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Project Rationale | Fantasy Texts Reviewed | Other Texts to Come | Back to Resources for Teachers Focus: Fantasy Worlds Categories/ Genres: science-fiction, animal fantasy, fantasy adventure etc Part One: Fantasy It is curious that of the twelve books reviewed that fit together broadly under the covering of Fantasy, eight are about the future. The future is an engaging area of focus. However, what I have found of particular interest here as I have read, is the negativity with which future worlds are presented. In the tradition of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, the authors have chosen to present visions of a future darkened by political corruption and/or nuclear, environmental or bacteriological disaster, and, without exception, human amorality. Yet simultaneously these fictional worlds are rarely completely devoid of hope. Usually the tale told centres around the struggle for human survival, whether that be in terms of just one or two protagonists, or in the more generic sense - the human race. The future as an area of focus is also interesting because of its apparent cultural inclusiveness. Writing about human possibilities is a universal preoccupation. However the images and metaphors these writers often use are sometimes not so universal. Taronga, for example, was partly inspired by the William Blake poem ‘The Tiger’, Daz 4 Zoe employs a Romeo & Juliet love theme and The Lake at the End of the World is an elaborate parable about environmental management. Although I feel that the thematic accessibility of these science-fiction texts outweighs their metaphorical preoccupations, it is important as teachers that we remain reflexive about their cultural underpinnings. I know from my time on prac that the bilingual kids in my parallel Year 10 ESL class, found the exploration of future worlds, by means of a thematic study, an enriching, challenging and rewarding experience. The topic just clicked with them. Students’ thoughts about the future varied from being cautiously optimistic through to disturbingly pessimistic. Each, however, was intrigued by the possibilities, and certainly increasingly aware of the need for speculation. I wrote recently, actually in the introduction to the unit of work I compiled on the future: The future is a stimulating subject area, with many teaching possibilities available in terms of relevant literary texts. In addition, the study of alternative ‘Futurescapes’ utilises and builds on planning, decision-making and forecasting skills, each equally necessary for survival in a rapidly changing world. Indeed, what is the role of education in a society which in Hugh Mackay’s terms is undergoing a "crisis of definition"? Probably, at this point of time, the kind of teaching I am trying to emulate is all about equipping learners to be better learners - to be sensitive and adaptable, to be able to recognise future trends, to be able to meet the demands of a changing world. Predicting the future is all about recognising the possibilities available to us. As Wendy Michaels suggests, we can think about future worlds in three different ways: as probable, as desirable or as simply fantastic. ‘Prediction’ is always speculative, never definite, yet also ultimately testable by the revelation of time; there is a natural language focus on shades of certainty. Science-fiction, the literary mode of writing about the future, seeks to be predictive. As such, student ‘prediction’ writing is the most obvious means in the context of studying future worlds, of developing skills in expository text writing, while still maintaining an emphasis on writing opinion. It also provides the kind of framework I have outlined for aiding student self-reflection, a powerful learning tool necessary for coping with discontinuity in a rapidly changing world. & Novel: Kelleher, Victor (1986) Taronga, Melbourne: Viking Kestrel. - Genre: science-fiction/animal fantasy $ Suggested reading level: Years 8-9 Taronga is set in post-nuclear holocaust Australia in an unspecified yet contemporary future. It draws on apocalyptic themes by contrasting images of life before and during "Last Days", with the main survival story of a young adolescent Ben, whose ability to communicate telepathically with animals provides the story’s momentum and tension. Taronga presents a somewhat bleak view of the future, a boy pitched against the world, in an engaging exploration of human foibles and animal strengths. It is not particularly demanding linguistically (probably suitable for Year 8 and above, even for ESL students) although it is beautifully written. Taronga, with its intense thematic concerns, ultimately presenting a humbling twist on the triumph on the human spirit, make it highly recommended reading here. Themes: displacement, survival, loyalty, growing up, corruption, relationships. Suggested Applications Thematic units of work - suggestions: ‘The Future’, as a literature focus or as related wide reading; ‘Animals’, as related wider reading Suggested Visual Resources (for concrete focus): Jumanji (film); 12 Monkeys (film); Suggested Other Genre Resources: Poems: Ch 4 "Animals", Ch 5 "Captivity" & Ch 13 "The Future" in Manning, M., & O’Neill, J., (1994) New Ways into Poetry, Melbourne: Oxford Uni. Press. Poems & Short Stories etc: Ch 6 "Progress" in Keyte, B., & Baines, R., (1981) This Winter Passage, Melbourne: Nelson. Contextual Study: Foxspell by Gillian Rubinstein; Daz 4 Zoe by Robert Swindells; Plague 99 by Jean Ure Related Teacher Resources: Paul’s Dufficy’s TESOL model unit of work by the same title.
