Alfred Bester (Modern Masters of Science Fiction) - Hardcover

Smith, Jad

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0252040635 ISBN 13: 9780252040634

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 2016

Synopsis

Alfred Bester's classic short stories and the canonical novel The Stars My Destination made him a science fiction legend. Fans and scholars praise him as a genre-bending pioneer and cyberpunk forefather. Writers like Neil Gaiman and William Gibson celebrate his prophetic vision and stylistic innovations.

Jad Smith traces the career of the unlikeliest of SF icons. Winner of the first Hugo Award for The Demolished Man, Bester also worked in comics, radio, and TV, and his intermittent SF writing led some critics to brand him a dabbler. In the 1960s, however, New Wave writers championed his work, and his reputation grew. Smith follows Bester's journey from consummate outsider to an artist venerated for foundational works that influenced the New Wave and cyberpunk revolutions. He also explores the little-known roots of a wayward journey fueled by curiosity, disappointment with the SF mainstream, and an artist's determination to go his own way.

About this title

About the Author

Jad Smith is an associate professor of English at Eastern Illinois University and the author of John Brunner .

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0252040635
• ISBN 13: 9780252040634
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216