An innovative examination of Irish science fiction from the 1850s to the present day, covering material written both in Irish and in English. Considering science fiction novels and short stories in their historical context, it analyses a body of literature that has largely been ignored by Irish literature researchers.

Join Trinity's Professor Luke O'Neill on the greatest journey of them all. From the very big to the very small - vast galaxies to microscopic atoms - travel through the wonders of the universe, the mysteries of the human body, and the tiny world of molecules. Discover the Irish scientists that have helped to shape our world and find out how to become one yourself. How do we measure the universe? Why do we need plants? How do our bodies repair themselves when we are ill? What species will exist on earth in a million years' time? Discover the answers to these questions and a lot more in this thrilling and engrossing book packed with fascinating phenomena, vibrant illustrations, experiments you can do yourself, and heaps of fun facts.

From the ancient texts and medieval illuminated manuscripts to 20th century poetry, painting, drama, stories, and novels, Irish writers and artists have found the fantastic not only congenial but necessary to their art. This collection of fifteen essays focuses on the fantastic in Irish literature and the arts, showing how the use of the fantastic mode has allowed Irish writers and artists to express ideas, emotions, and insights not available through the direct imitation of everyday reality. The works of Yeats, Field, Shelley, Synge, Beckett, Swift, Coleridge, and others are examined in incisive chapters written from the point of view of the fantastic.

A gripping novel of global disaster—by the visionary creator of Dune.

In the future, in a place called Satelite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill enters the world, unwanted by his parents. He's sent to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys, Freight class. At Clarissa Frayne, the boys are put to work by the state, testing highly dangerous products. At the end of most days, they are covered with burns, bruises, and sores. Cosmo realizes that if he doesn't escape, he will die at this so-called orphanage. When the moment finally comes, Cosmo seizes his chance and breaks out with the help of the Supernaturalists, a motley crew of kids who all have the same special ability as Cosmo-they can see supernatural Parasites, creatures that feed on the life force of humans.

Two young poets, Jan and Remo, find themselves adrift in Mexico City. Obsessed with poetry, and, above all, with science fiction, they are eager to forge a life in the literary world. But as close as these friends are, the city tugs them in opposite directions. Jan withdraws from the world, shutting himself in their shared rooftop apartment where he feverishly composes fan letters to the stars of science fiction. Meanwhile, Remo runs head-first into the future, spending his days and nights with a circle of wild young writers, seeking pleasure in the city’s labyrinthine streets, rundown cafes, and murky bathhouses. TRANSLATED BY NATASHA WIMMER ‘Fascinating... Achingly beautiful... It reads like a dispatch from beyond the grave’ New Yorker ‘The Spirit of Science Fiction functions as a kind of key to the jewelled box of Bolaño’s fictions... A cocktail of sorrow and ecstasy’ Paris Review