Daz 4 Zoe presents a somewhat bleak view of an oppressive not-too-distant future in which the gap between rich and poor has frighteningly widened and the status quo is maintained by political manipulation. After a brief encounter in potentially volatile circumstances, Daz, from the lawless and derelict city of Rawhampton, and Zoe, from the fortified haven of Silverdale, fall in love. A Romeo and Juliet love story ensues, in which conflicting loyalties play a major role. Daz 4 Zoe is alternately narrated by Daz and Zoe, their differing perspectives together providing a joint account of their meeting and the events which follow. This narrative technique is particularly remarkable for Daz’s non-standard use of English, which reads phonetically rather than systematically. Themes: society, corruption, totalitarianism, love, family, loyalties, survival Suggested Applications Suggested Literacy/Oracy Focus: report writing; telling the same story from two different angles. Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘The Future’ or ‘Progress’ as a literature focus or as related wide reading Suggested Visual Resources: Nineteen Eighty-Four (film); Bladerunner (film); Total Recall (film); Sliders (TV series). Suggested Other Genre Resources: Poems: Ch 13 "The Future" in Manning, M., & O’Neill, J., (1994) New Ways into Poetry, Melbourne: Oxford Uni. Press. Related Teacher Resources: Section on Daz 4 Zoe in Béchervaise, N., Robinson, D., & Sneddon, H., (1996) The World in Fiction: A Second Reading, Glebe: St Clair, pp16-17.
Brother in the Land also paints a picture of an oppressive future world, in which the familiar comforts of life, family and friends are irretrievably destroyed by nuclear holocaust. Set in a fictional English township, the survivors must band together or face reversion to feudal rule at the hands of the local authorities. Brother in the Land is well-written, sensitively exploring the span of human motivations and values. It is however provocative for its realism, grimly portraying the extent of the human waste and the likelihood of survival after nuclear holocaust. No hope is offered for the protagonists, as they find themselves overwhelmed by the extent of the radioactive contamination. Themes: survival, relationships, corruption, human frailties, love, fear. Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘The Future’ as a literature focus or as related wide reading; ‘Disaster / Survival Stories’ as a literature focus or as related wide reading. Suggested Visual Resources: Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (film); The Day of the Triffids (TV film); Contextual Study: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham; Z for Zechariah by Robert O’Brien; Plague 99 by Jean Ure. Suggested Other Genre Resources: Poems: Ch 9 "Nature at War" & Ch 13 "The Future" in Manning, M., & O’Neill, J., (1994) New Ways into Poetry, Melbourne: Oxford Uni. Press.
Plague 99 and its sequel Come Lucky April (also available through Methuen Teens as After the Plague) both present stories of survival after mass bacteriological disaster. Plague 99 is set in London in 1999, and relates the stories of three youths from greater London, Fran, Harriet and Shahid, as they personally experience the violent desolation caused by the spread of a highly infectious and incurable virus. Forced into alignment by the need for survival, the three eventually make their way across the deserted city, facing all manner of perils and inner turmoil in the process. Come Lucky April takes the issues raised in Plague 99 one hundred years into the future, presenting two vastly different pictures of possible societies begun by plague survivors. This novel in particular explores the issue of gender equity, contrasting the matriarchal society descended from Dr Alice and her followers, including Harriet, with the patriarchal society descended from Shahid and Fran. Both novels are extremely well-written; Plague 99 has been lorded as "a cross between Lord of the Flies and The Day of the Triffids"(The Guardian). Indeed, both provide an intriguing exploration of human relationships and possibilities, making them both highly recommended reading. I really liked these novels. Both are compulsive reading, powerfully resonant, as they explore human differences and commonalities. In particular, Ure’s rich and sensitive portrayal of Shahid and his family, Indian Muslims, is worthy of note. She beautifully presents the inter-generational conflicts of loyalty and values. Themes: survival, society, relationships, disease, historical bias, truth, gender inequalities, human ethics, knowledge and power Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘The Future’, (both texts) as a literature focus, or as related wider reading; ‘Society’, (especially Come Lucky April) as a literature focus, or as related wider reading. Suggested Visual Resources: 12 Monkeys (film); The day of the Triffids (TV mini-series); Sliders (TV series) - in particular the episode about gender role reversal; Contextual Study: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham; Lord of the Flies by William Golding; The Lake at the End of the World by Caroline Macdonald. Suggested Other Genre Resources: Poems: Ch 13 "The Future" in Manning, M., & O’Neill, J., (1994) New Ways into