The Generation Starship in Science Fiction

Caroti, Simone. The Generation Starship in Science Fiction: A Critical History, 1934-2001. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2011.

Reviewed by Paul T. Beattie, SFRA Review #298 (Fall 2011): pp. 30-31, who notes that "The subtitle is a misnomer, as Caroti freely discusses works falling outside of the given range on both ends [...]".[1]

The opening chapters of the book cover the earliest incarnations of the generation starship [...]. In Chapter 1, “Fathers,” Caroti credits Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert Goddard, and J. D. Bernal with the creation of the generation starship in their nonfiction [...]. (Beattie, p. 30). 

Beattie mentions extensive coverage of R. A. Heinlein's "Universe" and its sequel, "Common Sense" (in Orphans of the Sky).[2] Other works covered include "Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama as a watershed in the genre, keenly noting its self-aware treatment of the generation starship, before hinting at the changes that the Information Age will bring to the subgenre" — and J. G. Ballard’s “Thirteen to Centaurus” (Beattie p. 31; vt Thirteen for Centaurus).

RDE, finishing, 25Ap21