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Revision as of 22:25, 31 August 2024 by TompaDompa (talk | contribs) (→History: Expand.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 2021 reference work by Gary Westfahl| Author | Gary Westfahl |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publication date | 2021 |
| Pages | xxx + 766 |
| ISBN | 978-1-4408-6617-3 (ebook) |
| Dewey Decimal | 809.3/87603 |
| LC Class | PN3448.S45 |
Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia is a 2021 reference work by science fiction scholar Gary Westfahl.
History
Author Gary Westfahl is a science fiction scholar who had previously written extensively on the subject and edited The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy (2005). Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia was written entirely by Westfahl, and the contents are original to this work. The book was simultaneously published as a two-volume hardcover set and in ebook format by ABC-CLIO/Greenwood in July 2021.
Contents
The first one hundred pages of the book, after the prefatory material, consist of essays. Eight essays cover the history of science fiction, from "Science Fiction in the Ancient World and the Middle Ages" to "Science Fiction in the Twenty-First Century". Following this is eleven thematic essays on topics ranging from "Science and Science Fiction" and "Racial Issues in Science Fiction" to "Young Adult Science Fiction" and "Global Science Fiction". The bulk of the work consists of 250 encyclopaedic entries, listed alphabetically. Topics covered by the entries include various authors both within science fiction (e.g. Isaac Asimov) and without (e.g. William Shakespeare), works ranging from science fiction novels such as A Canticle for Leibowitz and television show Doctor Who to predecessors of the genre like the Odyssey and the Divine Comedy, science fiction subgenres like cyberpunk and space opera, and motifs such as virtual reality and linguistics. Many entries contain boxed sidebars on specific aspects of the topic. Some entries on living authors such as Connie Willis contain brief interviews.
Reception
Marcia G. Welsh reviewed the book for Library Journal in October 2021, comparing it favourably to The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (2003) edited by Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn and The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction (2009) edited by Mark Bould [Wikidata], Andrew M. Butler, Adam Roberts, and Sherryl Vint [Wikidata].
Lesley Farmer, reviewing the encyclopedia for Booklist in December 2021, commented that the combination of essays with broad scopes and entries with specific ones "results in a satisfying and balanced sf encyclopedia that should have wide readership".
W. L. Svitavsky wrote in Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries in June 2022 that "an up-to-date, thorough encyclopedia of SF literature is overdue".
Donald M. Hassler [Wikidata], in a December 2022 review published in Extrapolation, compared the undertaking of writing the encyclopedia to Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick (1851).
See also
- Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia (2006), by Brian Stableford
- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (first edition published 1979; now online), edited by Peter Nicholls and John Clute
References
- ^ Svitavsky, W. L. (June 2022). "Review: Westfahl, Gary. Science Fiction Literature Through History: An Encyclopedia". Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. 59 (10): 1204–1206.
- ^ Welsh, Marcia G. (2021-10-01). "Review: Science Fiction Literature Through History: An Encyclopedia by Gary Westfahl". Library Journal. 146 (10): 106. Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
- ^ Hassler, Donald M. (December 2022). "A Galactic Move Within the Genre. Gary Westfahl. Science Fiction Literature Through History: An Encyclopedia". Extrapolation. 63 (3): 378. doi:10.3828/extr.2022.21. ISSN 0014-5483.
- ^ Farmer, Lesley (2021-12-01). "Review: Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia. By Gary Westfahl". Booklist. 118 (7): 12.
External links
- Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia at Google Books
- Catalog record for Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia at the United States Library of Congress