George Edgar Slusser (July 14, 1939 – November 4, 2014) was an American scholar, professor and writer. Slusser was a well-known science fiction critic. A

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, he was the first curator of the

Eaton collection The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, formerly known as the J. Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Utopian Literature, is "the largest publicly accessible collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror a ...

Background

Slusser was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in 1939, the son of salesman Raymond Leroy Slusser and Edlo Mildred Raerth. He attended

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

where he studied both philosophy and English. Slusser, a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, graduated summa cum laude in 1961 and then attended

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; french: Université de Poitiers) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest studen ...

, where he earned his diploma in the French language the following year. From 1963 to 1965, Slusser served in Germany assigned to US Army intelligence. In 1965 Slusser married French academic Danièle Chatelain, to whom he would remain married for life. Slusser attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, afterward taking a Fulbright Fellowship in Germany as well as serving as a Harvard traveling fellow in France. From 1971 to 1975 he taught English at California State College at San Bernardino as an assistant professor, also working as a freelance author, critic, and translator throughout this period. Although Slusser had been a fan of science fiction as a teen his interest in the genre was reignited in San Bernardino. In 1976 Slusser returned to France as a Fulbright lecturer at

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. In 1979 Slusser joined

(UCR) and organized the first annual J. Lloyd Eaton Conference of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, an academic symposium on the genres of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

rather than the more prevalent fan conventions. He commented that the conference's ability to attract serious literary critics like

Harry Levin Harry Tuchman Levin (July 18, 1912 – May 29, 1994) was an American literary critic and scholar of both modernism and comparative literature. Life and career Levin was born in Minneapolis, the son of Beatrice Hirshler (née Tuchman) and Isado ...

spoke to the event's gravitas. Slusser helped publish an annual journal, ''Bridges to Science Fiction'' to publish the outcomes of each conference. With the help of UCR head librarian Eleanor Montague and Cal State San Bernardino librarian Michael Burgess, Slusser became curator of the

and Slusser took it upon himself to radically expand the collection's holdings. Slusser had pushed for the establishment of both a science fiction studies center and a graduate program for science fiction at the University but the plan died with university chancellor Tomás Rivera. Slusser continued to teach comparative literature at UCR until his retirement in 2005. A host of science fiction writers and scholars have studied under Slusser, including Howard V. Hendrix, David Leiby, Bradford M. Lyau, and Daryl F. Mallett.

Writing

Slusser wrote dozens of books and journal articles. Much of his work was critical analysis of science fiction. He listed Isaac Asimov,

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict ('' Forge of God'' books), parallel universes ('' The Way'' series), c ...

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reas ...

James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his '' Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel '' A Case of Conscie ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...

, and

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

alongside golden age authors J.-H. Rosny,

Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) – known as Olaf Stapledon – was a British philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures ...

, Jules Verne,

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

technophobia Technophobia (from Greek τέχνη ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φόβος ''phobos'', "fear"), also known as technofear, is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. Although there are numerou ...

was evident in his works: "to Bradbury, science is the forbidden fruit, destroyer of Eden." Of Arthur C. Clark, Slusser said that "Clarke, along with Asimov and obert A.Heinlein, is unique in that his human dramas are determined by advances in science and technology... Clarke incarnates the essence of cience fiction which is to blend two otherwise opposite activities into a single story, that of the advancement of mankind." Although Slusser considered

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

the "epitome of science fiction writers" his criticism of the author was far more pointed. Slusser dismissed Heinlein's later work as "self-indulgent." Slusser points out that stories like Heinlein's ''

Have Space Suit—Will Travel ''Have Space Suit—Will Travel'' is a science fiction novel for young readers by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (August, September, and October 1958) and published by Sc ...

'' draw students because it's "like 'Huckleberry Finn' redone." In ''Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in His Own Land'' Slusser condemned the secular sort of Unconditional election philosophy Heinlein propounded in his books: "Heinlein is a writer who represents a certain strain in our culture, a kind of secular Calvinist vision of the world of the elect and the damned." (Heinlein refuted this interpretation.) Slusser labeled both Heinlein and author Frank Herbert as "

potboiler A potboiler or pot-boiler is a novel, Play (theatre), play, opera, film, or other creative work of dubious literary or artistic merit, whose main purpose was to pay for the creator's daily expenses—thus the imagery of "boil the pot", which means ...

s." Slusser and his wife co-authored a few translations from the original French. In 2012, Slusser and his wife translated the works of J.-H. Rosny into ''Three Science Fiction Novellas: From Prehistory to the End of Mankind''.

Published works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slusser, George Edgar University of California, Riverside faculty American biographers American literary critics 1939 births 2014 deaths Harvard University alumni People from San Francisco University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Poitiers alumni California State University, San Bernardino faculty Journalists from California