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Flashes of the Fantastic Selected Essays from the War of the Worlds Centennial, Nineteenth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts
David Ketterer
ISBN: 0-313-31607-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-31607-4
268 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 12/30/2004
List Price: $102.95 (UK Sterling Price: £71.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: The 19th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts was focused on the centennial of the initial publication of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. Wells's first and fourth novels, The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, have together largely created the science fiction genre and are arguably the two most influential works of science fiction. But through his works Wells has had an even broader influence on the fantastic, and numerous writers, artists, and musicians are indebted to him. This volume includes selected essays from the 19th annual ICFA and gives special attention to Wells and his legacy.

The first section of the book offers fresh interpretations of The War of the Worlds, particularly as a commentary on colonialism. The second provides broader coverage of Wells and his works, with essays examining his A Modern Utopia and looking at texts which his writings inspired in major or minor ways. The third includes essays on noted fantasy writer Peter Straub, the guest of honor at the conference; while the fourth presents discussions of a variety of topics related to the fantastic, including fantastic neomedievalism, Dracula, and dragons.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction: "Flashes of Light" by David Ketterer
    THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
    "God's Ministers"? Reinterpreting the Martian Invasion in The War of the Worlds, by Patrick Parrinder
    Artful Irony in The War of the Worlds, by Richard Law
    The War of the Worlds and the Disease of Imperialism, by Alexander C. Irvine
    The War of the Worlds, Wells, and the Fallacy of Empire, by John C. Hawley
    H. G. WELLS AND SCIENCE FICTION
    The Legendary: H. G. Wells and A Modern Utopia , by Claire Hirshfield
    "These Are Not the Aliens You're Looking For": Reflections on Race, Writing, and Theory in Contemporary Science Fiction, by Sylvia Kelso
    The Queer as Traitor, the Traitor as Queer: Denaturalizing Concepts of Nationhood, Species, and Sexuality, by Wendy Pearson
    The Humanism of C. M. Kornbluth's "The Marching Morons", by Andy Duncan
    The Forever War (1972-75, 1975/76, 1997) and Forever Peace (1997): Joe Haldeman's Variations on a Theme, by Richard D. Erlich
    How to Make Utopia (Marginally) Credible, by Brian W. Aldiss
    THE ART OF PETER STRAUB
    The Fantasy of Everyday Life, by Peter Straub
    An Interview with Peter Straub, by Bernadette Bosky
    Dispatches from the Invisible World: Trauma and Survival in Straub's "Blue Rose" Stories, by Patricia Moir
    FANTASY, REALITY, POETRY-MORE FLASHES OF INSIGHT
    Drawing Lines in the Sand: The Fantastic Considered as an Instance of Liminality, by Judith Kerman
    Anne Radcliffe's "Real" Ghost: The Fantastic Supernatural in Gaston de Blondeville, by Robert F. Geary
    "Power of Combination": Dracula and Secret Societies, by Katie Harse
    The Phantom Structure of Anatole France's "La Messe des Ombres": A Tale from Gascony Revisited, from Bladé to France, by Juliette Gilman
    "Fantastic Neomedievalism": The Image of the Middle Ages in Popular Fantasy, by Kim Selling
    From Death to Rebirth: A Short History of Dragons and Their Presence in Modern Fantasy, by Judith A. John
    Autogeddon Meets Archetype: Ballard's Novel Crash-The Collision Between the Dream Image and the Totem Object in the Death of Princess Diana, by Joan Bridgman
    The Spacecraft of Pablo Neruda and W. H. Auden , by Leonard A. Cheever
    Index
    About the Contributors
About the Author: DAVID KETTERER is Emeritus Professor of English at Concordia University and Honorary Research Fellow in English at the University of Liverpool. He is the author or editor of eight books and is currently working on a biography of John Wyndham.
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