1st Edition

The Poetics of Science Fiction

By Peter Stockwell Copyright 2000
    262 Pages
    by Routledge

    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    The Poetics of Science Fiction uniquely uses the science of linguistics to explore the literary universe of science fiction. Developing arguments about specific texts and movements throughout the twentieth-century, the book is a readable discussion of this most popular of genres. It also uses the extreme conditions offered by science fiction to develop new insights into the language of the literary context. The discussion ranges from a detailed investigation of new words and metaphors, to the exploration of new worlds, from pulp science fiction to the genre's literary masterpieces, its special effects and poetic expression. Speculations and extrapolations throughout the book engage the reader in thought-experiments and discussion points, with selected further reading making it a useful source book for classroom and seminar.

    1: Departures: Orientation and Maps 2: Macrological: Old Futures 3: Micrological: Futureplay 4: Macrological: Outer Space 5: Centrepoint: Retrospective/Prospective 6: Micrological: New Words 7: Macrological: New Worlds 8: Micrological: Poetic Planes 9: Arrivals: The Ends of the Earth ReferencesIndex

    Biography

    Peter Stockwell is a lecturer in English at the University of Nottingham.

    'Here's what you have been waiting for, folks: 'a user's guide to science fiction'......As far as I am aware, Stockwell's Poetics is the first fully-developed linguistic approach to science fiction.'

    Brian McHale, The Ohio State University, USA, Language and Literature, Book Reviews, Vol 1 12 (3).