Anatomy of Science Fiction

This wide-ranging collection of essays re-opens the connection between science fiction and the increasingly science-fictional world. Kevin Alexander Boon reminds us of the degree to which the epistemology of science fiction infects modern political discourse. Karoly Pinter explores the narrative structures of utopian estrangement, and Tamas Benyei and Brian Attebery take us deeper into the cultural exchanges between science fiction and the literary and political worlds. In the second half, Donald Morse, Nicholas Ruddick and Eva Federmayer look at the way in which science fiction has tackled major ethical issues, while Amy Novak and Kalman Matolcsy consider memory and evolution as cultural batteries. The book ends with important discussions of East German and Hungarian science fiction by Usch Kiausch and Donald Morse respectively. I envisage that the book will find a market both among academics and as a recommended text to undergraduates as it offers interesting essays on important readers. The tendency for science fiction to be offered as a literature class to science majors is not usually considered, but this book would be particularly appropriate for such a market. Dr. Farah Mendelsohn, Middlesex University