| conceptual fiction Exploring the Non-Realist Tradition in Fiction |
| WEEK 1 Dracula by Bram Stoker |
| Check out our sister sites: The New Canon Great literary works published since 1985 Great Books Guide Reviews of current books Postmodern Mystery Experimental works of mystery & suspense Fractious Fiction Radical, unconventional and experimental fiction |
This is my year of horrible reading.
I am reading the classics of horror fiction
during the course of 2016, and each week will
write about a significant work in the genre.
You are invited to join me in my annus
horribilis. By the close of the year—if we
survive—we will have tackled zombies, serial
killers, ghosts, demons, vampires, and
monsters of all denominations. Check back
each week for a new title...but remember to
bring along garlic, silver bullets and a
protective amulet. Ted Gioia
I am reading the classics of horror fiction
during the course of 2016, and each week will
write about a significant work in the genre.
You are invited to join me in my annus
horribilis. By the close of the year—if we
survive—we will have tackled zombies, serial
killers, ghosts, demons, vampires, and
monsters of all denominations. Check back
each week for a new title...but remember to
bring along garlic, silver bullets and a
protective amulet. Ted Gioia
| WEEK 2 The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson |
Bram Stoker had colorful
stories ready for those who
asked about the origins of his
novel Dracula. By one
account...For more, click
here
stories ready for those who
asked about the origins of his
novel Dracula. By one
account...For more, click
here
Is the ghost story the oldest
literary type? Almost every
culture possesses myths
about interactions between
the living and the dead...For
more, click here
literary type? Almost every
culture possesses myths
about interactions between
the living and the dead...For
more, click here
| WEEK 3 Tales of Mystery & Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe |
How influential is Edgar
Allan Poe. Let's Look at the
numbers. The detective
story, a category virtually
invented by Poe...For
more, click here
Allan Poe. Let's Look at the
numbers. The detective
story, a category virtually
invented by Poe...For
more, click here
Stephen King launched his
literary career on April 5,
1974 with little
fanfare. Doubleday had
printed 30,000 copies...For
more, click here
literary career on April 5,
1974 with little
fanfare. Doubleday had
printed 30,000 copies...For
more, click here
To purchase, click on image
| WEEK 5 The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector |
Not even Kafka managed
to find so much revelation
in the physiology of a
cockroach...For more,
click here
to find so much revelation
in the physiology of a
cockroach...For more,
click here
When I visit the gym to
workout, I routinely wear a
sweatshirt emblazoned with
the insignia of Miskatonic
Univeristy...For more,
click here
workout, I routinely wear a
sweatshirt emblazoned with
the insignia of Miskatonic
Univeristy...For more,
click here
| WEEK 7 The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty |
The rite of exorcism is not
one of the seven official
sacraments of the Catholic
faith. Church leaders don’t
discuss it very often...For
more, click here
one of the seven official
sacraments of the Catholic
faith. Church leaders don’t
discuss it very often...For
more, click here
| WEEK 8 The Woman In Black by Susan Hill |
Sartre’s horror required
no monsters or gloomy
European castles. Even so,
the terror of his story was all
the more pernicious...For
more, click here
no monsters or gloomy
European castles. Even so,
the terror of his story was all
the more pernicious...For
more, click here
Susan Hill writes about
curses and misfortunes, but
her own career seemed
charmed almost from the
outset. How many
authors...For more, click
here
curses and misfortunes, but
her own career seemed
charmed almost from the
outset. How many
authors...For more, click
here
When the Horror Writers
of America decided to pick
the "Vampire Book of the
Century," they bypassed
recent bestsellers in favor
of Matheson's classic ...For
more, click here
of America decided to pick
the "Vampire Book of the
Century," they bypassed
recent bestsellers in favor
of Matheson's classic ...For
more, click here
| WEEK 11 Ghost Stories of Henry James by Henry James |
Critics have read these
stories as accounts of
hallucinations, case studies
in Freudian neuroses or
exercises in postmodern
multivalent narrative....
