What was the state of Science Fiction in 1984? The answers can be found in THE SCIENCE FICTION SOURCE BOOK edited by David Wingrove. Wingrove provides several sections to give a wide range of information to the reader (just check out the Table of Contents below).
The book begins with an introduction by Brian Aldiss on the history of SF, following from his earlier Billion Year Spree (1973) and preparing for his revision of it with Wingrove as Trillion Year Spree (1986).
Then there are 40 pages on SF sub-genres by Brian Stableford (my favorite part of the book!):
- 22 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Introduction • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 25 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Man and Machine • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 28 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Utopia and Dystopia • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 31 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Time Travel • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 34 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Aliens • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 37 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Space Travel • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 40 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Galactic Empires • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 42 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: ESP • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 45 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Disasters • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 48 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Religion and Mythology • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 51 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Parallel Worlds and Alternate Histories • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 54 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Sex and Sexuality • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 56 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Alien Ecologies • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 58 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Magic • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 60 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: The Media • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 62 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Inner Space • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
I enjoyed the 10 superb vignettes by leading writers (Bradbury, Cowper, Le Guin, Silverberg, Sladek, Tuttle, Wolfe, Zelazny) revealing their own writing habits. While the pieces by Wingrove and Malcolm Edwards on sf publishing and criticism are informative, given the 1984 publishing date, these analysis’s are good for historical value only.
Finally, there’s the superbly grumpy and negative afterword by Kingsley Amis on why none of it is any good, at least none that has been published since his own New Maps of Hell in 1960.
THE SCIENCE FICTION SOURCE BOOK is a consumer’s guide to 880 novelists and more than 2000 works; a brief history of science fiction; 15 sub-genres of Science Fiction, analysis of major works; verbal pictures of science fiction writers at work while 12 writers explain their methods; a status report on science fiction publishing and checklist of science fiction magazines; science fiction criticism and checklist of critical works. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- 8 • Foreword (The Science Fiction Source Book) • (1984) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss
- 22 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Introduction • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 25 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Man and Machine • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 28 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Utopia and Dystopia • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 31 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Time Travel • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 34 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Aliens • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 37 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Space Travel • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 40 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Galactic Empires • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 42 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: ESP • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 45 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Disasters • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 48 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Religion and Mythology • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 51 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Parallel Worlds and Alternate Histories • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 54 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Sex and Sexuality • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 56 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Alien Ecologies • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 58 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Magic • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 60 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: The Media • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 62 • The Science Fiction Sub-genres: Inner Space • (1984) • essay by Brian Stableford
- 66 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: Introduction • (1984) • essay by Frederik Pohl
- 70 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: One Man’s Work • (1984) • essay by Poul Anderson
- 72 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: The Secret Mind • (1984) • essay by Ray Bradbury
- 74 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: Is There a Story in it Somewhere? • (1984) • essay by Richard Cowper
- 76 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: Wrestling with Words • (1984) • essay by Christopher Evans
- 77 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: Mapping Imaginary Countries • (1984) • essay by Ursula K. Le Guin [as by Ursula Le Guin]
- 79 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: Equipment, Method and the Rest • (1984) • essay by Larry Niven
- 80 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: Thirty Years of Writing • (1984) • essay by Robert Silverberg
- 82 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: How I Became a Science Fiction Master in only 15 Minutes a Day • (1984) • essay by John Sladek (variant of How I Became a Science Fiction Master in Only 15 Minutes a Day)
- 83 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: How I Write • (1984) • essay by Lisa Tuttle
- 84 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: Where I Get My Ideas • (1984) • essay by Gene Wolfe
- 85 • The Science Fiction Writer at Work: The Process of Composing • (1984) • essay by Roger Zelazny
- 87 • Science Fiction Writers: A Consumers’ Guide • (1984) • essay by David Wingrove
- 272 • First Magazine Publication of Leading Authors • (1984) • essay by uncredited
- 274 • Science Fiction Publishing: The Science Fiction Magazines • (1984) • essay by David Wingrove
- 282 • Science Fiction Publishing: Magazine Checklist • (1984) • essay by uncredited
- 287 • Criticism Checklist • (1984) • essay by David Wingrove
- 289 • Science Fiction Publishing: SF Publishing: The Economics • (1984) • essay by Malcolm Edwards
- 291 • SF Criticism • (1984) • essay by David Wingrove
- 309 • Afterword (The Science Fiction Source Book) • (1984) • essay by Kingsley Amis
- 312 • Index (The Science Fiction Source Book) • (1984) • essay by uncredited