On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 13:13:13 -0400, Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Tue, Aug 24, 2004 at 12:44:51PM -0400, Bryon Daly wrote: > > On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 12:03:39 -0400, Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Tue, Aug 24, 2004 at 08:45:57PM +0900, G. D. Akin wrote: > > > > > > > My question is this: what makes a book/story SF? > > > > > > Simple. It should be fiction, and it should involve science or something > > > related to science in some major or minor way! > > > > So by this classification, would you consider Atwood's "The Handmaid's > > Tale" not to be SF? > > Haven't read it. Heard a couple things, not sure if they are true. Most > women infertile? Why? Was there a (at least somewhat) scientific > explanation given?
Nuclear war. IIRC, there's not much detail/specifics on the war itself or the exact cause of widespread infertility beyond that. It's been 16+ years since I read it, so here's a synopsis stolen from Amazon: "Margaret Atwood's story is set in the future after the United States has undergone a nuclear war and the government has been destroyed. In place now is a strict and dangerous political scene, where any type of crime can result in an execution and a public hanging on The Wall. Not only that, but women are made secondhand citizens and are no longer able to hold jobs, make money, read or write. The Handmaid's Tale is told through the eyes of Offred in the former state of Massachusets, now called the Republic of Gilead. Offred is a Handmaid, or a surrogate mother of sorts, who is appointed to an infertile couple in order to get pregnant and help boost the population. However, it isn't as easy as that since the only legal way to get pregnant is the old-fashioned way, which causes jealousy and tension throughout the household. And with the rigorous government, Offred isn't allowed to complain or refuse unless she wants to be shipped off to clean up toxic nuclear waste for the rest of her life." _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
