A Companion to Science Fiction

Front Cover
David Seed
John Wiley & Sons, Jun 9, 2008 - Literary Criticism - 640 pages

A Companion to Science Fiction assembles essays by an international range of scholars which discuss the contexts, themes and methods used by science fiction writers.

  • This Companion conveys the scale and variety of science fiction.
  • Shows how science fiction has been used as a means of debating cultural issues.
  • Essays by an international range of scholars discuss the contexts, themes and methods used by science fiction writers.
  • Addresses general topics, such as the history and origins of the genre, its engagement with science and gender, and national variations of science fiction around the English-speaking world.
  • Maps out connections between science fiction, television, the cinema, virtual reality technology, and other aspects of the culture.
  • Includes a section focusing on major figures, such as H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Guin.
  • Offers close readings of particular novels, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
 

Contents

Introduction Approaching Science Fiction
1
PART I Surveying the Field
9
PART II Topics and Debates
77
PART III Genres and Movements
185
PART IV Science Fiction Film
259
PART V The International Scene
307
PART VI Key Writers
351
PART VII Readings
453
Index
567
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About the author (2008)

David Seed is Professor in the School of English at Liverpool University. He has published books on Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon, science fiction and the Cold War, and cultural representations of brainwashing. He edits the Science Fiction series of Liverpool University Press and serves as a consulting editor for the journal Science Fiction Studies.

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