Alexander Dunst

Stefan Schlensag

As the first essay collection dedicated to Philip K. Dick in over two decades, this volume breaks new ground in science fiction scholarship and brings innovative critical perspectives to the study of one of the America's most influential authors. With contributions by major voices in literary and cultural studies, the book thoroughly situates Dick in the history of the twentieth century and includes sections on cultural theory, adaptation studies, as well as the first in-depth discussion of his last major work, The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, only published in 2011. Dick's academic reputation and general popularity continue to grow. A steady flow of films based on his novels and short stories, and several biographies and critical monographs over the last decade, testify to his global appeal. As the publication of three volumes of selected novels in the prestigious Library of America series and a 900-page hardback edition of his Exegesis show, Dick is now considered a canonical author in US literature. The essays commissioned for this volume examine novel aspects of Dick's oeuvre and revise our understanding of a writer who is now seen as a major literary and intellectual figure and often taken as representative of science fiction at large. At the same time, the conceptual and methodological arguments put forward by the authors –from Mark Bould's analysis of 'slipstream cinema' and Laurence Rickels' theorization of psychopathy to Marcus Boon's ontology of the withdrawn object – will be of interest to a wide audience in literary and cultural studies.

Stefan Schlensag

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