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
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  Introduction to the Worlds of Speculative Fiction Series (January 2016)
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  Session 2 - J.R.R. Tolkien's Saga of Middle Earth (February 2016)
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  Session 3 - A.E. Van Vogt's World of Null-A (March 2016)
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  Session 4 - C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy (April 2016)
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  Session 5 - Isaac Asimov's Foundations Galaxy (May 2016)
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  Session 6 - Frank Herbert's Dune Universe (June 2016)
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  Session 7 - Roger Zelazny's Amber and Chaos (July 2016)
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  Session 8 - Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Universe (August 2016)
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  Session 9 - Michael Moorcock's Multiverse and the Eternal Champion (September 2016)
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  Session 10 - Philip K. Dick's Alternate America (October 2016)
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  Session 11 - Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy (December 2016)
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  Session 12 - George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire (December 2016)
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  Session 13 - Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld (January 2017)
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  Session 14 - Madeline L'Engle's Time Quintet (February 2017)
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  Session 15 - Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker Galaxy (March 2017)
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  Session 16 - Anne McCaffrey's World of Pern (April 2016)
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  Session 17 - Orson Scott Card's Enderverse (May 2017)
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  Session 18 - Iain Banks Culture Series Galaxy (June 2017)
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  Session 19 - H.P. Lovecraft's Universe of the Elder Gods (August 2017)
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  Session 20 - William Gibson's Sprawl Trilogy (September 2017)
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  Session 21 - C.L Moore's Fantastic Worlds (October 2017)
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  Session 22 - Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis Trilogy (December 2017)
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  Session 23 - Jorge Luis Borges' Labyrinths and Libraries (January 2018)
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  Session 24 - Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser Series (February 2018)
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  Session 25 - Robert Heinlein's Novels of the Future (March 2018)
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  Session 25 - L Sprague de Camp's Compleat Enchanter Multiverse (April 2018)
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  Session 27 - Andre Norton's Witch World Series
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  Session 28 - Robert Howard 's Hyborean Age and Conan Stories
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  Session 29 - Arthur Clarke's Mysterious Cosmos
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  Session 30 - C.J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union Universe
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  Session 31 - Jack Vance's Dying Earth Series
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  Session 32 - Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun
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  Session 33 - Edgar Allan Poe's Uncanny Universe
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  Session 34 - G.K. Chesterton's Novels of Intrigue and Rebellion
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  Session 35 - Lewis Carroll's Fantastic Lands
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  Session 36 - Tanith Lee's Flat Earth Series
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  Session 37 - Gordon Dickson's Childe Cycle
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  Session 38 - August Derleth's Universe of the Cthulhu Mythos
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  Session 39 - Karl Edward Wagner's Ancient World of Kane
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  Session 40 - Aldous Huxley's Utopias and Dystopias
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  Session 41 - Bram Stoker's World of Gothic Horror
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  Session 43 - China Mieville's Bas-Lag Novels
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  Session 44 - Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind
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  Session 45 - Walter Miller's Post-Flame-Deluge Leibowitz Novels
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  Session 46 - Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea Trilogy
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  Session 47 - Ursula K. Leguin's Earthsea Continued
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  Session 48 - Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past
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  Session 49 - Philip K Dick's Stories of Colonization and Insanity
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  Session 50 - R. Scott Bakker, The Darkness That Comes Before
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  Session 51 - R. Scott Bakker, The Warrior Prophet
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  Session 52 - R. Scott Bakker, The Thousandfold Thought
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  Session 53 - Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers (volume 1)
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  Session 54 - Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers (volume 2)
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  Session 55 - A. E. Van Vogt's Isher and Weapons Shops Novels
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  Session 56 - Stanislaw Lem's Solaris (and some other works)
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  Session 57 - Neil Stephenson's Anathem Polycosm
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  Session 58 - Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy
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  Session 59 - Octavia Butler's Parables of American Dystopia
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  Session 60 - Olaf Stapledon's Cosmic Novels
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  Session 61 - Veronica Roth's Carve The Mark Universe
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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!