Doing Animal Studies with Androids, Aliens, and Ghosts

Doing Animal Studies with Androids, Aliens, and Ghosts
Author: David P. Rando
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2023-04-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 135035614X

Exploring what can be learnt when literary critics in the field of animal studies temporarily direct attention away from representations of nonhuman animals in literature and towards liminal figures like androids, aliens and ghosts, this book examines the boundaries of humanness. Simultaneously, it encourages the reader both to see nonhuman animals afresh and to reimagine the terms of our relationships with them. Examining imaginative texts by writers such as Octavia Butler, Philip K. Dick, Kazuo Ishiguro, Jeanette Winterson and J. M. Coetzee, this book looks at depictions of androids that redefine traditional humanist qualities such as hope and uniqueness. It examines alien visions that unmask the racist and heteronormative roots of speciesism. And it unpacks examples of ghosts and spirits who offer posthumous visions of having-been-human that decenter anthropocentrism. In doing so, it leaves open the potential for better relationships and futures with nonhuman animals.

Theory of Mind and Science Fiction

Theory of Mind and Science Fiction
Author: N. Pagan
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 88
Release: 2014-01-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1137399120

Theory of Mind and Science Fiction shows how theory of mind provides an exciting 'new' way to think about science fiction and, conversely, how science fiction sheds light not only on theory of mind but also empathy, morality, and the nature of our humanity.

The Android's Dream

The Android's Dream
Author: John Scalzi
Publisher: Tor Books
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 142991470X

From New York Times bestseller and Hugo Award-winner John Scalzi, a wild-and-woolly caper novel of interstellar diplomacy A human diplomat creates an interstellar incident when he kills an alien diplomat in a most . . . unusual . . . way. To avoid war, Earth's government must find an equally unusual object: a type of sheep ("The Android's Dream"), used in the alien race's coronation ceremony. To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinare, who, with the help of a childhood friend turned artificial intelligence, scours the earth looking for the rare creature. But there are others with plans for the sheep as well. Mercenaries employed by the military. Adherents of a secret religion based on the writings of a 21st century SF author. And alien races, eager to start a revolution on their home world and a war on Earth. To keep our planet from being enslaved, Harry will have to pull off a grand diplomatic coup, a gambit that will take him from the halls of power to the lava-strewn battlefields of alien worlds. There's only one chance to get it right, to save the life of the sheep—and to protect the future of humanity. Other Tor Books The Android’s Dream Agent to the Stars Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded Fuzzy Nation Redshirts 1. Lock In 2. Head On The Interdepency Sequence 1. The Collapsing Empire 2. The Consuming Fire Old Man's War Series 1. Old Man’s War 2. The Ghost Brigades 3. The Last Colony 4. Zoe’s Tale 5. The Human Division 6. The End of All Things At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Grey Aliens and the Harvesting of Souls

Grey Aliens and the Harvesting of Souls
Author: Nigel Kerner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2010-01-19
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1591439841

Exposes the agenda behind the bio-robotic grey aliens’ genetic manipulation of certain human races • Reveals the Grey’s nature as sophisticated self-aware machines created by a long vanished extraterrestrial civilization • Explains how their quest to capture human souls appears in the historical record from biblical times • Explains how the phenomenon of racism is a by-product of their genetic tampering In 1997 Nigel Kerner first introduced the notion of aliens known as Greys coming to Earth, explaining that Greys are sophisticated biological robots created by an extraterrestrial civilization they have long since outlived. In this new book Kerner reveals that the Greys are seeking to master death by obtaining something humans possess that they do not: souls. Through the manipulation of human DNA, these aliens hope to create their own souls and, thereby, escape the entropic grip of the material universe in favor of the timeless realm of spirit. Kerner explains that genetic manipulation by the Greys has occurred since biblical times and has led to numerous negative qualities that plague humanity, such as violence, greed, and maliciousness. Racism, he contends, was developed by the aliens to prevent their genetic experiments from being compromised by breeding with others outside their influence. Examining historical records, Kerner shows that Jesus, who represented an uncorrupted genetic line, warned his disciples about the threat posed by these alien interlopers, while Hitler, a pure product of this alien intelligence, waged genocide in an attempt to rid Earth of all those untouched by this genetic tampering. Despite the powerful grip the Greys have on humanity, Kerner says that all hope is not lost. Greys exist wholly in the material world, so if we follow the spiritual laws of reincarnation and karma, aiming for enlightenment and rising above the material--a state the Greys are unable to reach--we can free ourselves from their grasp.

Alien - Out of the Shadows (Book 1)

Alien - Out of the Shadows (Book 1)
Author: Tim Lebbon
Publisher: Titan Books (US, CA)
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2014-01-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1781162697

THE FIRST IN AN ALL NEW, OFFICIAL TRILOGY SET IN THE ALIEN UNIVERSE! Featuring the iconic Ellen Ripley in a terrifying new adventure that bridges the gap between Alien and Aliens. Officially sanctioned and true to the Alien cannon, Alien: Out of the Shadows expands upon the well-loved mythos and is a must for all Alien fans.

