Aldiss Unbound: The Science Fiction of Brian W. Aldiss

by Richard Mathews

A critical study of the science fiction of Brian W. Aldiss.

64 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1977

About the author

Richard Mathews was a distinguished publisher, educator, and champion of book arts whose career spanned decades at the University of Tampa Press. As Director, he published over 100 books, cultivating the Press’s reputation for excellence in contemporary literature, book arts, and regional history. A meticulous editor and designer, he combined a deep knowledge of printmaking with a passion for mentoring colleagues and students, inspiring countless individuals to appreciate the craft of bookmaking.
In 2008, Richard founded the Tampa Book Arts Studio, directing it until 2020. The studio preserved historical letterpress traditions and offered visitors hands-on experiences with 19th- and early 20th-century presses. His dedication extended to preserving historical typefaces, such as Frederic Goudy’s Companion, and producing rare works including Julius J. Lankes’ The Rich Mouse. Richard generously donated the studio’s extensive library of over 10,000 items, representing more than 600 presses, to UT’s Macdonald-Kelce Library.
Richard also transformed Tampa Review into an internationally recognized multi-genre journal, publishing writers such as Derek Walcott and Peter Meinke while nurturing emerging authors through programs like AWP’s Intro Journals Project. Over 34 years at UT, he taught courses in book arts, literature, poetry, Tolkien studies, and academic writing, providing students with hands-on printing and design experience.
In addition to his editorial and teaching work, Richard published poetry collections, including A Mummery and Numbery, and authored Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination. His scholarship and artistry left an enduring mark on literature, publishing, and the university community, creating a legacy of passion, mentorship, and dedication to the art of the book.

Reviews

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/325182.html[return][return]A very brief, 60-page pamphlet, published in 1977, in other words not even half way through Aldiss' writing career (he was born in 1925, and first published in 1954). There's a bit too much retelling of the plot and quoting favourite lines from Aldiss' books and short stories. One particular concept that I found interesting, the idea of "slouch" as a particularly Aldiss brand of humour, simply wasn't explained well enough for me to make up my mind. The one point that made me sit up and think about why I enjoy Aldiss' work so much was Mathews' quotation from Aldiss' contribution to the 1975 volume of sf writers' reminiscences, Hell's Cartographers, which I quote here in its original form:[return][return]"I have written a number of books which I believe contain something like a creative vision, no matter in what other ways they may be flawed. Although I see my true strengths to lie in he short story field, I have novels for which I cannot but feel some warmth; most of them are involved with the portrayal of landscape, such as A Soldier Erect, Report on Probability A, Barefoot in the Head, and Greybeard, all of which depict figures in landscape. Non-Stop and Frankenstein Unbound show figures swallowed by their landscapes. So, I suppose, does Hothouse, a novel from which I have always felt distanced, perhaps considering the miserable circumstances under which it was written. Cryptozoic (An Age) has landscape as surrealism, Male Response landscape as comedy. Eighty Minute Hour has an exploded landscape."[return][return]On rereading those words in Mathews' abbreviated (but better contextualised) presentation, I suddenly realised that I am a real fan of books with a carefully thought out landscape behind them. I suppose (from the fact that books I hated because their fictional landscapes made no sense to me, such as Cherryh's Downbelow Station and Cyteen, nonetheless have devoted fan followings) that this is not universal. But it helps me realise what sort of book, what sort of writer, appeals to me, personally.