Poetry, Melbourne: Oxford Uni. Press. Poems & Short Stories etc: Ch 4 "Society" & Ch 6 "Progress" in Keyte, B., & Baines, R., (1981) This Winter Passage, Melbourne: Nelson. Additional Comments: Both Plague 99 and Come Lucky April offer a variety of possibilities for class study. Plague 99 is written partly in journal format, as Harry records in writing the intensity of feelings she finds hard to vocalise to anyone else. It also contains letters between characters, notices, labels, telephone conversations, television and radio news bulletins (broadcast in the few weeks immediately following the plague’s outbreak) and even a list of instructions issued by the national authorities: the ‘Government’s Guidelines for Survival’. Come Lucky April would provide a good focus for the teaching of report writing as it begins with April Harriet, a descendant of the Harriet of Plague 99, writing a paper for the celebration of her community’s centenary, a celebration of one hundred years of survival. Interestingly, class study would provide a forum for discussion of cultural and historical bias, as the differing viewpoints of the two communities emerge in the text.
Hundreds of years into the future, in a world of space exploration and genetic manipulation, Earth’s dwindling natural resources and rapidly expanding population have necessitated a desperate search for an alternative planet home for humankind. Deucalion, located millions of light years across space, and inhabited only by the apparently primitive Elokoi, becomes the site for human colonisation. Deucalion is a rather complex novel, beginning by following the inter-planetary migration of Jane Sukoma-Williams, a gifted young genetic engineer, yet quickly expanding its narrative focus to incorporate a vast array of different characters, times and places. It centres mainly on the fate of the native Elokoi, along with the so-called ‘children of Icarus’, a human-Elokoi hybrid species, as they struggle for survival in a corrupt world. In relation to cultural bias, Deucalion is also of special interest. Caswell alludes to the Greek legend of Icarus, as a means of illustrating the origin and plight of the Elokoi-human hybrids. Themes: colonisation and colonialism, anthropology and ethnography, cultural imperialism, xenocide, repetition of history, memory, political corruption, prejudice, conscience, research ethics, friendship, love. Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘The Future’, as a literature focus, or as related wide reading; ‘Original Owners’, as a literature focus, or as related wide reading. Suggested Visual Resources: Bladerunner (film); Total Recall (film); The Timeless Land (ABC TV series - 1980s); The Star Wars Trilogy (films); X-Files (TV series). Suggested Other Genre Resources: Poems: Ch 10 "Original Owners"; Ch 13 "The Future" & Ch 20 "Interpretations" in Manning, M., & O’Neill, J., (1994) New Ways into Poetry, Melbourne: Oxford Uni. Press. Contextual Study: The Future Trap by Catherine Jinks; A Cage of Butterflies also by Brian Caswell; Z for Zechariah by Robert O’Brien. Suggested Teacher Resources: Section on Deucalion in Béchervaise, N., Robinson, D., & Sneddon, H., (1996) The World in Fiction: A Second Reading, Glebe: St Clair, pp18-19. Deucalion is interesting because it, more than any of the other science-fiction texts I have read for this project, employs a high level of made-up vocabulary specific to the individual text. While this is characteristic to some degree of all science-fiction, Caswell’s prose is particularly dense. This is somewhat exacerbated by large sections of expository style story-telling throughout the book. I feel that in this case, the language itself may prove alienating to the student already struggling with the demands of everyday English. Nevertheless there is much else to recommend Caswell’s Deucalion. Caswell’s representation of the Elokoi people is also worth mentioning as it emerges from a number of different perspectives. Caswell breaks the main narrative up with intermittent pseudo-histories of the Elokoi, appearing as extracts from ‘the works of A.L.J.Tolhurst’, archival material from ‘Old Earth’. Written from the perspective of a social anthropologist, as historical accounts they operate on two levels. Firstly they serve to provide background information for the reader about the Elokoi. Secondly, they work as an ironic counterpart to ethnographies written about the Australian Aborigines, lamenting the loss of Elokoi culture while simultaneously presenting uncritically the diminishing Elokoi population. Since the fate of the Elokoi mirrors the fate of the Aboriginal people, Caswell’s irony is apt, pointedly meeting its target. Caswell uses an Aboriginal character, Daryl, symbolically within the text to highlight these issues. Caswell also presents a more personal evocation of Elokoi life, through the eyes of minor characters: Saebi and Cael, a pair of young Elokoi mates. However, Caswell’s ambitious canvassing of a vast spectrum of focuses and issues, leaves his representation of the Elokoi here a little stereotyped. His romanticised picture of Saebi and Cael’s Song Cycle reminds me of Katharine Susannah Prichard’s Coonardoo; presuming intimacy where it cannot be known. A little awkward considering that the Elokoi are fictional.
