Tuesday, August 31, 2010

New from McFarland

Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien
Edited by Bradford Lee Eden
ISBN 978-0-7864-4814-2
notes, bibliographies, index
215pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00

Description
The twentieth century witnessed a dramatic rise in fantasy writing and few works became as popular or have endured as long as the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. Surprisingly, little critical attention has been paid to the presence of music in his novels. This collection of essays explores the multitude of musical-literary allusions and themes intertwined throughout Tolkien’s body of work. Of particular interest is Tolkien’s scholarly work with medieval music and its presentation and performance practice, as well as the musical influences of his Victorian and Edwardian background. Discographies of Tolkien-influenced music of the 20th and 21st centuries are included.

Table of Contents

Introduction
BRADFORD LEE EDEN      1

Horns of Dawn: The Tradition of Alliterative Verse in Rohan
JASON FISHER      7
“Inside a Song”: Tolkien’s Phonaesthetics
JOHN R. HOLMES      26
Æ´ fre me strongode longas: Songs of Exile in the Mortal Realms
PETER WILKIN      47
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Fortunate Rhythm
DARIELLE RICHARDS      61
Tolkien’s Unfinished “Lay of Lúthien” and the Middle English Sir Orfeo
DEANNA DELMAR EVANS      75
Strains of Elvish Song and Voices: Victorian Medievalism, Music, and Tolkien
BRADFORD LEE EDEN      85
Dissonance in the Divine Theme: The Issue of Free Will in Tolkien’s Silmarillion
KEITH W. JENSEN      102
“Worthy of a Song”: Memory, Mortality and Music
AMY M. AMENDT-RADUEGE      114
“Tolkien is the Wind and the Way”: The Educational Value of Tolkien-Inspired World Music
AMY H. STURGIS      126
Liquid Tolkien: Music, Tolkien, Middle-earth, and More Music
DAVID BRATMAN      140
Performance Art in a Tunnel: A Musical Sub-Creator in the Tradition of Tolkien
ANTHONY S. BURDGE      171

Contributors      201
Index      205

About the Author
Bradford Lee Eden is Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He lives in Lompoc, California.



The Literary Angel: Essays on Influences and Traditions Reflected in the Joss Whedon Series
Edited by AmiJo Comeford and Tamy Burnett
ISBN 978-0-7864-4661-2
notes, bibliography, index
264pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00

Description
The fictionalized Los Angeles of television’s Angel is a world filled with literature--from the all-important Shansu prophecy that predicts Angel’s return to a state of humanity to the ever-present books dominating the characters’ research sessions. This collection brings together essays that engage Angel as a text to be addressed within the wider fields of narrative and literature. It is divided into four distinct parts, each with its own internal governing themes and focus: archetypes, narrative and identity, theory and philosophy, and genre. Each provides opportunities for readers to examine a wide variety of characters, tropes, and literary nuances and influences throughout all five televised seasons of the series and in the current continuation of the series in comic book form.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      ix
Introduction: Los Angeles, City of Story
AMIJO COMEFORD and TAMY BURNETT      1

One : Archetypes
Biting Humor: Harmony, Parody, and the Female Vampire
LORNA JOWETT      17
Doyle as “The Passing Figure” and Nella Larsen’s Passing
ANGEL ANDERSON      30
Pylean Idol: L.A.’s De(con)struction of a Postmodern Bard
JENNIFER HAMILTON      41
Lilah Morgan: Whedon’s Legal Femme Fatale
SHARON SUTHERLAND and SARAH SWAN      54

Two : Narrative & Identity
Fred’s Captivity Narrative: American Contexts for (Re)Writing Community Identity from Mary Rowlandson to Angel
TAMY BURNETT      69
Feminist Abuse Survivor Narratives in Angel and Sarah Daniels’s Beside Herself
ANIKA STAFFORD      85
Numero Cinco, Border Narratives, and Mexican Cultural Performance in Angel
VICTORIA PETTERSEN LANTZ      98

Three : Theory & Philosophy
(Re)Negotiating the Dystopian Dilemma: Huxley, Orwell, and Angel
MARY ELLEN IATROPOULOS      115
Angel vs. the Grand Inquisitor: Joss Whedon Re- imagines Dostoevsky
KATIA MCCLAIN      130
Charles Gunn, Wolfram & Hart, and Baudrillard’s Theory of the Simulacrum
K. SHANNON HOWARD      147
“It’s a play on perspective”: A Reading of Whedon’s Illyria through Sartre’s Nausea
CYNTHEA MASSON      159

Four : Genre
Helping the Helpless: Medieval Romance in Angel
AMIJO COMEFORD      175
Whedon Meets Sophocles: Prophecy and Angel
LAUREL BOWMAN      191
Detective Fiction/Fictionality from Asmodeus to Angel
ALISON JAQUET      206
It (Re-)Started with a Girl: The Creative Interplay Between TV and Comics in Angel: After the Fall
STACEY ABBOTT      221

About the Contributors      233
Bibliography      237
Index      249

About the Author
AmiJo Comeford is an assistant professor of English at Dixie State College of Utah, teaching courses in women’s literature, early British and nineteenth-century American literature, and literary theory. Tamy Burnett is a lecturer in English and women’s and gender studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, teaching courses in American literature, women’s literature, and popular culture.



