Worlds of Speculative Fiction

Dr. Sadler's monthly talk series on narrative worlds and philosophical themes of speculative fiction, available worldwide


Your Instructor


Gregory B. Sadler
Gregory B. Sadler

After a successful career as a college professor, researcher, and administrator, I started our company, ReasonIO (with my wife and partner, Andi Sciacca) in order to engage in philosophy in public, practical, and professional contexts.

I take difficult philosophical texts, thinkers, and topics, and make them accessible for everyday people. That's how philosophy gets traction and remains closely connected with real life!

The work I do with ReasonIO includes online course development and teaching, public speaking, organizational consulting, tutorial sessions, development of philosophy content, and philosophical counseling.

I am the Editor of Stoicism Today and the producer of the Half Hour Hegel series. To date, I have authored one book (Reason Fulfilled By Revelation), and dozens of articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. Although I work in significant part outside of the academy, I remain actively engaged in research and scholarship.


In recent years, I have held a Research Residency at the Institute for Saint Anselm Studies, been a Visiting Scholar position at European Graduate School, and was a Charles Chesnutt Library Fellow.


Course Curriculum


  Welcome To The Worlds Of Speculative Fiction Class
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Introduction to the Worlds of Speculative Fiction Series (January 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 2 - J.R.R. Tolkien's Saga of Middle Earth (February 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 3 - A.E. Van Vogt's World of Null-A (March 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 4 - C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy (April 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 5 - Isaac Asimov's Foundations Galaxy (May 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 6 - Frank Herbert's Dune Universe (June 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 7 - Roger Zelazny's Amber and Chaos (July 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 8 - Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Universe (August 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 9 - Michael Moorcock's Multiverse and the Eternal Champion (September 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 10 - Philip K. Dick's Alternate America (October 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 11 - Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy (December 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 12 - George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire (December 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 13 - Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld (January 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 14 - Madeline L'Engle's Time Quintet (February 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 15 - Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker Galaxy (March 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 16 - Anne McCaffrey's World of Pern (April 2016)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 17 - Orson Scott Card's Enderverse (May 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 18 - Iain Banks Culture Series Galaxy (June 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 19 - H.P. Lovecraft's Universe of the Elder Gods (August 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 20 - William Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy (September 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 21 - C.L Moore's Fantastic Worlds (October 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 22 - Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis Trilogy (December 2017)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 23 - Jorge Luis Borges' Labyrinths and Libraries (January 2018)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 24 - Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser Series (February 2018)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 25 - Robert Heinlein's Novels of the Future (March 2018)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 25 - L Sprague de Camp's Compleat Enchanter Multiverse (April 2018)
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 27 - Andre Norton's Witch World Series
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 28 - Robert Howard 's Hyborean Age and Conan Stories
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 29 - Arthur Clarke's Mysterious Cosmos
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 30 - C.J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union Universe
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 31 - Jack Vance's Dying Earth Series
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 32 - Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 33 - Edgar Allan Poe's Uncanny Universe
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 34 - G.K. Chesterton's Novels of Intrigue and Rebellion
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 35 - Lewis Carroll's Fantastic Lands
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 36 - Tanith Lee's Flat Earth Series
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 37 - Gordon Dickson's Childe Cycle
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 38 - August Derleth's Universe of the Cthulhu Mythos
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 39 - Karl Edward Wagner's Ancient World of Kane
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 40 - Aldous Huxley's Utopias and Dystopias
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 41 - Bram Stoker's World of Gothic Horror
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 43 - China Mieville's Bas-Lag Novels
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 44 - Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 45 - Walter Miller's Post-Flame-Deluge Leibowitz Novels
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 46 - Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea Trilogy
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Session 47 - Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea Continued
Available in days
days after you enroll

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
Do I need to read all of the books discussed before I take this course?
No - you can read whatever works you want by the authors we are covering. You will likely get more out of the course if you do read some of the texts discussed.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! You can always unenroll from the course whenever you decide.

Get started now!