Titles of Interest: Irony in The Twilight Zone
Irony in The Twilight Zone: How the Series Critiqued Postwar American Culture by David Melbye (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) Rod Serling’s pioneering series The Twilight Zone (1959 to 1964) is remembered for its surprise twist endings and pervading sense of irony. While other American television series of the time also experimented with ironic surprises, none […]
Titles of Interest: Undead Apocalypse
Undead Apocalypse: Vampires and Zombies in the 21st Century by Stacey Abbott Edinburgh University Press, 2016 Rather than seeing them as separate or oppositional, this book explores the intersection and dialogue between the vampire and zombie across film and television. Much contemporary scholarship on the vampire focuses on Dark Romance, while this book explores the […]
Titles of Interest – “The Undead on the Battlefield: Horrors of War”
The Undead on the Battlefield: Horrors of War, edited by Cynthia J. Miller and Bowdoin Van Riper (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015) Battlefields have traditionally been considered places where the spirits of the dead linger, and popular culture brings those thoughts to life. Supernatural tales of war told in print, on screen, and in other […]
Titles of Interest: The Art of Horror
The Art of Horror: An Illustrated History (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books; Ill edition, 2015) Stephen Jones, editor Amazingly, there has never been a book quite like The Art of Horror a celebration of frightful images, compiled and presented by some of the genre’s most respected names. While acknowledging the beginnings of horror-related art in […]
Titles of Interest – Fairy-Tale Films Beyond Disney
Fairy-Tale Films Beyond Disney International Perspectives Edited by Jack Zipes, Pauline Greenhill, Kendra Magnus-Johnston (Routledge, 2016) The fairy tale has become one of the dominant cultural forms and genres internationally, thanks in large part to its many manifestations on screen. Yet the history and relevance of the fairy-tale film have largely been neglected. In this […]
New Volume: The X-Files FAQ
John Kenneth Muir is a prolific author and commentator on genre related entertainment. He is also a personal friend and collaborator in various book projects. I am pleased to promote his new book The X-Files FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About Global Conspiracy, Aliens, Lazarus Species, and Monsters of the Week (FAQ Series) (Applause […]
Titles of Interest – Ghosts, Spirits and Psychics: The Paranormal from Alchemy to Zombies
Matt Cardin of The Teeming Brain is a good friend and colleague in all things fantastic. I am pleased to announce one of his latest book projects, Ghosts, Spirits and Psychics: The Paranormal from Alchemy to Zombies (ABC-CLIO, 2015). This fascinating work provides a complete overview of paranormal phenomena, including the beliefs, attitudes, and notable […]
Titles of Interest – Beyond the Monstrous: Reading from the Cultural Imaginary
Beyond the Monstrous: Reading from the Cultural Imaginary (Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2013), edited by Janice Zehentbauer and Eva Gledhill Twenty-first century’s fascination with monsters in popular culture is not new. Throughout history, many of the world’s cultures have created beings they deem ‘other’ and ‘monstrous,’ beings which, many scholars agree, ultimately reveal humans’ own fears about […]
Titles of Interest – The Monster Stares Back: How Human We Remain through Horror’s Looking Glass
The Monster Stares Back: How Human We Remain through Horror’s Looking Glass (Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2015), edited by Mark Chekares and Marcia Heloisa When we look at monsters from a safe distance, it is nothing but a glance. To preserve our pristine human identity, whenever we find the monstrous Other, we search for difference, not similarity. […]
Titles of Interest: Science Fiction Theology
James McGrath recently drew attention to this volume on his blog. Science Fiction Theology: Beauty and the Transformation of the Sublime (Baylor University Press, 2015) by Alan Gregory Science fiction imagines a universe teeming with life and thrilling possibility, but also hidden and hideous dangers. Christian theology, often a polemical target for science fiction, reflects […]
