A Reverie for Mister Ray
Encyclopedia
A Reverie for Mister Ray: Reflections on Life, Death, and Speculative Fiction is a collection of nonfiction work by American
writer Michael Bishop
published in 2005 by PS Publishing
. It includes essays and reviews from 1975 to 2004, originally published in a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and fanzine
s. Most of the pieces concern the speculative fiction
genre. The book was edited by Michael H. Hutchins.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer Michael Bishop
Michael Bishop (author)
Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning American writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
published in 2005 by PS Publishing
PS Publishing
PS Publishing is a Hornsea based publisher founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther. They specialise in novella length fiction from the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. It has quickly become established as one of Britain's premier small presses...
. It includes essays and reviews from 1975 to 2004, originally published in a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, literary journals, and fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s. Most of the pieces concern the speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
genre. The book was edited by Michael H. Hutchins.
Upfront
- A Reverie for Mister Mike: An Introduction by Jeff VanderMeerJeff VanderMeerJeffrey Scott VanderMeer is an American writer, editor and publisher.He is best known for his contributions to the New Weird and his stories about the city of Ambergris, in books like City of Saints and Madmen.-Biography:...
- Alien Graffiti: Author’s Apologia by Michael BishopMichael Bishop (author)Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning American writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
- On the Road: Editor’s Preface by Michael H. Hutchins
Drawing from the Wells
- A Reverie for Mister RayRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
[1981] - A ClassicClassics IllustratedClassics Illustrated is a comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies...
Affair [1990] - "An Art Is Something You Have to Learn”: RIP Clifton FadimanClifton FadimanClifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...
[1999] - Little, Big, Witless, Wise: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
[2004] - FlanneryFlannery O'ConnorMary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
and Me [2001] - More Than a Masterpiece? More Than HumanMore Than HumanMore Than Human is a 1953 science fiction novel by Theodore Sturgeon. It is a fix-up of his previously published novella Baby is Three with two parts written especially for the novel....
by Theodore SturgeonTheodore SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
[1989] - A Classic’s Endearing Quirks: The Left Hand of DarknessThe Left Hand of DarknessThe Left Hand of Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of books by Le Guin all set in the fictional Hainish universe....
by Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
[1977]
State of the Art
- Evangels of Hope [1978]
- Believers and Heretics: An Episcopal Bull [1980]
- The Knack and How to Get It, See? [1978]
- The Contributors to Plenum Four [1975]
- Light Years and Dark: Science Fiction Since 1960 [1984]
- Children Who Survive: An Autobiographical Meditation on Horror Fiction [1989]
- 104 Really Cool Works of Twentieth-Century Fiction in English [2000]
On Reviewing
- Oh, to Be a Blurber! [1980]
- On Reviewing and Being Reviewed [1977]
- Critics’ Night at the Sci-Fi Bistro [1979]
Pitching Pennies Against the Starboard Bulkhead
- The Fifth Head of CerberusThe Fifth Head of CerberusThe Fifth Head of Cerberus is the title of both a novella and a single-volume collection of three novellas, written by American science fiction and fantasy author Gene Wolfe, both published in 1972.-Explanation of the novel's title:...
by Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
[1976] - TimescapeTimescapeTimescape is a 1980 novel by science fiction writer Gregory Benford . It won the 1980 Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards, and the 1981 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel...
by Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
[1980] - Wild SeedWild Seed (Octavia Butler novel)Wild Seed is a science fiction novel by writer Octavia Butler. Although published in 1980 as the third book of the Patternist series it is the earliest book in the chronology of the Patternist world...
by Octavia Butler [1981] - Myths of the Near FutureMyths of the Near FutureMyths of the Near Future is a short-story collection by J. G. Ballard, first published in 1982.It contains the following stories:*"Myths of the Near Future"...
by J. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
[1984] - Two by John CrowleyJohn CrowleyJohn Crowley is an American author of fantasy, science fiction and mainstream fiction. He studied at Indiana University and has a second career as a documentary film writer...
: Little, BigLittle, BigLittle, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament is a modern fantasy novel by John Crowley, published in 1981. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1982.-Plot synopsis:...
[1983] and Antiquities: Seven Stories [1994] - Speaker for the DeadSpeaker for the DeadSpeaker for the Dead is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card and an indirect sequel to the novel Ender's Game. This book takes place around the year 5270, some 3,000 years after the events in Ender's Game...
by Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
[1987] - The Toynbee ConvectorThe Toynbee Convector"The Toynbee Convector" is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. First published in Playboy magazine in 1984, the story was subsequently featured in a 1988 short story collection also titled The Toynbee Convector.-Plot summary:...
by Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
[1988] - Kim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
’s Mars Trilogy [1993/94/96] - Nightfishing in Great Sky River by David Lunde [2000]
- The Wooden Sea by Jonathan CarrollJonathan CarrollJonathan Samuel Carroll is an American author primarily known for novels, which can be characterized as magic realist, slipstream or modern fantasy...
