Modern science fiction, a critical analysis : the seminal 1951 thesis with a new introduction and commentary / James Gunn ; edited by Michael R. Page ; foreword by Gary K. Wolfe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gunn, James E., 1923-2020, author.

Contributor:

Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

Page, Michael R., 1967- editor.

Wolfe, Gary K., 1946- writer of foreword.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science fiction--History and criticism.

Science fiction.

Science fiction--Authorship.

Physical Description:

vii, 205 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2018.

Summary:

"Portions appeared in the short-lived pulp magazine Dynamic but it has otherwise remained unavailable to the public. Here in its first full publication, the thesis explores many of the classic Golden Age stories of the 1940s and the critical perspective that informed Gunn's essential genre history Alternate Worlds and his anthology series The Road to Science Fiction"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Modern Science Fiction: A Critical Analysis / James Gunn

Part 1 "Some of Us Are Looking at the Stars": The Philosophy of Science Fiction 37

Part 2 "Through Caverns Measureless to Man": The Plot Forms of Science Fiction 60

Section 1 Plots of Circumstance 65

Chapter 1 A Being in an Alien Environment 66

Chapter 2 Modern Man in the Modern World 91

Chapter 3 A Past Being in the Past 111

Chapter 4 A Future Being in a Future World 114

Chapter 5 Mutations 121

Conclusion to Plots of Circumstance 133

Section 2 Plots of Creation 134

Chapter 1 The Creation of New Life or New Forms Thereof 137

Chapter 2 Experimentation in Other Fields 157.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Alumni and Friends Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781476673196

1476673195

OCLC:

1035799940