The Science Fiction Handbook (Wiley Blackwell Literature Handbooks)

Introduction : Science Fiction In Western Culture -- Brief Historical Surveys Of Science Fiction Subgenres. The Time-travel Narrative ; The Alien Invasion Narrative ; The Space Opera ; Apocalyptic And Post-apocalyptic Fiction ; Dystopian Science Fiction ; Utopian Fiction ; Feminism, Science Fiction, And Gender ; Science Fiction And Satire ; Cyberpunk And Posthuman Science Fiction ; Multicultural Science Fiction -- 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) -- Discussions Of Individual Texts. The Time Machine / H.g. Wells (1895) ; The War Of The Worlds / H.g. Wells (1898) ; Nineteen Eighty-four / George Orwell (1949) ; I, Robot / Isaac Asimov (1950) ; The Space Merchants / Frederik Pohl And C.m. Kormbluth (1952) ; Starship Troopers / Robert A. Heinlein (1959) ; Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? / Philip K. Dick (1968) ; The Dispossessed / Ursula K. Leguin (1974) ; The Forever War / Joe Haldeman (1974) ; Woman On The Edge Of Time / Marge Piercy (1976) ; Trouble On Triton / Samuel R. Delany (1976) ; Neuromancer / William Gibson (1984) ; The Handmaid's Tale / Margaret Atwood (1985) ; Xenogenesis Trilogy / Octavia Butler (1987-1989) ; Snow Crash / Neal Stephenson (1992) ; Ammonite / Nicola Griffith (1994) ; Mars Trilogy / Kim Stanley Robinson (1993-1996) ; Midnight Robber / Nalo Hopkinson (2000) ; Perdido Street Station / China Miéville (2000) ; River Of Gods / Ian Mcdonald (2005). M. Keith Booker And Anne-marie Thomas. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [333]-340) And Index. The Science Fiction Handbook 5 Contents 9 Part 1 Introduction 11 Science Fiction in Western Culture 13 Part 2 Brief Historical Surveys of Science Fiction Subgenres 23 The Time-Travel Narrative 25 The Alien Invasion Narrative 38 The Space Opera 50 Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction 63 Dystopian Science Fiction 75 Utopian Fiction 85 Feminism, Science Fiction, and Gender 96 Science Fiction and Satire 108 Cyberpunk and Posthuman Science Fiction 120 Multicultural Science Fiction 134 Part 3 Representative Science Fiction Authors 147 Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) 149 Margaret Atwood (1939–) 151 Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) 153 Samuel R. Delany (1942–) 155 Philip K. Dick (1928–1982) 157 William Gibson (1948–) 159 Nicola Griffith (1960–) 161 Joe Haldeman (1943–) 163 Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) 165 Nalo Hopkinson (1960–) 167 Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–) 169 Ian McDonald (1960–) 171 China Miéville (1972–) 173 George Orwell (1903–1950) 175 Marge Piercy (1936–) 177 Frederik Pohl (1919–) 179 Kim Stanley Robinson (1952–) 181 Neal Stephenson (1959–) 183 H. G. Wells (1866–1946) 185 Part 4 Discussions of Individual Texts 187 H. G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895) 189 H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds (1898) 195 George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) 203 Isaac Asimov, I, Robot (1950) 210 Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kormbluth, The Space Merchants (1952) 217 Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers (1959) 224 Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) 232 Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974) 239 Joe Haldeman, The Forever War (1974) 246 Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) 253 Samuel R. Delany, Trouble on Triton (1976) 260 William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984) 267 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) 274 Octavia Butler, ‘‘Xenogenesis’’ Trilogy (1987–1989) 281 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash (1992) 288 Nicola Griffith, Ammonite (1994) 295 Kim Stanley Robinson, ‘‘Mars’’ Trilogy (1993–1996) 302 Nalo Hopkinson, Midnight Robber (2000) 309 China Miéville, Perdido Street Station (2000) 316 Ian McDonald, River of Gods (2005) 324 Glossary 331 Selected Bibliography 343 Index 351 This handbook offers a survey of the science fiction genre, looking at the history of this increasingly popular branch of fiction. It features on key science fiction authors including George Orwell and Margaret Atwood, together with extensive discussion of major science fiction novels and sequences The Science Fiction Handbook offers a comprehensive and accessible survey of one of the literary world's most fascinating genres.