Customer Reviews

In Search of Wonder: Essays on Modern Science Fiction

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These essays were originally published in the early 1950s, which means the specific instances Mr Knight is citing are sometimes unfamiliar. But Mr Knight aims to show good writing from bad, so the examples don't lose their freshness .... or lack thereof. More surprising, perhaps, is that some of the unfavorable examples are *still in print & still being read*, proving something other than what this book intends to teach. So it goes.

Thankfully, Mr Knight has organized his book for useful & enjoyable reading, rather than simple instruction. Chapters such as "Chuckleheads" and "More Chuckleheads" can be re-read endlessly, even if you never intend to write anything yourself. For those who do, the chapter "Half-Bad Stories" is probably the most useful instruction you will ever read (besides Strunk & White's pithy directive "Omit unnecessary words").

If time has not been kind to the more fleeting references, it has proven the worth of Damon Knight's presentation overall. Of the several books I have read on the craft of writing, this is the one that I return to over and over again.