[2001] - He Do the Time Police in Different Voices by David LangfordDavid LangfordDavid Rowland Langford is a British author, editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter Ansible.-Personal background:...
[2004] - The Untethered Spacewalk by NASA [1984]
Going Deeper
- In Pursuit of Ubik: A Novel by Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
[1979] - Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
as Hero: The Shadow of the TorturerThe Shadow of the TorturerThe Shadow of the Torturer is a science fantasy novel by Gene Wolfe, first released in 1980. It is the first volume in the four-volume novel, The Book of the New Sun...
[1980] - Only in America: On Wings of Song by Thomas M. DischThomas M. DischThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W...
[1981] - James MorrowJames MorrowJames Morrow is a fiction author. A self-described "scientific humanist", his work satirises organized religion and elements of humanism and atheism....
and Towing Jehovah [1994] - James MorrowJames MorrowJames Morrow is a fiction author. A self-described "scientific humanist", his work satirises organized religion and elements of humanism and atheism....
’s Antidote X: Speculative Satire and The Eternal Footman [2000] - The Education of Brian W. Aldiss: The Twinkling of an Eye, or, My Life as an Englishman [1999]
- “Sitting in the Sun in the Waist-High Grass”: “The Last Day in July” by Gardner DozoisGardner DozoisGardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
[2001] - In Praise of Hollyhocks: “The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything” by George Alec EffingerGeorge Alec EffingerGeorge Alec Effinger was an American science fiction author, born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio.-Writing career:...
[2004]
Fellow Travelers
- A Speculation of SF Writers: Gardner DozoisGardner DozoisGardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
/ Suzette Haden ElginSuzette Haden ElginSuzette Haden Elgin is an American science fiction author. She founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and is considered an important figure in the field of science fiction constructed languages...
/ Steven UtleySteven UtleySteven Utley is an American writer. He has written poems, humorous essays and other non-fiction, and worked on comic books and cartoons, but is best known for his science fiction stories.-Biography:...
/ Ian WatsonIan Watson (author)Ian Watson is a British science fiction author. He currently lives in Northamptonshire, England.His first novel, The Embedding, winner of the Prix Apollo in 1975, is unusual for being based on ideas from generative grammar; the title refers to the process of center embedding...
[1980] - All That Glitters is Not GoldingWilliam GoldingSir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
. . . Or Bishop Either [1984/85] - James Tiptree, Jr. is Raccoona Sheldon is Alice B. Sheldon is Alli is… [1985/92]
- Saluting Pamela SargentPamela SargentPamela Sargent is an American, feminist, science fiction author, and editor. She has an MA in classical philosophy and has won a Nebula Award. She wrote a series concerning the terraforming of Venus that is sometimes compared to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, but predates it...
[1987] - The Once and Future Andy DuncanAndy Duncan (writer)Andy Duncan is an award-winning American science fiction and fantasy writer whose work frequently deals with Southern U.S. themes. He was born in Batesburg, South Carolina in 1964. He graduated from high school from W. W...
[2000] - Voice and Virtue: Celebrating Jack McDevittJack McDevittJack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology....
[2003]
Rolling the Bones
- Ink and Inspiration Among the Soft Sciences [1981]
- Lucy in the Mud With Footprints: Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind by Donald C. Johanson and Maitland A. Edey [1981]
- The Boy in the Bush: Lightning Bird by Lyall WatsonLyall WatsonLyall Watson was a South African botanist, zoologist, biologist, anthropologist, ethologist, and author of many new age books, among the most popular of which is the best seller Supernature. Lyall Watson tried to make sense of natural and supernatural phenomena in biological terms...
[1982] - Mysteries of the Rift Valley: One Life by Richard E. LeakeyRichard LeakeyRichard Erskine Frere Leakey is a politician, paleoanthropologist and conservationist. He is second of the three sons of the archaeologists Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey, and is the younger brother of Colin Leakey...
and Disclosing the Past by Mary LeakeyMary LeakeyMary Leakey was a British archaeologist and anthropologist, who discovered the first skull of a fossil ape on Rusinga Island and also a noted robust Australopithecine called Zinjanthropus at Olduvai. For much of her career she worked together with her husband, Louis Leakey, in Olduvai Gorge,...
[1984] - The Fate of the Primate: The Deluge and the Ark: A Journey Into Primate Worlds by Dale PetersonDale PetersonDale Peterson is an American author who writes about scientific and natural history subjects.-Early Life and Education:...
[1989] - Prospectus for a Novel of Human Prehistory, or The Origins of No Enemy But TimeNo Enemy But TimeNo Enemy But Time is a 1982 science fiction novel by Michael Bishop. It won the 1982 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and was also nominated for the 1983 John W. Campbell Memorial Award...
[1982]
Edge Running
- Primates in Love: The Female of the Species by Lionel ShriverLionel Shriver-Early life and education:Lionel Shriver was born Margaret Ann Shriver on May 18, 1957 in Gastonia, North Carolina, to a deeply religious family . At age 15, she changed her name from Margaret Ann to Lionel because she did not like the name she had been given, and as a tomboy felt that a...
