The Absurdity Engine and Clarkean Magic Realist Infopunk
What would Clarke say? Let's ask him.
I admit that I am proud The Absurdity Engine. It is during the writing of the first one hundred pages of this book that I finally named the genre that I have developed: comedic, informationist, Clarkean magic realist infopunk, A.K.A comedic, techno-magic-realist infopunk. I have explained the relationship between infopunk and cyberpunk elsewhere, and won’t repeat it here. I have also shared my list of influences, including Adams, Gaiman, Rushdie, and Stephenson.
I have wanted to connect the possible world of the fiction with the historical world of Earth more properly for some time, since such moves are some of the best magical-realist fun that one can have and are conducive to strengthening the ‘realist’ element of magic realism.
I think that speculative future settings involving transhumanism and other outcomes that could feasibly follow arcs of contemporary technology development still qualify as realist fiction if - for example - the psychological principles one engages with are scientifically astute and real. Of course someone will want to argue about this. Here’s an adjunct thing among ‘all the things’: One thing that prevented me from doing this kind of magic-realism connect previously was that it requires a little more historical research. Dates have to be right. One has to put people in the correct place at the correct time in history and the people have to know things that they should know but not know things that they shouldn’t know, and also be in a position to feasibly guess some future things - and understand other future things - based upon information and experience they did, or should, have had.
Adams, who always struggled to some extent (wrongly in my view) to get literary cred, was terribly good at this kind of thing, having cut his teeth at the BBC on the kind of low-culture-cum-scientific-culture comedic sci fi that the British public so wisely loves. (Adams also wrote some of the best episodes/series of Doctor Who, as I understand it. This included the memorable and critically acclaimed City of Death.) Gaiman is a master, of course. Atwood is terrifyingly good at it and has maximum literary aplomb into the bargain.
Anyhoo - I really ratcheted up the techno-magic realism, and I decided to combine meta-fiction and other such stuff in the process. How so? Have a look at this little spoiler…
Who is Arthur? What would Clarke say about all of this? Let’s ask him, perhaps? You’ll have to read The Absurdity Engine to be sure what’s speculatively going on here. Just let no-one say that it’s not Clarkean magic realism!
