Rezensionen 368 Werken, sondern stellt auch interessante Querverbindungen zwischen den einzelnen Texten her. Silvia Mergenthal, so lässt sich resümieren, spricht durch die bilinguale Ausrichtung ihres Poetischen London-Führers ein breiteres Lesepublikum an, als dies bei den meisten bisherigen London-Anthologien der Fall ist. Darüber hinaus setzt die Herausgeberin mit ihrer Textauswahl und ihrem kritischen Kommentar neue Akzente, die das Büchlein trotz der Konkurrenz ähnlicher Publikationen zu einem Muss für alle literarisch interessierten London-LiebhaberInnen machen. Auf jeden Fall weckt der attraktiv gestaltete und auch editorisch einwandfreie Band die Lust, (das imaginäre) London neu zu entdecken. Literaturverzeichnis Wilson, A.N. (ed.) (1993). The Faber Book of London. London. Faber & Faber. Maria Löschnigg Institut für Anglistik Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz Martin Holz, Traversing Virtual Spaces. Body, Memory and Trauma in Cyberpunk. (Anglistische Forschungen Band 368). Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2006. Pawel Frelik The latest addition to the growing body of book-length critical investigations of cyberpunk, a sub-genre of science fiction which exploded in the 1980s and quickly garnered almost cult attention from SF readers and postmodern theorists alike, Traversing Virtual Spaces is an insightful and competent study which despite several minor glitches can prove to be extremely useful for readers and researchers interested in the subject. The main argument of this 277-page-long (including 11 pages of bibliography) study is hinged on the threefold connection Martin Holz perceives between virtuality and trauma. Firstly, virtuality may “control and neutralize potentially traumatic events and experiences” (21); secondly, virtual modes may be employed to simulate potentially traumatic incidents in order to produce a phantasmatic wish fulfillment; and thirdly, virtuality may engender its own specific and systemic trauma type, which the author labels “ontological trauma” (22) and which consists in the confusion and disorientation regarding the distinction between the virtual and the real to the point of existential insecurity. These three interdependencies are explored through close reading of a number of cultural texts commonly referred to as ‘cyberpunk.’ AAA Band 32 (2007), Heft 2 Rezensionen 369 After the initial statements and preliminary remarks, the volume opens with the exposition of the notion of trauma in psychoanalysis and cultural studies. The author here reviews the relevant parts of various psychological and psychoanalytical theories: Freud’s discussion of protective mechanisms against trauma; Lacan’s distinction between the Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real and their relation to the notions of trauma and jouissance; Žižek’s conception of trauma as the result of “the missed encounter with the Real” (42); and, finally, Deleuze and Guattari’s non-discursive logic of intensity. With all these names being the proverbial usual suspects, none of the points in this section is either disputable or irrelevant, but it must be noted that Holz’ summaries and selections are very competent and succinct, especially given the complexity and breadth of the fields addressed by the said theorists. The second half of the theoretical framework of Traversing Virtual Spaces is devoted to the theories of virtuality, the term which in this study is understood not only as referring to cybernetic or artificial spaces created by/ within computers but also to embodied, real-world presences which are culturally constructed and mediated. The two thinkers whose writings on virtuality constitute the backbone of the argument are Stanislaw Lem, whose writings, particularly Summa Technologiae, Holz considers to be “a groundbreaking landmark in the field of virtuality” (14), and Jean Baudrillard, whose postmodern perspective offers “the most advanced and most complex view” (14) of the subject. The second part of the study (roughly equal in length to the theoretical one) devoted to the readings of individual texts is further subdivided in accordance with the character of traumas discussed - either actual or virtual. A number of literary and cinematic texts serve to illustrate various aspects of these two types of trauma. Among trauma-related issues exemplified in cyberpunk fictions and movies are mechanization of bodies, multiple personality disorder, mnemonic manipulations, ontological trauma, and addiction to trauma. Several texts such as Pat Cadigan’s, William Gibson’s, and Philip K. Dick’s fiction or the movie eXistenZ make their appearance more than once, others - like Avalon and The 13 th Floor motion pictures - only once. All readings are of the roughly same length. As initially indicated Traversing Virtual Spaces does suffer from several glitches. The first of them is the main title itself, which fails to connect with the specific theme of the study and is, to a certain extent, misleading in its stress on space rather than body. Of course, its second part dispels any doubts, but one may still wonder about the compatibility of both segments of the title; given that the subtitle specifically names cyberpunk (as opposed to, for example, postmodern science fiction), the selection of some of the primary sources seems problematic. Philip K. Dick may have been frequently name-checked among cyberpunk’s spiritual godfathers but his solid presence among cyberpunk writers is a stretch. The same concerns Bruce Sterling’s novel Holy Fire, whose author is certainly known as the cyberpunk PR man and, occasionally, a cyberpunk writer, but whose inclusion pushes the definitional envelope (which was never very precise in the first place) of the sub-genre under discussion. Occasional stylistic awkwardness may have been easily eliminated if the manuscript had been proofread by a native speaker. Also, in a study of such complexity, an index would have been very useful. Finally, the extended theoretical grounding - simultaneously one of the major assets of the study - seems at times (but only at times) to be meandering while the place of particular theories in the more Rezensionen 370 general framework remains unclear. The impression that some notions are mentioned not because of their connection to the presentation of trauma but because of tentative links to the general discourses of virtuality and cyberpunk may not always be entirely true but, for instance, the placement of the sub-chapter devoted to Deleuze’s and Guattari’s logic of intensity in the trauma chapter is not altogether clear. Having said that, such occasional disorientation is more the result of the lack of reminders of what is being argued at the moment rather than that of the flawed argumentation itself. All these are, however, minor quibbles compared to the definite merits of the volume. The first, and the most obvious, of these is the depth of research manifested both in the bibliography and extensive references in the text itself. With several minor exceptions (e.g. Michael Benedikt’s seminal Cyberspace volume), the author has become acquainted with practically all relevant research while his readings and their application appear to be much more than cursory. A number of these secondary sources, particularly those preoccupied with constructions of virtuality, are canonical and quoted in practically every publication on the subject, so the presence of Baudrillard or Žižek is almost inevitable. In that context, however, particular praise is due for including Stanislaw Lem as an important early theorist and for the incisive analysis of his propositions. Lem’s importance to this particular field has been occasionally mentioned, but the prominent majority of (mostly) Anglo-American scholarship on literary and textual virtualities lionizes the French school. Holz’ decision to ground the whole book on Lem is beneficial for the overall argument. The same holds for the selection of primary sources. While the canonical texts of cyberpunk with the likes of Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy or Sterling’s Schismatrix make their appearance, Holz also analyzes a number of less frequently discussed but equally interesting texts. Among them are Pat Cadigan’s novels, Rudy Rucker’s Software, and such films as eXistenZ, The 13 th Floor, Avalon, or Strange Days. Some of these readings are more detailed than others, but all maintain a uniformly high quality. Although Traversing Virtual Spaces is by no means a flashy read (but then again, why should it be? ) and the style may be occasionally plodding, it is impossible to deny the competence and complexity of the analyses. Grounded in theory and densely peppered with quotations from primary and secondary sources, the study clearly demonstrates the depth and range of Holz’ readings. Because of its focus on the notion of trauma, the volume is also a welcome addition to science fiction studies, where psychoanalytical theory is still seldom used. This volume demonstrates that this can be applied with highly interesting results. Altogether, despite certain shortcomings, Traversing Virtual Spaces. Body, Memory and Trauma in Cyberpunk is a study worth reading for everyone interested in any of the key words of its title. Pawel Frelik Maria Curie-Sklodowska University Lublin