For more click here
stories as accounts of
hallucinations, case studies
in Freudian neuroses or
exercises in postmodern
multivalent narrative....
For more click here
| WEEK 12 Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice |
Why shouldn't monsters
get a chance to tell their
side of the story. In the
1960s and 1970s they
started to do just that...
For more click here
get a chance to tell their
side of the story. In the
1960s and 1970s they
started to do just that...
For more click here
| WEEK 13 American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis |
I gathered the tools needed
for my 'reading': a DeWalt
hammer, assorted nails, a
bottle of sulfuric acid, a
torch lighter... For more
click here
for my 'reading': a DeWalt
hammer, assorted nails, a
bottle of sulfuric acid, a
torch lighter... For more
click here
| WEEK 14 Last Stories and Other Stories by William T. Vollmann |
Do you know what the name
Vollmann means? It
translate roughly as "man of
many people." That a clue,
my friends....For more,
click here
Vollmann means? It
translate roughly as "man of
many people." That a clue,
my friends....For more,
click here
| WEEK 15 Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James |
Long before Indiana Jones
and Lara Croft, M.R. James
built his storytelling around
adventurous antiquarians
....For more, click here
and Lara Croft, M.R. James
built his storytelling around
adventurous antiquarians
....For more, click here
| WEEK 16 Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin |
Something strange occurred
in horror fiction after the
rise of secularism. The
Devil started showing up in
bestselling novels....For
more, click here
in horror fiction after the
rise of secularism. The
Devil started showing up in
bestselling novels....For
more, click here
| WEEK 17 The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chalmers |
At his best, Robert W.
Chambers anticipates
Borges, Calvino & Nabokov.
But he was rarely at his
best.....For more, click
here
Chambers anticipates
Borges, Calvino & Nabokov.
But he was rarely at his
best.....For more, click
here
Considered a lowbrow
romance when it was
first published, Rebecca
has belatedly gained
recognition as a Gothic
suspense masterpiece.....
For more, click here
romance when it was
first published, Rebecca
has belatedly gained
recognition as a Gothic
suspense masterpiece.....
For more, click here
| WEEK 19 The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe |
What is the meaning of
this strange 1962 novel
about a man trapped in
a village of sand...
For more, click here
this strange 1962 novel
about a man trapped in
a village of sand...
For more, click here
| WEEK 20 The Dark Eidolon by Clark Ashton Smith |
In his day, he was the
'Keats of the Pacific
Coast' and the 'Lovecraft
of the Far West'....For
more, click here
'Keats of the Pacific
Coast' and the 'Lovecraft
of the Far West'....For
more, click here
No, this isn't storytelling,
just torture -- and I'm
talking now merely of the
reading experience....For
more, click here
just torture -- and I'm
talking now merely of the
reading experience....For
more, click here
| WEEK 22 Books of Blood, Vol. 1-3 by Clive Barker |
Clive Barker reminds me
of those battlefield generals
determined to win at all
costs. Maybe a Patton, also
known as Old Blood and
Guts...For more, click here
of those battlefield generals
determined to win at all
costs. Maybe a Patton, also
known as Old Blood and
Guts...For more, click here
| WEEK 23 The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris |
When David Foster Wallace
published a list of his ten
favorite novels, shortly
before his death, one author
had two slots on it. Guess
who?...For more, click here
published a list of his ten
favorite novels, shortly
before his death, one author
had two slots on it. Guess
who?...For more, click here
| WEEK 24 The Orange Eats Creeps by Grace Krilanovich |
Perhaps this book is poetry.
But even poetry has an
obligation to refer to...
well, to something, no?...
For more, click here
But even poetry has an
obligation to refer to...
well, to something, no?...
