Seven lucid and entertaining essays on masters of science fiction and fantasy literature, including Bob Shaw, M.P. Shiel, Douglas Adams, Stephen R. Donaldson, and more.

Well-known critic Brian Stableford, a former professor at the University of Reading, contributes "a fascinating and valuable attempt to grapple with the questions of why SF authors write what they write, and why SF readers like what they like"-Interzone. Contents: Introduction; Approaches to the Sociology of Literature; The Analysis of Communicative Functions; The Evolution of Science Fiction as a Publishing Category; The Expectations of the Science Fiction Reader; Themes and Trends in Science Fiction; and Conclusion: The Communicative Functions of Science Fiction. Complete with Notes and References, Bibliography, and Index.

THE EARTH IS DYING!

In the far future Earth is dying. Society has reverted to a more primitive life, much like the Middle Ages. Two men, Matthew and his brother John, who calls himself "Firefly," set out to find the time traveller, the one person who can give purpose to their existence, the one individual who can still access past technology. The Firefly, he who lights his own way, seeks the age of Man's greatness, the time when the human race once owned the stars, when great cities stood in places that have now become rust-bowls.

A poignant, thoughtful, provocative, and ultimately unforgettable vision of "The Dying Earth" from a master storyteller.

BRIAN STABLEFORD has written and edited over fifty books of science fiction, horror, fantasy, literary criticism, and reference, among others, many of them being published by Wildside Press. He lives and works in Reading, England.

This new collection of critical essays on science fiction and fantasy literature features the following pieces: "Setting Ideas in Space, Time, and Infinity," "The Necessity of Science Fiction," "The British and American Traditions of Speculative Fiction," "The Biology and Sociology of Alien Worlds," "Cosmic Perspectives in Nineteenth-Century Literature," "An Introduction to Alternate Worlds," "Adolf Hilter: His Part in Our Struggle: (A Brief Economic History of British SF Magazines)," "The Battle of Dorking and Its Aftermath," "The Science in Science Fiction," "The Siren Song of Sexuality: The Mythology of Femmes Fatales," "What We Know About Vampires," "A Brief History of Vampires," and "A Brief History of Werewolves." Brian Stableford is the bestselling writer of 50 books and hundreds of essays, including science fiction, fantasy, literary criticism, and popular nonfiction. He lives and works in Reading, England.

This new collection of critical essays on science fiction and fantasy literature and media features the following pieces: "Slaves of the Death Spiders: Colin Wilson and Existential Science Fiction," "Is There No Balm in Gilead? The Woeful Prophecies of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale," "A Few More Crocodile Tears?" "The Adventures of Lord Horror Across the Media Landscape," "Filling in the Middle: Robert Silverberg's The Queen of Springtime," "Rice's Relapse: Memnoch the Devil," "Field of Broken Dreams: Michael Bishop's Brittle Innings," "The Magic of the Movies," "H. G. Wells and the Discovery of the Future," "The Many Returns of Dracula," "Tarzan's Divided Self," "Sympathy for the Devil: Jacques Cazotte's The Devil in Love," "The Two Thousand Year Odyssey: George Viereck's Erotic Odyssey," and "The Profession of Science Fiction" (an autobiography).

Brian Stableford is the bestselling writer of 50 books and hundreds of essays, including science fiction, fantasy, literary criticism, and popular nonfiction. He lives and works in Reading, England.

ISBN 0-8095-0910-5 (cloth) ISBN 0-8095-1910-0 (paper)

A study of the decadent literary movements in England and France, focusing upon such poets and authors as Baudelaire and Oscar Wilde.

This new collection of critical essays on science fiction and fantasy literature and media features the following pieces: "The Last Chocolate Bar and the Majesty of Truth: Reflections on the Concept of 'Hardness' in Science Fiction," "How Should a Science Fiction Story End?," "The Third Generation of Genre Science Fiction," "Deus ex Machina; or, How to Achieve a Perfect Science-Fictional Climax," "Biotechnology and Utopia," "Far Futures," "How Should a Science Fiction Story Begin?," and "The Discovery of Secondary Worlds: Notes on the Aesthetics and Methodology of Heterocosmic Creativity." Brian Stableford is the bestselling writer of 50 books and hundreds of essays, including science fiction, fantasy, literary criticism, and popular nonfiction. He lives and works in Reading, England.

A study of the popluar fiction of the past.

This collection of critical essays explores the philosophy, theory, and history of science fiction and fantasy, from its earliest beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century through more recent times.

