15: The Big Book of Science Fiction – Defining a Genre

DSRA

September 11, 2016

The Big Book of Science Fiction is a massive anthology of the genre’s best works over the last hundred years put together by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer. Kyle Willoughby and Claire White select stories by H.G. Wells, Tatyana Tolstaya, and Joanna Sinisalo to examine the threads that connect them over a century. Kyle discusses the influence of Mary Shelly and other great founders of science fiction. Claire describes the Vandermeer’s process and their guiding principles for distilling millions of words of fiction. Claire and Kyle conclude the episode with thoughts on the anthology, when science fiction is at its best, and their increasing excitement for the genre.