For more, click here
| WEEK 25 Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson |
How did author Robert
Louis Stevenson view his
protagonist's double
character?... For more,
click here
Louis Stevenson view his
protagonist's double
character?... For more,
click here
| WEEK 26 Psycho by Robert Bloch |
"I really have the heart of
a small boy," Robert Bloch
insisted. "I keep it in a jar
on my desk."... For more,
click here
a small boy," Robert Bloch
insisted. "I keep it in a jar
on my desk."... For more,
click here
Octavia Butler doesn't respect
boundaries. At least not the
boundaries between fiction
genres...For more, click
here
boundaries. At least not the
boundaries between fiction
genres...For more, click
here
| WEEK 28 Demons by Daylight by Ramsey Campbell |
In this breakthrough 1973
book, Ramsey Campbell shifted
allegiances from Lovecraft
to Nabokov...For more, click
here
book, Ramsey Campbell shifted
allegiances from Lovecraft
to Nabokov...For more, click
here
| WEEK 29 The Complete Short Stories by Ambrose Bierce |
Bierce created a different
kind of ghost stories, in
which the horror resides
outdoors in the wide open
spaces...For more, click
here
kind of ghost stories, in
which the horror resides
outdoors in the wide open
spaces...For more, click
here
| WEEK 30 Pet Sematary by Stephen King |
Stephen King described
Pet Sematary as "the most
frightening book I've
written..For more, click
here
Pet Sematary as "the most
frightening book I've
written..For more, click
here
| WEEK 31 Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber |
Decades before Murakami
and Gaiman mixed malevolent
magic with urban landscapes,
Leiber showed the way with
Our Lady of Darkness...For
more, click here
and Gaiman mixed malevolent
magic with urban landscapes,
Leiber showed the way with
Our Lady of Darkness...For
more, click here
He was the first monster in
the English language, but
where is his movie franchise?
Where are his licensing deals?
You can't even find a lousy
Grendel T-shirt...For more,
click here.
the English language, but
where is his movie franchise?
Where are his licensing deals?
You can't even find a lousy
Grendel T-shirt...For more,
click here.
| WEEK 33 White is for Witching by Helen Oyeymi |
What could be scarier than
a ghost story where you
can’t escape…because you
are the ghost?...For more,
click here.
a ghost story where you
can’t escape…because you
are the ghost?...For more,
click here.
| WEEK 34 The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks |
"It’s a sick, sick world
when the confidence and
investment of an astute
firm of publishers is
justified by a work of
unparalleled depravity."
...For more, click here.
when the confidence and
investment of an astute
firm of publishers is
justified by a work of
unparalleled depravity."
...For more, click here.
How far the mighty have
fallen. Not just King Kong,
but also its creator Edgar
Wallace...For more, click here.
fallen. Not just King Kong,
but also its creator Edgar
Wallace...For more, click here.
| WEEK 36 The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole |
In the opening pages, the
heir of Otranto is killed on
his wedding day when a
giant helmet falls from the
sky and squishes him into a
pulp...For more, click here.
heir of Otranto is killed on
his wedding day when a
giant helmet falls from the
sky and squishes him into a
pulp...For more, click here.
| WEEK 37 The John Silence Stories by Algernon Blackwood |
Who is John Silence? He's
like Sherlock Holmes, but
with supernatural powers.
And he solves crimes, but also
knows how to deal with
mummies and ghosts....
For more, click here.
like Sherlock Holmes, but
with supernatural powers.
And he solves crimes, but also
knows how to deal with
mummies and ghosts....
For more, click here.
| WEEK 38 The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter |
The book seems to be set
in Victorian England, but
then airplanes, Disney
characters and new wave
films enter the story....
For more, click here.
in Victorian England, but
then airplanes, Disney
characters and new wave
films enter the story....
For more, click here.
Aging Hollywood actor Thomas
Tryon turned to fiction with
The Other. It sold 4 million
copies and spent 6 months on
the bestseller list...For more,
click here.
Tryon turned to fiction with
The Other. It sold 4 million
copies and spent 6 months on
the bestseller list...For more,
click here.
Have you ever read a horror
novel in which every character
has the best of intentions?
Yet's that precisely what makes
Never Let Me Go so unnerving
...For more, click here.
novel in which every character
has the best of intentions?
