The Modern Scholar

From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature

By: Professor Michael D. C. Drout

Narrated by: Professor Michael D. C. Drout

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Science fiction literature and films have contributed indelible images to the popular imagination, from H. G. Wells's War of the Worlds to Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles to the fiction of "cyberpunks". In addition to enthralling readers with breathtaking narratives and dazzling the imagination with mind-bending glimpses of possible futures, the best science fiction asks essential questions: What does it mean to be human? Are we alone in the universe, and what does it mean if we're not?

Esteemed professor Michael D. C. Drout traces the history of science fiction in this series of stimulating lectures. From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to today's cutting- edge authors, Drout offers a compelling analysis of the genre, including a look at hard-boiled science fiction, the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2006 Michael D. C. Drout (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

An Amazing Introduction to Science Fiction!

As a lifetime SF fan and writer, I was amazed to learn there was so much more out there and where all the sf stories I love came from. Professor Drout has a very engaging voice and speaking style and seems to have read every SF story ever published! The structure of his lectures and the broad canvas of his topics make me want to listen to this lecture many times. He single-handedly tripled the size of my to-read book list. Well worth the listen for anyone interested in learning more about the history of SF literature and how it has developed over the past 200 years.

Interesting anecdotes, plot summaries, ideas

Any additional comments?

Thoroughly loved this and listened quickly to it over two days. He added depth to books I knew well and gave me tons of new recommendations to try out. I also liked that he described books he thinks are great well enough that I could tell which ones I'd hate ("Dune," and much of Greg Egan's and JG Ballard's works, for example).

If there's a fault, it's that the lecture could've been twice as long to cover twice as many authors.

I found myself jotting down ideas every few minutes such as the lecturer's theory that much of Frank Herbert's work is about the idea that the definition of human is "like me."

Another part of what made it so good is that even though I'm not a big science fiction fan, he talks about how the plots help us examine our current world — and then explains how the ideas and even technology have indeed come to play out in reality.

Oh, and the PDF download is very helpful because it contains all of the names and works mentioned so I didn't have to keep stopping to write them down myself.

Now if only Audible would finally get Ursula K. Le Guin's classic "The Left Hand of Darkness."

Another winner from Drout

From Here to Infinity is another 5 star course from Michael Drout. His enthusiasm for the subject is intoxicating. Obviously this is a course on Science Fiction and he goes into the origins and evolution of the genre in a detailed and entertaining fashion, but it is far more than that. Drout digs into the depths of the genre and explores the genre's different takes on the "big issues" of life and mystery. If you're an SF fan you simply have to listen to this course! It will give you a new and deeper appreciation for what you love about SF and it will open up the genre in a new way. He introduced me to authors that I had never heard of and made me want to read books that I may not have considered previously. If you're not that into SF then you too should listen to the course. It will give you a new appreciation for the complex philosophical questions with which the genre wrestles and for me -- it made me love SF a whole lot more than I previously did! Drout is the man!

Another engaging course by Drout

This course introduced me to several masters of the craft. I can't wait to read their work.

Very enlightening and entertaining!

Enjoying science fiction literature has been bolstered with Michael Drout's insights. There are new (to me) I'm ready to explore, and authors I've read that I want to reread with a new perspective. Much great research across SF literature history is evident in this lecture series. Great work!

Mediocre

I was somewhat disappointed by this book. While it gives a classification of part of SF literature and turns the reader on to a number of good books, I found it lacking in depth. More often than not the lecture does not go much beyond summarizing the content of a number of books, with little true analysis. The analysis is there is poorly structured and repetitive. Also, the course is really extremely America-centric. While the author is open about this fact and justified it by the fact that much SF originates in America, I still find it unfortunate. Yes, Jules Verne is discussed and Stanislaw Lem get mentioned, but that is about it. The biggest positive effect of this course was turning me on to Greg Egan, an author I had not yet read and now really like.