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Worlds of Speculative Fiction
Welcome To The Worlds Of Speculative Fiction Class
A Personal Welcome To The Class (2:25)
The Story of the Series
This Class Site - A Work In Progress
If You'd Like To Support My Work
Authors Covered In the Series (So Far)
Authors We Are Covering in 2025
Authors We Are Covering In 2026
Recordings Of 2016 Class Sessions
Video of Session 1 - Philosophy, Fantasy, and Science Fiction: Introduction to the Series
Video of Session 2 - J.R.R. Tolkien's Saga of Middle Earth
Video of Session 3 - A.E. Van Vogt's World of Null-A
Video of Session 4 - C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy
Video of Session 5 - Isaac Asimov's Foundations Galaxy
Video of Session 6 - Frank Herbert's Dune Universe
Video of Session 7 - Roger Zelazny's Amber and Chaos
Video of Session 8 - Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Universe
Video of Session 9 - Michael Moorcock's Multiverse and the Eternal Champion
Video of Session 10 - Philip K. Dick's Alternate America
Video of Session 11 - Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy
Video of Session 12 - George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire
Recordings Of 2017 Class Sessions
Video of Session 13 - Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld
Video of Session 14 - Madeline L'Engle's Time Quintet
Video of Session 15 - Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker Galaxy
Video of Session 16 - Anne McCaffrey's World of Pern
Video of Session 17 - Orson Scott Card's Enderverse
Video of Session 18 - Iain Banks Culture Series Galaxy
Video of Session 19 - H.P. Lovecraft's Universe of the Elder Gods
Video of Session 20 - William Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy
Video of Session 21 - C.L Moore's Fantastic Worlds
Video of Session 22 - Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis Trilogy
Recordings Of 2018 Class Sessions
Video of Session 23 - Borges' Labyrinth's and Libraries
Video of Session 24 - Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser Series
Video of Session 25 - Robert Heinlein's Novels of Humanity's Future
Video of Session 26 - L Sprague de Camp's Compleat Enchanter Multiverse
Video of Session 27 - Andre Norton's Witch World Series
Video of Session 28 - Robert Howard's Hyborean Age
Video of Session 29 - Arthur Clarke's Mysterious Cosmos
Video of Session 30 - C.J. Cherryh's Alliance Union Universe
Video of Session 31 - Jack Vance's Dying Earth Series
Video of Session 32 - Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun
Recordings Of 2019 Class Sessions
Video of Session 33 - Edgar Allan Poe's Uncanny Universe
Video of Session 34 - G.K. Chesterton's Novels of Intrigue and Rebellion
Video of Session 35 - Lewis Carroll's Fantastic Lands
Video of Session 36 - Tanith Lee's Flat Earth Series
Video of Session 37 - Gordon Dickson's Childe Cycle
Video of Session 38 - August Derleth's Universe of the Cthulhu Mythos
Video of Session 39 - Karl Edward Wagner's Ancient World of Kane
Video of Session 40 - Aldous Huxley's Utopias and Dystopias
Video of Session 41 - Bram Stoker's World of Gothic Horror
Recordings Of 2020 Class Sessions
Video of Session 42 - Mary Shelley's Modern Worlds
Video of Session 43 - China Mieville's Bas-Lag Novels
Video of Session 44 - Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind
Video of Session 45 - Walter Miller's Post-Flame-Deluge Leibowitz Novels
Video of Session 46 - Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea Trilogy
Video of Session 47 - Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea Continued
Recordings Of 2021 Class Sessions
Video of Session 48 - Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past
Video of Session 49 - Philip K Dick's Stories of Colonization and Insanity
Video of Session 50 - R. Scott Bakker, The Darkness That Comes Before
Video of Session 51 - R. Scott Bakker, The Warrior Prophet
Video of Session 52 - R. Scott Bakker, The Thousandfold Thought
Video of Session 53 - Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers (volume 1)
Video of Session 54 - Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers (volume 2)
Video of Session 55 - A. E. Van Vogt's Isher and Weapons Shops Novels
Video of Session 56 - Stanislaw Lem's Solaris (and some other works)
Recordings Of 2022 Class Sessions
Video of Session 57 - Neil Stephenson's Anathem Polycosm
Video of Session 58 Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy
Video of Session 59 - Octavia Butler's Parables of American Dystopia
Video of Session 60 - Olaf Stapledon's Cosmic Novels
Video of Session 61 - Veronica Roth's Carve The Mark Universe
