The Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith - by Karen L Hellekson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This critical work concentrates on the science fiction writings of Paul Linebarger, who wrote under the pseudonym Cordwainer Smith, as well as other pseudonyms he created to reflect his different writing styles. His writings give voice to concerns about humanity and personal struggle; his ideas about love, loss, alienation, and psychic pain continue to resonate today. This work begins with a brief biographical sketch of Cordwainer Smith, linking elements of his past to his writing and focusing on his contributions to science fiction as well as his concern with humanity. Also discussed are Smith's published and unpublished novel-length non-science fiction, his revision process, the true man-underpeople dichotomy in his published and unpublished short fiction, and his only published novel-length science fiction work Norstrilia.

Review Quotes

"welcome...informative...valuable"--SFRA Review; "new pieces to the puzzle of Cordwainer Smith...useful"--Science Fiction Studies; "the only book in print about him and/or his works...in English"--Cordwainer Smith's Science Fiction Ezine.

About the Author

Karen Hellekson is a freelance copy editor and the coeditor with Kristina Busse of Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet (2006). She writes book reviews for Publishers Weekly and lives in Jay, Maine.