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An Asimov Companion

Author : Donald E. Palumbo
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2016-04-27
ISBN : 1476623945
Pages : 196 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (623 Download)

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Download Free An Asimov Companion PDF by Donald E. Palumbo Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-04-27 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A prolific author, Isaac Asimov is most admired for his science fiction, including his collection of short stories I, Robot and his Robot, Empire and Foundation series novels. While each of these narratives takes place in a different fictional universe, Asimov asserted at the end of his career that he had, with his last Robot and Foundation novels, unified them into one coherent metaseries. This reference work identifies and describes all of the characters, locales, artifacts, concepts and institutions in Asimov’s metaseries. Mimicking the style of The Encyclopedia Galactica, the fictional compendium of all human knowledge that features prominently in the Foundation series, this encyclopedia is an invaluable companion to Asimov’s science fiction oeuvre.

An Asimov Companion

Author : Donald E. Palumbo
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2016-04-21
ISBN : 0786498234
Pages : 195 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (498 Download)

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Download Free An Asimov Companion PDF by Donald E. Palumbo Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-04-21 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A prolific author, Isaac Asimov is most admired for his science fiction, including his collection of short stories I, Robot and his Robot, Empire and Foundation series novels. While each of these narratives takes place in a different fictional universe, Asimov asserted at the end of his career that he had, with his last Robot and Foundation novels, unified them into one coherent metaseries. This reference work identifies and describes all of the characters, locales, artifacts, concepts and institutions in Asimov's metaseries. Mimicking the style of The Encyclopedia Galactica, the fictional compendium of all human knowledge that features prominently in the Foundation series, this encyclopedia is an invaluable companion to Asimov's science fiction oeuvre.

A Dune Companion

Author : Donald E. Palumbo
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2018-08-01
ISBN : 1476669600
Pages : 198 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (669 Download)

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Download Free A Dune Companion PDF by Donald E. Palumbo Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-08-01 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This companion to Frank Herbert's six original Dune novels--Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune--provides an encyclopedia of characters, locations, terms and other elements, and highlights the series' underrated aesthetic integrity. An extensive introduction discusses the theme of ecology, chaos theory concepts and structures, and Joseph Campbell's monomyth in Herbert's narratives.

E FRUCTU ARBOR COGNOSCITUR

Author : ROXANA UTALE
Publisher : Editura Universității din București - Bucharest University Press
Release Date : 2020-01-01
ISBN : 6061611498
Pages : 196 pages
Rating : 4.1/5 (611 Download)

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Download Free E FRUCTU ARBOR COGNOSCITUR PDF by ROXANA UTALE Full Book and published by Editura Universității din București - Bucharest University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: STUDII DE ANGLISTICĂ ȘI AMERICANISTICĂ ale studenților și masteranzilor din Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine (2010-2017)

The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction

Author : Edward James
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2003-11-20
ISBN : 1107494672
Pages : 328 pages
Rating : 4.7/5 (494 Download)

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Download Free The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction PDF by Edward James Full Book and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-11-20 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science fiction is at the intersection of numerous fields. It is a literature which draws on popular culture, and which engages in speculation about science, history, and all types of social relations. This volume brings together essays by scholars and practitioners of science fiction, which look at the genre from these different angles. After an introduction to the nature of science fiction, historical chapters trace science fiction from Thomas More to more recent years, including a chapter on film and television. The second section introduces four important critical approaches to science fiction drawing their theoretical inspiration from Marxism, postmodernism, feminism and queer theory. The final and largest section of the book looks at various themes and sub-genres of science fiction. A number of well-known science fiction writers contribute to this volume, including Gwyneth Jones, Ken MacLeod, Brian Stableford Andy Duncan, James Gunn, Joan Slonczewski, and Damien Broderick.

Close Engagements with Artificial Companions

Author : Yorick Wilks
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Release Date : 2010
ISBN : 9027249946
Pages : 341 pages
Rating : 4.7/5 (249 Download)

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Download Free Close Engagements with Artificial Companions PDF by Yorick Wilks Full Book and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What will it be like to admit Artificial Companions into our society? How will they change our relations with each other? How important will they be in the emotional and practical lives of their owners since we know that people became emotionally dependent even on simple devices like the Tamagotchi? How much social life might they have in contacting each other? The contributors to this book discuss the possibility and desirability of some form of long-term computer Companions now being a certainty in the coming years. It is a good moment to consider, from a set of wide interdisciplinary perspectives, both how we shall construct them technically as well as their personal philosophical and social consequences. By Companions we mean conversationalists or confidants not robots but rather computer software agents whose function will be to get to know their owners over a long period. Those may well be elderly or lonely, and the contributions in the book focus not only on assistance via the internet (contacts, travel, doctors etc.) but also on providing company and Companionship, by offering aspects of real personalization."

Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]

Author : Gary Westfahl
Publisher : ABC-CLIO
Release Date : 2021-07-31
ISBN : 1440866171
Pages : 766 pages
Rating : 4.0/5 (866 Download)

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Download Free Science Fiction Literature through History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes] PDF by Gary Westfahl Full Book and published by ABC-CLIO. This book was released on 2021-07-31 with total page 766 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides high school and undergraduate students, and other interested readers, with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field. Provides readers with information about written science fiction in all its forms—novels, stories, plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels Includes original interviews with major writers like Ted Chiang, Samuel R. Delany, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Connie Willis that are not available elsewhere Features numerous sidebars with additional data about various subjects and key passages from several classic works Includes hundreds of bibliographies of sources that provide additional information on various specific topics and the genre of science fiction as a whole

A Companion to Twentieth-Century United States Fiction

Author : David Seed
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Release Date : 2010-01-21
ISBN : 9781444310115
Pages : 608 pages
Rating : 4.0/5 (119 Download)

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Download Free A Companion to Twentieth-Century United States Fiction PDF by David Seed Full Book and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-01-21 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through a wide-ranging series of essays and relevant readings, A Companion to Twentieth-Century United States Fiction presents an overview of American fiction published since the conclusion of the First World War. Features a wide-ranging series of essays by American, British, and European specialists in a variety of literary fields Written in an approachable and accessible style Covers both classic literary figures and contemporary novelists Provides extensive suggestions for further reading at the end of each essay

Star Worlds

Author : William Sims Bainbridge
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Release Date : 2016-10-19
ISBN : 0472053280
Pages : 307 pages
Rating : 4.2/5 (53 Download)

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Download Free Star Worlds PDF by William Sims Bainbridge Full Book and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2016-10-19 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A ground-breaking look at the paradox of technology to both liberate and enslave our current culture by noted scholar William Sims Bainbridge

A Companion to Science Fiction

Author : David Seed
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Release Date : 2008-04-15
ISBN : 1405144580
Pages : 612 pages
Rating : 4.5/5 (144 Download)

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Download Free A Companion to Science Fiction PDF by David Seed Full Book and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Companion to Science Fiction assembles essays by aninternational range of scholars which discuss the contexts, themesand methods used by science fiction writers. This Companion conveys the scale and variety of sciencefiction. Shows how science fiction has been used as a means of debatingcultural issues. Essays by an international range of scholars discuss thecontexts, themes and methods used by science fiction writers. Addresses general topics, such as the history and origins ofthe genre, its engagement with science and gender, and nationalvariations of science fiction around the English-speakingworld. Maps out connections between science fiction, television, thecinema, virtual reality technology, and other aspects of theculture. Includes a section focusing on major figures, such as H.G.Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Guin. Offers close readings of particular novels, from MaryShelley’s Frankenstein to Margaret Atwood’sThe Handmaid’s Tale.

The Global Vampire

Author : Cait Coker
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2020-01-10
ISBN : 1476637334
Pages : 251 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (637 Download)

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Download Free The Global Vampire PDF by Cait Coker Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-01-10 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The media vampire has roots throughout the world, far beyond the shores of the usual Dracula-inspired Anglo-American archetypes. Depending on text and context, the vampire is a figure of anxiety and comfort, humor and fear, desire and revulsion. These dichotomies gesture the enduring prevalence of the vampire in mass culture; it can no longer articulate a single feeling or response, bound by time and geography, but is many things to many people. With a global perspective, this collection of essays offers something new and different: a much needed counter-narrative of the vampire's evolution in popular culture. Divided by geography, this text emphasizes the vampiric as a globetrotting citizen du monde rather than an isolated monster.

Philip K. Dick

Author : David Sandner
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2020-03-11
ISBN : 1476677891
Pages : 227 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (677 Download)

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Download Free Philip K. Dick PDF by David Sandner Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-03-11 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philip K. Dick was a visionary writer of science fiction. His works speak to contemporary fears of being continually watched by technology, and the paranoia of modern life in which we watch ourselves and lose our sense of identity. Since his death in 1982, Dick's writing remain frighteningly relevant to 21st century audiences. Dick spent his life in near poverty and it was only after his death that he gained popular and critical recognition. In this new collection of essays, interviews, and talks, Philip K Dick is rediscovered. Concentrating both on recent critical studies and on reassessing his legacy in light of his new status as a "major American author," these essays explore, just what happened culturally and critically to precipitate his extraordinary rise in reputation. The essays look for his traces in the places he lived, in the SF community he came from, and in his influence on contemporary American literature and culture, and beyond.