Yet's that precisely what makes
Never Let Me Go so unnerving
...For more, click here.
| WEEK 40 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro |
| WEEK 41 Ghost Story by Peter Straub |
If you mapped out a flow
chart of this book on a sheet
of paper…you would soon
need a bigger sheet of paper.
...For more, click here.
chart of this book on a sheet
of paper…you would soon
need a bigger sheet of paper.
...For more, click here.
| WEEK 42 John Dies at the End by David Wong |
Poe would have been outraged.
Lovecraft would have scorned
it. Bram Stoker would have
shot it with a silver bullet...
For more, click here.
Lovecraft would have scorned
it. Bram Stoker would have
shot it with a silver bullet...
For more, click here.
| WEEK 43 The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen |
Could you imagine a modern
novel in which a brain
operation is designed with
the goal of giving patients a
glimpse of a pagan deity
Pan?...For more, click here.
novel in which a brain
operation is designed with
the goal of giving patients a
glimpse of a pagan deity
Pan?...For more, click here.
If evil, by definition,
collapses into a nullity, its
most terrifying manifestation
must be some kind of black
hole....For more, click here.
collapses into a nullity, its
most terrifying manifestation
must be some kind of black
hole....For more, click here.
| WEEK 45 Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist |
Do some research on John
Ajvide Lindqvist and you will
sooner or later read that he is
"Sweden's Stephen King"....
For more, click here.
Ajvide Lindqvist and you will
sooner or later read that he is
"Sweden's Stephen King"....
For more, click here.
Follow Ted Gioia on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/tedgioia
Conceptual Fiction:
A Reading List
(with links to essays on each work)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Aldiss, Brian
Barefoot in the Head
Aldiss, Brian
Hothouse
Aldiss, Brian
Report on Probability A
Allende, Isabel
The House of the Spirits
Amado, Jorge
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Apuleius
The Golden Ass
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Blind Assassin
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
The Atrocity Exhibition
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Ballard, J.G.
The Drowned World
Barker, Clive
Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3
Barth, John
Giles Goat-Boy
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bierce, Ambrose
The Complete Short Stories
Blackwood, Algernon
The Complete John Silence Stories
Blish, James
A Case of Conscience
Borges, Jorge Luis
Ficciones
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Brockmeier, Kevin
The View from the Seventh Layer
Bulgakov, Mikhail
The Master and Margarita
Bunch, David R.
Moderan
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Butler, Octavia E.
Fledgling
Campbell, Ramsey
Demons by Daylight
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Carpentier, Alejo
The Kingdom of This World
Carroll, Lewis
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chambers, Robert W.
The King in Yellow
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Crowley, John
Little, Big
Danielewski, Mark Z.
The Fifty Year Sword
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Davies, Robertson
Fifth Business
Delany, Samuel R.
Babel-17
Delany, Samuel R.
Dhalgren
Delany, Samuel R.
The Einstein Intersection
Delany, Samuel R.
Nova
Dick, Philip K.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Dick, Philip K.
VALIS
Disch, Thomas M.
Camp Concentration
Disch, Thomas M.
The Genocides
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Donoso, José
The Obscene Bird of Night
Ellison, Harlan (editor)
Dangerous Visions
Ellison, Harlan
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
Esquivel, Laura
Like Water for Chocolate
Farmer, Philip José
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Fowles, John
A Maggot
Fuentes, Carlos
Aura
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gaiman, Neil
Neverwhere
Gardner, John
Grendel
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Grass, Günter
The Tin Drum
Greene, Graham
The End of the Affair
Grossman, Lev
The Magicians
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
The Centauri Device
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Helprin, Mark
Winter's Tale
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Hill, Susan
The Woman in Black
Hoffman, Alice
Practical Magic
Houellebecq, Michel
Submission
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Ishiguro, Kazuo
Never Let Me Go
Jackson, Shirley
The Haunting of Hill House
James, Henry
The Turn of the Screw
James, M.R.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Keret, Etgar
Suddenly, A Knock at the Door
Ketchum, Jack
Off Season
Keyes, Daniel
Flowers for Algernon
King, Stephen
Carrie
King, Stephen
Pet Sematary
Koja, Kathe
The Cipher
Krilanovich, Grace
The Orange Eats Creeps
Kundera, Milan
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Kunzru, Hari
Gods Without Men
Lafferty, R.A.
