Due late 2022/early 2023. Further details and pre-ordering information are available from McFarland's website at this link.
Science, Technology and Magic in The Witcher: A Medievalist Spin on Modern Monsters
Kristine Larsen.
Series Editors Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8385-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4817-0
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy
About the Book
As Andrzej Sapkowski was fleshing out his character Geralt of Rivia for a writing contest, he did not set out to write a science textbook—or even a work of science fiction. However, the world that Sapkowski created in his series The Witcher resulted in a valuable reflection of real-world developments in science and technology. As the Witcher books have been published across decades, the sorcery in the series acts as an extension of the modern science it grows alongside.
This book explores the fascinating entanglement of science and magic that lies at the heart of Sapkowski’s novel series and its widely popular video game and television adaptations. This is the first English-language book-length treatment of magic and science in the Witcher universe. These are examined through the lenses of politics, religion, history and mythology. Sapkowski’s richly detailed universe investigates the sociology of science and ponders some of the most pressing modern technological issues, such as genetic engineering, climate change, weapons of mass destruction, sexism, speciesism and environmentalism. Chapters explore the unsettling realization that the greatest monsters are frequently human, and their heinous acts often involve the unwitting hand of science.
About the Author(s)
Kristine Larsen is a professor of astronomy at Central Connecticut State University, where her teaching and research focus on the intersections between science and society. Her publications include numerous articles and book chapters on J.R.R. Tolkien’s uses of astronomy in his writings.
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8385-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4817-0
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy
About the Book
As Andrzej Sapkowski was fleshing out his character Geralt of Rivia for a writing contest, he did not set out to write a science textbook—or even a work of science fiction. However, the world that Sapkowski created in his series The Witcher resulted in a valuable reflection of real-world developments in science and technology. As the Witcher books have been published across decades, the sorcery in the series acts as an extension of the modern science it grows alongside.
This book explores the fascinating entanglement of science and magic that lies at the heart of Sapkowski’s novel series and its widely popular video game and television adaptations. This is the first English-language book-length treatment of magic and science in the Witcher universe. These are examined through the lenses of politics, religion, history and mythology. Sapkowski’s richly detailed universe investigates the sociology of science and ponders some of the most pressing modern technological issues, such as genetic engineering, climate change, weapons of mass destruction, sexism, speciesism and environmentalism. Chapters explore the unsettling realization that the greatest monsters are frequently human, and their heinous acts often involve the unwitting hand of science.
About the Author(s)
Kristine Larsen is a professor of astronomy at Central Connecticut State University, where her teaching and research focus on the intersections between science and society. Her publications include numerous articles and book chapters on J.R.R. Tolkien’s uses of astronomy in his writings.
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