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Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2006
'As a professor of 19th-century literature as well as a prolific science fiction writer, Roberts is eminently qualified to write a history of the genre. This impressive tome is ambitious in its scope, tracing SF's origins back to the fantastic voyages of the ancient Greek novel - the original Vernean voyages extraordinaires.' - The Guardian
'Adam Roberts' 'History' is the most significant history of the genre since The Trillion Year Spree by Brian Aldiss and David Wingrove, published nearly two decades ago, and demonstrates the most original thinking about science fiction since Kingsley Amis's New Maps of Hell more than forty years ago. This isn't merely an excellent historical survey but a narrative, showing compellingly how modern science fiction has roots in the fantastic-voyage tales of antiquity, and has been shaped by a dialectic between magic and materialism that dates back to the Reformation...Adam Roberts is already a proven author of high-quality science fiction. With 'History' he establishes himself as the most important critical voice in modern science fiction studies.' - Stephen Baxter, Current Vice President, The British Science Fiction Association and Author of Timelike Infinity and Voyage
'[A] refreshingly irreverent attempt to look at science fiction without blinkers.' - Strange Horizons
'The History of Science Fiction is a necessary and important book. It will get people talking, discussing and - dare I say it? - arguing about all manner of things relevant to science fiction, its history and its future.' - Green Man Review
'...the lasting impressions left by this History of Science Fiction are of the author's eye for detail, his understanding of the pervasiveness of the science fiction in contemporary culture, and his astonishing critical energy.' - Patrick Parrinder, The British Society for Literature and Science
Stephen Baxter, The British Science Fiction Association
`... the most significant history of the genre since "The Trillion Year Spree" by Brian Aldiss and David Wingrove'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Comprehensive and academic yet accessible, this is one of the best histories of science fiction I've read. Taking science fiction from its earliest, and sometimes controversial, roots, via the twin themes of rational and magical philosophy or belief systems to today's complex set of conventions which define modern science fiction.
The importance of this work is difficult to overstate, as a sometimes neglected genre of literature powerful academic works of history and criticism are at a premium and this, combined with the equally excellent encyclopaedia of science fiction by Peter Nicholls and John Clute, form a powerful meta-text to this, my favourite, genre of fiction and help negate some of the sneering commentary sometimes expressed by those whose only experience of science fiction is via Dr Who.
As is usual with these sorts of works, Professor Roberts has aligned his history with a thesis that science fiction is tied to rationality and partially mirrors the depth of "rationality" within society rather than "fantasy" works which have a more magical bent. This is an excellent device to use to string together this history and allows works from classical Greece and reformation-era Europe to be discussed without jarring intellectual leaps by the reader.
To the same end, Roberts breaks sci-fi into tightly defined classifications, in particular a chapter devoted to the works of Verne and Wells, which progresses the narrative rapidly and makes the work much more accessible to the reader, giving sensible start and stop points for casual interaction and easy reference.
All in all this is an excellent work and I have only one criticism to make, in such a work there will inevitably be omissions but the lack of any mention of Cordwainer Smith (one pseudonym of Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger ) who was, well to my mind, one of the most important and influential sci-fi authors of the 20th century whose stories demonstrate such a highly developed moral centre and whose prose is as good as any other author of the last 200 years, to be baffling in the extreme.
The importance of this work is difficult to overstate, as a sometimes neglected genre of literature powerful academic works of history and criticism are at a premium and this, combined with the equally excellent encyclopaedia of science fiction by Peter Nicholls and John Clute, form a powerful meta-text to this, my favourite, genre of fiction and help negate some of the sneering commentary sometimes expressed by those whose only experience of science fiction is via Dr Who.
As is usual with these sorts of works, Professor Roberts has aligned his history with a thesis that science fiction is tied to rationality and partially mirrors the depth of "rationality" within society rather than "fantasy" works which have a more magical bent. This is an excellent device to use to string together this history and allows works from classical Greece and reformation-era Europe to be discussed without jarring intellectual leaps by the reader.
To the same end, Roberts breaks sci-fi into tightly defined classifications, in particular a chapter devoted to the works of Verne and Wells, which progresses the narrative rapidly and makes the work much more accessible to the reader, giving sensible start and stop points for casual interaction and easy reference.
All in all this is an excellent work and I have only one criticism to make, in such a work there will inevitably be omissions but the lack of any mention of Cordwainer Smith (one pseudonym of Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger ) who was, well to my mind, one of the most important and influential sci-fi authors of the 20th century whose stories demonstrate such a highly developed moral centre and whose prose is as good as any other author of the last 200 years, to be baffling in the extreme.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4 reviews
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Bad News
9 Sep 2009
Format:Paperback
This books is bad news, especially since it should have been such good news. Science fiction is in need of a good historical survey, but this isn't it. The writing is choppy and labored. The author endlessly uses phrases close to "this x reflects science fiction's central dialectic," but in neither the preface nor the postscript does he do an adequate job of explaining this dialectic. At times, the factors in contradiction within the dialectic seem to be as simple as the tension between technology and mysticism. At other times, Roberts has a more complex theory involving the interplay between Catholicism and Protestantism, which, believe me, don't ask. The narrative aspect of the history is awkward and lacks flow. The only primary sources used in the text is the science fiction itself; the author has apparently visited no archives. The bulk of the book is taken up by plot summaries. This is a synthetic history, and barely professional.
