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Mindscapes: The Geographies of Imagined Worlds
Eighteen essays plus four examples from the ninth annual J. Lloyd Eaton Conference on Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature at the University of California, Riverside. The concept of mindscape, Slusser and Rabkin explain, allows critics to focus on a single fundamental "The constant need for a relation between mind and some being external to mind." The essayists are Poul Anderson, Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, Ronald J. Heckelman, David Brin, Frank McConnell, George E. Slusser, James Romm, Jack G. Voller, Peter Fitting, Michael R. Collings, Pascal J. Thomas, Reinhart Lutz, Joseph D. Miller, Gary Westfahl, Bill Lee, Max P. Belin, William Lomax, and Donald M. Hassler. The book concludes with four authors discussing examples of mindscape. The participants are Jean-Pierre Barricelli, Gregory Benford, Gary Kern, and David N. Samuelson.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 3, 1989
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December 30, 2019
This volume offers a selection of essays pertaining to different aspects of imaginary geographies. While the focus is predominantly on the modern science fiction genre, much of the ideas and concepts covered here have value for anyone studying any type of imaginative works, folklore, or mythology. The concept of "mindscape" itself is generally used here to denote the imaginary landscapes crafted by cultures or individual authors, within which they may place their own fictional narratives and characters. Many of these essays highlight that just as one's environment in the real world impacts their thoughts and behaviors, the nature of such imaginary landscapes has implications for both the fictional characters and how it is received by readers. Of course, authors, especially in modern science fiction, have a great degree of imaginative freedom for crafting these worlds and do often closely interweave such mindscapes with the stories they tell. Therefore, in order to fully understand such narratives, we should not ignore the fictional worlds that are created to sustain them. Overall, this is a wonderfully entertaining and insightful book for anyone interested in fictional worlds in any time period or genre.
Some of the most insightful and thought provoking essays included were (but certainly not the only ones):
The Survival of Myth in Science Fiction by Wendy Doniger O' Flaherty - This highlights some of the similarities between the long established mythologies and modern science fiction. O'Flaherty makes an insightful comparison between mythology and modern superheroes to show how both often relied on similar aspects of storytelling and the search for meaning.
Metaphorical Drive — Or Why We're Such Good Liars by David Brin - Seemingly echoing Lucian's prologue to his True History, Brin delves into the inherently mendacious nature of science fiction and how this practice of deliberately crafting false worlds ultimately aids us in gaining new insights and perspectives on the real world.
Belief and Other Worlds: Ktesias and the Founding of the "Indian Wonders" by James Romm - Distinguishing himself from the rest of the authors, Romm examines some of the Greco-Roman notions of what distant geographic regions were believed to be like. He shows the profound impact of the perceived distance on the ideas about these peoples and exotic elements of their lands.
Neuroscience Fiction: The Roman à Synaptic Cleft - Joseph D. Miller - Miller looks at a more literal concept of the mindscape, specifically how authors have utilized neuroscience and brain modifications for their narrative. It is a common science fiction trope that has its earliest traces in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but has a wide variety of forms from neural implants to the effects of neurochemical-like spice in Frank Herbert's Dune.
Islands in the Sky: Space Stations in the Universe of Science Fiction by Gary Westfahl - This essay provides a survey of some of the previous ways that science fiction authors have crafted different types of space stations, highlighting some common patterns but also some things that are routinely excluded such as logistics and the psychological impacts of life aboard space stations.
Infinity in Your Back Pocket: Pocket Universes and Adjacent Worlds by Max P. Belin - This one examines the utility and convenience of being able to craft fictional worlds that are nothing like our own and further looks at unique instances of this in a couple of science fiction books where the plurality of worlds is a key feature to the narrative.
Landscape and the Romantic Dilemma: Myth and Metaphor in Science-Fiction Narrative by William Lomax - Lomax interestingly traces the first conceptual hints of science fiction back to the literary movement of Romanticism. He believes that the basic structure of having an "open mythology, " as opposed to one dominated by a single worldview paved the way for modern science fiction and fantasy as genres.
Pascal's Terror by Gregory Benford - This is a brief survey of the psychological terror that the uneasiness of the concept of infinity has created in humans and how some have coped with it in fictional works by mapping or populating outer space with familiar elements.
Some of the most insightful and thought provoking essays included were (but certainly not the only ones):
The Survival of Myth in Science Fiction by Wendy Doniger O' Flaherty - This highlights some of the similarities between the long established mythologies and modern science fiction. O'Flaherty makes an insightful comparison between mythology and modern superheroes to show how both often relied on similar aspects of storytelling and the search for meaning.
Metaphorical Drive — Or Why We're Such Good Liars by David Brin - Seemingly echoing Lucian's prologue to his True History, Brin delves into the inherently mendacious nature of science fiction and how this practice of deliberately crafting false worlds ultimately aids us in gaining new insights and perspectives on the real world.
Belief and Other Worlds: Ktesias and the Founding of the "Indian Wonders" by James Romm - Distinguishing himself from the rest of the authors, Romm examines some of the Greco-Roman notions of what distant geographic regions were believed to be like. He shows the profound impact of the perceived distance on the ideas about these peoples and exotic elements of their lands.
Neuroscience Fiction: The Roman à Synaptic Cleft - Joseph D. Miller - Miller looks at a more literal concept of the mindscape, specifically how authors have utilized neuroscience and brain modifications for their narrative. It is a common science fiction trope that has its earliest traces in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but has a wide variety of forms from neural implants to the effects of neurochemical-like spice in Frank Herbert's Dune.
Islands in the Sky: Space Stations in the Universe of Science Fiction by Gary Westfahl - This essay provides a survey of some of the previous ways that science fiction authors have crafted different types of space stations, highlighting some common patterns but also some things that are routinely excluded such as logistics and the psychological impacts of life aboard space stations.
Infinity in Your Back Pocket: Pocket Universes and Adjacent Worlds by Max P. Belin - This one examines the utility and convenience of being able to craft fictional worlds that are nothing like our own and further looks at unique instances of this in a couple of science fiction books where the plurality of worlds is a key feature to the narrative.
Landscape and the Romantic Dilemma: Myth and Metaphor in Science-Fiction Narrative by William Lomax - Lomax interestingly traces the first conceptual hints of science fiction back to the literary movement of Romanticism. He believes that the basic structure of having an "open mythology, " as opposed to one dominated by a single worldview paved the way for modern science fiction and fantasy as genres.
Pascal's Terror by Gregory Benford - This is a brief survey of the psychological terror that the uneasiness of the concept of infinity has created in humans and how some have coped with it in fictional works by mapping or populating outer space with familiar elements.
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