Nine Hundred Grandmothers
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Dispossessed
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Our Lady of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Levin, Ira
Rosemary's Baby
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Lindqvist, John Ajvide
Let the Right One In
Link, Kelly
Magic for Beginners
Lovecraft, H.P.
Tales
Machen, Arthur
The Great God Pan
Malzberg, Barry N.
Herovit's World
Mandel, Emily St. John
Station Eleven
Mann, Thomas
Doctor Faustus
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
Markson, David
Wittgenstein's Mistress
Matheson, Richard
Hell House
Matheson, Richard
I Am Legend
Matheson, Richard
What Dreams May Come
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Millhauser, Steven
Dangerous Laughter
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Moorcock, Michael
Behold the Man
Moorcock, Michael
The Final Programme
Morrison, Toni
Beloved
Murakami, Haruki
1Q84
Murakami, Haruki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the
End of the World
Nabokov, Vladimir
Ada, or Ardor
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Obreht, Téa
The Tiger's Wife
O'Brien, Flann
At Swim-Two-Birds
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Oyeyemi, Helen
White is for Witching
Percy, Walker
Love in the Ruins
Poe, Edgar Allan
Tales of Mystery & Imagination
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pratchett, Terry
The Color of Magic
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Rabelais, François
Gargantua and Pantagruel
Rice, Anne
Interview with the Vampire
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Rushdie, Salman
Midnight's Children
Russ, Joanna
The Female Man
Saramago, José
Blindness
Sheckley, Robert
Dimension of Miracles
Sheckley, Robert
Mindswap
Sheckley, Robert
Store of the Worlds
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Silverberg, Robert
The World Inside
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Clark Ashton
The Dark Eidolon
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Straub, Peter
Ghost Story
Spinrad, Norman
Bug Jack Barron
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Dracula
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Swift, Jonathan
Gulliver's Travels
Thomas, D.M.
The White Hotel
Tiptree, Jr., James
Warm Worlds and Otherwise
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Hobbit
Tryon, Thomas
The Other
Updike, John
The Witches of Eastwick
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Mixed Men
Van Vogt, A.E.
Slan
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Vance, Jack
The Dragon Masters
Vance, Jack
Emphyrio
Vance, Jack
The Languages of Pao
Verne, Jules
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Vollmann, William T
Last Stories and Other Stories
Vonnegut, Kurt
Cat's Cradle
Vonnegut, Kurt
The Sirens of Titan
Vonnegut, Kurt
Slaughterhouse-Five
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Wallace, Edgar
King Kong
Walpole, Horace
The Castle of Otranto
Walpole, Horace
Hieroglyphic Tales
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Wilson, Robert Anton & Robert Shea
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Winton, Tim
Cloudstreet
Wong, David
John Dies at the End
Woolf, Virginia
Orlando
Zabor, Rafi
The Bear Comes Home
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Zelazny, Roger
This Immortal
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
My Year of Horrible Reading
When Science Fiction Grew Up
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
The Year of Magical Reading
Remembering Fritz Leiber
A Tribute to Richard Matheson
Samuel Delany's 70th birthday
The Sci-Fi of Kurt Vonnegut
The Most Secretive Sci-Fi Author
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
A.E, van Vogt Tribute
The Puzzling Case of Robert Sheckley
The Avant-Garde Sci-Fi of Brian
Aldiss
Science Fiction 1958-1975: A Reading
List
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Fractious Fiction
Ted Gioia's web site
Ted Gioia on Twitter
_____
SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
The Millions
Big Dumb Object
SF Novelists
More Words, Deeper Hole
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
Tor blog
Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction
and its sister sites may receive review
copies and promotional materials
from publishers, authors, publicists
or other parties.
