Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works

Science-fiction & fantasy literature: a critical list with discussions.

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Standard Disclaimer:

This is a brief discussion of James Stephens and, of course, of some speculative-fiction books by Stephens.

This discussion and list does not necessarily include every book by Stephens: it includes only those books that I both know and like. Just as with the author list itself, omission of a particular item may mean I didn’t think highly enough of the omitted item, or it may simply mean that I have not yet sufficient familiarity with it. (In a very few cases, I have listed some books merely on the strength of my opinion of the author: all such books are clearly marked below, as throughout these lists, with a hash mark (#) before the title so you know what’s what.)

I don’t pretend that this discussion is a deep analysis. My intent is no more than to give you a rough idea of what kinds of tales Stephens tells, how those tales are usually told, and what makes them and Stephens worthy; in sum, to help you rank James Stephens (and the works by Stephens listed here) on your personal literary “to do” list.

A Few Words About James Stephens

Regrettably, I have not yet had an opportunity to write an essay on this author, but the “Other Resources” section below will lead you to some information about the “Notable Books” listed farther down this page.

Other James Stephens Resources

James Stephens Resources on the Web

Though there seems no dedicated web site, at least there is a long and helpful page, James Stephens (?1880-1950) at the Ricorso site. Most material on Stephens focusses on his poetry rather than his prose fictions; nonetheless, there are some pages of interest to be found. One is James Stephens [archived copy]; another is The Short Stories of James Stephens [PDF file] by Augustine Martin in the Colby Library Quarterly. There is also Stephens criticism [archived copy] collected at the eNotes site. There is also available a nice summary Stephens “databank” [archived copy] on his life, works, and published criticism of his works, with some notes. Some other possibly utile pages are a Stephens biography at All Poetry and another brief biography at PoemHunter.

Naturally, there are also various one-off reviews of particular Stephens works, for which Google Is Your Friend.

James Stephens Resources in Print

Notable Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books by James Stephens **

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