A shaggy God story is a story in a minor
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
that attempts to explain
Biblical
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
concepts with science fiction
trope
Trope or tropes may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept
* Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device
* Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in medi ...
s. The term was
coined by writer and critic
Brian W. Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...
in a pseudonymous column in the October 1965 issue of ''
New Worlds''.
The term is a pun on the phrase ''
shaggy dog story
In its original sense, a shaggy-dog story or yarn is an extremely long-winded anecdote characterized by extensive narration of typically irrelevant incidents and terminated by an anticlimax. In other words, it is a long story that is intended ...
'', which describes a lengthy or complicated story with an anticlimactic conclusion.
A typical shaggy God story might feature a pair of astronauts landing on a lush and virgin world and in the last line their names are revealed as
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
. The television show ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'' used several versions of this, the most notable being "
Probe 7, Over and Out". Another classic example is Isaac Asimov's 1956 short story "
The Last Question
"The Last Question" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the November 1956 issue of ''Science Fiction Quarterly'' and in the anthologies in the collections ''Nine Tomorrows'' (1959), ''The Best ...
," which ends with the protagonist
supercomputer
A supercomputer is a type of computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) instead of million instruc ...
exclaiming: "
Let there be light
"Let there be light" is an English translation of the Hebrew (''yehi 'or'') found in Genesis 1:3 of the Torah, the first part of the Hebrew Bible. In Old Testament translations of the phrase, translations include the Greek phrase (''genēt ...
!"
The creation of the term is often misattributed to
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...
. Moorcock edited the issue of ''New Worlds'' in which Aldiss coined the term in a pseudonymous column. It has been suggested that many assumed Moorcock to be the author of the column. The issue was cleared up in an August 2004
David Langford
David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and Literary criticism, critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science-fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'' and holds the all-time ...
column in ''
SFX'' magazine.
The genre as a cliché
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...
noted in ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' that a frequently written, but rarely printed, story submitted to science-fiction magazines features a male and female astronaut marooned on a habitable planet and "reveal
(in the final line) that their names are Adam and Eve". Among the "partial list of overworked ideas that should be strenuously avoided" that
H. L. Gold
Horace Leonard Gold (April 26, 1914 – February 21, 1996) was an American science fiction writer and editor. Born in Canada, Gold moved to the United States at the age of two. He was most noted for bringing an innovative and fresh approach to s ...
of ''
Galaxy Science Fiction
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...
'' in 1953 warned prospective writers of were "the characters we have been reading about are Adam and Eve or
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, the creation of a miniature universe in a laboratory by a scientist whose name turns out to be an anagram of
Jehovah
Jehovah () is a Romanization, Latinization of the Hebrew language, Hebrew , one Tiberian vocalization, vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God in Judaism, God of Israel in the Hebrew BibleOld Testament. The Tetr ...
".
"Dr. Peristyle" (
Brian W. Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...
) of ''
New Worlds'' wrote in 1965 that "The shaggy god story is the bane of magazine editors, who get approximately one story a week set in a
garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
spelt Ee-Duhn". The genre is also listed as a cliché in the
Science Fiction Writers of America
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...
's Turkey City Lexicon and David Langford's SFX magazine column on same.
Will Ferguson
William Stener Ferguson (born October 12, 1964) is a Canadian travel writer and novelist who won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel '' 419'' (2012).
Biography
Ferguson was born fourth of six children in the former fur trading post of ...
references the cliché extensively in his novel ''Generica'' (2001).
Expansions of the term
Shaggy God themes can be seen as an effort to harmonize religious accounts about the origin of human beings with science fiction tropes such as
alien races, interstellar travel,
genetic manipulation
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including th ...
, the uplift of primitive races and man's place in the galactic life cycle.
David Brin
Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American science fiction author. He has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, 's
Uplift Universe
The Uplift Universe is a fictional universe created by American science fiction writer David Brin. A central feature in this universe is the process of biological uplift.
His books which take place in this universe are:
* '' Sundiver'' (1980) ...
is a series of science fiction works that deal with the idea of advanced interstellar cultures who identify proto-sentient species and genetically manipulate them into star-faring cultures in their own right (often enslaving them for thousands of years as payment). In the novels, proponents of the view that humans were uplifted by a galactic culture (as opposed to evolving into sentience) are called "
Dänikenites".
''
2001: A Space Odyssey'' was called this by film critic
John Simon.
One interpretation of David Bowman's entrance into the EVA pod before entering space (the new Eden) to become a Star Child suggests Adam and Eve and the dawn of new man. Some people interpreted
David Bowman transforming into the Star Child as his turning into a god or godlike being. The plot also involves an alien intelligence "creating" modern man by improving upon mankind's hominid ancestors.
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaggy God Story
Science fiction themes
Religion in science fiction
Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve
External links
Adam and Eveplot entry at
TV Tropes
TV Tropes (also written as TVTropes) is a wiki founded by "Fast Eddie" in 2004 that collects and documents descriptions and examples of plot conventions and devices, which it refers to as tropes. Its contents cover many creative works and non- ...