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Michael Bishop And The Persistence Of Wonder
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Book Synopsis Michael Bishop and the Persistence of Wonder by : Joe Sanders
Download or read book Michael Bishop and the Persistence of Wonder written by Joe Sanders and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-02-23 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since they began appearing in the 1970s, Michael Bishop's science fiction and fantasy stories have been recognized for their polished prose and their depth of thought and feeling. His award-winning fiction includes No Enemy but Time (1982), Unicorn Mountain (1988), Brittle Innings (1994) and the outstanding short story "The Pile" (2008). After the 2017 publication of his collection Other Arms Reach Out to Me, Bishop was inducted into the Georgia Writers' Hall of Fame. Revision and republication of much of Bishop's fiction in recent years have renewed interest in Bishop's explorations of religion, belief and the pursuit of human truth. This book is the first comprehensive study of Michael Bishop's literary body, examining his work in full. Featured are close readings of all his novels and studies of short stories, poetry and essays that Bishop himself identified for special attention.
Book Synopsis No Enemy but Time by : Michael Bishop
Download or read book No Enemy but Time written by Michael Bishop and published by Fairwood Press LLC. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joshua Kampa, the illegitimate son of a mute Spanish whore and a black serviceman, has always dreamed of Africa. But his dreams are of an Africa far in the past and are so vivid and in such hallucinatory detail that he is able to question the understanding of eminent paleontologists. As a result, Joshua is invited to join a most unusual time travel project and is transported millions of years into the past of his dreams. In early Pleistocene Africa, living among the pre-human species Homo habilis, experiencing the same hardships and the same intense pleasures, Joshua finds, for the first time in his troubled life, not only contentment but real love - a love that transcends almost everything. Intelligent, thoughtful and deeply moving, No Enemy but Time brilliantly evokes the remote past and, at the same time, presents a powerful and convincing portrayal of a relationship surmounting even the most daunting barriers. It is a challenging and highly original novel exploring the nature a nd origins of humankind.
Book Synopsis Science, Technology and Magic in The Witcher by : Kristine Larsen
Download or read book Science, Technology and Magic in The Witcher written by Kristine Larsen and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-02-02 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Andrzej Sapkowski was fleshing out his character Geralt of Rivia for a writing contest, he did not set out to write a science textbook--or even a work of science fiction. However, the world that Sapkowski created in his series The Witcher resulted in a valuable reflection of real-world developments in science and technology. As the Witcher books have been published across decades, the sorcery in the series acts as an extension of the modern science it grows alongside. This book explores the fascinating entanglement of science and magic that lies at the heart of Sapkowski's novel series and its widely popular video game and television adaptations. This is the first English-language book-length treatment of magic and science in the Witcher universe. These are examined through the lenses of politics, religion, history and mythology. Sapkowski's richly detailed universe investigates the sociology of science and ponders some of the most pressing modern technological issues, such as genetic engineering, climate change, weapons of mass destruction, sexism, speciesism and environmentalism. Chapters explore the unsettling realization that the greatest monsters are frequently human, and their heinous acts often involve the unwitting hand of science.
Book Synopsis Magic Words, Magic Worlds by : Matthew Oliver
Download or read book Magic Words, Magic Worlds written by Matthew Oliver and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-06-10 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While all fiction uses words to construct models of the world for readers, nowhere is this more obvious than in fantasy fiction. Epic fantasy novels create elaborate secondary worlds entirely out of language, yet the writing style used to construct those worlds has rarely been studied in depth. This book builds the foundations for a study of style in epic fantasy. Close readings of selected novels by such writers as Steven Erikson, Ursula Le Guin, N. K. Jemisin and Brandon Sanderson offer insights into the significant implications of fantasy's use of syntax, perspective, paratexts, frame narratives and more. Re-examining critical assumptions about the reading experience of epic fantasy, this work explores the genre's reputation for flowery, archaic language and its ability to create a sense of wonder. Ultimately, it argues that epic fantasy shapes the way people think, examining how literary representation and style influence perception.
