Slaves Of The Death Spiders And Other Essays On Fantastic Literature

Acclaimed author and scholar Brian Stableford turns his penetrating mind to matters of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in this collection of essays. He covers such diverse topics as: SLAVES OF THE DEATH SPIDERS: Colin Wilson and Existentialist Science Fiction IS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD?: The Woeful Prophecies of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale A FEW MORE CROCODILE TEARS?: Gwyneth Jones THE ADVENTURES OF LORD HORROR: Across the Media Landscape FILLING IN THE MIDDLE: Robert Silverberg's The Queen of Springtime RICE'S RELAPSE: Memnoch the Devil FIELD OF BROKEN DREAMS: Michael Bishop's Brittle Innings THE MAGIC OF THE MOVIES H. G. WELLS AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE FUTURE THE MANY RETURNS OF DRACULA TARZAN'S DIVIDED SELF SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL: Jacques Cazotte's The Devil in Love THE TWO THOUSAND YEAR QUEST: George Viereck's Erotic Odyssey THE PROFESSION OF SCIENCE FICTION

This new collection of critical essays on science fiction and fantasy literature and media features the following pieces: "Slaves of the Death Spiders: Colin Wilson and Existential Science Fiction," "Is There No Balm in Gilead? The Woeful Prophecies of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale," "A Few More Crocodile Tears?" "The Adventures of Lord Horror Across the Media Landscape," "Filling in the Middle: Robert Silverberg's The Queen of Springtime," "Rice's Relapse: Memnoch the Devil," "Field of Broken Dreams: Michael Bishop's Brittle Innings," "The Magic of the Movies," "H. G. Wells and the Discovery of the Future," "The Many Returns of Dracula," "Tarzan's Divided Self," "Sympathy for the Devil: Jacques Cazotte's The Devil in Love," "The Two Thousand Year Odyssey: George Viereck's Erotic Odyssey," and "The Profession of Science Fiction" (an autobiography). Brian Stableford is the bestselling writer of 50 books and hundreds of essays, including science fiction, fantasy, literary criticism, and popular nonfiction. He lives and works in Reading, England. ISBN 0-8095-0910-5 (cloth) ISBN 0-8095-1910-0 (paper)

In this new collection of essays, well-known critic Brian Stableford presents twelve pieces on science-fiction and fantasy writers M. P. Shiel, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Humphry Davy, Robert Hunt, Vernon Lee, J. G. Ballard, James Morrow, Dean Koontz, and Terry Pratchett. Complete with detailed index.

Ten essays on horror fiction, Gothic rock music, science fiction, and fantasy, by a master critic and fiction writer. Complete with index.

Long after he was dead, French poet Charles Baudelaire inspired a Decadent Movement in France, which became definitive of fin de siecle sensibility. One of the historical and influential links between Baudelaire and the new Decadents was the Comte de Villiers de l'Isle Adam, who called the first of his own collections of Decadent prose Contes cruels, because they spurned conventional means of attaining literary closure by celebrating 'the irony of fate' -- the capacity that the course of events has for thwarting human ambition in a frankly mocking fashion. "Because it became so firmly linked to the notion of the fin de siecle, the Decadent Movement did not survive the end of the nineteenth century in France and Decadent literature became increasingly unfashionable thereafter -- but it was, by definition, a literary species guaranteed to thrive on its own unfashionability. The stories collected here have been woefully unappreciated, even when they have succeeded in reaching print -- as some have not until now -- but I have never been tempted to abandon the production of such items, and am far fonder of them than I am of many works that proved more economically viable." -- from the author's Introduction. The tales in this collection include: "An Oasis of Horror," "Justice," "The Copper Cauldron," "Nobody Else to Blame," "Heartbeat," "Upon the Gallows-Tree," "The Devil's Men," "The Elixir of Youth," "The Lamia's Soliloquy," "And the Hunter Home from the Hill," "The Riddle of the Sphinx," "My Mother, the Hag," "The Devil's Comedy," and "The Power of Prayer." Never before collected into book form.

This comprehensive bibliography covers writings about vampires and related creatures from the 19th century to the present. More than 6,000 entries document the vampire's penetration of Western culture, from scholarly discourse, to popular culture, politics and cook books. Sections by topic list works covering various aspects, including general sources, folklore and history, vampires in literature, music and art, metaphorical vampires and the contemporary vampire community. Vampires from film and television--from Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and the Twilight Saga--are well represented.

The new collection features 14 essays relevant to the Literary Decadence movement, including pieces on: Joris-Karl Huysmans, Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, Aloysius Bertrand, Theophile Gautier, Victor Hugo, Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola, Edmond de Goncourt, and Anatole France. Complete with bibliography and index.