A valuable tool for aspiring SF authors, and a treat for fans with an appreciation for literary history and theory.
This pragmatic overview covers virtually every important aspect of writing science fiction. Himself a prolific genre author (The Immortals, not reviewed, etc.), as well as an academic (English/Univ. of Kansas) and literary critic (The Road to Science Fiction, not reviewed), Gunn remains at the forefront of the movement to legitimize scholarly study of science fiction. The first third of his text, drawing on Gunn’s years of experience teaching writing workshops, conveys his influential precepts in 11 short, useful chapters. The second section lays out his theory of science fiction as a genre. The volume concludes with concise critical biographies of H. G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and husband-wife duo Kuttner and Moore. The variety of these three sections broadens the book’s appeal beyond the science-fiction community. The material’s specificity, though, still limits its usefulness for the general reader; the natural audience includes writers aiming for publication and hard-core science-fiction fans. Nevertheless, since Gunn’s excellent prose never fails to engage, inform, and instruct, readers outside the target audience who happen to encounter the book will be pleasantly surprised.
A valuable tool for aspiring SF authors, and a treat for fans with an appreciation for literary history and theory.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-5788-6011-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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