The Detached Retina: Aspects of SF and Fantasy by Brian W. Aldiss (Liverpool University Press, May 1995, 0-85323-299-7, £11.75, 224pp, tp, co, cover by Peder Balke)
Collection of 23 essays, some revised from the earlier non-fiction collections The Pale Shadow of Science (Serconia Press 1985) and …And the Lurid Glare of the Comet (Serconia Press 1986). A hardcover edition (-289-X, £25.00) was announced but not seen.
- 1 · Introduction · Brian W. Aldiss · in
- 8 · Thanks for Drowning the Ocelot · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Orbit Science Fiction Yearbook Two ed. David S. Garnett, Orbit, 1989
- 16 · ’A Robot Tended Your Remains…’: The Advance of the Mega-machine · Brian W. Aldiss · ar
- 31 · Between Privy and Universe: Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Nature August 1994 [Ref. Aldous Huxley]; expanded.
- 37 · The Immanent Will Returns—2 · Brian W. Aldiss · ar [Ref. Olaf Stapledon]
based on “Olaf Stapledon” (The Times Literary Supplement 1983) and the foreword to Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future by Robert Crossley (1994).
- 44 · A Whole New Can of Worms · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Foundation #26, October 1982, as “Philip K. Dick: A Whole New Can of Worms” [Ref. Philip K. Dick]; expanded.
delivered as a speech at “The Strange Pilgrimage: A Commemoration for Philip K. Dick”, June 9th, 1982.
- 52 · Science Fiction’s Mother Figure · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Science Fiction Writers ed. E. F. Bleiler, Scribner's, 1981, as “Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley” [Ref. Mary Shelley]; expanded.
- 87 · Sturgeon: The Cruelty of the Gods · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Birmingham SF Group Newsletter #166, 1985, as “Sturgeon: Mercury Plus X” [Ref. Theodore Sturgeon]; expanded.
- 92 · The Downward Journey: Orwell’s 1984 · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Extrapolation Spring 1984 [Ref. George Orwell]
- 101 · Peep · Brian W. Aldiss · ar The Quincunx of Time by James Blish, Avon, 1983 [Ref. James Blish]; expanded.
- 106 · Culture: Is It Worth Losing Your Balls For? · Brian W. Aldiss · ar [Ref. Kingsley Amis]
expanded version of “When the Future Had to Stop” (Vogue 1986) plus the introduction to the Easton Press edition of The Alteration.
- 116 · Wells and the Leopard Lady · Brian W. Aldiss · ar H.G. Wells Under Revision ed. Parrinder & Rolfe, 1990 [Ref. H. G. Wells]
lecture given to the International Wells Symposium, 1986.
- 128 · The Adjectives of Erich Zann: A Tale of Horror · Brian W. Aldiss · ar [Ref. H. P. Lovecraft]
- 131 · Jekyll · Brian W. Aldiss · ar [Ref. Robert Louis Stevenson]
- 133 · One Hump or Two · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Monad: Essays on Science Fiction #2 ed. Damon Knight, Writer's Notebook Press, 1992, as “Fantasy: U.S. Versus U.K.”
lecture given at IAFA Conference of the Fantastic #12.
- 137 · Kafka’s Sister · Brian W. Aldiss · ar My Madness: The Selected Writings of Anna Kavan by Anna Kavan, Picador, 1990 [Ref. Anna Kavan]
- 145 · Campbell’s Soup · Brian W. Aldiss · ar [Ref. John W. Campbell, Jr.]
based on a review in SFRA Review 1993.
- 150 · Some Early Men in the Moon · Brian W. Aldiss · ar Life on the Moon in 1768, 1990, as “The Raccolta of Filipo Morghen”
- 159 · Kaliyuga, or Utopia at a Bad Time · Brian W. Aldiss · ar
talk given at the annual MENSA meeting, Cambridge, August 1994. based in part on “Utopia: Dream or Pipe Dream?” in Locus #400, May 1994.
- 170 · The Atheist’s Tragedy Revisited · Brian W. Aldiss · ar The Pale Shadow of Science by Brian W. Aldiss, Serconia Press, 1985; revised.
- 177 · The Pale Shadow of Science · Brian W. Aldiss · ar The Pale Shadow of Science by Brian W. Aldiss, Serconia Press, 1985
address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1984; originally published in an abridged form in The Guardian 13-Sep-1984.
- 187 · Decadence and Development · Brian W. Aldiss · ar
- 192 · The Veiled World · Brian W. Aldiss · ar
based on a talk given to The Oxford Psychotherapy Society, 1991.
- 199 · A Personal Parabola · Brian W. Aldiss · ar
adapted from a speech delivered at the Natwest Fundación in Madrid, January 1994.
- 213 · Index · [uncredited] · ix
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