The Fabulous Journeys of Alice and Pinocchio

Author : Laura Tosi
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2018-09-20
ISBN : 1476665435
Pages : 238 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (665 Download)

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Download Free The Fabulous Journeys of Alice and Pinocchio PDF by Laura Tosi Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) and Carlo Collodi's Le Avventure di Pinocchio (1883) are among the most influential classics of children's literature. Firmly rooted in their respective British and Italian national cultures, the Alice and Pinocchio stories connected to a worldwide audience almost like folktales and fairy tales and have become fixtures of postmodernism. Although they come from radically different political and social backgrounds, the texts share surprising similarities. This comparative reading explores their imagery and history, and discusses them in the broader context of British and Italian children's stories.

The British Comic Book Invasion

Author : Jochen Ecke
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2018-12-14
ISBN : 1476674159
Pages : 282 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (674 Download)

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Download Free The British Comic Book Invasion PDF by Jochen Ecke Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-12-14 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes a successful comics creator? How can storytelling stay exciting and innovative? How can genres be kept vital? Writers and artists in the highly competitive U.S. comics mainstream have always had to explore these questions but they were especially pressing in the 1980s. As comics readers grew older they started calling for more sophisticated stories. They were also no longer just following the adventures of popular characters--writers and artists with distinctive styles were in demand. DC Comics and Marvel went looking for such mavericks and found them in the United Kingdom. Creators like Alan Moore (Watchmen, Saga of the Swamp Thing), Grant Morrison (The Invisibles, Flex Mentallo) and Garth Ennis (Preacher) migrated from the anarchical British comics industry to the U.S. mainstream and shook up the status quo yet came to rely on the genius of the American system.

The Archive Incarnate

Author : Joseph Hurtgen
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2018-10-15
ISBN : 1476672466
Pages : 210 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (672 Download)

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Download Free The Archive Incarnate PDF by Joseph Hurtgen Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in an information economy, a vast archive of data ever at our fingertips. In the pages of science fiction, powerful entities--governments and corporations--attempt to use this archive to control society, enforce conformity or turn citizens into passive consumers. Opposing them are protagonists fighting to liberate the collective mind from those who would enforce top-down control. Archival technology and its depictions in science fiction have developed dramatically since the 1950s. Ray Bradbury discusses archives in terms of books and television media, and Margaret Atwood in terms of magazines and journaling. William Gibson focused on technofuturistic cyberspace and brain-to-computer prosthetics, Bruce Sterling on genetics and society as an archive of social practices. Neal Stephenson has imagined post-cyberpunk matrix space and interactive primers. As the archive is altered, so are the humans that interact with ever-advancing technology.

"Hailing frequencies open"

Author : Thomas D. Parham, III
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2019-07-15
ISBN : 1476636575
Pages : 205 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (636 Download)

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Download Free "Hailing frequencies open" PDF by Thomas D. Parham, III Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2019-07-15 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Star Trek: The Next Generation blended speculative science fiction and space opera in its portrayal of communication. Multiple modes of communication used between characters are presented and the multilevel tapestry of communication in the series is critical in its appeal. This book proposes that these patterns of communication reveal a foundational philosophy of Star Trek (while enticing millions of viewers). These patterns serve both to cause strong empathetic connections with characters and to impel viewers to form relationships with the show, explaining their extreme devotion.

Fantasy Literature and Christianity

Author : Weronika Łaszkiewicz
Publisher : McFarland
Release Date : 2018-10-04
ISBN : 1476634831
Pages : 223 pages
Rating : 4.6/5 (634 Download)

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Download Free Fantasy Literature and Christianity PDF by Weronika Łaszkiewicz Full Book and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The debate surrounding the Christian aspects of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter has revealed not only the prominence of religious themes in fantasy fiction, but also readers' concerns over portrayals of religion in fantasy. Yet while analyses of these works fill many volumes, other fantasy series have received much less attention. This critical study explores the fantastic religions and religious themes in American and Canadian works by Stephen R. Donaldson (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant), Guy Gavriel Kay (Fionavar Tapestry), Celia S. Friedman (Coldfire Trilogy), and Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn). References to biblical tradition and Christian teachings reveal these writers' overall approach to Christianity and the relationship between Christianity and the fantasy genre.