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How Great Science Fiction Works
- Narrated by: Gary K. Wolfe
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
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How Great Science Fiction Works
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Publisher's summary
Robots, spaceships, futuristic megacities, planets orbiting distant stars. These icons of science fiction are now in our daily news. Science fiction, once maligned as mere pulp, has motivated cutting-edge scientific research, inspired new technologies, and changed how we view everyday life - and its themes and questions permeate popular culture. Take an unparalleled look at the influence, history, and greatest works of science fiction with illuminating insights and fascinating facts about this wide-ranging genre. If you think science fiction doesn't have anything to do with you, this course deserves your attention. And if you love science fiction, you can't miss this opportunity to trace the arc of science fiction's evolution, understand the hallmarks of great science fiction, and delve deeply into classics while finding some new favorites.
These 24 captivating lectures reveal the qualities that make science fiction an enduring phenomenon that has been steadily gaining popularity. You'll grasp the context and achievements of authors like Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. LeGuin, and many more. You'll experience the wonder, horror, and incredible imagination of works like Frankenstein, the Foundation series, Stranger in a Strange Land, and dozens of more recent stories as well. You'll also see this genre's influence in movies like Star Wars and TV shows like The Twilight Zone.
Science fiction can take us places in time and space where no other form of fiction can - outer space, the far future, alternate universes, unfathomable civilizations. The best science fiction expands our imaginations and makes its mark on our reality. And while few writers would ever claim to predict the future, sometimes authors get it almost eerily right: Gernsback describing radar in 1911, Bradbury describing giant flatscreen TVs in 1951, Gibson inventing "cyberspace" in 1984, and so on.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
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Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
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Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
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1 out of 5 stars
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I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
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George Orwell’s 1984
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It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
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A Revelation!
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Constituent Service
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Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.
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5 out of 5 stars
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What a silly and sweet quick listen!
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Wynonna Earp
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Saddle up and join Wynonna Earp on an immersive new audio adventure in the gritty supernatural world of Purgatory. This Audible Original invites you deeper into the Weird West to follow Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano), as she embarks on her craziest adventure yet: riding off into the sunset with her soulmate, Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon)—yes ... that Doc Holliday. Brace yourself for more wise-cracking demon hunters, earth-shattering revelations and all the genre-blending action you've come to expect from the cult hit TV series.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Happy #Earper ☺️
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There are three kinds of feelings when reading a story: boredom, interest, and wow! To become a successful writer, you must create the wow feeling on as many pages as possible, and this requires writing that engages the reader emotionally. In his best-selling book, screenwriter Karl Iglesias explored the working habits of A-list Hollywood scribes. Now, he breaks new ground by focusing on the psychology of the reader.
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For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
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Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear about someone committing a violent, reprehensible, even evil, act. And each time it happens, before we know anything about the circumstances, we are already sure of one thing: We are nothing like that perpetrator. But how can we be so sure? After all, we are all human. In Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature, Professor Daniel Breyer takes us on a fascinating philosophical journey into many of the deepest and darkest questions that have engaged humanity for millennia.
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Release date!
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Charles Darwin's theory of organic evolution-the idea that life on earth is the product of purely natural causes, not the hand of God-set off shock waves that continue to reverberate through Western society, and especially the United States. What makes evolution such a profoundly provocative concept, so convincing to most scientists, yet so socially and politically divisive? These 12 eye-opening lectures are an examination of the varied elements that so often make this science the object of strong sentiments and heated debate.
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From spirituality to politics and science, the occult has had an astonishing influence on the human experience across the centuries. It may surprise you to learn that everyday activities like attending church services or reading your daily horoscope all fit the broad definition of the occult. As you will see in the 24 illuminating episodes of Secrets of the Occult, the mystic and obscure are threaded through our ordinary lives in more ways than you may realize.
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Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.
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What listeners say about How Great Science Fiction Works
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Matthew
- 02-25-16
Not Impressed
This was definitely a good, not great course. the topic is huge, I recognize that, but Dr. Wolfe didn't focus enough on limited examples of his themes.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- August Chesser
- 11-09-16
it's ok
made some interesting points but it's less a lecture than a collection of short summaries of a long list of sci fi books the professor had read
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jessica
- 01-18-23
Great read
I wanted to start to read science fiction since it’s not a genre I usually gravitate towards. ( unless it’s a Star Wars, Star Trek or Firefly book) Truthfully I didn’t know where to start so when I searched in audible science-fiction this was one of the first pop ups so I thought I’d listen to this and then read a few of the recommended books in the PDF that comes with the course. Being that I don’t know a lot about science fiction this was a really nice introduction for me into the genre. Gary Wolfe is an amazing speaker. I was worried the subject would go over my head but I didn’t feel that way at all. If anything this course made me really excited to start to read science fiction. I also liked learning about the different stories, I ended up finding a lot of them on audible and was able to add them to my library. I ended up reading 15 Stories that he lectures on in one month and I really enjoyed them some of them have even become part of my all-time favorite books.
Here is a list of a few of my new favorites
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omela by Ursula E Le Guin.
The John Carter series (read first three books) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Scarlet Plague by Jack London
The Machine Stops by Carey Mulligan
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MELVIN C. WASHINGTON
- 11-08-16
S F an Adventure into the Possibilities
Loved the lectures. Very Informative with insight into the various types of Sci-fi available for review.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel
- 03-06-20
A MUST LISTEN
In this truly great Course, world-renowned sci-fi expert Gary K. Wolfe, leads the listener through the world of science fiction. He starts with the history of sci-fi and then leading his way to the important aspects of science-fiction, like Planets, Alien Encounters, Spaceships, Robots or Galactic Wars, each of these themes has its own chapter. If you are an aspiring writer you will learn a lot about world-building and writing, if you are an avid reader, you will probably learn a lot of new titles that you will want to start reading immediately.
How Great Science Fiction Works is a must-listen for every Sci-Fi Fan.
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- Jason Maldonado
- 11-30-21
great lessons
The book took an in depth analysis on All science fiction works throughout the century. If you want a history on science fiction and an insight to what defines science fiction along with many examples of science fiction then this is a book for you. As a science fiction enthusiast I was a big fan of this book and I hungry recommend it for anybody who is into science fiction or even fantasy.
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- Brian Keith Moon
- 03-28-17
If you are looking for SciFi books to read ...
Would you consider the audio edition of How Great Science Fiction Works to be better than the print version?
The lecturer's voice was easy to listen to.
What was one of the most memorable moments of How Great Science Fiction Works?
His recommendation of The Starmaker, Olaf Stapledon was awesome. So was City and the Stars by Sir Arthur C Clark
Any additional comments?
I am an aspiring sci-fi writer I thought this would be a good course to take. The lecturer speaks of many great titles of sci-fi stories. I in turn ordered many of these audio books and enjoyed all but one of them. If you enjoy Science fiction and what a road map to the books to read, then take this course!
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- Kenny S
- 06-19-19
Insightful and Well Organized
Deeply enjoyed this series of lectures!
The professor brought a joy and passion to each segment which was truly marvelous. If you're looking to grow as a writer or simply wanting to know more about your favorite genre, I highly recommend this audio book!
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- Douglas
- 06-22-23
Great survey of the Sci Fi universes.
Any thinking reader, writer, or viewer of sci fi will be glad they took advantage of Gary Wolfe’s insights into the depth and breadth of the landscape and world of sci fi.
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- M&K
- 05-19-24
Informative and fun
A must for any sci fi fan who wants a deep understanding of the genre.
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