My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Humanoids, Inc. for an advanced copy of this graphic novel reference book. In the graphic novel The History of Science Fiction: A Graphic Novel Adventure written by Xavier Dollo with art by Djibril Morissette-Phan, newbies and hardcore science fiction fans have been given an extraordinary gift. Covering the first appearances of speculative fiction in literature and traveling thousands of years into the future, a a future created by visionary authors whose...

I've read other books on the history of SF, and have done my own investigations, so most of this is repeating things I already have read about. Two things make this different. First, it is in graphic format. That allows including drawings of iconic characters, sets and book covers as well as portraits of the authors themselves. Still, there is a lot of text compared to most comics. Parts of the text are delivered by drawings of H. G. Wells, Judith Merril, and others. It works graphically, but yo...

Simply excellent!Who would have thought, a science fiction story in a graphic novel! And I can say that reading has been enriching as well as enjoyable. Although this format inevitably requires a lot of synthesis, it offers a high level of detail to satisfy the most demanding fandom.Curiously, being a comic originally published in French, it focuses mainly on English written science fiction. (I think it could not be otherwise, SF as a genre became more widespread in the USA and the UK), showing

The History of Science Fiction was one of those reads where I needed a pen and paper (or some electronic alternative). I took notes, yes. Lots of it.This graphic novel is a deep dive into the history of sci-fi. Before I read this, I knew some sci-fi history, but there were many facts that I didn’t know. There is a lot of info on early days that I wasn’t familiar with. But I must warn you that this is not a lightweight read. It’s quite dense and full of information. So it’s not suitable for all r...

"The History of Science Fiction: A Graphic Novel Adventure" mostly lives up to its title. It begins with a mash-up of science fiction references and tropes as two robots go off to discover the history of science fiction. Then it starts the story going chronologically quickly through the ancient Greeks (The Odyssey as sci-fi?? and Aristophanes), some Renaissance (Thomas More's Utopia and Cyrano de Bergerac), but then the story really gets going with Mary Shelley and Frankenstein. Xavier Dollo and...

BookTubers - like Bookpilled, and BOB's Books, and the Outlaw Bookseller - have been grabbing up some of my attention recently, especially the SF junkies, and thanks to Moid and his Media Death Cult channel, I became aware of this book and ordered it despite promising myself I would not buy any books for awhile (that's the kind of stuff you hear frequently from the BookTubers - paradoxically, since they get sent boatloads of stuff for free; the world is a strange and delightful place).I don't re...

This is one of the most dangerous books I have ever read... dangerous for my pocketbook and shelf-space.This wonderfully illustrated and written graphic novel literally walks you through the history of Sci-Fi by presenting it to and thrive the hearts of science fiction history. Tons of name dropping (authors and titles) that left me constantly adding to my books to read list. I thought I was fairly well read in science fiction, but I will be years in reading through just the books that are menti...

I absolutely loved this book! It’s a bit text heavy - but honestly, I loved that. There is a wealth of information in it. I made a list of books that I want to read while I was reading it, and ending up reading two other books mentioned that really caught my eye (one by Asimov and one by Simak) at the same time as reading this book. It was really fun having different authors guiding the story along and acting as narrators. The illustrations are very well done and helped very much to support the

Date finished: 2/11/2021Date published/released: 23rd November 20214.5⭐📱Thank you to Netgalley for approving this eARC in exchange for an honest review.As an avid science fiction reader, I was very interested by this one.This is a graphic novel story featuring 2 robot characters who enter a museum of science fiction to learn more about their history and origins.I was absolutely fascinated to find out the history of science fiction, as well as the origins and influences of my favourite sci-fi gen...

Interesting at times but far too many depictions of famous writers talking. And the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of sci fi is a real drag after a while

I am not sure if visual history books are a new trend or if I am late to discovering these, but I am loving it!What a great way to go through time and talk about the various phases of science-fiction, through literature and other media. Following conversations between some of the most influential authors and thinkers of their time. Reading this also showed me how inspiration can come from such a variety of backgrounds and interest! You don’t have to understand science to write science-fiction, j...

A very interesting graphic novel, if you like sci-fi or are interested in looking for some recommendations of classics of the genre I think it is a must read. The book has some beautiful illustrations that start from the origin of the genre with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein until the early 19th century.⭐⭐⭐ 3 starsThanks to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for this Arc in exchange for a honest review

So much information. This graphic novel explained to me why science fiction until recently never was something I much felt drawn toward. Very few women's voices have been part of the dialogue. And I am still hoping to see how people of color will take their places in the dialogue. As women do pick up the dialogue, I start to become interested, sensing a place for myself at the table.This year I am doing a genre study, including 10 science fiction titles. I will be reading LeGuin as part of my st...

It is an enormous effort to review a graphic novel about the History of science fiction, the same way it must have been a titanic endeavour for Xavier Dollo and Djibril Morissette-Phan, not only to investigate and highlight, but to put into a somehow coherent story all the information regarding a subject that continues to expand. Let me explain myself: This graphic novel could have been just separated into independent chapters and then put together, but the authors managed to link every single d...

Really interesting and unique look at the history of one of my favorite genres, science fiction. While it could get a bit wordy and befuddled at times (just like the old-school comics that it appears to take its style inspiration from), I was engaged from start to finish and I found myself constantly adding new science fiction books to my TBR.Thanks to NetGalley and Humanoids, Inc. for the advanced copy.

Dinner With FriendsThis is neither a novel nor an adventure. It is an illustrated history. We are escorted through time to meet and chat with all of the major figures in science fiction writing, and publishing, and by the end the reader will have a general but fairly comprehensive introduction to the field.I've been reading science fiction for more than fifty years, (which means I read Golden Age stories in collections and anthologies, not in the original pulps), and it was a delight to revisit

What is science fiction? Short answer: sci-fi stories only make sense to those who understand how technology can change the world. Its origins can be traced back to “The Odyssey.” The 19th century brought us Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” and the writings of Jules Verne. As technology advanced, so did science fiction. The genera now encompass novels and graphic novels, literary magazines, comic books, radio and podcasts, science fiction on the big and small screen, as well as video games.Science f...

Wonderful, imaginative telling of the history of science fiction. Very clever, and a lot of fun. I am pretty well-versed in scifi history (The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF, Billion Year Spree: The True History of Science Fiction, Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, etc) but this was an imaginative visual telling of the story. Loved it.

A fun read and an excellent overview of the genre

A pictorial telling of the history of sci-fi, this has all the colours and design of a standard graphic novel, but was just too dry in the telling for me. I don't know what I would have wanted in its place – certainly this does better than some books that just muck about with narrators – but I didn't really engage with this. It touches on a text or two from BCE, but soon has sped up enough to give individual mini-essays concerning Jules Verne, H G Wells, before looking more at how the stories we...