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FutureWorld: Where Science Fiction Becomes Science by Professor Mark L. Brake and Reverend Neil Hook
02/08/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Boxtree/PanMacmillan. 122 page illustrated with index small softcover. Price: £ 9.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-0-75222-672-9. Buy FutureWorld: Where Science Fiction Becomes Science in the USA - or Buy FutureWorld: Where Science Fiction Becomes Science in the UK  check out websites: www.panmacmillan.com and www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
It seems an unusual combination. A scientist and a padre co-operating on a book about the influence of Science Fiction on science. Saying that, Neil Hook is writing his part of the book from his early last century SF knowledge than any ecclesiastical leanings. I suspect he's left his normal profession title in to show he's not hiding anything about himself. This book also appears to be backing up my editorials that we're living in a Science Fiction age showing it in black and white. All right, that and a lot of colour photographs.
The contents are divided into four areas: Space, Time, Machine and Monster with some 102 individual subjects within. For each there is a definition of what is being covered which author got there first and where modern day science is at in comparison. The meld between the two writers is such that you can't really tell the join. If I have to be critical at all then it would be a need for some comment. I mean, would any of these subjects have gotten anywhere today without some SF inspiring them? Then again, there's a lot of information packed into so few pages that it will stand as an easy reference as to what has been done for any of you budding authors out there to speculate where the next leap will come from.
If I have to be critical at all then it's on two omissions. There was no reference to Lazarius Long, Robert Heinlein's immortal character from 'Time Enough For Love' or Algis Budrys' 'Rogue Moon' for teleportation but if anything it shows what has been read. If anything, this could be put down to what has been read to some extent but both authors have been influential. The only serious mistake that a comicbook fan will pick up is that the Marvel villain, the Juggernaut was created from magic by touching the Cytorrak ruby and is not a mutant. If ever there was a second edition, it might also be considered as to looking at divergent species in a little more detail and see which SF author was likely to be right with say Van Vogt's tentacled Slans or even Henry Kuttner's telepathic Baldies but that's only a minor quibble.
Despite these really minor criticisms, this is actually a good book to own. It's well organised and clearly written and shows how much has been achieved in a couple hundred years.
GF Willmetts
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