adventure.

But some of the stuff my dad loved? Take “A Canticle for Lebovitz.” I couldn’t stand it. When they did the radio play when I was a teenager, I would leave the room so I wouldn’t have to hear it because I found it so depressing.

So is there SF out there that isn’t horribly depressing? And if so, how do I find it?