All rights reserved.
www.twitter.com/tedgioia
Conceptual Fiction:
A Reading List
(with links to essays on each work)
Home Page
Abbott, Edwin A.
Flatland
Adams, Douglas
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Aldiss, Brian
Barefoot in the Head
Aldiss, Brian
Hothouse
Aldiss, Brian
Report on Probability A
Allende, Isabel
The House of the Spirits
Amado, Jorge
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
Amis, Martin
Time's Arrow
Apuleius
The Golden Ass
Asimov, Isaac
The Foundation Trilogy
Asimov, Isaac
I, Robot
Atwood, Margaret
The Blind Assassin
Atwood, Margaret
The Handmaid's Tale
Banks, Iain M.
The State of the Art
Ballard, J.G.
The Atrocity Exhibition
Ballard, J.G.
Crash
Ballard, J.G.
The Crystal World
Ballard, J.G.
The Drowned World
Barker, Clive
Books of Blood, Vols. 1-3
Barth, John
Giles Goat-Boy
Bester, Alfred
The Demolished Man
Bierce, Ambrose
The Complete Short Stories
Blackwood, Algernon
The Complete John Silence Stories
Blish, James
A Case of Conscience
Borges, Jorge Luis
Ficciones
Bradbury, Ray
Dandelion Wine
Bradbury, Ray
Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury, Ray
The Illustrated Man
Bradbury, Ray
The Martian Chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Brockmeier, Kevin
The View from the Seventh Layer
Bulgakov, Mikhail
The Master and Margarita
Bunch, David R.
Moderan
Burgess, Anthony
A Clockwork Orange
Butler, Octavia E.
Fledgling
Campbell, Ramsey
Demons by Daylight
Card, Orson Scott
Ender's Game
Carpentier, Alejo
The Kingdom of This World
Carroll, Lewis
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Chabon, Michael
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Chambers, Robert W.
The King in Yellow
Chiang, Ted
Stories of Your Life and Others
Clarke, Arthur C.
Childhood's End
Clarke, Arthur C.
A Fall of Moondust
Clarke, Arthur C.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, Susanna
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Crowley, John
Little, Big
Danielewski, Mark Z.
The Fifty Year Sword
Danielewski, Mark Z.
House of Leaves
Davies, Robertson
Fifth Business
Delany, Samuel R.
Babel-17
Delany, Samuel R.
Dhalgren
Delany, Samuel R.
The Einstein Intersection
Delany, Samuel R.
Nova
Dick, Philip K.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Dick, Philip K.
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Dick, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle
Dick, Philip K.
Ubik
Dick, Philip K.
VALIS
Disch, Thomas M.
Camp Concentration
Disch, Thomas M.
The Genocides
Doctorow, Cory
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
Donoso, José
The Obscene Bird of Night
Ellison, Harlan (editor)
Dangerous Visions
Ellison, Harlan
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream
Esquivel, Laura
Like Water for Chocolate
Farmer, Philip José
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Fowles, John
A Maggot
Fuentes, Carlos
Aura
Gaiman, Neil
American Gods
Gaiman, Neil
Neverwhere
Gardner, John
Grendel
Gibson, William
Burning Chrome
Gibson, William
Neuromancer
Grass, Günter
The Tin Drum
Greene, Graham
The End of the Affair
Grossman, Lev
The Magicians
Haldeman, Joe
The Forever War
Hall, Steven
The Raw Shark Texts
Harrison, M. John
The Centauri Device
Harrison, M. John
Light
Heinlein, Robert
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Heinlein, Robert:
Stranger in a Strange Land
Heinlein, Robert
Time Enough for Love
Helprin, Mark
Winter's Tale
Herbert, Frank
Dune
Hill, Susan
The Woman in Black
Hoffman, Alice
Practical Magic
Houellebecq, Michel
Submission
Huxley, Aldous
Brave New World
Ishiguro, Kazuo
Never Let Me Go
Jackson, Shirley
The Haunting of Hill House
James, Henry
The Turn of the Screw
James, M.R.
