Firebrands: The Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy [Paperback]

Sargent (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press (September 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560251646
• ISBN-13: 978-1560251644
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,522,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ron Miller (born May 8, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an artist and author who lives and works in South Boston, Virginia in the United States. His current work is primarily the writing and illustration of books specializing in astronomical, astronautical and science fiction subjects for young adults.

Miller holds a BFA from Columbus, Ohio, College of Art and Design. He worked as a commercial artist and designer for six years, before taking a position as art director for the National Air & Space Museum's Albert Einstein Planetarium. He left there in 1977 to became a freelance illustrator and author; to date he has nearly forty book titles to his credit, and his illustrations have appeared on scores of book jackets, book interiors and in magazines such as National Geographic, Reader's Digest, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Analog, Starlog, Air & Space, Sky & Telescope, Newsweek, Natural History, Discover, GEO and others.

Miller has translated and illustrated new editions of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon and Journey to the Center of the Earth as well as a companion/atlas to Verne's works, Extraordinary Voyages. He has acted as a consultant on Verne for Walt Disney Imagineering and A&E Television Network's Biography series. Miller's book The Dream Machines, a comprehensive 744-page history of manned spacecraft, was nominated for the International Astronautical Federation's Manuscript Award and won the Booklist Editor's Choice Award. His original paintings are in numerous private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Pushkin Museum (Moscow).

He designed a set of ten commemorative postage stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. He has been a production illustrator for motion pictures, notably Dune and Total Recall; and he designed and co-directed the computer-generated show ride film, Impact!

Miller has taken part in international space art workshops and exhibitions, including seminal sessions held in Iceland and the Soviet Union. He was invited by the Soviet government to the 30th anniversary celebration of the launch of Sputnik, and has lectured on space art and space history in the U.S., France, Japan, Italy and Great Britain. He was featured on Hour 25 Science Fiction Radio program in early 2003.

An authority on the work of the famed astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell, his book The Art of Chesley Bonestell received a Hugo Award in 2002; other books have received awards, including a Silver Award for best fiction from ForeWord magazine and the Violet Crown Award from the Writers' League of Texas. His Worlds Beyond series received the American Institute of Physics Award of Excellence. The Grand Tour, has gone through three editions, multiple printings, several translations, was a Hugo Award nominee and has sold over 250,000 copies. It was also a twice a Book-of-the-Month feature selection. Other books have been selections of the Science, Quality Paperback and Science Fiction Book Clubs.

Miller has also had several short stories included in science fiction anthologies.

Miller has been on the faculty of the International Space University. He is a contributing editor for Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine; a member of the International Academy of Astronautics; a Life Member, Fellow and past Trustee of the International Association of Astronomical Artists; an Honorary Member of the Societe Jules Verne (Paris); a Member of the North American Jules Verne Society and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society.

Books written or co-written

* The Space Art Poster Book (Stackpole, 1979)
* Space Art (Starlog, 1979)
* The Grand Tour (Workman, 1981; revised edition, 1993; revised edition, 2005)
* Worlds Beyond: The Art of Chesley Bonestell (Donning, 1983)
* Out of the Cradle (Workman, 1984)
* Cycles of Fire (Workman, 1987)
* Stars and Planets (Doubleday, 1987)
* Decalcomania--A Tourist's Handbook and Guide (Black Cat Press, 1987)
* Mathematics (Doubleday, 1989)
* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Unicorn, 1988)
* In the Stream of Stars (Workman, 1990)
* The Bronwyn Trilogy: Palaces & Prisons, Silk & Steel, Hearts & Armor (Ace, 1991-1992)
* The History of Earth (Workman, 1992)
* The Dream Machines (Krieger, 1993)
* Extraordinary Voyages (Black Cat Press, 1994)
* BrainQuest (Workman, 1994)
* Firebrands (Paper Tiger, 1998)
* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Dorling Kindersley, 1998)
* The History of Rockets (Grolier, 1999)
* Bradamant (Timberwolf, 2000)
* The History of Science Fiction (Grolier, 2001)
* The Art of Chesley Bonestell (Paper Tiger, 2001)
* Palaces & Prisons (Timberwolf Press, 2001)
* Silk & Steel (Timberwolf Press, 2002)
* Hearts & Armor (Black Cat Press, 2005)
* Mermaids & Meteors (Black Cat Press, 2005)
* Velda (Timberwolf Press, 2003)
* Worlds Beyond (eleven-book series, Millbrook Press, 2002-2005)
* Special Effects in the Movies (Millbrook Press, 2006)
* The Elements (Millbrook Press, 2004)
* 13 Steps to Velda (Black Cat Press, 2005)
* Captain Judikah (Black Cat Press, 2005)
* Pathetic Selections (Black Cat Press, 2005)
* Journey to the Center of the Earth (Black Cat Press, 2005)
* The Conquest of Space (four-book series, Lerner, 2007-2008)
* Extreme Wonders: Aircraft (Hylas Publishing, 2007)
* Digital Art (Lerner, 2007-2008)
* Cleopatra (Chelsea House, 2008)
* The Seven Wonders of Engineering (Lerner, 2009)
* The Seven Wonders of the Gas Giants (Lerner, 2010)
* The Seven Wonders of the Rocky Planets (Lerner, 2010)
* The Seven Wonders of Meteors, Asteroids and Comets (Lerner, 2010)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not at all as bad as some people think, November 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Firebrands: The Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

While some of the other reviewers have trashed the art in this book, I simply found it uneven. It's certainly nowhere near as bad as some people have suggested. Some of the paintings are, I think, excellent--many are the best portrayals of the characters that I have ever seen. The artist has obviously made some considerable effort to make the characters seem more like real people than the idealized caricatures seen on most SF covers. Outstanding are the portraits of Jirel of Joiry, the Little Mermaid, Rima, Sharane and Susan Calvin, among others. It's true that some of the paintings were obviously rushed, but these are in the minority and the book is well worth getting for the art that is successful. It may be that Miller's efforts to make his women seem like real people may have backfired on him, since most readers will be expecting the kind of glitzy, over-the-top depictions found in books by Chris Achilleos or Boris, which these are not.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shorter than one would hope for., July 13, 2000

By 

TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Firebrands: The Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

I received this book as an anniversary present and as I looked through it I asked my spouse "is this a gift for you or me?" as I pointed to the overwhelming number of naked and semi-naked images of heroines. The biggest question I had with this book was: What is the definition of heroine that both Miller and Sargent are using? Next I wanted to know why the book was so short. I've read several books about women writers, women characters, and feminism even in science fiction and fantasy. While the number of characters and authors they address is usually fewer they are more detailed. I can't say after reading this book that I understand why some of the characters are listed as heroines at all. Instead, the book seems more focused on starting to look at the changes in female characters over decades -- a topic that deserved at least twice this number of pages even if the pictures had to be a much smaller part of the concept.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Huge let down, October 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Firebrands: The Heroines of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Paperback)

I was extremely disappointed with the illustrations in this book. The artwork is amaturish at best. If you are interested in reading about heroines in sci-fi/fantasy then pick it up, but if you are looking for a good fantasy ART book then don't bother with this one.