Franz Rottensteiner

The Black Mirror and Other Stories Franz Rottensteiner

Commendation Quotes: "Mike Mitchell's versatile and even brilliant translations do a wonderful job of giving us the flavor of early science fiction as well as the sophistication and style of the later stories."Review Quotes: "Both libraries and sf readers looking to expand their geographical horizons should purchase this thought-provoking collection."--Sonja Fritzsche, ExtrapolationBiographical Note: FRANZ ROTTENSTEINER has written and edited many books in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, including The Fantasy Book: An Illustrated History from Dracula to Tolkien (1978), View From Another Shore: European Science Fiction (1999), and The Best of Austrian Science Fiction (2001). He lives in Vienna, Austria. MIKE MITCHELL has translated over 50 books. He was awarded the Schlegel-Tieck Prize for his translation of Herbert Rosendorfer's Letters Back to Ancient China (1997) and lives in Argyll, on the west coast of Scotland. Commendation Quotes: "Rottensteiner's analyses and commentary are authoritative, not to mention highly readable."Table of Contents: AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: A Short History of Science Fiction in GermanTHE PIONEERS: SCIENCE FICTION BEFORE WORLD WAR IKurd Lasswitz, "To the Absolute Zero of Existence" (Germany, 1871) Kurd Lasswitz, "Apoikis" (Germany, 1882) Ludwig Hevesi, "Jules Verne in Hell" (Austria, 1906) Carl Grunert, "The Martian Spy" (Germany, 1908) Paul Scheerbart, "Malvu the Helmsman" (Germany, 1912) BETWEEN THE WORLD WARSOtto Willi Gail, "The Missing Clock Hands" (Germany, 1929) Egon Friedell, "Is the Earth Inhabited?" (Austria, 1931) Hans Dominik, "A Free Flight in 2222" (Germany, 1934) GERMAN SCIENCE FICTION COMES INTO ITS OWN AFTER WORLD WAR IIHerbert W. Franke, "Thought Control" (Austria, 1961) Herbert W. Franke, "Welcome Home" (Austria, 1961) Herbert W. Franke, "Meteorites" (Austria, 1961) Ernst Vlcek, "Say It With Flowers" (Austria, 1980) Carl Amery, "Just One Summer" (Germany, 1985) Horst Pukallus, "The Age of Burning Mountains" (Germany, 1989) SF FROM THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICJohanna and Gunter Braun, "A Visit to Parsimonia. A Scientific Report" (1981) Erik Simon, "The Black Mirror" (1983) Angela and Karlheinz Steinmuller, "The Eye That Never Weeps" (1984) THE CURRENT GENERATION: FROM THE 1990S TO THE PRESENTPeter Schattschneider, "A Letter from the Other Side" (Austria, 1994) Wolfgang Jeschke, "Partners for Life" (Germany, 1996) Michael Marrak, "Astrosapiens" (Germany, 1998) Thorsten Kuper, "Project 38 or the Game of Small Causes" (Germany, 2003) Michael K. Iwoleit, "Planck-Time" (Germany, 2004) Oliver Henkel, "Hitler on the Campaign-Trail in America" (Germany, 2004) Helmuth W. Mommers, "Habemus Papam" (Austria, 2005) Andreas Eschbach, "Mother's Flowers" (Germany, 2008) Editor's NotesSelected BibliographyAbout the Author and TranslatorMarc Notes: Includes bibliographical references.; Avail. in cloth. Publisher Marketing: This entertaining anthology delivers great reading and an overview of German-language science fiction, including works by the "German father of science fiction" Kurd Lasswitz, the Austrian writer Ludwig Hevesi (author of "Jules Verne in Hell"), the fantasist Paul Scheerbart (a scurrilous, idiosyncratic writer who was an outsider in both literature and science fiction), popular writers Otto Willi Gail and Hans Dominik, as well as the contemporary luminaries of the genre: Wolfgang Jeschke, Herbert W. Franke, Andreas Eschbach, and Carl Amery. The introduction by the editor gives a succinct history of German language science fiction, including its representation in Hugo Gernsback's popular magazines. With select bibliographies of German language science fiction and writings on German science fiction, this book will be appreciated by scholars and general readers alike. Review Citations:

Publishers Weekly 10/13/2008 pg. 40 (EAN 9780819568311, Paperback) - *Starred Review

Choice 07/01/2009 (EAN 9780819568311, Paperback)

Asimov's Science Fiction 01/01/2010 pg. 104 (EAN 9780819568311, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly 10/13/2008 pg. 40 (EAN 9780819568304, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Choice 07/01/2009 (EAN 9780819568304, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Mitchell, Mike Herbert Rosendorfer combined his writing with a career in law. He is generally considered one of Germany's most important postwar writers.