Weather in SF, Fantasy, Weird Fiction

[Extollager]

One of the things that draws me to reread The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is Tolkien's evocations of the sky and of weather; and weather conditions will be part of the sensory experiences of nature that often prompt me to think of Tolkien's writings. Misty mornings, stars shining through bare branches in winter, "round rings [of rain] spattering in the running river" -- these and more remind me of Tolkien.

Similarly, I think the descriptions of weather in those Welsh hills do much to get me to reread Machen's "Black Seal."

There's even the description of weather on Jupiter (?) in a Poul Anderson (?) story...

One of the things I like best about Star Trek's "The Cage" is those brooding clouds:

And remember the way the sky looks in the Zallinger mural?

So I am wondering if anyone else feels like this, and, if so, if anyone has additional examples/recommendations?

 

[clovis-man]

There's even the description of weather on Jupiter (?) in a Poul Anderson (?) story...

That would be "Call Me Joe", wouldn't it?

Another story about weather that you will need to use your imagination to fill in is: "A Wind Is Rising" by Finn O'Donovan. I read it in my youth. You can hear it, and others, dramatized with some old-fashioned radio sound effects on the podcasts of some of these old (and sometimes very good) stories as heard on X Minus One:

X Minus One 115 A Wind Is Rising from X Minus One Podcast on podbay

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The best descriptions/evocations I've come across are in Brian Aldiss' amazing Helliconia Trilogy. The books seem always to have their eye on the skies...

 

[BAYLOR]

One of the things that draws me to reread The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is Tolkien's evocations of the sky and of weather; and weather conditions will be part of the sensory experiences of nature that often prompt me to think of Tolkien's writings. Misty mornings, stars shining through bare branches in winter, "round rings [of rain] spattering in the running river" -- these and more remind me of Tolkien.

Similarly, I think the descriptions of weather in those Welsh hills do much to get me to reread Machen's "Black Seal."

There's even the description of weather on Jupiter (?) in a Poul Anderson (?) story...

One of the things I like best about Star Trek's "The Cage" is those brooding clouds:

And remember the way the sky looks in the Zallinger mural?

So I am wondering if anyone else feels like this, and, if so, if anyone has additional examples/recommendations?

Didn't they Use that background again the the second Pilot Where No Man Has Gone Before?

 

[tinkerdan]

I don't know; seems like people get flack about descriptions of weather all the time.


It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Edward (2012-05-16). Paul Clifford - Complete (p. 9). . Kindle Edition.

It was a frosty and tolerably clear night. The dusk of the twilight had melted away beneath the moon which had just risen, and the hoary rime glittered from the bushes and the sward, breaking into a thousand diamonds as it caught the rays of the stars.

Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Edward (2012-05-16). Paul Clifford - Complete (p. 246). . Kindle Edition.

 

[BAYLOR]

I don't know; seems like people get flack about descriptions of weather all the time.


It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Edward (2012-05-16). Paul Clifford - Complete (p. 9). . Kindle Edition.

It was a frosty and tolerably clear night. The dusk of the twilight had melted away beneath the moon which had just risen, and the hoary rime glittered from the bushes and the sward, breaking into a thousand diamonds as it caught the rays of the stars.

Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Edward (2012-05-16). Paul Clifford - Complete (p. 246). . Kindle Edition.

Yep , Lytton was unique.

I liked his novel The Last Days of Pompeii. Before he wrote the book he visited that city and did some research on the subject of Pompeii

 

[Extollager]

I don't know; seems like people get flack about descriptions of weather all the time.


It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Edward (2012-05-16). Paul Clifford - Complete (p. 9).

I don't myself quite "get" the pile-on that's ritually done to Bulwer-Lytton. That is, it's pulp prose, but I suppose no worse than that of some authors who have vocal admirers. Perhaps the ritual makes people feel smart.

In any event, though, in advocating descriptions of the sky and of weather, I assumed that the same quality criteria apply here as for other subjects of description. My brief is for such description, not for bad description -- of weather or anything else.

 

[Extollager]

A little more on this matter of the sky and weather in imaginative fiction. When I read Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Lord Dunsany (see some passages in The Curse of the Wise Woman), Machen, Blackwood,* etc., I seem to sense that these were authors who knew, from much experience, the shapes and colors of the outdoors, the scents and the feeling of the wind, etc., were; and it seems to me that this all contributes to the enchantment of their writing. I enjoy the stories, and then also my experience of the sensory world is enhanced.

Conversely, my sense is that a great deal of the sf, fantasy, and weird fiction being written now comes from people whose ideas of the world have been formed almost entirely by mediated, processed imagery: movies, TV, Internet videos, etc. They pass very little of their time away from the insides of cars, offices, shopping malls, and their residences; a rare backpacking venture occasionally, perhaps. But the sky, weather, etc. are simply not very much a part of their sustained imaginative experience, they don't have the rich memories on which to dwell that the authors I mentioned above do have. They may imitate these writers, but they don't have the memories of the natural world, etc. to draw on that the earlier writers did. Yes, this is an impression; anyone who wishes to disagree may offer counter-evidence if possible...

*Yes, I would associate with this kind of thing also Lovecraft's proclivity for sunset scenes. J. D. Worthington sent me an essay on the topic that was, for me, one of the best things on Lovecraft that I've seen, much more interesting than, say, psychoanalyses of the author, etc.