The Modern Scholar

From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature

By: Professor Michael D. C. Drout

Narrated by: Professor Michael D. C. Drout

Science fiction literature and films have contributed indelible images to the popular imagination, from H. G. Wells's War of the Worlds to Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles to the fiction of "cyberpunks". In addition to enthralling readers with breathtaking narratives and dazzling the imagination with mind-bending glimpses of possible futures, the best science fiction asks essential questions: What does it mean to be human? Are we alone in the universe, and what does it mean if we're not?

Esteemed professor Michael D. C. Drout traces the history of science fiction in this series of stimulating lectures. From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to today's cutting- edge authors, Drout offers a compelling analysis of the genre, including a look at hard-boiled science fiction, the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2006 Michael D. C. Drout (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

All Things SF... Outstanding

This is another wonderful installment in The Modern Scholar series in general, and another great installment by Michael Drout. I have read / listened to several of Professor Drout’s contributions now and all have been exceptional. Michael D.C. Drout is the William and Elsie Prentice Professor of English at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, where he teaches courses in Old and Middle English, medieval literature, Chaucer, fantasy, and science fiction (SF) .

It always seemed strange to me that science fiction and fantasy were often considered within a common genre: science fiction / fantasy. After all, one seemed to be connected with an imaginary past and the other an imaginary future; one with magic and the other technology. Fair enough, unless one sees the connection in Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

Unlike his book on fantasy literature which focuses primarily on a single work with little more than references to comparing and contrasting with other books in the genre, Drout examines the chronology of nearly the entire pantheon of major contributors to SF literature from Mary Shelley, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to Frank Herbert, Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick. I was amazed that not only was Drout able to talk about a rather large group of authors, he was able to summarize most of their major works and many of their minor ones too within the covers of this one selection. Aside from speaking fast, which he definitely does, he narrates all of his books rather rapid-fire, his narration here is as clear, exciting and engaging as always.

Drout posits that SF asks some rather essential questions: “What does it mean to be human? What are the consequences of human progress? Are we alone in the universe, and what does it mean if we’re not?” He illustrates how each of the SF authors answers these question. He offers an analysis of hard-boiled science fiction, the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field. It might be helpful to provide an outline for how Drout categorizes the various masters of SF and the works he analyzes:

The Roots: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein, Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, and H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau.

The 1930’s: L. Sprague de Camp’s Divide and Rule; H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories and The Lurking Fear and Other Stories; and Kim Mohan’s (ed.) More Amazing Stories.

The 1940’s: Isaac Asimov’s The Big and the Little and I, Robot; John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There? and (as editor) The First Astounding Science Fiction Anthology; Lester del Rey’s Nerves; and Theodore Sturgeon’s Killdozer!

The 1950’s: Robert A. Heinlein’s The Past Through Tomorrow, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, The Rolling Stones, Starship Troopers (and other “juvenile” novels), and Stranger in a Strange Land. Also in this decade: Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz; Cordwainer Smith’s The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith; and The Majesty of Kindness: The Dialectic of Cordwainer Smith.

The “New Wave” of the 1960’s and 70’s: Samuel R. Delaney’s Babel-17; Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?; Thomas Disch’s Camp Concentration; and Michael Moorcock’s New Worlds: An Anthology.

The World Builder: Frank Herbert’s Dune and Dune Messiah.

The Surrealists: J.G. Ballard’s The Best Short Stories of J.G. Ballard and Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.

Cyberpunk and the 1980’s: William Gibson’s Burning Chrome, Count Zero, and Neuromancer and Rudy Rucker’s Software.

Post-Punk: Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, and Snow Crash.

The Satirists: Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.

I offer this list to give some idea of the span of great SF literature and its contributors that this book covers. And yet there are some who are, at least for me, conspicuously absent such as two of my favorites: Dan Simmons and Peter F. Hamilton. So this is not an exhaustively complete treatise on SF literature but it is much more than just an introduction.

The Story, the Narration and the Production are all top notch. I read a lot of SF but I learned a huge amount from Professor Drout’s book and got lots of great ideas for future reading.

Michael Drout is entertaining and informative!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Modern Scholar to be better than the print version?

Audio is excellent--great speaker/lecturer!

What other book might you compare The Modern Scholar to and why?

I have several of his lecture series and like all of the lectures by Michael Drout. He is an excellent speaker--informative and entertaining. His voice is easy to listen to and challenges the listener to think. Check out a preview. If you are a science fiction reader you will find this lecture series informative and may give you some ideas for other books to read. If you are a Tolkien or Fantasy fan, I recommend his Tolkien and Fantasy lecture series.

What does the narrator bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Feels like he is speaking to me. Very down to earth and enjoyable to listening.

Any additional comments?

I have listened to several of M. Drout's Modern Scholar Lecture Series. They all have something to learn. Learn and be entertained by an amazing speaker at the same time!

