A Companion to Science Fiction [Paperback]

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• This Companion conveys the scale and variety of science fiction.
  
• Shows how science fiction has been used as a means of debating cultural issues.
  
• Essays by an international range of scholars discuss the contexts, themes and methods used by science fiction writers.
  
• 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.
  
• Maps out connections between science fiction, television, the cinema, virtual reality technology, and other aspects of the culture.
  
• Includes a section focusing on major figures, such as H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Guin.
  
• Offers close readings of particular novels, from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

Notes on Contributors ix

Introduction: Approaching Science Fiction 1

PART I Surveying the Field 9

1 Hard Reading: The Challenges of Science Fiction 11
Tom Shippey

2 The Origins of Science Fiction 27
George Slusser

3 Science Fiction/Criticism 43
Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr.

4 Science Fiction Magazines: The Crucibles of Change 60
Mike Ashley