Book Synopsis Discovering Dune by : Dominic J. Nardi
Download or read book Discovering Dune written by Dominic J. Nardi and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-08-01 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Frank Herbert's Dune is one of the most well-known science fiction novels of all time, and it is often revered alongside time-honored classics like The Lord of the Rings. Unlike Tolkien's work, the Dune series has received remarkably little academic attention. This collection includes fourteen new essays from various academic disciplines--including philosophy, political science, disability studies, Islamic theology, environmental studies, and Byzantine history--that examine all six of Herbert's Dune books. As a compendium, it asserts that a multidisciplinary approach to the texts can lead to fresh discoveries. Also included in this collection are an introduction by Tim O'Reilly, who authored one of the first critical appraisals of Herbert's writings in 1981, and a comprehensive bibliography of essential primary and secondary sources.
Book Synopsis English Magic and Imperial Madness by : Peter D. Mathews
Download or read book English Magic and Imperial Madness written by Peter D. Mathews and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regency England was a pivotal time of political uncertainty, with a changing monarchy, the Napoleonic Wars, and a population explosion in London. In Susanna Clarke's fantasy novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, the era is also witness to the unexpected return of magic. Locating the consequences of this eruption of magical unreason within the context of England's imperial history, this study examines Merlin and his legacy, the roles of magicians throughout history, the mythology of disenchantment, the racism at work in the character of Stephen Black, the meaning behind the fantasy of magic's return, and the Englishness of English magic itself. Looking at the larger historical context of magic and its links to colonialism, the book offers both a fuller understanding of the ethical visions underlying Clarke's groundbreaking novel of madness intertwined with magic, while challenging readers to rethink connections among national identity, rationality, and power.
Book Synopsis The Fortean Influence on Science Fiction by : Tanner F. Boyle
Download or read book The Fortean Influence on Science Fiction written by Tanner F. Boyle and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Fort was an American researcher from the early twentieth century who cataloged reports of unexplained phenomena he found in newspapers and science journals. A minor bestseller with a cult appeal, Fort's work was posthumously republished in the pulp science fiction magazine Astounding Stories in 1934. His idiosyncratic books fascinated, scared, and entertained readers, many of them authors and editors of science fiction. Fort's work prophesied the paranormal mainstays of SF literature to come: UFOs, poltergeists, strange disappearances, cryptids, ancient mysteries, unexplained natural phenomena, and everything in between. Science fiction authors latched on to Fort's topics and hypotheses as perfect fodder for SF stories. Writers like Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, H.P. Lovecraft, and others are examined in this exploration of Fortean science fiction--a genre that borrows from the reports and ideas of Fort and others who saw the possible science-fictional nature of our reality.
Download or read book Caitlin R. Kiernan written by James Goho and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-09-14 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caitlin R. Kiernan is at the forefront of contemporary gothic, weird and science fiction literature. She has written more than a dozen novels, over 250 short stories, many chapbooks, along with a large number of graphic works. For these Kiernan has won numerous awards. This first full-length look at Kiernan's body of work explores her fictional universe through critical literary lenses to show the depth of her contributions to modern genre literature. A prolific and creative writer, Kiernan's fictions bring to life our fears about the other, the unknown, and the future through stories that range widely across time and space. A sense of dark terror pervades her novels and stories. Yet Kiernan's fictional universe is not disengaged from reality. That is because she works within the long tradition of gothic fiction speaking to the gravest ethical, social and cultural issues. In her dark fiction, Kiernan illustrates the terror of the tyranny of the normal, the oppression of marginalized people, and the pervasive violence of our time. Her dystopian sf propels today's dangerous economic, social, political and environmental tendencies into the future. Kiernan's fiction portrays troubling truths about the current human condition.
