By the time of his death in 1987, he was acknowledged by the rising generation of cyberpunk writers for, as Smith says, 'marrying the gaudy, pop-culture feel of pulp fiction with high style.'' endowed his best writing with a sophistication lacking in many pulp writers. 'Smith depicts the author as a man of wide scope whose literary influences. Brian McHale, author of Postmodernist Fiction Jad Smith explains exactly how he did it.' On the strength of two indispensable novels, three unreadable ones, and a couple of dozen short stories-some of them barely passable, but others astonishing-Bester electrified SF, fathering the New Wave and grandfathering cyberpunk. 'Jad Smith appears to know everything about Alfred Bester's career, and there's no career in SF more worth knowing about. James Gunn, Center for the Study of Science Fiction

'Readable, knowledgeable, insightful, and altogether a success.' Dennis Wilson Wise, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 'For anyone approaching the study of Alfred Bester, Jad Smith's Alfred Bester serves as a comprehensive and valuable introduction to the formal qualities of his work.' It will be of keen interest to seasoned sf scholars as well as uninitiated readers looking for a quick introduction to this under-studied but influential sf author.' 'Jad Smith's work is a seminal study of Alfred Bester.

'Smith has made another lively contribution to understanding science fiction and its development, proving that academic and scholarly overview can also be of interest to the 'fan.'' 'Smith's work is remarkable and irreplaceable. Included on Locus Magazine's 2016 Recommended Reading List in the nonfiction category. Available through University of Illinois Press, and through Amazon and other online retailers. Jad Smith is a Professor of British Literature and Cultural Studies and a member of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty. Jad teaches graduate seminars titled Enlightenment Sexualities, Literature and Visual Culture in the Long Eighteenth Century, Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama in Performance, and Science Fiction Vanguards: New Wave and Cyberpunk, as well as a range of undergraduate courses.ĭoctor of Philosophy, Carnegie Mellon University ResearchĮighteenth-century British literature, science fiction, literary and cultural theory Selected PublicationsĪlfred Bester, Modern Masters of Science Fiction Series (University of Illinois Press, 2016). Email: 2021 Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

John Brunner by Jad Smith