Against Genre/Theory: The State of Science Fiction Criticism

A review essay on books by: John J. Pierce, Great Themes of Science Fiction: A Study in Imagination and Evolution (New York: Greenwood Press, 1987); C. N. Manlove, Science Fiction: Ten Explorations (Kent, Ohio: Kent State U Press, 1986); & Albert Wendland, Science, Myth, and the Fictional Creation of Alien Worlds (Ann Arbor: U of Michigan Research Press, 1985 [see listings in IRPS No. 64]). These works represent the current state of science fiction (SF) criticism. Pierce reviews nine specific SF themes & their evolution & development over time. Though thoroughly researched & organized, the book is tedious & theoretically unsophisticated. Manlove challenges the tendency in academic criticism to valorize the SF genre's cognitive dimension, focusing on ways that SF reflects threatening features of society. Filled with solid interpretations of both SF classics & lesser known works, the book is useful as a pedagogical tool, but is criticized for its rejection of theory. Wendland provides both an analytical definition of SF & a theoretical framework for its analysis. However, he is criticized for misrepresenting SF's real connection with science & for his facile definition of the genre. 23 References. W. Howard