Video of Session 62 - Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber (continued)
Video of Session 63 - J G Ballard's Modern Urban Dystopias
Video of Session 64 - Philip Dick's Androids and Humans
Video of Session 65 - Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos (part 1)
Recordings Of 2023 Class Sessions
Video of Session 66 - Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos (part 2)
Video of Session 67 - Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher Series
Video of Session 68 - Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy (part 1)
Video of Session 69 - Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy (part 2)
Video of Session 70 - C J Cherryh's Alliance Union Universe Redux (Merchanters)
Video of Session 71 - Catherine Lucile Moore's Jirel of Joiry Tales
Video of Session 72 - J.G. Ballard's Environmental Apocalypses
Video of Session 73 - Thomas Ligotti's Tales of Philosophical Horror
Video of Session 74 - N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy
Video of Session 75 - Terry Pratchett's Diskworld - The Rincewind Stories
Video of Session 76 - Steven Erickson's Malazan Book of the Fallen part 1
Recordings Of 2024 Class Sessions
Video of Session 77 - Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen part 2
Video of Session 78 - James Kennedy's Weird Midwest: Dare To Know and Bride of The Tornado
Video of Session 79 - Jim Butcher's Supernatural Chicago - The Dresden Files
Video Of Session 80 - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint Germain Cycle
Video of Session 81 - Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall Trilogy
Video of Session 82 - Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach Trilogy
Video of Session 83 - Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné Novels
Video of Session 84 - Terry Pratchett's Diskworld Redux: The Death Novels
Video of Session 85 - Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy part 1
Video of Session 86 - Tad William's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy part 2
Recordings of 2025 Class Sessions
Video of Session 87 - Steven Erikson's Malazan Book Of The Fallen (part 3)
Video of Session 88 - Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising Series
Video of Session 89 - Andrzej Sapkowki's The Witcher Series (part 2)
Video of Session 90 - Jim Butcher's Dresden Files continued (books 5-8)
Video of Session 91 - Terry Pratchett's Diskworld: The Witches Novels
Video of Session 92 - David Eddings' The Belgariad (part 1 : the first 3 books)
Video of Session 93 - David Eddings' The Belgariad (part 2 : the final 2 books)
Video of Session 94 - Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty book 1: The Grace Of Kings
Video of Session 95 - Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty book 2: The Wall Of Storms
Video of Session 96 - Stephen King's The Stand (The Complete & Uncut Edition)
Video of Session 97 - Louis McMaster Bujold's World Of The Five Gods
Recordings of 2026 Class Sessions
Video of Session 98 - Steven Erikson's Malazan Book Of The Fallen books 7 & 8
Video of Session 99 - Steven Erikson's Malazan Book Of The Fallen books 9 & 10
Video of Session 100 - Speculative Fiction, Worldbuilding, & Philosophy
Video of Session 101 - Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files continued (books 9-12)
Video of Session 102 - Robert Bloch's Lovecraftian Tales
Video of Session 103 - Mary Doria Russell's Sparrow Series
Video of Session 104 - Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files continued (books 13-16)
Video of Session 105 - Terry Pratchett's Diskworld (City Watch novels 1-4
Video of Session 106 - Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain
Handouts From Sessions
Downloadable Handout - Science Fiction vs. Fantasy
Some Passages Mentioned During the First Session
Downloadable Handout - Tolkein's Story of the Creation in the Silmarillion
Downloadable Handout - 5 Ideas From General Semantics
Downloadable Handout - Two Critical Assessments of The World of Nul-A
Downloadable Handout - The Field of Arbol
Downloadable Handout - The Timeline of The Foundation Galaxy
Downloadable Handout - Main Powers and Factions in Dune
Downloadable Handout - Amber and Chaos
Downloadable Handout - The Hainish Cycle
Downloadable Handout - The Groan Family
Downloadable Handout - Social Order in Pernish Society
Downloadable Handout - The Hierarchy of Foreignness
Downloadable Handout - The Evolution of the Lottery in Babylon
Video of Session 105 - Terry Pratchett's Diskworld (City Watch novels 1-4
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