Leaves you with Years worth of reading to look for

While I've read a handfull of the Modern Scholar series, to differing results, this is by far the most complete and comprenensive recording I have thus found!
The Lecturer clearly knows their subject well and, while they cover a huge number of books, in a staggering variety, each read is nevertheless given its time, and presented in a way that makes you interested to hear it.
If I were wondering which read to take on Next in the Scifi genre, this is probably the best guide I could imagine!
Time and again I find myself noting books or authors I'd like to explore, who's work I can now more fully appreciate in context, and who's stories are sorted in a way I both agree with, and largely credit with foreknowledge.
While there were several books listed I had already read, in a way that I felt did the work credit, there was a multitude more I had not heard of, in shades and flavors I have yet to experience!
By far my favorite modern scholar to date!
Very Well Done!
Would that they all could be so accessable and comprehensive!

Mostly accurate history of science fiction

This lecture series was a lot of fun to listen to, and gives a good sense of the importance of science fiction as literature. It's not a perfect intro to SF, but has lots of good stuff. There are some mis-steps and mis-statements along the way, such as listing Ray Bradbury as a new wave author, or veering away from Campbell's golden age Astounding SF to spend too much time on HP Lovecraft, etc.

Get your reading list ready!

My go-to genre for literature as a teen was fantasy. Escaping into fantastical worlds was my way of coping with middle school and high school life. It wasn't until high school, however, that I began to get into science fiction as well. I've always enjoyed sci-fi as a genre for movies and television. Star Trek and Doctor Who were my usual entertainment. But it wasn't until I realized that some science fiction could not only transport me into other realms, but it could make me THINK as well. Science fiction so many more questions other than "What if..." that I believe it is the richest genre of literature on bookshelves. I started with some of the classics like ENDER'S GAME and STARSHIP TROOPERS. But had I not listened to this lecture, I might have missed several incredible novels.

Listening to Dr. Drout is an easy task. His lectures are well researched, his delivery is conversational, and the content is full of great suggestions for reading. I discovered so many authors from this lecture that I am still working through the stack next to my bed. I even teach a couple of the short stories mentioned in my literature classes because of this lecture. He breaks science fiction down into sub-genres, focuses on the early days, and even throws some new names into the pot.

Available along with the download is the .pdf file for the course. This is a great way to keep a checklist of books to find after listening.

Really interesting, engaging lecture

As an avid Science Fiction reader, I am already pretty excited about the genre, but professor Drout got me even more excited. Although the lecture is rather concise and a few things could have been explored in more detail (I personally missed more information about Arthur C. Clarke, as I do not know that much about him), no major writer is missing and the whole lecture follows a well thought-out plan. What makes this audiobook better than any other recording of a lecture I have listened to, is a) that it obviously was conceived as an audio book and not a lecture and b) professor Drout is actually a very good narrator. He seems to improvise some times, adds some jokes here and there, but most importantly for a recorded lecture, you can hear his enthusiasm all the time.
I will definitely get his Fantasy lecture next month and I recommend this Science Fiction lecture to anyone who does have at least a slight interest in the genre or literature in general.

Awesome!

Professor Drout is informative and entertaining. I have listened to a number of lecture series - both from Modern Scholar and other vendors. This one is the best one I've heard to date.

The overall course outline is very well thought out (although of course I might have done things slightly differently - e.g., less Lovecraft), the individual lectures are well-organized and packed with information as well as entertainment, and most important of all his enthusiasm is contagious.

Clearly Prof. Drout loves the subject, and this results in an immensely enjoyable presentation. I highly recommend this course to anybody with even a passing interest in science fiction.

Excellent Scope and Excellent Analysis!

This is my second lecture series by Dr. Drout. His pleasant personality comes through in the way he communicates with you. He is knowledgeable and articulate, but yet brings things down to a level everyone can understand.

This is a great overview of Science Fiction literature. He hits all the biggies (Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Lovecraft, Bradbury) and some lesser knowns as well.

His analysis of some of the underlying themes and the effect of culture on the genre (and vice versa) was really insightful. I also appreciate that he appears to have read a boatload of science fiction, but yet is also a student of the classics, which gives him a broader perspective when offering literary criticism and stylistic observatiions.

The only authors I was suprised to see missing were Ben Bova and Michael Crichton. However, even so, this is a great primer for those just getting their feet wet in Science Fiction, and those who have been reading for years! I even picked up 10-12 new books that I'd like to read.

Great job Dr. Drout!

Lively, interesting

Drout delivers his lecture in a lively and interesting manner. I found myself writing down the names of Science Fiction books I wanted to check out. I am buying his fantasy lecture next.

Nerdy? Probably... Enjoyable? Yes

I sometimes listen to audiobooks as I try to fall asleep. The books drown out other noises, and are something I can use to relax at night without leaving lights on. Lectures often work well for this since they are calm, studious rather than enrapturing, and since there is no plot, I can nod off and wake up later without spoiling the story. However, "From Here to Eternity" is a terrible nighttime book. It was so interesting, and Prof Drout was so enthusiastic that it significantly disrupted my sleep over the course of a several (actually very few; I went through it pretty quickly) days.

I am a casual science fiction fan, but "From Here to Eternity" raised my opinion of the genre. It also provided numerous book suggestions; aiding in my continuing quest to use my Audible credits efficiently.

"From Here to Eternity" probably will not appeal to everyone, but if you enjoy science fiction and wouldn't mind a little litterary education, I highly recommend "From Here to Eternity."