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How Great Science Fiction Works

Written by: Gary K. Wolfe,The Great Courses
Narrated by: Gary K. Wolfe
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Publisher's Summary

Robots, spaceships, futuristic megacities, planets orbiting distant stars. These icons of science fiction are now in our daily news. Science fiction, once maligned as mere pulp, has motivated cutting-edge scientific research, inspired new technologies, and changed how we view everyday life - and its themes and questions permeate popular culture. Take an unparalleled look at the influence, history, and greatest works of science fiction with illuminating insights and fascinating facts about this wide-ranging genre. If you think science fiction doesn't have anything to do with you, this course deserves your attention. And if you love science fiction, you can't miss this opportunity to trace the arc of science fiction's evolution, understand the hallmarks of great science fiction, and delve deeply into classics while finding some new favorites.

These 24 captivating lectures reveal the qualities that make science fiction an enduring phenomenon that has been steadily gaining popularity. You'll grasp the context and achievements of authors like Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. LeGuin, and many more. You'll experience the wonder, horror, and incredible imagination of works like Frankenstein, the Foundation series, Stranger in a Strange Land, and dozens of more recent stories as well. You'll also see this genre's influence in movies like Star Wars and TV shows like The Twilight Zone.

Science fiction can take us places in time and space where no other form of fiction can - outer space, the far future, alternate universes, unfathomable civilizations. The best science fiction expands our imaginations and makes its mark on our reality. And while few writers would ever claim to predict the future, sometimes authors get it almost eerily right: Gernsback describing radar in 1911, Bradbury describing giant flatscreen TVs in 1951, Gibson inventing "cyberspace" in 1984, and so on.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 The Great Courses (P)2016 The Teaching Company, LLC

What listeners say about How Great Science Fiction Works

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good overview

Sensible, thoughtful overview of the field, partly historical, partly by key topics. Recommended as good introduction.

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Great Listen

A personal favourite among many Great Courses audiobooks I have completed. A very rewarding audiobook for anyone interested in the field.

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This is not a lesson but it is about learning

You will not learn how to write perfect science fiction, but here is an explorative look through the science fiction we know and why it might be as popular as it is. It's a look at what is the base of science fiction and where it comes from. It's much more than simply a recipe of what to write to become a science fiction story, but it is the scientific understanding of the ingredients so that you may use and change them as you see fit and how to recognize what you enjoy it.

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Inspirational Guidelines

Not only is this lesson inspiring. It is also a great resource to wrap your mind in the world of Science Fiction.

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