Le blog Unlikelyworlds publie un article de Paul McAuley dans lequel le botaniste britannique, auteur entre autres du cycle Quatre Cents Milliards d'Etoiles, répond à cette question de savoir comment fait-on pour écrire un roman de science-fiction. Il y évoque ainsi quelque secrets du genre, comme le héros typé à la James Bond (version Roger Moore, of course), possédant un passé secret et torturé ; une éthique inflexible, un sens du sacrifice exemplaire. Voilà pour le héros. L'action doit être basée sur l'utilisation de l'intelligence humaine contre les machines... Voici un extrait de l'article, non traduit :

Citation:

Your hero must be likeable and sympathetic at all times. Like James Bond in the Roger Moore era, he’s quick with a quip, and is unruffled by any situation. No amount of exposure to suffering or slaughter should alter your hero in any significant way, although he is allowed to shed the odd manly tear or to express cold steely determination to do something about the death of a loved one. This makes him even more sympathetic. But all trauma is temporary; showing genuine emotion is difficult, and can hold up the plot. A secret past is always good -- you don’t have to deal with the parents. No bad deed goes unpunished; no good deed goes unrewarded; anyone who disagrees with your hero must suffer for it. Everyone’s behaviour has a rational explanation -- Freud is useful in this respect. No one refuses to get with the plot. Everyone acts their part, and is in character all the time. All problems are solvable. Traditionally, SF heroes solved problems by application of intelligence and scientific knowledge

Pour lire la suite, et obtenir plus de détails, c'est ici

Priscilla Duran-Mulas