Customer Reviews

Aliens: The Anthropology of Science Fiction (Alternatives)

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The first thing I have to say about Aliens: the Anthropology of Science Fiction, besides that the cover art is very strange, is that the introduction basically consists of nothing more than a series of paragraphs each summarizing one of the chapters or essays within. I also have to say that it is also an academic work, in the sense that it contains philosophical essays, including one that quotes Kant. If you are not familiar with that philosopher, you will not understand what the essay is talking about, and if you have, you will know why I can make such a blanket statement. It is a very theoretical book, and essayists seem to assume that they are addressing only readers who know the same exact things and stories as they themselves know.

The second main thing I have to say about Aliens: the Anthropology of Science Fiction, is that either the book is old, even if you have a new copy. At least one essay within directly mentions things written in 1985 as being recent works. That particular article talks about robotics, which makes its dated nature stand out even more than the others. It is hilarious, though, reading what they thought robots would be doing 20 years from then, as I think I have read actual recent articles that make the same exact predictions, once again saying that we should be seeing such things within the next 20 years or so.

I'm really not sure who exactly I would recommend this book to, in terms of the intended target audience. Anyone with an interest in classic sci-fi would be interested, if they didn't get a copy when this book was new, but I'm not kidding when I say classic--the book doesn't know that Aliens and Terminator have sequels. Alien enthusiasts might like it, along with those who dabble in popular psychology, I suppose. Certainly not anyone in or at a high school level or younger than the book, between the dense and complicated language and the lack of any references to things written during my lifetime.