Spanish Science Fiction

[rgaz83]

I'd like to read some science fiction stories in Spanish, but I'm not even sure where to start. I know Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, etc. for English, but who would be a good Spanish scifi author to look for? Also, I know that some of the English scifi started getting a bit risque in the 70s or so, so I'd rather avoid anything like that in Spanish (if possible).

[kithkanan]

One of the things that I dislike about my language is the lack of scifi books and films. I have yet to find authors that care enough about this genre. That said, you might want to check the following authors' work: Eduardo Holmberg (Argentina), Francisco Calcagno (Cuba), Horacio Quiroga (Uruguay), José Luis Borges (Argentina), Miguel de Unamuno (Spain), Enrique Jardiel Poncela (Spain), Carlos Olvera (México), Carlos Fuentes (México), Laura Esquivel (México), Pedro Sienna (Chile), Sergio Meier (Chile) and René Rebetez (Colombia).

Be advised, however, that Latinamerican and Iberian sci-fi is not as elaborate as your standard, run-of-the-mill sci-fi literature. These authors use Sci-fi elements as a mean to set a plot that will ultimately criticize social or political ideas, as opposed to being the main setting of the story.

An alternative to sci-fi is the magic realism genre. In this genre, magical / fantastical elements "are a natural part in an otherwise mundane, realistic environment [...] On the surface the story has no clear magical attributes and everything is conveyed in a real setting, but such a character breaks the rules of our real world".

The magic realism does not necessarily relies on science to incorporate these fantastic elements. Actually, it doesn't even have to explain why they're there: a simple "Warum ist die Banane krum" is enough. As opposed to sci-fi, of course. During great part of the 20th century both genres compited due to its similarities (basically, both genres bend reality or incorporate unreal elements into their plots) and magic realism thrived in Latin America and Spain.

So, my point with the magic realism thing, is that if you're feeling adventurer and none of the aforementioned authors' work inspire you, you might want to look magic realism authors. It won't be the same as enjoying a good ol' cyberpunk or space opera, but you'd have fantasy in there, and that's always good to have, in my geeky opinion.

Best regards.

[Ramón Díez Galán]

I think I have the perfect book for you ;)

A science fiction stories for learning subjunctive.

https://www.amazon.com/Hermes-Para-practicar-subjuntivo-Spanish/dp/1798557002/