Science Fiction

China Miéville, author of Perdido Street Station and Iron Council

"This is a well-conceived, impressively researched and eloquently argued study of Anglo-American science fiction. Combining a sweeping command of cultural-historical contexts with incisive close readings of individual texts, Roger Luckhurst illuminates over a century's worth of print and mass-media SF. Whether discussing popular concerns about the pervasive power of "Mechanism" in the nineteenth century or avant-gardist critiques of the media-saturated "Society of the Spectacle" in the 1960s, Luckhurst's consistent emphasis on how SF registers the impact of techno-scientific change gives his study a remarkable coherence. In sum, this is an essential and timely volume"

Rob Latham, University of Iowa

"This is a refreshing and lively survey of a very broad field. It usefully situates science fiction in its relevant cultural context and makes a valuable contribution to the history of the genre."

David Seed, Liverpool University