The Lake at the End of the World is also set in a post-holocaust future, although this future has evolved as a combined result of environmental stress and other kinds of human mismanagement, rather than nuclear or bacteriological disaster. The novel is alternately narrated by two young people, from different societies, whose lives begin to interconnect after a chance encounter. Filled with stories and legends about the mythical or real qualities of a nearby lake, vast and pure, The Lake at the End of the World metaphorically links environmental harmony with human survival. It is this preoccupation with hope, for the well-being of future societies, that makes the novel of particular interest here - highly recommended reading. Themes: human values and differences, environmentalism, friendship, integrity, survival, power and knowledge Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘The Future’, using the novel as a literature focus, or as related wide reading; ‘Myths and Legends’, using the novel as a literature focus, or as related wide reading; ‘Nature’, using the novel as a literature focus, or as related wide reading. Suggested Visual Resources: Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (film); 12 Monkeys (film); Fern Gully (animated film); The Day of the Triffids (TV mini-series); Star Trek III (film); Beyond 2000 (TV documentary series). Contextual Study: Come Lucky April by Jean Ure; Z for Zechariah by Robert O’Brien; Foundling by Jean Oldham; The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham; Lord of the Flies by William Golding; Aesop’s Fables; Aboriginal myths and legends etc Suggested Other Genre Resources: Poems: Ch 13 "The Future" in Manning, M., & O’Neill, J., (1994) New Ways into Poetry, Melbourne: Oxford Uni. Press. Note: The Lake at the End of the World would probably make fascinating teaching in the ESL classroom. Why? Macdonald weaves so many smaller legends and stories through the main story, and the book itself, as I have already mentioned, can be interpreted as one long parable. This novel would be an interesting way of carrying work done in earlier years on myths and legends, through to a more complex study of the nature of allegory. Macdonald’s stories are possibly influenced by Maori legends, being folkloric in quality, although being entirely fictional - the products of Macdonald’s own imaginings, they do not identifiably belong to any one culture. This in itself provides a key into the discussion of fables and stories from cultures other than the European.
Five thousand years into the future, humankind is facing imminent danger of complete genetic breakdown. After millennia of manipulation resulting in the production of hundreds of strains of human beings, beginning in the late 20th century, the human gene pool has reached its limit. ENZA, caused by genetic instability, threatens the extinction of the human species. The Gnossis Commission, a research organisation with stations scattered across the entire galaxy, appoints an Arean, a breed engineered for brute force, to be transported back in time, to the era prior the coming of GE - that is genetic engineering. Living human tissue, uncontaminated by GE, is required for the identification of ENZA’s source. So, "on an otherwise ordinary day" (back cover), fourteen year-old Paula, animal rights advocate, is mistakenly plucked from her own time and transported to the world of the 7Oth Century. The ‘specimen’ should have been an adult male. A tale of corruption, public scandal and human rights abuses ensues. The Future Trap is compelling reading, suspenseful and original, despite common themes with other sci-fi writing. Jinks sensitively and poignantly explores complex ethical issues, primarily through a narrative focus on the budding relationship between Sellian, the Gnossis communicator, chosen for the task because of his knowledge of 20th Century English, and Paula, held captive against her will. Themes: human ethics, corruption, power, change, human frailty, human differences, prejudice, racism, friendship Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘The Future’ or ‘Progress’, using the novel as a literature focus, or as related wide reading; ‘Prejudice’ using the novel as a literature focus, or as related wide reading. Suggested Visual Resources: 12 Monkeys (film) - particularly the sequence where Bruce Willis’ character is transported back in time; X-Files (TV series) - particularly aliens episodes; Bladerunner (film); - Perhaps there is potential for the exploration of the question "What is a replicant?’ as a ‘Prepared Roles’ activity. Certainly this would tie in with the concept of the Cognisant Rights Association in the book. Bladerunner’s filmscore, by Vangelis, is also worthy of note. Contextual Study: Deucalion and A Cage of Butterflies by Brian Caswell; Suggested Other Genre Resources: Poems: Ch 5 "Captivity"; Ch 7 "Power" & Ch 13 "The Future" in Manning, M., & O’Neill, J., (1994) New Ways into Poetry, Melbourne: Oxford Uni. Press. Periodicals: 21•C Magazine: Scanning The Future. Non-Fiction: Suzuki, D., Genethics Part Two: Books about the future I make the distinction here between books about the future and other kinds of fantasy since inevitably the thematic preoccupations are different, as are the conceptual underpinnings. The fantasy books I have reviewed here fit into two broad categories. The first, including Chocky by John Wyndham and Visitors by Caroline Macdonald, in this particular case explores the possibility of communication with alien life forms. As such, they differ from texts about the future, since their ‘accuracy’ cannot be tested by the revelation of time. They base their narrative on invented phenomena, for even if there is life on other planets, it is unlikely that the events described here would be paralleled in real life. The second, encompassing both of Brian Caswell’s books A Cage of Butterflies and Dreamslip, is in one sense futuristic, as they both play around with scientific notions not fully developed in the contemporary world. Yet, simultaneously, they cross the invisible boundary of rational acceptability. The stories are believable, yet only within the frame of fiction. A Cage of Butterflies is concerned with the accidental origination of super cognisant beings, whose intelligence abrogates regular means of communication. In Dreamslip, twin adolescents find themselves ‘gifted’ with the capacity to actually live out dream sequences located in real time, past and future. This brings me to point out that while both of these books deal again with invented phenomena, other texts types of more ambiguous origin are often included within the broad cover of fantasy. For example in a recent class on adolescent fiction with Dennis Robinson, co-author of The World in Fiction: A Second Reading, stories from the oral tradition were included categorically within the genre of fantasy, along with science-fiction and original (creative) stories. The relegation of these kinds of stories to the fantasy mode is somewhat patronising, symptomatic of the dominance of a science worldview. For me, the same power-knowledge relationship is evident here as in a description I read once of spiritist practices by an anthropologist. He interpreted the events ‘rationally’ as hypnosis - presenting an examination of what was really happening. While I want to avoid entangling myself in a discussion about cultural relativism here, it is enough I think to say that tales from other cultural traditions should be described under their own genre heading rather than lumped together with other categories of text inappropriately. This leads me to briefly mention another aspect of cultural bias. Only a few weeks ago I was discussing this project with a high school librarian. She, among many things, mentioned that a young Muslim girl from one of her Year 7 library classes had been actively reading R.L.Stine books throughout the year, to the point of exhausting the library’s resources. R.L.Stine’s books are horror books for younger readers (horror is also considered broadly to fit within the genre of fantasy) and Mrs O expressed concern that the student’s choice was not necessarily culturally appropriate for her. Mrs O felt that the student’s parents would disapprove if they became aware of the books’ content. I felt a little uncomfortable with such a sentiment, that teachers should police their students’ reading habits, acting in effect as cultural custodians where needed. Even so, I don’t see that it is exactly possible or ethical to interfere with an individual student’s own borrowing rights. However, it is important that as teachers we remain sensitive to the preferences and predispositions, cultural or otherwise, of parents, particularly when choosing class texts. Controversial subjects and issues should be managed carefully, regardless of the student’s background. This is not just an issue of cultural bias, as far as I can see. & Author: Macdonald, Caroline (1984) Visitors, Christchurch: Nelson.
