Kim Stanley Robinson Maps the Unimaginable: Critical Essays (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786433698 ISBN 13: 9780786433698

Publisher: McFarland & Company, 2009

Synopsis

While Kim Stanley Robinson is perhaps best known for his hard science fiction works Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars, the epic trilogy exploring ecological and sociological themes involved in human settlement of the Red Planet, his contributions to utopian science fiction are diverse and numerous. Along with aspects of sociology and ecology in the Mars trilogy and other topics, these essays examine Robinson's use of alternate history and politics, both in his many novels and in his short stories. While Robinson has long been a subject of literary criticism, this collection, which includes five new essays and is drawn from writers on four continents, broadens the interpretive debate surrounding Robinson's science fiction and argues for consideration of the author as an intellectual figure of the first rank.

About this title

About the Authors

The late William J. Burling (1949-2009) was an English professor at Missouri State University. He put in twenty years of 17th and 18th century studies, publishing four books and more than 50 articles. Recent essays have appeared in Utopian Studies and Kronoscope.

Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University. He lives in Greenville, North Carolina.

C.W. Sullivan III is Distinguished Professor of arts and sciences at East Carolina University and a full member of the Welsh Academy. He is the author of numerous books and the on-line journal Celtic Cultural Studies.

From the Inside Flap

While Kim Stanley Robinson is perhaps best known for his hard science fiction works Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars, the epic trilogy exploring ecological and sociological themes involved in human settlement of the Red Planet, his contributions to utopian science fiction are diverse and numerous. Along with aspects of sociology and ecology in the Mars trilogy and other topics, these essays examine Robinson's use of alternate history and politics, both in his many novels and in his short stories. While Robinson has long been a subject of literary criticism, this collection, which includes five new essays and is drawn from writers on four continents, broadens the interpretive debate surrounding Robinson's science fiction and argues for consideration of the author as an intellectual figure of the first rank.

Edition details

• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786433698
• ISBN 13: 9780786433698
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Burling William J.