Crypt of the Everflame

Crypt of the Everflame
Author: Jason Bulmahn
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2009-09
Genre: Fantasy games
ISBN: 9781601251862

Every year when the leaves begin to fall, the small town of Kassen conducts a rite of passage in which it sends a band of young, would-be adventurers to the abandoned crypt of the town founder to recover the Everflame, a magical fire that is kept burning throughout the winter. Each year the youths' mettle is tested by traps, illusory monsters, and other challenges before returning home to a festival honoring their coming of age. Yet this year something has gone terribly wrong! Now the adventurers face real danger, and the fate of the town rests on their inexperienced shoulders! Designed specifically for the new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules and designed by Jason Bulmahn, the new game's primary designer, Crypt of the Everflame spotlights exciting new rules updates and character abilities, making it an ideal introductory adventure for Pathfinder RPG players.

Black and Brown Planets

Black and Brown Planets
Author: Isiah Lavender III
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2014-09-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1626743061

Black and Brown Planets embarks on a timely exploration of the American obsession with color in its look at the sometimes-contrary intersections of politics and race in science fiction. The contributors, including De Witt D. Kilgore, Edward James, Lisa Yaszek, and Marleen S. Barr, among others, explore science fiction worlds of possibility (literature, television, and film), lifting blacks, Latin Americans, and indigenous peoples out from the background of this historically white genre. This collection considers the role of race and ethnicity in our visions of the future. The first section emphasizes the political elements of black identity portrayed in science fiction from black America to the vast reaches of interstellar space framed by racial history. In the next section, analysis of indigenous science fiction addresses the effects of colonization, helps discard the emotional and psychological baggage carried from its impact, and recovers ancestral traditions in order to adapt in a post-Native-apocalyptic world. Likewise, this section explores the affinity between science fiction and subjectivity in Latin American cultures from the role of science and industrialization to the effects of being in and moving between two cultures. By infusing more color in this otherwise monochrome genre, Black and Brown Planets imagines alternate racial galaxies with viable political futures in which people of color determine human destiny.

Endangering Science Fiction Film

Endangering Science Fiction Film
Author: Sean Redmond
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2015-06-26
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1317646525

Endangering Science Fiction Film explores the ways in which science fiction film is a dangerous and endangering genre. The collection argues that science fiction's cinematic power rests in its ability to imagine ‘Other’ worlds that challenge and disturb the lived conditions of the ‘real’ world, as it is presently known to us. From classic films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris to modern blockbusters including World War Z and Gravity, and directors from David Cronenberg to Alfonso Cuarón, contributors comment on the way science fiction film engages with dangerous encounters, liminal experiences, sublime aesthetics, and untethers space and time to question the very nature of human existence. With the analysis of a diverse range of films from Europe, Asia, North and South America, Endangering Science Fiction Film offers a uniquely interdisciplinary view of the evolving and dangerous sentiments and sensibility of this genre.

Android Karenina

Android Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Publisher: Quirk Books
Total Pages: 548
Release: 2010-06-08
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1594744831

Leo Tolstoy meets robots in this “creepy, thrilling, and highly enjoyable” sci-fi mashup of the classic Russian novel Anna Karenina (Library Journal). “ . . . lives up to its promise to make Tolstoy ‘awesomer.’”—The Onion AV Club It’s been called the greatest novel ever written. Now, Tolstoy’s timeless saga of love and betrayal is transported to an awesomer version of 19th-century Russia. It is a world humming with high-powered groznium engines: where debutantes dance the 3D waltz in midair, mechanical wolves charge into battle alongside brave young soldiers, and robots—miraculous, beloved robots!—are the faithful companions of everyone who’s anyone. Restless to forge her own destiny in this fantastic modern life, the bold noblewoman Anna and her enigmatic Android Karenina abandon a loveless marriage to seize passion with the daring, handsome Count Vronsky. But when their scandalous affair gets mixed up with dangerous futuristic villainy, the ensuing chaos threatens to rip apart their lives, their families, and—just maybe—all of planet Earth.

Android at Arms

Android at Arms
Author: Andre Norton
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2015-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 150402544X

When Andas Kastor awakens in an alien land, he must figure out if he’s the true emperor of his home world or an evil double In a stark, arid wasteland, a man awakens from a frozen state. As he stares out his narrow slit of a window, he has no memory of how he got there—or why. All he knows is his name: Andas Kastor, Imperial Prince of Inyanga. But instead of the luxurious trappings of his royal palace, he’s in a hellish, storm-lashed place punctuated by howling winds and shattering streaks of lightning. And he’s not alone. In this uninhabited world, he meets five other survivors, also of noble birth. They include the scaled, emerald-haired Elys of Posedonia and clawed, fanged Lord Yolyos of Sargol. They all speak the same Basic language, as befits those from neighboring spheres. Were they abducted, spirited to this alien planet, and held in mind-lock while evil doppelgangers ruled in their places? After a daring escape, Andas returns to Inyanga—only to discover that decades have passed and another sits on his throne. Now, hunted across barriers of time, Andas must fight external and internal enemies to save his civilization and uncover the truth about his identity.