Taking up where the author's book Of Modern
Dragons (2007) left off, these essays continue
Lennard's investigation of the praxis of serial
reading and the best genre fiction of recent
decades, including work by Bill James, Walter
Mosley, Lois Mcmaster Bujold, and Ursula K. Le
Guin. There are groundbreaking studies of
contemporary paranormal romance, and of
Hornblower's transition to space, while the final
essay deals with the phenomenon and explosive
growth of fanfiction, and with the increasingly
empowered status of the reader in a digital world.
There is an extensive bibliography of genre and
critical work, with eight illustrations and many
hyperlinks.
