Description
Book SynopsisA compelling, fully illustrated account of the worldwide phenomenon of science fiction as depicted in film, literature and art, and the scientific advances and imagination behind it. Drawing on a wide range of examples from the literary and visual canons â short stories, novels, films, television programmes, video games, graphic novels, artworks and more â in both cult and popular culture, this extensively illustrated book examines how science fiction has provided a human response to science, exploring every reaction from complacency to exhilaration, and from hope to terror. Across five chapters this volume reviews the role played by science fiction in exploring our world and a multitude of ideas about our relationship with the human condition. This encompasses a fascinating range of themes â machines, travel, aliens (the Other), communication, threats and anxiety. Featuring a range of essays by experts on the subject as well as interviews with well-known science-fiction au
Trade Review'An excellent guide to the importance of science fiction for complete beginners, and has plenty to interest the genre buff, or just the reader who has enjoyed science fiction on film but wants to explore the most resonant ideas and stories a bit more thoroughly' - The Arts Desk
'A fascinating companion to the exhibition … very readable [and] colourfully illustrated' - Fortean Times
'Stunningly illustrated' - Nature
'Far from just a glossy tie-in to the exhibition, this book is a hugely ambitious attempt to show SF for what it is in 2022: the culturally dominant global literary and media form for an age of unprecedented social and scientific change' - Prospective Cultures
'Excellent … definitely one for the school library regardless of any visit' - Schools Week
'This sumptuous work features interviews with prominent thinkers, wonderful artwork and a gallop through sci-fi’s key works of literature, films and inventions. A timely reminder of how the genre has the power to provoke and prompt thought' - Teach Secondary
Table of ContentsForeword
Introduction by Glyn Morgan
People and Machines People as Machines / Machine People, Sherryl Vint
In the Loop: Reordering Human–Technology Relations, Colin Milburn
Interview, Ken Liu
Travelling the Cosmos Prototyping the Future: Spaceflight as screen spectacle, Richard Dunn
Beyond the Solar System, Rachael Livermore
Interview, Charlie Jane Anders
Communication and Language Communications, Roger Luckhurst
A Century of Science Fiction from Around the World, Rachel Cordasco
Interview, Vandana Singh
Aliens and Alienation Alien Speculation: Science, Fiction and the Future, Amanda Rees
Infinite Variation, Glyn Morgan
Interview, Tade Thompson
Anxieties and Hopes Science Fiction in the Atomic Age, Daniel Cordle
Climate in Science Fiction, Caroline Edwards
Interview, Kim Stanley Robinson
