Fiction - Science Fiction & Fantasy

Joyce Carol Oates’s prize-winning story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” takes up troubling subjects that continue to occupy her in her fiction: the romantic longings and limited options of adolescent women; the tensions between mothers and daughters; the sexual victimization of women; and the American obsession with violence. Inspired by a magazine story about a serial killer, its remarkable portrait of the dreamy teenager Connie has made it a feminist classic. Connie’s life anticipates the emergence of American society from the social innocence of the fifties into the harsher contemporary realities of war, random violence, and crime. The story was the basis for the movie Smooth Talk, which became the subject of much feminist debate. This casebook includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of Oates’s life, an authoritative text of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” an essay by Oates on Smooth Talk, the original Life article about the serial killer, ten critical essays (including two about the film), and a bibliography.

Jacob Frye is haunted. Haunted by his past, and haunted by the present. A dedicated journalist and the most unlikely of heroes, Frye has volunteered to take on the most dangerous assignment of his career. The year is 2406 and humanity is engaged in a desperate struggle for possession of a metropolis called Volengrad City on a planet designated Q-781. The final battle in a besieged star system is to be fought over the industrial epicenter and Frye is there to cover the historical invasion. His assignment takes him on a dark journey into the trenches where he befriends the soldiers of a platoon that is hurled into the most vicious battles of the conflict. Frye is reeducated by the humble frontline troops of the Alliance as the meanings of courage, honor, and sacrifice are redefined by the onslaught of destruction, and friendships are forged in the fires of combat. Frye’s life unravels as he is forced to watch his new friends make the ultimate sacrifice for the liberation of a society light years from home. Jacob Frye went to get a story without realizing that he became the story as he slid from non-combatant observer to the hardened role of soldier where he learns the most important lesson of all: that no matter how a war may crush cities and tear planets apart, the resilience of the human spirit’s quest for peace can never be stifled, and that courage is the beacon that shines in the darkest hours of humanity. 100 Days From Home is Frye’s recollection of his experiences as a combat correspondent in the distant future. Eventually he must return home and face what he feared more than the war itself…his memories of it.*This hard copy contains the complete work:-Book-1: Hard Rain-Book-2: The Fall of Because-And (1) bonus chapter not found in the Kindle edition*