About Me

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Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Dreaming Again now published

Jenny and I have now received our copies of Jack Dann's new anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories, Dreaming Again, which contains Jenny's "Trolls' Night Out" and my "Manannan's Children". As it turns out, both of our contributions are fantasy stories, well sort of: I could argue that "Manannan's Children" is very close to being science fiction, despite its mythic trappings, and it has what might be considered a broadly transhumanist moral ... while Jenny's story is set very vividly in the present day, and involves (among other things) the scientific investigation of trolls' life cycles. In fact, "Trolls' Night Out" is a wonderful piece - quirky, funny, and (in a good way) horribly vivid.

I'm looking forward to reading Dreaming Again from cover to cover, though I don't know when that will happen because it's a huge book. Meanwhile, I can report that the people at Harper have done a wonderful job of the art work and packaging. It's a very satisfying volume to hold in your hand and admire; and judging by the quality of the writers from whom Jack coaxed material, it's also going to be satisfying to read. For those who are not aware of this project, it's a sequel to the equally monumental Dreaming Down-Under, from ten years ago (where the hell did that whole decade disappear to?), edited by Jack with Janeen Webb. The earlier book and its constituent stories won a slew of awards and many other accolades, and I'm sure we'll see that repeated.

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