Lisa A. Lewis

I gave this book a 3.5, which is slightly misleading, as it is, in fact, a fascinating read. The reason why I gave it a relatively low score is because it is now hopelessly outdated in many ways. It was published just on the cusp of the internet going mainstream, and so unfortunately misses out on one of the biggest revolutions in the history of fan culture.

This is not to say that this isn't an important book. I recently read in an article that it is considered (after Henry Jenkins' "Textual show more Poachers"), to be the most significant book in Fan Studies. It provides a wide-ranging evaluation of fan behaviours, and is a useful resource for those seeking to ground their research by analysing the history of fan culture. What the book does do is demonstrate how participatory activities were a feature of fan culture from its early days, and this in turn underscores just how deeply the internet has facilitated these behaviours in more recent times.

It would be wrong, therefore, to say that this book is irrelevant; rather, it is surprising how relevant it is even when considering the great technological advances of the last 20 years. Fan nature appears to be essentially the same now as it was then; it is only the technology that has influenced the way fans express their fandom. It would be interesting to see an updated edition which, instead of focusing on the Beatles and Cagney & Lacey fans, looks at One Direction and CSI fans, for example. What would the differences be between these differing generations of fans and their behaviours?

I would recommend this book as a seminal collection of studies of fanfiction from its era, and a great foregrounding in the nature of fandom. Not to mention which, it is a fascinating look into the fan psyche. show less