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Keret, Etgar
Suddenly, A Knock at the Door
Ketchum, Jack
Off Season
Keyes, Daniel
Flowers for Algernon
King, Stephen
Carrie
King, Stephen
Pet Sematary
Koja, Kathe
The Cipher
Krilanovich, Grace
The Orange Eats Creeps
Kundera, Milan
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Kunzru, Hari
Gods Without Men
Lafferty, R.A.
Nine Hundred Grandmothers
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Dispossessed
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Lathe of Heaven
Le Guin, Ursula K.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
The Big Time
Leiber, Fritz
Conjure Wife
Leiber, Fritz
Our Lady of Darkness
Leiber, Fritz
Swords & Deviltry
Leiber, Fritz
The Wanderer
Lem, Stanislaw
His Master's Voice
Lem, Stanislaw
Solaris
Lethem, Jonathan
The Fortress of Solitude
Levin, Ira
Rosemary's Baby
Lewis, C. S.
The Chronicles of Narnia
Lindqvist, John Ajvide
Let the Right One In
Link, Kelly
Magic for Beginners
Lovecraft, H.P.
Tales
Machen, Arthur
The Great God Pan
Malzberg, Barry N.
Herovit's World
Mandel, Emily St. John
Station Eleven
Mann, Thomas
Doctor Faustus
Márquez, Gabriel García
100 Years of Solitude
Markson, David
Wittgenstein's Mistress
Matheson, Richard
Hell House
Matheson, Richard
I Am Legend
Matheson, Richard
What Dreams May Come
McCarthy, Cormac
The Road
Miéville, China
Perdido Street Station
Miller, Jr., Walter M.
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Millhauser, Steven
Dangerous Laughter
Mitchell, David
Cloud Atlas
Moorcock, Michael
Behold the Man
Moorcock, Michael
The Final Programme
Morrison, Toni
Beloved
Murakami, Haruki
1Q84
Murakami, Haruki
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the
End of the World
Nabokov, Vladimir
Ada, or Ardor
Niffenegger, Audrey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Niven, Larry
Ringworld
Noon, Jeff
Vurt
Obreht, Téa
The Tiger's Wife
O'Brien, Flann
At Swim-Two-Birds
Okri, Ben
The Famished Road
Oyeyemi, Helen
White is for Witching
Percy, Walker
Love in the Ruins
Poe, Edgar Allan
Tales of Mystery & Imagination
Pohl, Frederik
Gateway
Pratchett, Terry
The Color of Magic
Pynchon, Thomas
Gravity's Rainbow
Rabelais, François
Gargantua and Pantagruel
Rice, Anne
Interview with the Vampire
Robinson, Kim Stanley
Red Mars
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Rushdie, Salman
Midnight's Children
Russ, Joanna
The Female Man
Saramago, José
Blindness
Sheckley, Robert
Dimension of Miracles
Sheckley, Robert
Mindswap
Sheckley, Robert
Store of the Worlds
Shelley, Mary
Frankenstein
Silverberg, Robert
Dying Inside
Silverberg, Robert
Nightwings
Silverberg, Robert
The World Inside
Simak, Clifford
City
Simak, Clifford
The Trouble with Tycho
Smith, Clark Ashton
The Dark Eidolon
Smith, Cordwainer
Norstrilia
Smith, Cordwainer
The Rediscovery of Man
Stephenson, Neal
Snow Crash
Straub, Peter
Ghost Story
Spinrad, Norman
Bug Jack Barron
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Dracula
Stross, Charles
Glasshouse
Sturgeon, Theodore
More Than Human
Sturgeon, Theodore
Some of Your Blood
Swift, Jonathan
Gulliver's Travels
Thomas, D.M.
