If you prick a toaster, does it not bleed?

Cylons in America:  Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica, Tiffany Potter and C.W. Marshall
I came to science fiction later in life.  It was a genre that held little appeal for me growing up, though I did always like reading about time travel, probably because I like history so much. I’ve also enjoyed reading about post-apocalyptic societies and dystopias.   The outer space stuff?  Not so much.  So I didn’t think I’d like the TV series Battlestar Galactica (I’m talking about the recent one, not the 1970’s one) but my husband insisted it was really good, so I started watching, and sure enough, I was hooked.  This is a drama of adventure, war, political intrigue, love and loss, which just happens to take place in a science fiction setting.  Their world destroyed, the remaining humans flee their homes in a fleet of aging spaceships, pursued by the Cylons, robots who are indistinguishable from humans and intent on destroying them.  The series is allegorical, with episodes about issues that resonate today.  Much will remind you of the Bush years, and the debates that raged over torture, the war on terror and the post-911 world.

Cylons in America is a collection of essays dealing with the philosophical themes raised in the television series.  With titles such as “Torture, Terrorism and Other Aspects of Human Nature,” “The Cain Mutiny: Reflecting the Faces of Military Leadership in Time of Fear,” and “Erasing Difference:  the Cylons as Racial Other,” this collection is a thought provoking look at some of the troubling issues in contemporary America, through the lens of popular culture.  Some of the essays are better than others, but the book was an interesting read and may bring a deeper appreciation and understanding to BSG fans.