Tarnished Heroes, Charming Villains and Modern Monster: Science Fiction in Shades of Gray on 21st Century Television
Lynnette Porter
ISBN 978-0-7864-4858-6
appendices, notes, bibliography, index
316pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00

Description
The heroes, villains, and monsters portrayed in such popular science fiction television series as Heroes, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Doctor Who, and Torchwood, as well as Joss Whedon’s many series, illustrate a shift from traditional, clearly defined characterizations toward much murkier definitions. Traditional heroes give way to "gray" heroes who must become more like the villains or monsters they face if they are going to successfully save society. This book examines the ambiguous heroes and villains, focusing on these characters’ different perspectives on morality and their roles within society. Appendixes include production details for each series, descriptions and summaries of pivotal episodes, and a list of selected texts for classroom use.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      v
Introduction      1

Part One
1. The Evolution of the Traditional Hero      12
2. Villains and Monsters      32
3. Shades of Gray: 21st Century SF Heroes and Villains      50
4. The Rise of Sidekicks      84
5. Analyzing Gray SF TV Series      108

Part Two
Introduction to Part Two      131
6. The World of Joss Whedon      133
7. Heroes      151
8. Lost      165
9. Battlestar Galactica and Caprica      188
10. Doctor Who      215
11. Torchwood      239

Appendices—Introduction      267
Appendix 1: Series Background Information      268
Appendix 2: Important Series Episodes      270
Chapter Notes      285
Bibliography      293
Authors of Episodes Discussed      297
Index      299


About the Author
Lynnette Porter teaches in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. She has written several books about television and film.



Touchstones of Gothic Horror: A Film Genealogy of Eleven Motifs and Images
David Huckvale
ISBN 978-0-7864-4782-4
117 photos, notes, bibliography, index
271pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2010
Price: $39.95

Description
Gothic cinema, typified by the films of Universal, Hammer, Amicus and Tigon, grew out of an aesthetic that stretches back to the 18th century and beyond, even to Shakespeare. This book explores the origin of Gothic cinema in art and literature, tracing its connection to the Gothic revival in architecture, the Gothic novel, landscape, ruins, Egyptology, occultism, sexuality, the mythology of werewolves, the philosophy of Hegel, and many other aspects of the Romantic and Symbolist movements.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      vi
Introduction      1

1. Stairways to Hell      7
2. Sturm und Drang      33
3. Ruins      47
4. Municipal Sublimity      73
5. Heaving Cleavage      91
6. Living Pictures      109

INTERLUDE. Werewolves      134

7. Ornate Coffins      146
8. Hegelian Horrors      166
9. Ancient Egypt      180
10. The Occult      199
11. Satire      229

Chapter Notes      243
Select Bibliography      251
Index      255


About the Author
David Huckvale is the author of two books on music in film. A writer, critic and researcher, he has worked extensively for BBC Radio and currently teaches a course on film music at Birmingham University in England.


Sarah Lynne Bowman 
ISBN 978-0-7864-4710-7 
appendix, notes, bibliography, index
216pp. softcover 2010
Price: $35.00

Description
This study takes an analytical approach to the world of role-playing games, providing a theoretical framework for understanding their psychological and sociological functions. Sometimes dismissed as escapist and potentially dangerous, role-playing actually encourages creativity, self-awareness, group cohesion and "out-of-the-box" thinking. The book also offers a detailed participant-observer ethnography on role-playing games, featuring insightful interviews with 19 participants of table-top, live action and virtual games.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      v
Preface      1
Introduction      7

1. Historical Evolution and Cultural Permutations      11
2. Role-Playing in Communal Contexts      33
3. Interactional Dynamics in Role-Playing Games      55
4. Role-Playing as Scenario Building and Problem Solving      80
5. Tactical and Social Problem Solving      104
6. Role-Playing as Alteration of Identity      127
7. Character Evolution and Types of Identity Alteration      155

Conclusion      179
Appendix: Interview Questionnaire      183
Chapter Notes      185
Bibliography      197
Index      203


About the Author
Sarah Lynne Bowman is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, Richland College, Ashford University, and Brookhaven College. Her current research focus emphasizes character development and social dynamics in role-playing games.

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