Am I Too Old To Read Science Fiction?

Starting on September 28th, our short story reading group will read The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 8, edited by Neil Clarke. We’ll discuss a story every Monday and Friday. I haven’t been participating in the group for about a year because I got burned out on reading SF short stories. But I’m hoping to participate again. I miss reading science fiction. I’ve read the first three stories to get back into the swing of things. My reaction was the same to all three. I felt these science fiction stories were written for young people. Have I gotten too old to read science fiction? I’m 74. I’m not saying the stories are childish, but they do have a childlike quality. This is partly because of a “make-believe” feel, but also because of a kind of optimism. I can’t tell if it’s optimism for the future or optimism for science fiction. Unfortunately, I’ve lost all hope for humanity and concluded that science fiction’s hopes and fears for the future are wild speculations. Such…