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<p>Notes on Contributors ix</p> <p>Introduction: Approaching Science Fiction 1</p> <p><b>Part I Surveying the Field 9</b></p> <p>1 Hard Reading: The Challenges of Science Fiction 11<br /> ]<i>Tom Shippey</i></p> <p>2 The Origins of Science Fiction 27<br /> <i>George Slusser</i></p> <p>3 Science Fiction/Criticism 43<br /> <i>Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr.</i></p> <p>4 Science Fiction Magazines: The Crucibles of Change 60<br /> <i>Mike Ashley</i></p> <p><b>Part II Topics and Debates 77</b></p> <p>5 Utopia 79<br /> <i>Phillip E. Wegner</i></p> <p>6 Science Fiction and Religion 95<br /> <i>Stephen R.L. Clark</i></p> <p>7 “Monsters of the Imagination”: Gothic, Science, Fiction 111<br /> <i>Fred Botting</i></p> <p>8 Science Fiction and Ecology 127<br /> <i>Brian Stableford</i></p> <p>9 Feminist Fabulation 142<br /> <i>Marleen S. Barr</i></p> <p>10 Time and Identity in Feminist Science Fiction 156<br /> <i>Jenny Wolmark</i></p> <p>11 Science Fiction and the Cold War 171<br /> <i>M. Keith Booker</i></p> <p><b>Part III Genres and Movements 185</b></p> <p>12 Hard Science Fiction 187<br /> <i>Gary Westfahl</i></p> <p>13 The New Wave 202<br /> <i>Rob Latham</i></p> <p>14 Cyberpunk 217<br /> <i>Mark Bould</i></p> <p>15 Science Fiction and Postmodernism 232<br /> <i>Veronica Hollinger</i></p> <p>16 The Renewal of “Hard” Science Fiction 248<br /> <i>Donald M. Hassler</i></p> <p><b>Part IV Science Fiction Film 259</b></p> <p>17 American Science Fiction Film: An Overview 261<br /> <i>Vivian Sobchack</i></p> <p>18 Figurations of the Cyborg in Contemporary Science Fiction Novels and Films 275<br /> <i>Christine Cornea</i></p> <p>19 British Television Science Fiction 289<br /> <i>Peter Wright</i></p> <p><b>Part V The International Scene 307</b></p> <p>20 Canadian Science Fiction 309<br /> <i>Douglas Barbour</i></p> <p>21 Japanese and Asian Science Fiction 323<br /> <i>Takayuki Tatsumi</i></p> <p>22 Australian Science Fiction 337<br /> <i>Van Ikin and Sean McMullen</i></p> <p><b>Part VI Key Writers 351</b></p> <p>23 The Grandeur of H.G. Wells 353<br /> <i>Robert Crossley</i></p> <p>24 Isaac Asimov 364<br /> <i>John Clute</i></p> <p>25 John Wyndham: The Facts of Life Sextet 375<br /> <i>David Ketterer</i></p> <p>26 Philip K. Dick 389<br /> <i>Christopher Palmer</i></p> <p>27 Samuel Delaney: A Biographical and Critical Overview 398<br /> <i>Carl Freedman</i></p> <p>28 Ursula K. Le Guin 408<br /> <i>Warren G. Rochelle</i></p> <p>29 Gwyneth Jones and the Anxieties of Science Fiction 420<br /> <i>Andy Sawyer</i></p> <p>30 Arthur C. Clarke 431<br /> <i>Edward James</i></p> <p>31 Greg Egan 441<br /> <i>Russell Blackford</i></p> <p><b>Part VII Readings 453</b></p> <p>32 Mary Shelley: <i>Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus </i>455<br /> <i>Susan E. Lederer and Richard M. Ratzan</i></p> <p>33 Charlotte Perkins Gilman: <i>Herland </i>466<br /> <i>Jill Rudd</i></p> <p>34 Aldous Huxley: <i>Brave New World </i>477<br /> <i>David Seed</i></p> <p>35 Ray Bradbury: <i>Fahrenheit 451 </i>489<br /> <i>Brian Baker</i></p> <p>36 Joanna Russ: <i>The Female Man </i>500<br /> <i>Jeanne Cortiel</i></p> <p>37 J.G. Ballard: <i>Crash </i>512<br /> <i>Roger Luckhurst</i></p> <p>38 Margaret Atwood: <i>The Handmaid’s Tale </i>522<br /> <i>Faye Hammill</i></p> <p>39 William Gibson: <i>Neuromancer </i>534<br /> <i>Andrew M. Butler</i></p> <p>40 Kim Stanley Robinson: Mars Trilogy 544<br /> <i>Carol Franko</i></p> <p>41 Iain M. Banks: <i>Excession </i>556<br /> <i>Farah Mendlesohn</i></p> <p>Index 567</p>

“The volume as a whole successfully acquaints diligent readers with an array of substantive avenues of critical inquiry into science fiction … Highly recommended." <i>Choice</i><br /> <br /> <p>“[This] <i>Companion</i> provides unusual depth and detail … The main strengths here are the distinguished roster of contributors, who have plenty of thought-provoking ideas … Anyone seeking an immersion course in the history and criticism of [science fiction] today will find that their time is well repaid.”<br /> <i>Science Fiction Studies</i></p>

<b>David Seed</b> 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 <i>Science Fiction Studies.</i>

<i>A Companion to Science Fiction</i> assembles essays by an international range of scholars that discuss the contexts, themes and methods used by science fiction writers. It conveys the scale and variety of science fiction and also shows how science fiction novels have been used as a means of debating cultural issues.<br /> <p>The first section of the volume 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. It also maps out connections between science fiction, television, the cinema, virtual-reality technology, and other aspects of the culture. The next section is devoted to major figures, such as H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Guin. Finally, the <i>Companion</i> offers close discussions of key novels, from Mary Shelley’s <i>Frankenstein</i> to Margaret Atwood’s <i>The Handmaid’s Tale</i>.</p> <p> </p>

“The volume as a whole successfully acquaints diligent readers with an array of substantive avenues of critical inquiry into science fiction … Highly recommended." <i>Choice</i><br /> <br /> <p>“[This] <i>Companion</i> provides unusual depth and detail … The main strengths here are the distinguished roster of contributors, who have plenty of thought-provoking ideas … Anyone seeking an immersion course in the history and criticism of [science fiction] today will find that their time is well repaid.”<br /> <i>Science Fiction Studies</i></p>

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