It’s no secret that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings with an eye towards the potential evils of technology, populating Middle-earth with villains who focus on “external plans or devices (apparatus) instead of development of the inherent inner powers or talents,” as he put it, and whose goal is “sheer Domination.” Since then, Professor Alan Jacobs argues , a central tenet of fantasy (loosely defined) has been the notion that “the Machine” is the enemy of good. But what, he asks, would a fantasy novel that embraces technology look like? Jacobs brings up China Miéville, whose novel Perdido Street Station included both beautiful and monstrous uses of technology, which was often interchangeable with magic

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Can fantasy literature be pro-technology?

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