Review: Katherine E. Bishop, David Higgins and Jerry Määttä, eds. Plants in Science Fiction: Speculative Vegetation

Vegetal life in sf studies has long been overlooked in favour of more charismatic – or perhaps more relatable – forms of nonhuman existence, such as cyborgs and aliens, which readily serve as metaphors for Otherness. The emerging field of critical plant studies aims to address this gap by giving attention to the verdant life that populates sf as much as it does our planet. This increasing attention to the vegetal in sf studies takes place within the broader context of the nonhuman turn; a wider movement in literary criticism that aims to decentre human knowledge and experience in favour of nonhuman agency.