Science Fiction literature, also known as sci fi and sf, is one of the more recent genres, and also one of the more popular. It only truly emerged during the 20th century, and has not stopped growing in terms of authors, titles and readers. It has also evolved into a variety of subgenres, ranging from hard sf to soft sf, from Utopias to dystopias, with more than a smattering of horror, detective, war and feminist titles. Stableford covers all these aspects and more, taking a close look at what has become a booming industry, with its specialized writers, publishers, and fan magazines. The compendium includes not only sf from the United States and United Kingdom, but also France, Russia, and many others. While the chronology charts the genre's dazzling growth, and the dictionary section looks at writers, books, themes, and other specifics, the introduction provides exceptional insight into what Science Fiction Literature is all about.

Science fiction is a literary genre based on scientific speculation. Works of science fiction use the ideas and the vocabulary of all sciences to create valid narratives that explore the future effects of science on events and human beings. Science Fact and Science Fiction examines in one volume how science has propelled science-fiction and, to a lesser extent, how science fiction has influenced the sciences. Although coverage will discuss the science behind the fiction from the Classical Age to the present, focus is naturally on the 19th century to the present, when the Industrial Revolution and spectacular progress in science and technology triggered an influx of science-fiction works speculating on the future. As scientific developments alter expectations for the future, the literature absorbs, uses, and adapts such contextual visions. The goal of the Encyclopedia is not to present a catalog of sciences and their application in literary fiction, but rather to study the ongoing flow and counterflow of influences, including how fictional representations of science affect how we view its practice and disciplines. Although the main focus is on literature, other forms of science fiction, including film and video games, are explored and, because science is an international matter, works from non-English speaking countries are discussed as needed.

Science fiction is a literary genre based on scientific speculation. Works of science fiction use the ideas and the vocabulary of all sciences to create valid narratives that explore the future effects of science on events and human beings. "Science Fact and Science" "Fiction" examines in one volume how science has propelled science-fiction and, to a lesser extent, how science fiction has influenced the sciences. Although coverage will discuss the science behind the fiction from the Classical Age to the present, focus is naturally on the 19th century to the present, when the Industrial Revolution and spectacular progress in science and technology triggered an influx of science-fiction works speculating on the future. As scientific developments alter expectations for the future, the literature absorbs, uses, and adapts such contextual visions. The goal of the "Encyclopedia "is not to present a catalog of sciences and their application in literary fiction, but rather to study the ongoing flow andcounterflow of influences, including how fictional representations of science affect how we view its practice and disciplines. Although the main focus is on literature, other forms of science fiction, including film and video games, are explored and, because science is an international matter, works from non-English speaking countries are discussed as needed.

Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is among the most famous literary figures of all time. For more than a hundred years, his adventures have stood as imperishable monuments to the ability of human reason to penetrate every mystery, solve every puzzle, and punish every crime.
For nearly as long, the macabre tales of H. P. Lovecraft have haunted readers with their nightmarish glimpses into realms of cosmic chaos and undying evil. But what would happen if Conan Doyle's peerless detective and his allies were to find themselves faced with mysteries whose solutions lay not only beyond the grasp of logic, but of sanity itself.
In this collection of all-new, all-original tales, twenty of today's most cutting edge writers provide their answers to that burning question.
"A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman: A gruesome murder exposes a plot against the Crown, a seditious conspiracy so cunningly wrought that only one man in all London could have planned it-and only one man can hope to stop it.
"A Case of Royal Blood" by Steven-Elliot Altman: Sherlock Holmes and H. G. Wells join forces to protect a princess stalked by a ghost-or perhaps something far worse than a ghost.
"Art in the Blood" by Brian Stableford: One man's horrific affliction leads Sherlock Holmes to an ancient curse that threatens to awaken the crawling chaos slumbering in the blood of all humankind.
"The Curious Case of Miss Violet Stone" by Poppy Z. Brite and David Ferguson: A girl who has not eaten in more than three years teaches Holmes and Watson that sometimes the impossible "cannot" be eliminated.
"The Horror of the Many Faces" by Tim Lebbon: Dr. Watson witnesses a maniacal murder in London-and recognizes the villain as none other than his friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
"With these and fourteen other dark tales of madness, horror, and deduction, a new and terrible game is afoot.
"
The terrifyingly surreal universe of horror master H. P. Lovecraft bleeds into the logical world of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's champion of rational deduction-in these brand-new stories by twenty of today's top horror, mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writers, including:
- Steven-Elliot Altman
- Elizabeth Bear
- Poppy Z. Brite
- Simon Clark
- David Ferguson
- Paul Finch
- Neil Gaiman
- Barbara Hambly
- Caitlin R. Kiernan
- Tim Lebbon
- James Lowder
- Richard A. Lupoff
- F. Gwynplaine McIntyre
- John Pelan
- Steve Perry
- Michael Reaves
- Brian Stableford
- John P. Vourlis
- David Niall Wilson & Patricia Lee Macomber

"From the Hardcover edition."