Cosmic Engineers: A Study of Hard Science Fiction

by Gary Westfahl

Overview

The first comprehensive critical study of hard science fiction, this book reveals how the term hard science fiction originated, and how arguments about its range and nature have unfolded. Westfahl shows that hard science fiction is generally characterized by the author's extreme concern for scientific accuracy and logic. Identifying two characteristic forms of hard science fiction, Westfahl closely examines several representative works: Arthur C. Clarke's A Fall of Moondust, Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity, and Charles Sheffield's Between the Strokes of Midnight. This book offers new insights into hard science fiction and provides a wealth of information about what members of the science fiction community have said about this relatively recent genre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313297274
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/16/1996
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy , #67
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Gary Westfahl is adjunct professor at the University of La Verne, CA. He has published numerous articles on science fiction and fantasy in jourbanals, magazines, critical anthologies, and reference books. He is the also the author of several forthcoming books on science fiction and fantasy, and coeditor of three forthcoming anthologies.

Editorial Reviews

Looks at key authors and texts of hard science fiction, a subgenre of science fiction, discussing comments on the nature of hard science fiction by its authors, the history of the subgenre, and its possible future. Examines three representative works by Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement, and Charles Sheffield. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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