A Fantastic Voyage into Inner Space: Description in Science-Fiction Novelizations

Abstract

This article analyzes science-fiction novelizations from a specific narratological angle, namely the literary description. It has been argued that novelizations contain a small amount of description, which is remarkable considering the emphasis on visuality characteristic of sf cinema. The essay highlights a few striking features of descriptions in novelizations, with examples taken from the novelizations of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Terminator (1984), The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998), and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008). Isaac Asimov’s Fantastic Voyage (1966) is presented as the main case study, for description plays a central role in this novel, not only formally but also thematically. Passages from Asimov’s novelization are positioned against relevant scenes from the film, with a focus not only on the difference between the two media but also the discrepancy between media within the sf genre. Finally, the article attempts to open up the discussion, arguing for contextual and medium-specific factors in the disproportion between the abundant visuality of film and the descriptive content of novelizations, and calling for more attention to the vital cognitive side to