aurochs's review against another edition
4.0
Turns out Patrick B. Sharp! A very engaging and illuminating look at early science fiction with a focus on female writers. Sharp shows how the mindsets of colonialism mixed with the ideas of natural selection in the minds of the time led to the structures of narratives that we saw in early SF, and how that has shaped later generations of tropes. In particular we look at how women used Darwin’s ideas to promote female equality and/or rights. Sharp shines a light on a lot of early writers that have otherwise been forgotten, and looks at their bodies of work critically and fairly, not ignoring the faults but equally giving praise where it is due, and highlighting the more progressive elements. It’s great to ‘rediscover’ these classic writers who have definitely been left by the wayside somewhat!
Sharp’s arguments are clear, concise and easy to follow, and show the close intersection between different ideas and how they came to permeate this genre. I really do feel like I’ve put in a missing piece of history in my understanding of SF, and it has already affected the ways in which I can think about other works. Excellent criticism
I may be out of touch with the modern literature on these subjects, but there is definitely a tendency to inflate concepts beyond usefulness. For example, I’m not sure that I agree that every female pilot in every sci-fi story in the 20s and 30s is necessarily a representation of Amelia Earhart, or that every meeting between two cultures is necessarily, inherently colonial; nor is the desire to explore new concepts, locations and societies inherently colonial. Using these labels for such wide-ranging and varied examples on serves to make the labels less meaningful. Yes, undeniably a colonial mindset is present in a lot of these early stories, but that comes from the exploitation of the peoples or resources of the new location, or from the attitudes of those that make contact- the contact itself is not, or need not be, inherently colonialist.
Overall, great book with interesting insights, that is well-written and argued, and provides loads of great examples that both prove the points Sharp is making and provide the modern reader some new old authors to go check out. Well worth a read for the critical sci-fi fan.
Sharp’s arguments are clear, concise and easy to follow, and show the close intersection between different ideas and how they came to permeate this genre. I really do feel like I’ve put in a missing piece of history in my understanding of SF, and it has already affected the ways in which I can think about other works. Excellent criticism
I may be out of touch with the modern literature on these subjects, but there is definitely a tendency to inflate concepts beyond usefulness. For example, I’m not sure that I agree that every female pilot in every sci-fi story in the 20s and 30s is necessarily a representation of Amelia Earhart, or that every meeting between two cultures is necessarily, inherently colonial; nor is the desire to explore new concepts, locations and societies inherently colonial. Using these labels for such wide-ranging and varied examples on serves to make the labels less meaningful. Yes, undeniably a colonial mindset is present in a lot of these early stories, but that comes from the exploitation of the peoples or resources of the new location, or from the attitudes of those that make contact- the contact itself is not, or need not be, inherently colonialist.
Overall, great book with interesting insights, that is well-written and argued, and provides loads of great examples that both prove the points Sharp is making and provide the modern reader some new old authors to go check out. Well worth a read for the critical sci-fi fan.
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