Terry, an adolescent television junkie is watching his favourite TV program one afternoon, when the image on screen becomes distorted, dissolving suddenly into a series of brightly coloured wavy lines. Even as he impatiently attempts to restore the picture, thinking his television is malfunctioning, new images appear, accompanied by unexpected and unexplained natural phenomena outside. is drawn into a plot to decipher the pattern’s meaning Meanwhile his parents become increasingly alarmed by their son’s growing TV obsession. Eventually teaming up with his physically handicapped neighbour, Maryanne, together they realise that they are not alone (!). This is an interesting story, not to be taken wholly seriously. Nevertheless it generates some interesting ‘rational’ explanations for unexplained phenomena. It seems to me that Macdonald is primarily thematically concerned with prejudice and ignorance; how people judge others incorrectly, based on ill-conceived notions and values. Worthwhile only as related wide reading - it is not really suitable as a class text. Themes: aliens, other worlds, communication, prejudice, friendship, selfhood Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘Alien Worlds’, using the novel as related wide reading or ‘Prejudice’, using the novel as related wide reading. Suggested Visual Resources: X-Files (TV series); Close Encounters of the Third Kind (film); Contextual Study: A Cage of Butterflies by Brian Caswell; Chocky by John Wyndham, Del-Del and Taronga by Victor Kelleher; Speaking to Miranda by Caroline Macdonald.
"Matthew was, to all appearance, a perfectly normal small boy, until a strange influence intruded. It was an incursion that distressed his adoptive mother. She protested: ‘All I want is for him to be perfectly normal, not plus or minus anything. I just want him to be happy.’" (back cover). Chocky is deceptively simple. While Wyndham’s elegance of style is attractively clear and the story he renders is so matter-of-fact, the novel’s power is in its delayed impact upon the reader. In the age of the X-Files and American Gothic it seems comparatively innocuous. However, Chocky is a classic in its field and well worth pursuing as a class text. Interestingly it is narrated by Matthew’s father, an indication that it was primarily intended for an adult audience. However, since its publication in the late 1960s it has been read by younger readers worldwide. This is also a good indication of its merit. Beautifully written and well worth reading. Themes: the paranormal, ‘normality’, family, friendship, media pressures, conformity Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘The Paranormal’, using the novel as a literature focus, or as related wide reading. Suggested Visual Resources: Chocky (TV mini-series); Close Encounters of the Third Kind (film); X-Files (TV series); Evil Angels (film); Suggested Other Genre Resources: Media (representations): newspaper clippings from Lindy Chamberlain case. Contextual Study: A Cage of Butterflies by Brian Caswell; Del-Del and Taronga by Victor Kelleher; Speaking to Miranda by Caroline Macdonald.
A group of adolescents with very high IQs become involved in a bid to save the lives and futures of five much younger super-intelligent children. Set at "the farm" - an advanced learning facility for the intellectually gifted, A Cage of Butterflies is a fast-paced suspenseful action adventure, weaving around unsettling ethical issues as it jumps from climax to climax. Themes: research ethics, intelligence, creativity, friendship, community, scientific corruption, political corruption, greed. Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘Identity’, using the novel as related wide reading. Suggested Visual Resources: X-Files (TV series); Little Man Tate (film); Sneakers (film).
As they dream, a brother and sister are seemingly transported through time and space to become participants in various historical events. They become increasingly concerned about the nature of their ‘dreamslips’ and eventually confide in a friend of their university professor parents. Together the three try to come to an understanding of the twins curious ‘gift’. However, something goes horribly wrong when one of them, while a part of a dreamslip experiment doesn’t wake up. This is captivating reading, and despite the many historical places and times encountered does not require a great deal of knowledge of history. Nevertheless the historical images are Euro-centric ones - Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, WWII Germany etc. The novel also extends its vision to that of future worlds, and the future society described in Dreamslip is complementary to that of Swindells’ Daz 4 Zoe. Brian Caswell demonstrates an intriguing preoccupation with intelligence in all the books I have read of his. Perhaps this is related to the fact that he has worked as a creative writing teacher with high school age kids on gifted and talented programs. Nevertheless it should be noted that Caswell often draws on a university-professor sized vocabulary. As such his books are not necessarily linguistically suited to ESL kids. Themes: time, history, human nature, possibilities and opportunities, destiny, empathy, the paranormal, human capacity for psychological endurance, friendship, memory Suggested Applications Thematic Units of Work - suggestions: ‘Time’, using the novel as a literature focus. Suggested Visual Resources: Time Bandits (film); 12 Monkeys (film); X-Files (TV series); Sliders (TV series). Contextual Study: Space Demons by Gillian Rubinstein; The Time Machine by Jules Verne; Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell; Daz 4 Zoe by Robert Swindells. image courtesy of Godzilla Graphics Group. |