Don’t forget:
- All your base are belong to us!
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Environment
Man vs. Self
That, IMHO, is all there is. Sure, SF will add a twist, like Man vs. Environment He Created Himself, or Man vs. Man Who Happens to be Alien, but the themes stay the same.
One more:
- Oh no! The holodeck safety protocols have failed yet again.
- The Confederacy had AK-47s. I’ve never read the book, but that has to be the wierdest premise I’ve ever heard of.
Oops. I missed Mr. Visible’s post.
Those are three of the four basic types of conflict, Man vs. Man, Man vs. Environment, Man vs. Society and Man vs. Self.
On another note, Asimov once said there were three kinds of science fiction.
“Predictive” wherein the writer gives a detailed depiction of some fantastic future technology.
“Societal” where the author describes the philosophical ramifications of some fantastic future technology.
“Adventure” which takes some fantastic future technology and uses it as a prop to write a rip snorting space-opera.
Gah! I missed one!
I guess my conflict with society is so constant that I just plain forgot about it. Add that one to the list.
[Hijack]
Damn good book, though. (Involved time travel, if you’re wondering - this is pretty much revealed on, like, page 2, though not specifically mentioned until well in.)
[Byejack]
What about “Man vs. Cotton Candy”? That’s the theme of the sci-fi book I’m writing…
I think in the spirit of the list given in the OP, the fourth theme should be:
- “Does…”
Don’t forget : I destroy de planet!
my bad. Double shifts are taking their toll…