The Stuff of Science Fiction: Hardware, Settings, Characters

· McFarland
Ebook
297
Pages
Tools
Eligible

About this ebook

While students and general readers typically cannot relate to esoteric definitions of science fiction, they readily understand the genre as a literature that characteristically deals with subjects such as new inventions, space, robot and aliens. This book looks at science fiction in precisely this manner, with twenty-one chapters that each deal with a subject that is repeatedly addressed in science fiction of recent centuries. Based on a packet of original essays that the author assembled for his classes, the book could serve as a supplemental textbook in science fiction classes, but also contains material of interest to science fiction scholars and others devoted to the genre.

In some cases, chapters offer thorough surveys of numerous works involving certain subjects, such as imagined vehicles, journeys beneath the Earth and undersea adventures, discovering intriguing patterns in the ways that various writers developed their ideas. When comprehensive coverage of ubiquitous topics such as robots, aliens and the planet Mars is impossible, chapters focus on major themes referencing selected texts. A conclusion discusses other science fiction subjects that were omitted for various reasons, and a bibliography lists additional resources for the study of science fiction in general and the topics of each chapter.

While students and general readers typically cannot relate to esoteric definitions of science fiction, they readily understand the genre as a literature that characteristically deals with subjects such as new inventions, space, robot and aliens. This book looks at science fiction in precisely thi...

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About the author

Gary Westfahl, a professor emeritus at the University of La Verne, California, has authored, edited, or co-edited 35 books about science fiction and fantasy, and has written hundreds of articles and reviews. In 2003, he received the Science Fiction Research Association’s Pilgrim Award for his lifetime contributions to science fiction and fantasy scholarship.
Gary Westfahl, a professor emeritus at the University of La Verne, California, has authored, edited, or co-edited 35 books about science fiction and fantasy, and has written hundreds of articles and reviews. In 2003, he received the Science Fiction Research Association’s Pilgrim Award for his lif...

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