The Science Fiction Handbook [Hardcover]

As we move through the twenty-first century, the importance of science fiction to the study of English Literature is becoming increasingly apparent.The Science Fiction Handbookprovides a comprehensive guide to the genre and how to study it for students new to the field. In particular, it provides detailed entries on major writers in the SF field who might be encountered on university-level English Literature courses, ranging from H.G. Wells and Philip K. Dick, to Doris Lessing and Geoff Ryman. Other features include an historical timeline, sections on key writers, critics and critical terms, and case studies of both literary and critical works. In the later sections of the book, the changing nature of the science fiction canon and its growing role in relation to the wider categories of English Literature are discussed in depth introducing the reader to the latest critical thinking on the field.

This will be a satisfying book for teachers and students of science fiction. The nonlinear structure allows readers to select material that meets their needs, but the entire book is a worthy resource. Particularly fruitful are chapters describing changes in the canon and issues of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity; these offer theoretically oriented assessments of the growing inclusion of nonwhite male authors, characters, and perspectives in science fiction. Though scholarly in tone, this collection is clearly written and accessible to all audiences. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. S. E. Vie, University of Central Florida, CHOICE

Nick Hubble is Head of English Literature at Brunel University, London, UK.

Aris Mousoutzanis is Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies, University of Brighton, UK.

Acknowledgments

Notes on Contributors

Introduction
Nick Hubble

1 The Historical Context of Science Fiction
Nick Hubble

2 An Annotated Science Fiction Timeline
Joseph Norman