Science Fiction Handbook

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M. Keith Booker (University of Arkansas) Anne-Marie Thomas (Austin Community College)

Science Fiction Handbook

M. Keith Booker (University of Arkansas), Anne-Marie Thomas (Austin Community College)

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English

JOHN WILEY
31 March 2009

Literature: history & criticism; Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers; Sci-Fi Reference; Essays

Series: Wiley Blackwell Literature Handbooks

The Science Fiction Handbook offers a comprehensive and accessible survey of one of the literary world's most fascinating genres.

Includes separate historical surveys of key subgenres including time-travel narratives, post-apocalyptic and post-disaster narratives and works of utopian and dystopian science fiction Each subgenre survey includes an extensive list of relevant critical readings, recommended novels in the subgenre, and recommended films relevant to the subgenre Features entries on a number of key science fiction authors and extensive discussion of major science fiction novels or sequences Writers and works include Isaac Asimov; Margaret Atwood; George Orwell; Ursula K. Le Guin; The War of the Worlds (1898); Starship Troopers (1959); Mars Trilogy (1993-6); and many more A 'Science Fiction Glossary' completes this indispensable Handbook

By: M. Keith Booker (University of Arkansas), Anne-Marie Thomas (Austin Community College)
Imprint: JOHN WILEY
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 227mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 524g
ISBN: 9781405162067
ISBN 10: 1405162066
Series: Wiley Blackwell Literature Handbooks
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 31 March 2009
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Part I: Introduction. Science Fiction in Western Culture. Part II: Brief Historical Surveys of Science Fiction Subgenres. The Time-Travel Invasion. The Alien Invasion Narrative. The Space Opera. Apocalyptic and Post-Disaster Narratives. Dystopian Science Fiction. Utopian Fiction. Feminism, Science Fiction, and Gender. Science Fiction and Satire. Cyberpunk and Posthuman Science Fiction. Multicultural Science Fiction. Part III: Representative Science Fiction Authors. Isaac Asimov (1920–1992). Margaret Atwood (1939–). Octavia Butler (1947–2006). Samuel R. Delany (1942–). Philip K. Dick (1928–1982). William Gibson (1948–). Nicola Griffith (1960–). Joe Haldeman (1943–). Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988). Nalo Hopkinson (1960–). Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–). Ian McDonald (1960–). China Miéville (1972–). George Orwell (1903–1950). Marge Piercy (1936–). Frederik Pohl (1919–). Kim Stanley Robinson (1952–). Neal Stephenson (1959–). H. G. Wells (1866–1946). Part IV: Discussions of Individual Texts. H. G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895). H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds (1898). George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). Isaac Asimov, I, Robot (1950). Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kormbluth, The Space Merchants (1952). Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers (1959). Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968). Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974). Joe Haldeman, The Forever War (1974). Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time (1976). Samuel R. Delany, Trouble on Triton (1976). William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984). Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). Octavia Butler, “Xenogenesis” trilogy (1987–1989). Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash (1992). Nicola Griffith, Ammonite (1994). Kim Stanley Robinson, “Mars” trilogy (1992–1996). Nalo Hopkinson, Midnight Robber (2000). China Miéville, Perdido Street Station (2000). Ian McDonald, River of Gods (2005). Glossary. Selected Bibliography. Index.

M. Keith Booker is the James E. and Ellen Wadley Roper Professor of English and Director of the Program in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of Arkansas. He is the author of more than 30 books on literature, popular culture, and cultural theory. Anne-Marie Thomas is Associate Professor of English at Austin Community College. She teaches literature and composition, including science fiction classes for the college's Honors Program.

Reviews for Science Fiction Handbook

"""Science fiction has been an important force in English-language literature and publishing for well over one hundred years. The task of adequately summarizing it ... would seem daunting. Doing it adequately and in a manner that is both understandable to the lay reader and even at times entertaining might seem an impossibility. And doing all that in fewer than 350 pages . . . forget it. But Booker and Thomas have succeeded. Bravo. As Mr. Spock might say, with the lift of an eyebrow, 'Fascinating.' As is this handbook. Every decent library should have it, and every good science fiction fan should refer to it. I guarantee you'll learn something and have your horizons expanded."" (Green Man Review, September 2009) ?Booker and Thomas have produced a valuable work that manages to find a niche in a suddenly crowded market for resources on science fiction.? (CHOICE, October 2009) ""The book is ... rich, [and] diverse ... .If you are interested in science fiction ... you [should] run out and get a copy. Although the focus is on literature, movies and TV shows are also included. I highly recommend it. The book not only taught me and demonstrated its a potential as a reference work, it introduced me to works of science fiction that I had not read and left me wanting to go out and read them."" (Exploring Our Matrix Blog, September 2009) ""In short, The Science Fiction Handbook is a fascinating reference work that puts science fiction subgenres into historical perspective while offering more detailed analyses of representative corresponding novels."" (SF Signal, July 2009) ?In The Science Fiction Handbook, authors M. Keith Booker and Anne-Marie Thomas finally give the genre its due, and celebrate it, as well as help to distinguish it from other forms such as fantasy or horror.? (SFscope.com, April 2009)"