Michael Bishop and the Persistence of Wonder: A Critical Study of the Writings

Sanders (Science Fiction Fandom), professor emeritus at Lakeland Community College, delivers a comprehensive study of the work of science fiction novelist Michael Bishop, whose writing, Sanders argues, deserves “careful reading and sympathetic discussion.” Sanders traces Bishop’s devotion to his craft with the Nebula Award–nominated 1975 debut, A Funeral for the Eyes of Fire (which was reconceived as Eyes of Fire in 1980), as well as short stories such as 1999’s “Tithes of Mint and Rue,” which “offers a peek at religious mysteries.” Sanders makes the case that Bishop “quietly but persistently demands sympathy for the unsympathetic, tolerance for the intolerable,” as in early story “Pinon Fall,” in which young boys care for a “naked insect-humanoid alien.” In avoiding extratextual concerns such as autobiographical influences, Sanders’ survey sometimes overuses straightforward explication rather than interpretation. Still, he’s staunchly thorough and convincingly extracts a worldview from the wide breadth of Bishop’s body of work: “Bishop’s great subject has been an exploration of what human beings need—not want, not even crave, but need—to satisfy their full potential.” Sanders combines scholarly rigor with a crisp layman’s voice—Bishop’s fans are in for a treat. (Dec.)