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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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