Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThere are at least two obvious responses to the statement that Speculations on Speculation a group of essay son science fiction criticism, is one of the two or three most exciting books, fiction or nonfiction, that I have read recently: first, I'velost my mind, which, given that I have at one point or another lost track of nearly everything else, is a distinct possibility; second, this book must be very stimulating indeed, which I happen to think is the correct answer....There are too many substantial and sometimes brilliant contributions to this collection to discuss them all in detail, or even in passing. They range from Darko Suvin's scholarly essays soaked in Russian Formalism through Barry N. Malzberg's brash and challenging commentaries, through a fascinating contribution by Alexei and Cory Panshin linking science fiction to the 13th century Sufi poet Ibn Arabi, to Ursula K. LeGuin's Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown, which is pure - well, pure LeGuin. And, as might be expected in a field thatis composed of individuals who are very strongly individual, there isn't much in the way of consensus: Suvin more or less dismisses the mythic element in science fiction, which is the focus of the Panshins' essay - a not untypical occurrence....Specul * The Green Man Review *
...[a] useful addition to your professional library...Speculations on Speculation could be a part of an excellent course of essential reading on the genre and theory of sf. * Science Fiction Studies *
This varied and balanced survey will be of greatest value to veteran readers of SF and especially to teachers and would-be-critics of SF. * Science Fiction Research Association Review *
Writers and critics of science fiction discuss the genre and its elements in 24 reprinted articles and essays on identification, location, derivation, excavation, infatuation, and anticipation. Among the offerings are Ursula K. Le Guin on science fiction and Mrs. Brown, Brian W. Aldiss and David Wingrove on Mary Shelley and the origin of the species, Samuel R. Delany on some presumptuous approaches to science fiction, and Michael Swanwick with a user's guide to the postmoderns. * Reference and Research Book News *
There are at least two obvious responses to the statement that Speculations on Speculation a group of essay son science fiction criticism, is one of the two or three most exciting books, fiction or nonfiction, that I have read recently: first, I've lost my mind, which, given that I have at one point or another lost track of nearly everything else, is a distinct possibility; second, this book must be very stimulating indeed, which I happen to think is the correct answer....There are too many substantial and sometimes brilliant contributions to this collection to discuss them all in detail, or even in passing. They range from Darko Suvin's scholarly essays soaked in Russian Formalism through Barry N. Malzberg's brash and challenging commentaries, through a fascinating contribution by Alexei and Cory Panshin linking science fiction to the 13th century Sufi poet Ibn Arabi, to Ursula K. LeGuin's "Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown," which is pure - well, pure LeGuin. And, as might be expected in a field that is composed of individuals who are very strongly individual, there isn't much in the way of consensus: Suvin more or less dismisses the mythic element in science fiction, which is the focus of the Panshins' essay - a not untypical occurrence....Speculations on Speculation is, however, a thought-provoking, often challenging group of essays about a phenomenon that some of us hold very dear, indeed. * The Green Man Review *
Table of ContentsPart 1 Acknowledgments Part 2 Introduction Part 3 Before We Begin Part 4 Part I: Identification Chapter 5 1 Toward a Definition of Science Fiction Chapter 6 2 Coming to Terms Chapter 7 3 Estrangement and Cognition Chapter 8 4 The Number of the Beast Chapter 9 5 On the Origins of Genre Chapter 10 Part II: Location Chapter 11 6 SF and the Genological Jungle Chapter 12 7 The Readers of Hard Science Fiction Chapter 13 8 Science Fiction and "Literature" - or, The Conscience of the King Chapter 14 9 Science Fiction and Mrs. Brown Chapter 15 10 I Could Have Been a Contender.... Part 16 Part III: Derivations Chapter 17 11 Introduction to Trillion Year Spree Chapter 18 12 On the Origin of Species: Mary Shelley Chapter 19 13 The Roots of Science Fiction Chapter 20 14 Science Fiction and the Dimension of Myth Part 21 Part IV: Excavation Chapter 22 15 Some Notes toward the True and the Terrible Chapter 23 16 Wrong Rabbit Chapter 24 17 The "Field" and the "Wave": The History of New Worlds Chapter 25 18 Space Opera Redefined Part 26 Part V: Infatuation Chapter 27 19 The Golden Age of Science Fiction Is Twelve Chapter 28 20 Some Presumptuous Approaches to Science Fiction Chapter 29 21 Touchstones Part 30 Part VI: Anticipation Chapter 31 22 A User's Guide to the Postmoderns Chapter 32 23 Science Fiction without the Future Chapter 33 24 Slipstream Part 34 Bibliography Part 35 Index Part 36 About the Contributors
