Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend

by Karen Haber (Editor)

In 1933, Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack, and Willis O'Brien created more than movie magic. King Kong is a pop-cultural icon and a central part of American mythology. But more than just another "Beauty and the Beast" tale, Kong Unbound also allows us to examine such themes



These themes and more are explored in this wonderful collection of insightful essays

Ray Harryhausen
Ray Bradbury
Karen Haber
Richard A. Lupoff
Christopher Priest
Robert Silverberg
Jack Williamson
Harry Harrison
William Stout
Paul Di Filippo
Esther M. Friesner
Howard Waldrop
Frank M. Robinson
Pat Cadigan
David Gerrold
Philip J. Currie
Joe DeVito
Alan Dean Foster
William Joyce
Michael Chabon
Maurice Sendak

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2005

About the author

Karen Haber is the author of nine novels including Star Trek Voyager: Bless the Beasts, and co-author of Science of the X-Men. In 2001 she was nominated for a Hugo for Meditations on Middle Earth, an essay collection celebrating J.R.R. Tolkien. With her husband, Robert Silverberg, she co-edited Best Science Fiction of 2001, 2002, and the Best Fantasy of 2001 and 2002 for ibooks and later, co-edited the series with Jonathan Strahan through 2004.

Her recent work includes Crossing Infinity, a science fiction novel of gender identity and confusions. Other publications include Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present, a collection of essays by leading science fiction writers and artists, Kong Unbound: an original anthology, an essay in The Unauthorized X-Men edited by Len Wein, and Transitions: Todd Lockwood, a retrospective of the artist's work.

Her short fiction has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and many anthologies. She reviews art books for LOCUS magazine and profiles artists for various publications including Realms of Fantasy. She is currently at work on a major survey of fantasy and science fiction artists to be published in 2011.

Reviews

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Reading, 2011 or 2012
I know it's whole star rating system, but I'm giving this one 3 and a half stars. Enjoyed most of the essays here, but I'd probably remember this for the only two women who were asked to contribute to the book--ladies really know how to size up KK! But Mr. Ray Bradbury, what was that all about--a few sentences, and primarily to poke at Dino de Laurentis's 1976 KK?

Second Reading, December 2023
It took me over a week to finish rereading this, with a more discerning eye this time around. First off, I noticed that this book was part of the official movie merchandise for Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of King Kong, which I recall watching on the flight from Japan in 2005, which accounted for my red eyes upon arriving in the Philippines. Secondly, while most of the essays are redundant on the theme of a young boy's (and it is always little boys--which makes me wonder if my little girl was the only one of her gender to wax rabid on dinos before) fandom of dinosaurs and all things (and trivia) Kong, there are a few standout articles, especially in the first half of the book. Such as Robert Silverberg's, Jack Williamson's, William Stout's, Paul di Filippo's, Esther M. Friesner's, Howard Waldrop's (who does a farcical take on Fay Wray's life post-KK), Pat Cadigan's, and David Gerrold's. Much is written about stop motion animation, a favorite and once novel treatment to mythological beasts in cinema, the ridiculous concept of dinosaurs surviving, let alone thriving, on a small island, and their scientifically incongruous features, and the question as to why Carl Denham chose to bring an ape, albeit a specimen of massive proportions, instead of a real, live dinosaur. Much like the captured Tyrannosaurus Rex in The Valley of Gwangi. Other contributing writers were lackluster affairs, contrived, written more as a tribute to themselves than to the pop culture phenomena that is Kong. Two and a half stars.