Jack Fennell – författare

Irish Science Fiction revisits a critical paradigm that has often been overlooked or dismissed by science fiction scholars – namely, that science fiction can be understood in terms of myth. Science fiction springs from pseudo-science rather than ‘proper’ science, because pseudo-science is more easily converted into narrative; in this book it is argued that different cultures produce distinct pseudo-sciences, and thus, unique science fiction traditions. Fennell's innovative framework is used to examine Irish science fiction from the 1850s to the present day, covering material written both in Irish and in English. Considering science fiction novels and short stories in their historical context, Irish Science Fiction analyses a body of literature that has largely been ignored by Irish literature researchers. This is the first book to focus exclusively on Irish science fiction, and the first to consider Irish-language stories and novels alongside works published in English.

What is Sci-Fi?Science fiction is a non-realist genre that foregrounds a sense of material plausibility, insisting that despite seeming outlandish, it is consonant with history and the laws of nature. By turns subtle and bombastic, sci-fi revels in discovery and revelation, whether through human ingenuity or world-altering paradigm shifts. The same impulse informs both the idealism of Star Trek and the existential terror of Frankenstein.Each chapter of this book examines a specific trope or theme through a different critical lens – including eco-criticism, feminism and historicism – while also providing a historical overview of the genre, from its disputed origins to the pulp era, the New Wave, and the exponential growth of Afrofuturism and Indigenous Futurisms. Revered masters such as Isaac Asimov, Octavia Butler and Iain M. Banks are considered alongside newer talents, including Rebecca Roanhorse and N. K. Jemisin. Other chapters provide overviews of different media, from television (Doctor Who, Westworld) to comics/manga (2000AD, Métal Hurlant), video games (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) and theatre (Alistair McDowall’s X).Sci-Fi: A Companion not only provides an accessible introduction to sci-fi for general readers and researchers alike, but also illuminates new approaches to a familiar genre.

Monsters and other supernatural malefactors disrupt the human world in distinct ways: werewolves and cunning beasts challenge the philosophical distinction between human and animal; demons offer deceptive pacts to prey upon our delusions of mastery over the world; capricious fairies claim dominion over the landscape and exact disproportionate revenge for our intrusions. When a monster appears, human history must halt until it departs.Irish history, meanwhile, has been punctured by dramatic ruptures, such as the Great Famine of 1845 to 1849. Monstrous imagery flourishes in these ruptures, so it is hardly surprising that Irish literature boasts a great many rough beasts and ravenous corpses. In this book, various monsters from Irish literature are considered in different historical contexts, to illustrate the role of horror and monstrosity in Ireland’s history and culture. In both English- and Irish-language texts, from the Act of Union to the death of the Celtic Tiger, hordes of night-creatures arise in times of crisis, embodying chaos and absurdity. Building upon the critical framework established in Irish Science Fiction (2014), this study looks at the specific ways in which ghosts, malevolent magicians, shape-shifters, cryptids and the corporeal undead oppose human agency by ‘breaking history’.

Monsters and other supernatural malefactors disrupt the human world in distinct ways: werewolves and cunning beasts challenge the philosophical distinction between human and animal; demons offer deceptive pacts to prey upon our delusions of mastery over the world; capricious fairies claim dominion over the landscape and exact disproportionate revenge for our intrusions. When a monster appears, human history must halt until it departs.Irish history, meanwhile, has been punctured by dramatic ruptures, such as the Great Famine of 1845 to 1849. Monstrous imagery flourishes in these ruptures, so it is hardly surprising that Irish literature boasts a great many rough beasts and ravenous corpses. In this book, various monsters from Irish literature are considered in different historical contexts, to illustrate the role of horror and monstrosity in Ireland’s history and culture. In both English- and Irish-language texts, from the Act of Union to the death of the Celtic Tiger, hordes of night-creatures arise in times of crisis, embodying chaos and absurdity. Building upon the critical framework established in Irish Science Fiction (2014), this study looks at the specific ways in which ghosts, malevolent magicians, shape-shifters, cryptids and the corporeal undead oppose human agency by ‘breaking history’.

'My hand holding the revolver dropped limply to my side when, in the full glare of the lamp, I saw the Creature that squatted in the doorway ...'An old house turns out to not be as empty as its new owners supposed. A nobleman barters his soul in exchange for arcane knowledge. A stranger with a terrible curse looks for an unsuspecting victim to take her place. Monsters, killers and unquiet spirits stalk these stories, drawn from the places where folklore, the Gothic and modern fiction intertwine - Irish literature's dark and ever-present shadow.Edited and introduced by Jack Fennell, this collection of lesser-known works of classic Irish horror includes stories by William Carleton, Henry de Vere Stacpoole, Mildred Darby and more.

A mystical battle between foreign gods and local saints is unleashed as idols are mistaken for garden ornaments; an ambiguous wizard spies on his neighbours from an invisible tower; a cursed duelling pistol influences its owners to commit suicide. With strange combinations of occultism, electricity, magic and playfully Biblical archetypes, the fifteen darkly funny stories in this book illuminate a side of Irish literary history that is often overlooked.