At several points, the author fails to cite the sources that guide his thinking. For instance, from 297-299, Roberts discusses how Thomas Pynchon's _Gravity's Rainbow_ lost out on the Nebula Award to Arthur C. Clarke's _Rendezvous with Rama_, but he never cites Jonathan Lethem's essay "The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction," which appeared in the _Voice Literary Supplement_ in 1998, nor does he cite Lethem's later exchange with Ray Davis, which appeared in the _New York Review of Science Fiction_. Yet, these pieces are obviously the origin of the Pynchon-Clarke comparison. Robert's work isn't plagiarism, but it comes damn close at times. It certainly isn't careful scholarship.
Finally, anyone who is well-read in the secondary literature on science fiction, including Darko Suvin, James Blish's work as William Atheling, and Thomas M. Disch's reminiscent _The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of_ , will find that Roberts has virtually no new insights into the genre.
I will probably use this book as an occasional reference work because it is comprehensive. This comprehensivity, however, and its too long time span (400 AD-present? why?) makes the work thin. It's a lemon, folks.
At several points, the author fails to cite the sources that guide his thinking. For instance, from 297-299, Roberts discusses how Thomas Pynchon's _Gravity's Rainbow_ lost out on the Nebula Award to Arthur C. Clarke's _Rendezvous with Rama_, but he never cites Jonathan Lethem's essay "The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction," which appeared in the _Voice Literary Supplement_ in 1998, nor does he cite Lethem's later exchange with Ray Davis, which appeared in the _New York Review of Science Fiction_. Yet, these pieces are obviously the origin of the Pynchon-Clarke comparison. Robert's work isn't plagiarism, but it comes damn close at times. It certainly isn't careful scholarship.
Finally, anyone who is well-read in the secondary literature on science fiction, including Darko Suvin, James Blish's work as William Atheling, and Thomas M. Disch's reminiscent _The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of_ , will find that Roberts has virtually no new insights into the genre.
I will probably use this book as an occasional reference work because it is comprehensive. This comprehensivity, however, and its too long time span (400 AD-present? why?) makes the work thin. It's a lemon, folks.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
An excellent reference volume as well as an introduction
7 Jan 2009
Format:Paperback
I've already been familiar with Robert's previous book on SF (an introduction to the genre published in 2000), so when I found out he's written a survey of the history of the genre, I was at once interested. Having read most of it (I skipped the early history), I've found it fully satisfactory. It's very readable, at once academic and entertaining, with brilliant occasional flashes of ironic British humour (e.g. when he expresses his disgust with the cheesy Ewoks of the Return of the Jedi - we're in full agreement there). He clearly has a concept to follow, a kind of personal view on the development of the genre, which is not too idiosyncratic but still contains a healthy dose of subjective opinions. On the other hand, he is very generous about most authors, not playing a game of eulogizing some and denigrating others. His tastes seem to be quite close to me, accidentally - I was often nodding enthusiastically while reading his comments.
While being an excellent survey of the history and also an introduction to the genre, it can also be used as a reference if someone wants to find new and interesting authors to read. Roberts has read a truly astonishing amount of SF, including non-English works (although his most obvious weakness is in that area; for instance, even though he praises Stanislaw Lem as the greatest European SF author of the late 20th century, I suspect he's never read anything by him except Solaris, which is a big miss), and he gives more than a laundry list of titles, making his preferences and recommendations clear.
All in all, a book well worth its price!
While being an excellent survey of the history and also an introduction to the genre, it can also be used as a reference if someone wants to find new and interesting authors to read. Roberts has read a truly astonishing amount of SF, including non-English works (although his most obvious weakness is in that area; for instance, even though he praises Stanislaw Lem as the greatest European SF author of the late 20th century, I suspect he's never read anything by him except Solaris, which is a big miss), and he gives more than a laundry list of titles, making his preferences and recommendations clear.
All in all, a book well worth its price!
3 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating Insights into Sci-Fi as Literary Genre
13 July 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This study of the history of Science Fiction traces the roots of Sci-Fi back to the extraordinary voyages of ancient Greece, such as the Odyssey as a prototype for travels to the Moon and beyond. The volume is fact filled and contains lots of historical insights that relate popular sci-fi works to the historical events of the time of their writing.
My only complaint is that writing is academic in style. The vocabulary gets a bit ponderous at times. It is not a particularly easy read. Yet the information makes it worthwhile to wade through the heavy verbage.
My only complaint is that writing is academic in style. The vocabulary gets a bit ponderous at times. It is not a particularly easy read. Yet the information makes it worthwhile to wade through the heavy verbage.
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