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Toys in the Age of Wonder: Science Fiction, Society and the Symbolism of Play by Mark Rich (2020)

As it has happened so often before, fiction by authors of early wonder and adventure tales, such as H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, William Rice Burroughs, and others, have provided man (and particularly children and youngsters) with hopes and fantasies about machines that feature technology not yet been invented to dream a […]

The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s by Gary Westfahl (2019)

Even though a title such as “The Rise and Fall” usually has readers prepared for a large, heavy volume that will provide audiences with loads of information amassed in a mostly boring manner, Westfahl’s book on a literary genre differs from that stereotype. In fact, the four major parts (and a short epilogue) read very […]

Weird Fiction in Britain 1880 – 1939 by James Machin (2018)

Author James Machin, visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, London, introduces the first study on how weird fiction was developed in England by blending Victorian supernatural literature and Gothic horror tales. Instead of a complete survey of the genre, he concentrates on some key writers and certain rather unknown authors who, contrary to […]