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STORMING THE REALITY STUDIO

Name: STORMING THE REALITY STUDIO
Author: Larry McCaffery
ISBN: 0-8223-1158-5

A CASEBOOK OF CYBERPUNK AND POSTMODERN SCIENCE FICTION

edited by Larry McCaffery ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1992

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Another of those strange fiction/nonfiction hybrids that only science fiction seems to generate. As shaped by McCaffery (English/San Diego State; co-ed., Alive and Writing, 1987), the intent is to explore the phenomenon of cyberpunk sf, its relationship to postmodern fiction, and its influence on the literary mainstream. Cyberpunk's type-specimen novel is William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984), which introduced many of the concepts for which cyberpunk is now famous: the imaginary computer-generated universe, cyberspace; the punk sensibility (personal appearance, clothes, music, lifestyle); the global awareness based on unrestricted corporatism and consequent lack of a global ethic; and, above all, the culture of perpetual change, embedded in and driven by technology. Many of the essays here capably and sometimes excitingly explore this universe (Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., Brian McHale, Darko Suvin), while others hide behind a smoke screen of academic jargon (Veronica Hollinger, Fredric Jameson), and still others become distracted (Joan Gordon, failing to determine why Pat Cadigan is cyberpunk's only female practitioner). For the uninitiated in particular, the fiction on display here forms an excellent introduction, ranging from acknowledged cyberpunkers like Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner, Lucius Shepard, Rudy Rucker, and Marc Laidlaw to fellow travelers such as J.G. Ballard, Samuel R. Delany, and poet Rob Hardin. Also excerpted here, William S. Burroughs and Thomas Pynchon are held—with some justification—to have prefigured cyberpunk. Yet other authors (Kathy Acker, Mark Leyner, Don DeLillo) demonstrate how far cyberpunk has infiltrated the literary mainstream. Clearly, cyberpunk now forms the cutting edge of sf; equally clearly, sf has not just challenged the mainstream literary avant garde but has become part of it. Like cyberpunk and sf in general: sometimes irritating, severe, puzzling, or incomprehensible, but just as often original, provocative, incisive, or challenging. Newcomers to cyberpunk will find the fiction particularly useful and enjoyable, while oldsters will revel in and argue over the essays. Splendid, stirring stuff.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-8223-1158-5

Page Count: 344

Publisher: Duke Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.