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  • Published: 25 July 2012
  • ISBN: 9780141198637
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 144

New Maps of Hell



A must-read for all science fiction and fantasy fans from the irreverent Amis, new to Penguin Modern Classics

In this hilarious, inspiring and provocative series of essays, Kingsley Amis introduces every reader to the wonders and value of science fiction writing. From the extraordinary ideas but sexless science of Jules Verne to the power of H. G. Wells's terrifying storytelling; from the brilliance of bad science fiction writing to the potency of their important ideas; from a portrait of the average SF reader to Amis's sad prediction that this genre will never make it in film or television, New Maps of Hell is a warm and witty exploration of a world many readers may be yet to discover.

  • Published: 25 July 2012
  • ISBN: 9780141198637
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 144

About the author

Kingsley Amis

Kingsley Amis has been described as 'the finest English comic novelist of the second half of the twentieth century'. Born in 1922, he wrote over twenty novels, including Lucky Jim (1954), winner of the Somerset Maugham Award for fiction, The Old Devils (1986), which won the Booker Prize, and The Biographer's Moustache (1995). He also published several collections of short stories, poetry and non-fiction. Amis was awarded a CBE in 1981 and received a knighthood in 1990. He died in 1995.

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Praise for New Maps of Hell

The most important and influential critical work on science fiction

J. G. Ballard