Books

Coming next is Monsters of Utopia. The subtitle of Monsters is “a fairy tale manifesto.” In the sense that Twilight Zone and similar shows (more recently Black Mirror, more retro-ly Tales from the Crypt) are modern fairy tales so, too, is Monsters of Utopia. Science fiction, as a whole, is bound by the poles of utopia and dystopia. Margaret Atwood has written well on this in her collection of essays “In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination.” I recommend you read that work if you have even the slightest interest in science fiction. Monsters is an attempt at creating a fairy tale that recognizes and accepts that all utopias have a dark side. In my opinion, you cannot stuff the dark side away. You must face up to it or it will own you. I’m very much with Jung in that regard. But don’t worry, Monsters ends with a joyous wedding, just like all good fairy tales.