{"title":"Science Fiction \u0026 Fantasy","description":"\u003cp\u003eScience fiction and fantasy literary criticism investigates the unique storytelling, themes, and imaginative worlds that set these genres apart from other literary forms. Readers can expect exploration of speculative settings, societal motifs, and genre-defining techniques, as well as analysis of how fantasy and science fiction interpret reality through allegory and speculation. This subject highlights how genre expectations, world-building, and narrative structures influence both interpretation and cultural relevance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo deepen your research or reading in science fiction and fantasy criticism, consider focusing on specific topics such as narrative strategy, cultural impact, or trends within the speculative fiction landscape. Comparing approaches between science fiction and fantasy or tracing their literary development over time provides further insight into genre evolution within the context of literary criticism.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"language-night-essays-writing-science-fiction-fantasy-9781668034903-new","title":"The Language of the Night: Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy","description":"Featuring a new introduction by Ken Liu, this revised edition of Ursula K. Le Guin's first full-length collection of essays covers her background as a writer and educator, on fantasy and science fiction, on writing, and on the future of literary science fiction.\"We like to think we live in daylight, but half the world is always dark; and fantasy, like poetry, speaks the language of the night.\" --Ursula K. Le Guin Le Guin's sharp and witty voice is on full display in this collection of twenty-four essays, revised by the author a decade after its initial publication in 1979. The collection covers a wide range of topics and Le Guin's origins as a writer, her advocacy for science fiction and fantasy as mediums for true literary exploration, the writing of her own major works such as A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness, and her role as a public intellectual and educator. The book and each thematic section are brilliantly introduced and contextualized by Susan Wood, a professor at the University of British Columbia and a literary editor and feminist activist during the 1960s and '70s. A fascinating, intimate look into the exceptional mind of Le Guin whose insights remain as relevant and resonant today as when they were first published.","brand":"SCRIBNER BOOKS CO","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51574669508898,"sku":"9781668034903-new","price":17.07,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9781668034903.jpg?v=1777345150"},{"product_id":"tower-ruin-jrr-tolkiens-creation-9781324093886-new","title":"The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien's Creation","description":"\u003cp\u003eNo writer has surpassed the epic achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien, who spent decades refining his Middle-earth--a world that has felt so real to so many readers that it is almost impossible to imagine that any single person could have simply created it, seemingly out of thin air. In \u003cem\u003eThe Tower and the Ruin\u003c\/em\u003e, Michael D. C. Drout takes us deep into Tolkien's genius, allowing us to glimpse the making of not only \u003cem\u003eThe Lord of the Rings\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Hobbit\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Silmarillion\u003c\/em\u003e but also lesser-known books such as \u003cem\u003eThe Fall of Gondolin\u003c\/em\u003e as well as Tolkien's poetry and innovative scholarship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrout, who has spent decades reading, studying, and teaching Tolkien, allows us to understand the author's methods and to embrace his works as never before. With great erudition and sparkling prose, Drout shows us how Tolkien invented myths, legends, cultures, languages, histories, and an intricate, multivocal narrative. We come to understand how Tolkien drew upon and modified material he found in \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eKalevala\u003c\/em\u003e, and other medieval literature from northern Europe, using the subtle qualities of those famous works as inspiration for his own. We also see the process by which he created the complex form of sorrow that is the primary emotional effect of his mature works, a sadness \"blessed without bitterness,\" carefully woven through a tapestry of themes that has resonated with generations of readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSweeping and hugely perceptive--and enhanced throughout by Drout's personal reflections on how Tolkien has shaped his own life and relationships--\u003cem\u003eThe Tower and the Ruin\u003c\/em\u003e illuminates Tolkien anew and will come to be seen as an essential work for anyone who has journeyed to Middle-earth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"W W NORTON \u0026 CO","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51578531348770,"sku":"9781324093886-new","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9781324093886.jpg?v=1777407783"},{"product_id":"atlas-middle-earth-9780618126996-new","title":"The Atlas of Middle-Earth","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe definitive, exquisitely detailed guide to the geography of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, by renowned cartographer Karen Wynn Fonstad.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKaren Wynn Fonstad's \u003ci\u003eThe Atlas of Middle-earth\u003c\/i\u003e is an essential and official Tolkien companion that will enchant all fans. Here is the definitive guide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring. Authentic and updated -- nearly one third of the maps are new, and the text is fully revised -- this guide to Tolkien's world illuminates the lore created in \u003ci\u003eThe Silmarillion\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Hobbit\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Lord of the Rings\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHundreds of two-color maps and diagrams, a true feat of Middle-earth cartography, survey the journeys of the principal characters day by day -- including all the battles and key locations of the First, Second, and Third Ages. Plans and descriptions of castles, buildings, and distinctive landforms are given, along with thematic maps describing the climate, vegetation, languages, and population distribution of Middle-earth throughout its history. An extensive appendix and an index help readers correlate the maps with Tolkien's novels.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HOUGHTON MIFFLIN","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51578544357666,"sku":"9780618126996-new","price":20.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780618126996.jpg?v=1777408036"},{"product_id":"contemporary-fiction-fairy-tale-9780814332542-new","title":"Contemporary Fiction and the Fairy Tale","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecent decades have witnessed a renaissance of interest in the fairy tale, not least among writers of fiction. In Contemporary Fiction and the Fairy Tale, editor Stephen Benson argues that fairy tales are one of the key influences on fiction of the past thirty years and also continue to shape literary trends in the present. Contributors detail the use of fairy tales both as inspiration and blueprint and explore the results of juxtaposing fairy tales and contemporary fiction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e At the heart of this collection, seven leading scholars focus on authors whose work is heavily informed and transformed by fairy tales: Robert Coover, A. S. Byatt, Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter, and Salman Rushdie. In addition to investigating the work of this so-called fairy-tale generation, Contemporary Fiction and the Fairy Tale provides a survey of the body of theoretical writing surrounding these authors, both from within literary studies and from fairy-tale studies itself. Contributors present an overview of critical positions, considered here in relation to the work of Jeanette Winterson and of Nalo Hopkinson, suggesting further avenues for research.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Contemporary Fiction and the Fairy Tale offers the first detailed and comprehensive account of the key authors working in this emerging genre. Students and teachers of fiction, folklore, and fairy-tale studies will appreciate this insightful volume.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WAYNE ST UNIV PR","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51590143410466,"sku":"9780814332542-new","price":38.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780814332542.jpg?v=1777522566"},{"product_id":"illustrated-world-tolkien-9781645171317-new","title":"The Illustrated World of Tolkien","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn enchanting reference book for everything Tolkien!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJ. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe is as infinite as the human imagination, but not all who wander are lost! \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eIllustrated World of Tolkien\u003c\/i\u003e is an excellent guide to Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. Vivid descriptions of all Tolkien's beasts, monsters, races, nations, deities, and the flora and fauna of the territory are contained herein. Full-color pages with stunning illustrations create an enchanting source for information on all the fantastical places and creatures that sprung from Tolkien's mind. Special features include a detailed map, a chronology of all ages, a general index, and a special index that will refer you to Tolkien's original works for each entry. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"THUNDER BAY PR","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":52598377742626,"sku":"9781645171317-new","price":20.82,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9781645171317.jpg?v=1789958184"},{"product_id":"trace-elements-conversations-project-science-fiction-fantasy-9781250372604-new","title":"Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom two of the most acclaimed writers in the field today, a groundbreaking look at how SF and fantasy writing--and reading!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e--work.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJo Walton and Ada Palmer are two of the most innovative and insightful writers to emerge in the SF and fantasy genres in this century. 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