Futurespeak: A Fan's Guide to the Language of Science Fiction

Includes over one thousand entries defining scientific, literary, publishing, film, and printing terms associated with science fiction, plus lists of science fiction publications, organizations, and conventions

Librarian Rogow has put together an impressive reference book. The alphabetical listing includes terms and people related to fantasy and science fiction literature, film, television, and fandom; information on tangential media such as animation, gaming, and comics; and, best of all, science terminology and facts that come into play in fantasy and sf. There are flaws. The book is weak on comics, acknowledging only the commercial mainstream variety and doing so poorly. The entry for hobbits deals more with fandom's treatment of the race than with J.R.R. Tolkien's books. More significantly, all the people who get individual entries are men (no Ursula K. Le Guin? no Anne McCaffrey? no Andre Norton? no Mary Shelley?), an appalling oversight. However, this book will certainly interest people involved in any aspect of the genre and is recommended for subject collections.
- Keith R.A. DeCandido, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.