Road to Science Fiction - (Road to Science Fiction (Scarecrow Press)) by James Gunn (Paperback)

About the Book

Now in Paper! The Road to Science Fiction is a six-volume anthology of science fiction that covers the development of science fiction from its earliest prototypes in the Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Greek epics to approximately 1990. Created originally to provide anthologies for...

Book Synopsis

Now in Paper! The Road to Science Fiction is a six-volume anthology of science fiction that covers the development of science fiction from its earliest prototypes in the Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Greek epics to approximately 1990. Created originally to provide anthologies for use in classes, these volumes have become mass-market sellers as well, since they are not only a source of outstanding stories but also explain what constitutes science fiction, how it developed and the contribution the authors and the stories have made to the evolution of science fiction. Cloth edition previously published in 1979.

Review Quotes

...of great use to teachers and students of science fiction. However, Gunn's work is accessible to any serious reader. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in acquiring a useful vocabulary of texts and authors for use during those conversations in which the value of science fiction is questioned...Gunn's prose is serious and well informed without being prolix.

...provides one of the most comprehensive views of the field and should be required reading for all students of sf. It has withstood the test of time, with classic stories....Gunn's headnotes and introductions remain provocative, even years later. The Road to Science Fiction can be read as an historical document, one that says much about Gunn, his mind, and his take on sf as it does about the state of sf from its roots to its full maturity as a genre.

An excellent introduction to the history of the genre.

The best series, historically arranged, of SF anthologies ever assembled...All six volumes belong in the library of every university, school, and teacher and reader of science fiction. Gunn has gathered stories of importance to the development of SF and stories that represent the best writing of the genre.

About the Author

James Gunn is Emeritus Professor of English at University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.