Book Synopsis Nnedi Okorafor by : Sandra J. Lindow
Download or read book Nnedi Okorafor written by Sandra J. Lindow and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-02-08 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work is the first book-length scholarly treatment of Nnedi Okorafor's critically acclaimed fiction. Written for an audience that includes serious fans as well as scholars, it is an introduction to Okorafor's work and major influences. The scope of the text is ambitious, featuring detailed analyses of her novels, short story collection, memoir, comics and graphic novel. Particular emphasis is given to Okorafor's most enduring themes, which include healthy young adult development and decision making, the interweaving of fantasy and science fiction, flight as a unifying force and the use of innovative biotechnology in ecological utopian communities. Influences examined include feminism, Afrofuturist and Africanfuturist movements and African mythology. Chapters also detail Okorafor's examinations of colonialism and corporate neocolonialism in Africa and Africa's potential to become a major world power.
Book Synopsis The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien by : Jyrki Korpua
Download or read book The Mythopoeic Code of Tolkien written by Jyrki Korpua and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-05-10 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: J. R. R. Tolkien is arguably the most influential fantasy writer of all time--his world building and epic mythology have changed Western audiences' imaginations and the entire fantasy genre. This book is the first wide-ranging Christian Platonic reading on Tolkien's fiction. This analysis, written for scholars and general Tolkien enthusiasts alike, discusses how his fiction is constructed on levels of language, myth and textuality that have a background in the Greek philosopher Plato's texts and early Christian philosophy influenced by Plato. It discusses the concepts of ideal and real, creation and existence, and fall and struggle as central elements of Tolkien's fiction, focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth. Reading Tolkien's fiction as a depiction of ideal and real, from the vision of creation to the process of realization, illuminates a part of Tolkien's aesthetics and mythology that previous studies have overlooked.
Book Synopsis In Frankenstein's Wake by : Alison Bedford
Download or read book In Frankenstein's Wake written by Alison Bedford and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-12-28 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just over 200 years ago on a stormy night, a young woman conceived of what would become one of the most iconic images of science gone wrong, the story of Victor Frankenstein and his Creature. For a long period, Mary Shelley languished in the shadow of her luminary husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, but was rescued from obscurity by the feminist scholars of the 1970s and 1980s. This book offers a new perspective on Shelley and on science fiction, arguing that she both established a new discursive space for moral thinking and laid the groundwork for the genre of science fiction. Adopting a contextual biographical approach and undertaking a close reading of the 1818 and 1831 editions of the text give readers insight into how this story synthesizes many of the concerns about new science prevalent in Shelley's time. Using Michel Foucault's concept of discourse, the present work argues that Shelley should be not only credited with the foundation of a genre but recognized as a figure who created a new cultural space for readers to explore their fears and negotiate the moral landscape of new science.
Book Synopsis The Truths of Monsters by : Ildikó Limpár
Download or read book The Truths of Monsters written by Ildikó Limpár and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-03-18 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As monster theory highlights, monsters are cultural symbols, guarding the borders that society creates to protect its values and norms. Adolescence is the time when one explores and aims at crossing borders to learn the rules of the culture that one will fit into as an adult. Exploring the roles of monsters in coming-of-age narratives and the need to confront and understand the monstrous, this work explores recent developments in the presentation of monsters--such as the vampire, the zombie, and the man-made monster--in maturation narratives, then moves on to discuss monsters inhabiting the psychic landscapes of child characters. Finally, it touches on monsters in science fiction, in which facing the monstrous is a variation of the New World narrative. Discussions of novels by M. R. Carey, Suzanne Collins, Neil Gaiman, Theodora Goss, Daryl Gregory, Sarah Maria Griffin, Seanan McGuire, Stephenie Meyer, Patrick Ness, and Jon Skovron are complemented by analysis of television series, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Westworld.
