Two Contrasting Studies of Science Fiction: A Review

226 pÃ-ete subordination of the individual to the community. In fact, one could argue that Conrad's concept of "solidarity" owes something to the atmosphere of total commitment in which he grew up. Moreover, Hodges Is not only superficial and incautious, he Is also careless. He dates Conrad's works incorrectly (Under Western Eyes Is dated, inexplicably, 1909 and Chance, 1911); the book has been proof-read badly; and utter confusion reigns in the application of Polish diacritical signs. But my main criticism of The Dual Heritage £f Joseph Conrad is its attempt to present Conrad exclusively in the light of his Polish background. Even if Mr. Hodges is right when he says that "In depicting Kurtz's impossibly exalted view of human nature and destiny and his assumption of divinity, the novel (Heart of Darkness) recalls Polish Messianism," surely, it makes greater sense to consider Kurtz in relation to Conrad's African experience and to the general European intellectual climate at the turn of the 19th century . To understand Conrad fully one must have some knowledge of his Polish background, but it is wrong and foolish to try to interpret his work solely In terms of his Polish experience. "All Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz," Marlow tells us; the same, of course, is true of Conrad. University of British Columbia Andrew Busza TWO CONTRASTING STUDIES OF SCIENCE FICTION: A REVIEW Sam Moskowitz, Explorers of the Infinite: Shapers of Science Fiction . Meridian Books, M 2Õ Õ 2. $1.95; I. F. Clarke, Voices Prophesying War 1763-1984. London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1966. $6.00. Explorers of the Infinite, originally published by World (1963), is the enthusiastic, popularizing survey of the genre science fiction by a "fan," editor, bibliophile, and most recently critichistorian of the field. In his Introduction Moskowitz explains, "No definitive history of science fiction has yet been written, nor does this book make any claim to comprehensiveness. However, it does claim to present the framework of such a history through emphasis upon the contributions of major molders of the form from the beginnings of man's literature up until 1940, with but a brief look beyond." (That "brief look beyond" was subsequently expanded Into Seekers of Tomorrow [World, I966], not yet in paperback , which concentrates upon contemporary writers.) To accomplish this framework, Moskowitz brings together sketches of eighteen authors - most of which he wrote and first published in specialist magazines between 1957 and i960. Included are Cyrano de Bergerac, Mary Shelley, Poe, Fitz-James O'Brien, Verne, Edward Everett Hale, Louis P. Senarens, Wells, M. P. Shlel, Doyle, Burroughs , A. Merrltt, Karel Capek, Hugo Gernsback, Lovecraft, 227 Stapledon, Philip WyIle, and Stanley Weinbaum. The selection of these writers results from Moskowitz's basic premise as critic and historian of the genre. Even more important than the actual story element is the idea, for readers are more interested in theme than the "life" of a character; moreover, he insists that the essential core of modern science fiction must be dominated by accurate prophesy and accurate science. In this, of course, he is the friend and protege of Hugo Gernsback. As a result , for example, Foe becomes most important because he insisted that "every departure from the norm must be logically explained scientifically." Of Verne he writes, "Other writers, many of greater literary stature, had utilized virtually every major idea that was later to appear in Verne's books. But only a very few had made the effort to explain every departure from the familiar and the known on a consistently logical basis." Edward Everett Hale, "one of the really important short story writers of his period," merits inclusion because his The Brick Moon (l869)and its sequel were "the first stories anywhere ever to mention an artificial earth satellite." The greatest of "The Wonders of H.G. Wells" was his invention of the time-machine, and "as innovator of plot themes for science fiction, he ranks supreme." The result is a book Intended for the popular trade market that is at once provocative and frustrating: provocative because Moskowitz has greater command of materials that he has gained as an editor and bibliophile than anyone...