Book Description

Taking up where Of Modern Dragons (2007) left off, these essays continue Lennard's investigation of the praxis of serial reading and the best genre fiction of recent decades, including work by Bill James, Walter Mosley, Lois Mcmaster Bujold, and Ursula K. Le Guin. There are groundbreaking studies of contemporary paranormal romance, and of Hornblower's transition to space, while the final essay deals with the phenomenon and explosive growth of fanfiction, and with the increasingly empowered status of the reader in a digital world. There is an extensive bibliography of genre and critical work, with eight illustrations. John Lennard is Director of Studies at Hughes Hall, Cambridge and has also taught for the Universities of London, Notre Dame, and for the Open University, and was Professor of British & American Literature at the University of the West Indies-Mona, 2004-09. Of Modern Dragons and other essays on genre fiction (2007), is also available from Lulu.