In Other Worlds by Margaret Atwood
In the interest if full disclosure I would like to state for the record that I love Margaret Atwood’s writing and as I writer I would love to be where she is at. When I found a book by my favorite author about my favorite genre I did not hesitate to buy it.
In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination is a collection of essays by Atwood that are her musings on the genre. In it she explores the power of myth and our hunger for the fantastic, why utopian realities have disintegrated into utopian ones over time. She has spent a lot of time thinking about the evolution of men's perceptions of women through the history of the genre. And my favorite was about the origin of the Mad Scientist trope.
Since all the chapters are stand-alone you can take them or leave them as they interest you. They were not written with the idea of being in a book so there is some overlap. For the avid Atwood fan many of the essay’s include personal anecdotes. All in all a great read that really makes you think about some of the over familiar images and ideas we have about science fiction and as per usual for Ms. Atwood, excellent writing that is enjoyable to read.
Also Strongly Suggested: Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale.
In the interest if full disclosure I would like to state for the record that I love Margaret Atwood’s writing and as I writer I would love to be where she is at. When I found a book by my favorite author about my favorite genre I did not hesitate to buy it.
In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination is a collection of essays by Atwood that are her musings on the genre. In it she explores the power of myth and our hunger for the fantastic, why utopian realities have disintegrated into utopian ones over time. She has spent a lot of time thinking about the evolution of men's perceptions of women through the history of the genre. And my favorite was about the origin of the Mad Scientist trope.
Since all the chapters are stand-alone you can take them or leave them as they interest you. They were not written with the idea of being in a book so there is some overlap. For the avid Atwood fan many of the essay’s include personal anecdotes. All in all a great read that really makes you think about some of the over familiar images and ideas we have about science fiction and as per usual for Ms. Atwood, excellent writing that is enjoyable to read.
Also Strongly Suggested: Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale.
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