Not-for-children reading: markers of adult sci-fi in Sergei lukyanenko’s writings

Abstract

New forms of science fiction had emerged in several post-Soviet countries in years 1990–2000. New science fiction inherits and transforms traditions and conventions of Soviet “science fiction” (nauchnaya fantastica). The emergence of market relations in the “field of literature” provoked an identity crisis, also initiating various attempts to redefine the boundaries between science fiction and previously closely related discourses, including children’s literature. This article, using several works by S. Lukyanenko as an example, examines how this rhetorical strategy has been implemented within science fiction texts. At the level of motifs and themes, references to sexuality and violence (especially in child-adult relations), tabooed in children’s literature, play a significant part in categorizing Lukyanenko’s novels as adult literature. In the system of typical of SF generic conventions this presents the depicted world as the harsh reality, thus creating a realistic effect. Markers of the second type point to historical dimensions of the fictional world, and this technique invokes conventions of “serious” (i.e. adult) speculative fiction. Also the references to iconic science fiction texts show that the novels are intended for adults and not for children. In conclusion the article raises the issue of children’s literature as being a specific construct and being the neglected Other within science fiction.