The White Hotel
Tiptree, Jr., James
Warm Worlds and Otherwise
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Hobbit
Tryon, Thomas
The Other
Updike, John
The Witches of Eastwick
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Mixed Men
Van Vogt, A.E.
Slan
Van Vogt, A.E.
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
Van Vogt, A.E.
The World of Null A
Vance, Jack
The Dragon Masters
Vance, Jack
Emphyrio
Vance, Jack
The Languages of Pao
Verne, Jules
Around the Moon
Verne, Jules
From the Earth to the Moon
Verne, Jules:
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Vollmann, William T
Last Stories and Other Stories
Vonnegut, Kurt
Cat's Cradle
Vonnegut, Kurt
The Sirens of Titan
Vonnegut, Kurt
Slaughterhouse-Five
Wallace, David Foster
Infinite Jest
Wallace, Edgar
King Kong
Walpole, Horace
The Castle of Otranto
Walpole, Horace
Hieroglyphic Tales
Wells, H.G.
The First Men in the Moon
Wells, H.G.
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
Wilson, Robert Anton & Robert Shea
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
Winton, Tim
Cloudstreet
Wong, David
John Dies at the End
Woolf, Virginia
Orlando
Zabor, Rafi
The Bear Comes Home
Zelazny, Roger
Lord of Light
Zelazny, Roger
This Immortal
Special Features
Notes on Conceptual Fiction
My Year of Horrible Reading
When Science Fiction Grew Up
Ray Bradbury: A Tribute
The Year of Magical Reading
Remembering Fritz Leiber
A Tribute to Richard Matheson
Samuel Delany's 70th birthday
The Sci-Fi of Kurt Vonnegut
The Most Secretive Sci-Fi Author
Curse You, Neil Armstrong!
Robert Heinlein at 100
A.E, van Vogt Tribute
The Puzzling Case of Robert Sheckley
The Avant-Garde Sci-Fi of Brian
Aldiss
Science Fiction 1958-1975: A Reading
List
Links to related sites
The New Canon
Great Books Guide
Postmodern Mystery
Fractious Fiction
Ted Gioia's web site
Ted Gioia on Twitter
_____
SF Site
io9
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Los Angeles Review of Books
The Millions
Big Dumb Object
SF Novelists
More Words, Deeper Hole
The Misread City
Reviews and Responses
SF Signal
True Science Fiction
Tor blog
Disclosure: Conceptual Fiction
and its sister sites may receive review
copies and promotional materials
from publishers, authors, publicists
or other parties.
All rights reserved.
| WEEK 46 The Nameless by Ramsey Campbell |
Ramsey Campbell was poised
to emerge as the successor of
Lovecraft, but then he decided
he wanted something different
....For more, click here.
to emerge as the successor of
Lovecraft, but then he decided
he wanted something different
....For more, click here.
Are you ready for a horror
novel that looks like an
Ikea catalog?....For more,
click here.
novel that looks like an
Ikea catalog?....For more,
click here.
In the midsts of Hideo's mid-life
crisis, his parents come back
from the dead to take care of
him....For more, click here.
crisis, his parents come back
from the dead to take care of
him....For more, click here.
This is the novel that brought
zombie fiction back from the
undead....For more, click
here.
zombie fiction back from the
undead....For more, click
here.
| WEEK 49 World War Z by Max Brooks |
| WEEK 50 Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton |
How many people even
consider that Michael
Crichton's entertaining
stories are actually a critique
of entertainment?...For
more, click here.
consider that Michael
Crichton's entertaining
stories are actually a critique
of entertainment?...For
more, click here.
| WEEK 51 Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill |
Joe Hill's hidden identity
was., in the words of a
fellow writer, the "worst
kept secret in the history
of secrets...For more,
click here.
was., in the words of a
fellow writer, the "worst
kept secret in the history
of secrets...For more,
click here.
| WEEK 52 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens |
What do you want for
Christmas? How about'
something scary...For
more, click here.
Christmas? How about'
something scary...For
more, click here.