Review of „Embodying Contagion: The Viropolitics of Horror and Desire in Contemporary Discourse.“
edited by Sandra Becker, Megen de Bruin-Molé and Sara Polak.
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New Reviews: Cyberpunk and Visual Culture and The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture in SFRA Review
Michael Pitts has written a good general review of The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture (edited by Anna McFarlane, Graham J. Murphy, and Lars Schmeink) in SFRA Review, vol. 52, no. 1, 241-42. – LINK – Here is a nice quote:
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Review of The Monster Theory Reader
Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, ed. The Monster Theory Reader. U of Minnesota P, 2020. Paperback, 600 pg. $35.00. ISBN 9781517905255.
If you subscribe to the theory that Mary Shelley is a key figure in the genesis of science fiction, then it is only a small step to claim that the figure of the monster is as central to science fiction as it is to horror.
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Review: Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction
Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction: Living on the Edge of Burnout. Caroline Alphin. Routledge, 2021.
Gibt es in der Wissenschaft eigentlich auch so etwas wie »click-bait«? Wenn ja, dann wäre es wohl das Aufpeppen von Buchtiteln durch gewisse Buzzwords und für Suchmaschinen optimierte Begriffe. Namedropping auf Titelniveau.
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Review: The Tragedy of the Worker
The Tragedy of the Worker: Towards the Proletarocene. The Salvage Collective. Verso, 2021.
Julian Rosefeldt’s video installation Manifesto (2015) has Cate Blanchett reading out various manifestos from the 20th century, each of them declaring a specific artistic view on the world as central to its time and circumstances.
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Review: The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture in Foundation
Danielle Shalet has written an mixed review of The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture (edited by Anna McFarlane, Graham J. Murphy, and Lars Schmeink) in Foundation, vol. 50, no. 2, 132–34. Here is a nice quote:
„What makes this book distinctive from more general works on science fiction […] is that it not only focuses exclusively on cyberpunk but it also thoughtfully illustrates the importance of cyberpunk as a ‘culture’. The editors do this adroitly through their selection of essays and the essays’ strategic placement within the work. It is clear that nothing is done in this book by accident. The essays are tactically placed in terms of interest, cultural significance, importance and quality, and the editors do their best to produce an extensive guide on the subject, drawing from a range of experts as well as postgraduate students and cyberpunk enthusiasts.“
Here is the PDF of the review, in case you are interested.
SFRA Country Report: Germany
Coming home from the first international academic conferences we ever attended, incidentally the ICFA, the SFRA, and the Utopian Studies conference—admittedly quite a few years back—we both agreed that science fiction people shared an incredibly warm and welcoming attitude that made it easy to catch fire. Engaged discussions over coffee about books, films, and games, which we all felt passionate about, helped to easily connect and make national and cultural borders seem meaningless. Nevertheless, SF scholarship is also a field where difference is crucial and, at its best, is celebrated as it adds depth and can yield the most productive results—both in the texts we engage with, as well as in our interpersonal, institutional, and academic contexts. SF fascinates us because it can come in so many different shapes and forms. Therefore, we were delighted to read the wonderful country reports from England and India and the last issues of SFRA Review, which gave us some insights into engagements with sf from (to us) largely new perspectives. We would like to contribute to this exchange and present to the members of the SFRA, a status report on how research in SF is faring in Germany.
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Two new reviews of The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture
Well, not all reviews are glowing and one has to live with criticism, though I feel that Chad Andrews does not do The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture (edited by Anna McFarlane, Graham J. Murphy, and Lars Schmeink) justice in his review in Science Fiction Studies (SFS) vol. 48, no. 1, 354–60. Let’s agree to disagree to what „cyberpunk“, „punk“ (for that matter) and „cyberpunk culture“ actually mean. But here is a nice, short quote:
„Each entry is a worthwhile and meaningful contribution to sf criticism, and to our understanding of cyberpunk’s evolution, influence, and disbursement over the last several decades. „
Here is the PDF of the review, in case you are interested.
Much nicer and much more to the point is the review that Andrew Watton-Davies has given us on the Bunkazilla: Monsters of Culture blog – yes, not an academic outlet, but it goes to show how much interest and spread something like cyberpunk culture actually does have. And it is a really great and insightful review. Check it and read the full review on the blog.
„Within the 50 information-rich articles is not so much an introduction to Cyberpunk, but more a state-of-the-art snapshot of some of the finest Cyberpunk Studies writing going around. Whilst the writing is not aggressively academic, the concepts and ideas discussed are given a weight and a reverence of serious critical analysis. The articles also demonstrate the most valuable facets of true fans of any genre: the joy of taking apart a favourite topic and evaluating it from every angle and in every light possible. Faults are on display as much as perfections, because it’s a part of the thing being loved, so needs to be part of a whole conversation.“
Review: The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture in JFA
Simone Caroti has written an amazing review of The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture (edited by Anna McFarlane, Graham J. Murphy, and Lars Schmeink) in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (JFA), vol. 31, no. 3, 460–63. Here is the concluding paragraph:
„The Routledge Companion to Cyberpunk Culture is as thorough and careful a study of worldwide cyberpunk as we could have hoped it would be. The writing and the bibliographical apparatus are both of high quality, and the enthusiasm of the writers for their topics matches their professionalism. Most importantly this is a book one can argue with. This reviewer found himself disagreeing with a number of theses in the book, sometimes out loud, and that’s exactly how it should be. Every companion volume is as much a spur toward conversation and argument as it is a compass reading in the field it tackles, and in that respect as in many others, this Companion represents a remarkable achievement.“
Here is the PDF of the review, in case you are interested.