[1987] - Geniuses in One Another’s Pockets: Neighboring Lives by Thomas M. DischThomas M. DischThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W...
and Charles Naylor [1981] - Two by J. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
: Empire of the SunEmpire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1984 novel by J. G. Ballard which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story, "The Dead Time" , it is essentially fiction but draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in World War II...
and The Day of CreationThe Day of Creation- Plot summary :The main character of the novel is the World Health Organization doctor John Mallory who, six months after his arrival in Central Africa, finds that intense guerilla activity has left him without patients. He devotes himself, instead, to the task of bringing water to the region,...
[1984/1988] - Two by Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
: In Milton Lumky Territory and The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike [1985] - A Jeremiad, Three Reviews and a Postscript: Death is a Lonely BusinessDeath Is a Lonely BusinessDeath Is a Lonely Business is a mystery novel by Ray Bradbury published in 1985.The story, set in 1949, is about a series of murders that happen in Venice, California, then a declining seaside community in Los Angeles where Bradbury lived from 1942 to 1950...
by Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
/ Galápagos by Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
/ ContactContact (novel)Contact is a science fiction novel written by Carl Sagan and published in 1985. It deals with the theme of contact between humanity and a more technologically advanced, extraterrestrial life form. It ranked No. 7 on the 1985 U.S. bestseller list....
by Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
[1985] - Inconvenient Invitations: Mister Touch by Malcolm BosseMalcolm BosseMalcolm Joseph Bosse was an American author of both young adult and adult novels. His novels are often set in Asia, and have been praised for their cultural and historical information relating to the character's adventures. Bosse mostly wrote historical fiction novels after the publication of The...
/ Brazzaville BeachBrazzaville BeachBrazzaville Beach is a novel by William Boyd, for which he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 1990, and the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year. The book tells the story of a woman researching chimpanzees, Hope Clearwater, and the circumstances that brought her to...
by William BoydWilliam Boyd (writer)William Boyd, CBE is a Scottish novelist and screenwriter.-Biography:Of Scottish descent, Boyd spent his early life in Ghana and Nigeria, in Africa...
[1991] - Watching the Elephant Vanish: The Elephant VanishesThe Elephant VanishesThe Elephant Vanishes is a collection of short stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The stories were written between 1983 and 1990, and the collection's first English publication was in 1993...
by Haruki MurakamiHaruki Murakamiis a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...
[1994] - A Near-Future Southern, An Off-Trail Western: Land O’ Goshen by Charles McNair and Redeye by Clyde EdgertonClyde EdgertonClyde Edgerton is an American author and English literature professor.Born in Durham, North Carolina, his books are known for endearing characters, small-town Southern dialogue and realistic fire and brimstone religious sermons...
[1995] - A Larger Sky: The Norton Book of Ghost Stories edited by Brad LeithauserBrad LeithauserBrad E. Leithauser is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and teacher. After serving as the Emily Dickinson Lecturer in the Humanities at Mount Holyoke College and visiting professor at the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he is now on faculty at The...
/ Seaward by Brad LeithauserBrad LeithauserBrad E. Leithauser is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and teacher. After serving as the Emily Dickinson Lecturer in the Humanities at Mount Holyoke College and visiting professor at the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he is now on faculty at The...
[1995] - An American Wordsmith in Atlantis: Atlantis: Three Tales by Samuel R. DelanySamuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
[1996] - Touring the Republic of Pain: Ingenious PainIngenious PainIngenious Pain is the first novel by English author, Andrew Miller, released on 20th February 1997 through Sceptre. The novel received universal acclaim and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Italian Premio Grinzane Cavour...
by Andrew MillerAndrew Miller (novelist)Andrew Miller is an English novelist.He grew up in the West Country and has lived in Spain, Japan, Ireland and France....
[1998] - Encounter of a Wee Kind [1978]
Open Heart
- Military Brat: A Memoir [1997]
- First Novel, Seventh Novel: A Funeral for the Eyes of Fire [1988]
- My Private Civil War: Preface to Confederacy of the Dead [1993]
- Three Tributes: Paul Di FilippoPaul Di FilippoPaul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He has been published in Postscripts...
/ David Hartwell / Howard WaldropHoward WaldropHoward Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
[2001-2003] - Cleansing the Eye of the Heart: A Dream of the Tattered Man by Randolph Loney [2001]
- Ghost of a Chance: My Father’s Ghost by Suzy McKee CharnasSuzy McKee CharnasSuzy McKee Charnas is an American novelist and short story writer, writing primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She has won several awards for her fiction, including the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. A selection of her short fiction was collected...
[2003] - Nine Prescriptions for My Funeral [1997]
- Writing Science Fiction As If It Mattered (including “Tiny Bells” by Bruce Holland RogersBruce Holland RogersBruce Holland Rogers is an American author of short fiction who also writes under the pseudonym Hanovi Braddock. His stories have won a Pushcart Prize, two Nebula Awards, the Bram Stoker Award, two World Fantasy Awards, the Micro Award, and have been nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award and...
) [2002]