Customer Reviews

Terminal Identity: The Virtual Subject in Postmodern Science Fiction

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One of _the_ important books for anyone interested in Science Fiction's engagement with cultural issues. I've yet to find someone who had done any important work at the time of the books' publication who isn't in there somewhere. It's been called "interminable identity" by some but that's just because people don't have the patience to wade through the good stuff. an Important Book..

As dense as it is deep, Bukatman's work is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in science fiction, postmodern theory, or the relationship between technology and human culture. The glowing reviews by Bruce Sterling and Larry McCaffery were well-deserved, and this book will have a permanent place on my bookshelf (right next to Storming the Reality Studio). I had never heard of Scott Bukatman before finding this book, but I now look forward to reading anything he writes in the future.

Fans of the science fiction genre (whether in film, comic book, or novel form) will enjoy these collected essays on how societal issues and fears have been represented. It includes discussions on authors such as Philip K Dick, William Gibson, Neil Gaiman, Alfred Bester, and many others.

My interest in this book was piqued by Napier's reference to terminal identity in her article 'When the Machines Stop,' and this work certainly provides a comprehensive and compelling analysis of postmodern (mostly cyberpunk) science fiction. The titular concept of 'terminal identity'--the state in which human subjectivity is defined by the objects of our technology--is both elegant and useful; there is so much that is invaluable here that a short review couldn't do it justice. In particular, I was impressed by his analyses of fractals, the overlapping discourses on computer viruses and biological ones such as AIDS, and his discussion of the attempts to humanize certain technological objects (such as motherboards) by casting them in the guise of art. Additionally, his writing is accessible but never dumbed-down and for a work of analysis this is a remarkably enjoyable read. Overall I would say that anyone serious about studying cyberpunk as a genre or even with a general interest in how postmodernism operates in science fiction would find this book invaluable.