Audiobook8 hours
From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature
Written by Michael Drout
Narrated by Michael Drout
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Science fiction literature and films have contributed indelible images to the popular imagination, from H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds to Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles to the fiction of "cyberpunks." In addition to enthralling readers with breathtaking narratives and dazzling the imagination with mind-bending glimpses of possible futures, the best science fiction asks essential questions: What does it mean to be human? Are we alone in the universe, and what does it mean if we're not? Esteemed professor Michael D.C. Drout traces the history of science fiction in this series of stimulating lectures. From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to today's cutting- edge authors, Drout offers a compelling analysis of the genre, including a look at hard-boiled science fiction, the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field.
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Reviews for From Here to Infinity
Rating: 4.38461551923077 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
26 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The lecturer Professor Michael D.C. Drout is as passionate about science fiction as a pre-teen boy is about sneaking into a theater to see a forbidden sci-fi flick. And that’s what you want in a professor. He is articulate and well-versed in the genre. He divides the material into decades and themes in a way that allows the listener to both digest the voluminous material and see the genre’s progression though history.
You might hope that, as he walks through the decades, Prof. Drout would note one of your favorite authors. Sadly, he may not. He skipped some of mine. But to be fair there are so many science fiction authors that he had to be selective, and he seems to have chosen those that typified subgenres such as cyberpunk and slipstream.
I would have given this lecture series a 5 star rating had it not been his bias and praise for everything progressive. When it came to the Surrealists such as J. G. Ballard, the praise for progressiveness turned my stomach. (J. G. Ballard 's 1973 novel “Crash” is about a group of people who take sexual pleasure from car accidents.) This is twisted an sick. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Drout is extraordinarily engaging. Of course, one of the effects of his engagingness is that you want to drop listening to him and go read one of the books he is discussing so interestingly.