We are far from the halcyon days of mimeographed fan-zines, paperbacks, and magazines, which used to be the lifeblood of science-fiction. These were rich with epistolary rants from readers and first-run stories, crummy illustrations of sensuous monsters and their prey; they were also ephemeral, paper, dust-to-dust-able. Today if one seeks a thoughtful criticism of science fiction, no need to send away for anything: the Internet provides.

Below, for your engagement, some of the best material I’ve found on the web. I will try to periodically provide (for those who are interested) ya’ll the highlights of my perpetual online research. Let’s call this Phase One.

Karel Capek, The Author of the Robots Defends Himself, from Science Fiction Studies

Donna Haraway, The Cyborg Manifesto, from Stanford HPS

Joanna Russ, Towards an Aesthetic of Science Fiction, from Science Fiction Studies

Susan Sontag, The Imagination of Disaster, from iiiiiiiiii.net

Judith Genova, Tiptree and Haraway: The Reinvention of Nature, from JSTOR

H.G. Wells, Utopias, from Science Fiction Studies

Michel Houellebecq, H.P.Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life, from AAAARG.ORG