Overview

Whatever you thought about science fiction, think again. And keep on thinking, because that's what science fiction does. It makes us think, and helps us prepare for the future, understand the present and cope with the unknown by posing such questions as 'What if...?' or 'Just suppose...'. This book, which accompanies a major British Library exhibition on the scope and nature of science fiction, reveals what science fiction has achieved and seeks to achieve. It shows its history over the last two thousand years and its international importance. Divided into six sections - Alien Worlds, Parallel Worlds, Future Worlds, Virtual Worlds, Perfect Worlds and The End of the World - the book explores how science fiction has responded to the impact of science, technology and socio-political change on ourselves and our societies. From the works of Cyrano de Bergerac to Ray Bradbury and Mary Shelley to J G Ballard this book reveals the full heritage and wonder of science fiction.

Full Product Details

9780712358316

Table of Contents

Reviews

Out of This World offers a sumptuously illustrated survey of the themes and ideas that underpin science fiction. . . . Readers will find a wonderfully eclectic mix of book and magazine covers, art taken from stories and graphic novels, stills from films and plays, and even authors' annotated manuscript pages. . . . I would recommend Out of This World to anyone with an interest in exploring science fiction far beyond the limits of Dune , Starship Troopers , and I, Robot . --Guy Riddihough Science Ashley provides a condensed yet fascinating and entertaining history of science fiction. . . . Whether a novice, avid fan, or scholar, the reader will find something of interest in this brilliantly written book. Highly recommended. --A. F. Winstead Choice Out of This World offers a sumptuously illustrated survey of the themes and ideas that underpin science fiction. . . . Readers will find a wonderfully eclectic mix of book and magazine covers, art taken from stories and graphic novels, stills from films and plays, and even authors annotated manuscript pages. . . . I would recommend Out of This World to anyone with an interest in exploring science fiction far beyond the limits of Dune, Starship Troopers, and I, Robot. --Guy Riddihough Science Ashley provides a condensed yet fascinating and entertaining history of science fiction. . . . Whether a novice, avid fan, or scholar, the reader will find something of interest in this brilliantly written book. Highly recommended. --A. F. Winstead Choice Out of This World offers a sumptuously illustrated survey of the themes and ideas that underpin science fiction. . . . Readers will find a wonderfully eclectic mix of book and magazine covers, art taken from stories and graphic novels, stills from films and plays, and even authors' annotated manuscript pages. . . . I would recommend Out of This World to anyone with an interest in exploring science fiction far beyond the limits of Dune, Starship Troopers, and I, Robot. --Guy Riddihough Science

Ashley provides a condensed yet fascinating and entertaining history of science fiction. . . . Whether a novice, avid fan, or scholar, the reader will find something of interest in this brilliantly written book. Highly recommended. --A. F. Winstead Choice Out of This World offers a sumptuously illustrated survey of the themes and ideas that underpin science fiction. . . . Readers will find a wonderfully eclectic mix of book and magazine covers, art taken from stories and graphic novels, stills from films and plays, and even authors' annotated manuscript pages. . . . I would recommend Out of This World to anyone with an interest in exploring science fiction far beyond the limits of Dune, Starship Troopers, and I, Robot. --Guy Riddihough Science Where did science fiction start -- with Star Trek, or Hugo Gernsback's stable of pulp magazines? Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, perhaps? Constructing histories of the genre is a favorite game of science fiction's fans, creators and critics, and now the British Library has taken a turn. . . . Out of This World also clearly demonstrates that the genre isn't the geeky clubhouse of white Western men that it is all too often (and, sadly, all too easily) accused of being; women and people of color feature strongly as creators and characters alike, with works that have expanded not just the remit of science fiction, but the ways in which we think about ourselves in relation to others. --Wired Magazine's Underwire blog, on the accompanying British Library exhibition -- Wired

Ashley provides a condensed yet fascinating and entertaining history of science fiction. . . . Whether a novice, avid fan, or scholar, the reader will find something of interest in this brilliantly written book. Highly recommended. --A. F. Winstead Choice

Out of This World offers a sumptuously illustrated survey of the themes and ideas that underpin science fiction. . . . Readers will find a wonderfully eclectic mix of book and magazine covers, art taken from stories and graphic novels, stills from films and plays, and even authors' annotated manuscript pages. . . . I would recommend Out of This World to anyone with an interest in exploring science fiction far beyond the limits of Dune , Starship Troopers , and I, Robot ./i><br><br>--Guy Riddihough Science

Ashley provides a condensed yet fascinating and entertaining history of science fiction. . . . Whether a novice, avid fan, or scholar, the reader will find something of interest in this brilliantly written book. Highly recommended./i><br><br>--A. F. Winstead Choice

Author Information

Mike Ashley is a renowned expert in the world of science fiction and fantasy literature. He received the Science Fiction Research Association's Pilgrim Award in 2002 for lifetime achievement in science fiction research. He has written many books including Gateways to Forever (Liverpool University Press, 2007) and The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction (Robinson Publishing, 2002).

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available