Semiotics in Fantasy and Science Fiction
Explore the role of semiotics in fantasy and science fiction with this curated list of books. Discover how signs, symbols, and meaning shape iconic worlds and narratives in speculative fiction.


Book
The Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco
In 1327, finding his sensitive mission at an Italian abbey further complicated by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William of Baskerville turns detective.

Book
The Return of the King
by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
A chronicle of the great War of the Ring between the hobbits and the Enemy who made the One Ring.

Book
Nineteen Eighty-four
by George Orwell
Eternal warfare is the price of bleak prosperity in this satire of totalitarian barbarism.

Book
A Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to a Master Wizard.

Book
The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Charles Baskerville's sudden heart attack and death have the townspeople in shock and searching for the one to blame--the family dog--while Sherlock Holmes leads the investigation.

Book
Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language
by Umberto Eco
"Eco wittily and enchantingly develops themes often touched on in his previous works, but he delves deeper into their complex nature . . . this collection can be read with pleasure by those unversed in semiotic theory." —Times Literary Supplement

Book
Man and His Symbols
by Carl G. Jung
Man and His Symbols owes its existence to one of Jung's own dreams. The great psychologist dreamed that his work was understood by a wide public, rather than just by psychiatrists, and therefore he agreed to write and edit this fascinating book. Here, Jung examines the full world of the unconscious, whose language he believed to be the symbols constantly revealed in dreams. Convinced that dreams offer practical advice, sent from the unconscious to the conscious self, Jung felt that self-understanding would lead to a full and productive life. Thus, the reader will gain new insights into himself from this thoughtful volume, which also illustrates symbols throughout history. Completed just before his death by Jung and his associates, it is clearly addressed to the general reader. Praise for Man and His Symbols "This book, which was the last piece of work undertaken by Jung before his death in 1961, provides a unique opportunity to assess his contribution to the life and thought of our time, for it was also his firsat attempt to present his life-work in psychology to a non-technical public. . . . What emerges with great clarity from the book is that Jung has done immense service both to psychology as a science and to our general understanding of man in society, by insisting that imaginative life must be taken seriously in its own right, as the most distinctive characteristic of human beings."--Guardian "Straighforward to read and rich in suggestion."--John Barkham, Saturday Review Syndicate "This book will be a resounding success for those who read it."--Galveston News-Tribune "A magnificent achievement."--Main Currents "Factual and revealing."--Atlanta Times