Book Synopsis Schools of Magic by : Megan H. Suttie
Download or read book Schools of Magic written by Megan H. Suttie and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-01-26 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when the classroom and the fantastic meet? When lessons cover spells and potions alongside science and language arts? Through fantastic school stories--fiction involving the intersection of fantasy and school--the cycle of lessons, homework, exams, and graduation becomes new again, inviting us to consider what schools are teaching, who can be a student, and how knowledge is developed. Introducing a new framework for analyzing texts in the fantastic school story subgenre, this book examines texts including the Harry Potter series, Lev Grossman's Magicians trilogy, Terry Pratchett's Discworld, and Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle, along with works by Jane Yolen, Nnedi Okorafor, and Tracy Deonn. This holistic framework combines the methods of fantasy literature scholarship, the focus of school story analyses, and an awareness of hidden lessons taught alongside official subjects, allowing for nuanced examinations of topics such as standardized testing, apprenticeships, and access to education.
Book Synopsis Speculative Modernism by : William Gillard
Download or read book Speculative Modernism written by William Gillard and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-10-21 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Speculative modernists--that is, British and American writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror during the late 19th and early 20th centuries--successfully grappled with the same forces that would drive their better-known literary counterparts to existential despair. Building on the ideas of the 19th-century Gothic and utopian movements, these speculative writers anticipated literary Modernism and blazed alternative literary trails in science, religion, ecology and sociology. Such authors as H.G. Wells and H.P. Lovecraft gained widespread recognition--budding from them, other speculative authors published fascinating tales of individuals trapped in dystopias, of anti-society attitudes, post-apocalyptic worlds and the rapidly expanding knowledge of the limitless universe. This book documents the Gothic and utopian roots of speculative fiction and explores how these authors played a crucial role in shaping the culture of the new century with their darker, more evolved themes.
Book Synopsis Arab and Muslim Science Fiction by : Hosam A. Ibrahim Elzembely
Download or read book Arab and Muslim Science Fiction written by Hosam A. Ibrahim Elzembely and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-03-21 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How is science fiction from the Arab and Muslim world different than mainstream science fiction from the West? What distinctive and original contributions can it make? Why is it so often neglected in critical considerations of the genre? While other books have explored these questions, all have been from foreign academic voices. Instead, this book examines the nature, genesis, and history of Arabic and Muslim science fiction, as well as the challenges faced by its authors, in the authors' own words. These authors share their stories and struggles with censors, recalcitrant publishers, critics, the book market, and the literary establishment. Their uphill efforts, with critical contributions from academics, translators, and literary activists, will enlighten the sci-fi enthusiast and fill a gap in the history of science fiction. Topics covered range from culture shock to conflicts between tradition and modernity, proactive roles for female heroines, blind imitation of storytelling techniques, and language games.
Book Synopsis Analyzing Adventure Time by : Paul A. Thomas
Download or read book Analyzing Adventure Time written by Paul A. Thomas and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2023-07-20 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2010, Cartoon Network debuted a new animated series called Adventure Time, and within just a few short years the show became both a pop culture phenomenon and a critical darling. But despite all the admiration, not many works of scholarship have assessed the show through a critical lens. This anthology is an attempt to fill this scholarly oversight and spark a wider conversation about the show's deeper themes. Across 15 scholarly essays, this book's contributors study Adventure Time from a variety of angles, proving just how insightful the series really is. From a consideration of BMO's queer identity to a psychoanalytic reading of Lemongrab and an examination of how anime has impacted the show, the topics explored in this anthology are diverse and unique and are likely to appeal to scholars and fans alike.
Book Synopsis The Self and Community in Star Trek: Voyager by : Susan M. Bernardo
Download or read book The Self and Community in Star Trek: Voyager written by Susan M. Bernardo and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-05-06 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After they are pulled 70,000 light-years away from Alpha Quadrant, the captain and crew of Star Trek: Voyager must travel homeward while exploring new challenges to their relationships, views of others, and themselves. As the first extended, critical study dedicated to Star Trek: Voyager, this book examines how the series uses the physical distance from the crew's home quadrant and the effect this has on the dynamics among community formation, self-creation and a sense of place. Chapters cover topics such as time travel, leadership models, interspecies relationships, the impact of trauma, models of self-creation and individuality, environmental influences on groups and individuals, memory, nostalgia, and how spiritual experiences affect people. The holographic Doctor and the former Borg, Seven of Nine, stand out as complex and boundary-stretching figures.
