Difference between revisions of "Out of This World"
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Reviewed Amy J. Ransom, ''Belphégor'': Issue on "Littératures populaires et médiatique" (Popular Literature and Media), 11 January 2013 ("11-1 | 2013").[https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor/263] | Reviewed Amy J. Ransom, ''Belphégor'': Issue on "Littératures populaires et médiatique" (Popular Literature and Media), 11 January 2013 ("11-1 | 2013").[https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor/263] | ||
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| − | Ashley mentions a number of works not often cited | + | The volume’s most attractive trait is [...] its 175 color illustrations, which include book and magazine covers and illustrations, film stills and sets, works of art, author portraits, manuscript pages, and even photos of astronomical features and space travel. |
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| + | Ashley mentions a number of works not often cited [...]. In particular, he traces the alternate history back to Livy and identifies a Spanish text as the first purposeful time machine story. He also points out that William Gibson and Bruce Sterling did not invent steampunk, identifying Joan Aiken’s ''[[The Wolves of Willoughby Chase]]'' (1962) and several 1980s works by Michael Moorcock as doing so. | ||
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| + | Further sections explore the questions of “Be Prepared!” for future wars, “Inventing the Future,” “Cities of the Future,” and “Machine or Human,” which looks at the iconic figure of the robot. Ashley gives significant coverage to the concept of the “Singularity,” the moment when technology will have advanced so far that an artificial intelligence spontaneously achieves consciousness, identified by Vernor Vinge in a 1993 speech. He also describes nanotechnology, identifying Charles Stross’s ''[[Singularity Sky]]'' (2003) and Rudy Rucker’s ''[[Postsingular]]'' (2007), as novels exploring this area. | ||
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[[Category: Fiction]] | [[Category: Fiction]] | ||
[[Category: Graphic & Plastic Arts]] | [[Category: Graphic & Plastic Arts]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Drama]] | ||
Revision as of 21:15, 23 May 2020
Ashley, Mike. Out of This World: Science Fiction But Not as You Know It. London: British Library, 2011. 144 p. ISBN 978-0-7123-5835-4. Companion volume to exhibition of the British Library, 25 May-15 September 2011. (Bibliographical information from Ransom review, cited and linked below, and John J. Pierce discussion.)
Reviewed Amy J. Ransom, Belphégor: Issue on "Littératures populaires et médiatique" (Popular Literature and Media), 11 January 2013 ("11-1 | 2013").[1]
The volume’s most attractive trait is [...] its 175 color illustrations, which include book and magazine covers and illustrations, film stills and sets, works of art, author portraits, manuscript pages, and even photos of astronomical features and space travel.
Ashley mentions a number of works not often cited [...]. In particular, he traces the alternate history back to Livy and identifies a Spanish text as the first purposeful time machine story. He also points out that William Gibson and Bruce Sterling did not invent steampunk, identifying Joan Aiken’s The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962) and several 1980s works by Michael Moorcock as doing so.
Further sections explore the questions of “Be Prepared!” for future wars, “Inventing the Future,” “Cities of the Future,” and “Machine or Human,” which looks at the iconic figure of the robot. Ashley gives significant coverage to the concept of the “Singularity,” the moment when technology will have advanced so far that an artificial intelligence spontaneously achieves consciousness, identified by Vernor Vinge in a 1993 speech. He also describes nanotechnology, identifying Charles Stross’s Singularity Sky (2003) and Rudy Rucker’s Postsingular (2007), as novels exploring this area.
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RDE, with thanks to John J. Pierce, 23May20
