Robogenesis

Daniel H. Wilson. Robogenesis. New York: Doubleday, 2014. isbn 978-0385537094. 384 pp.

More than a decade ago, John Purdy, former editor of sail, observed that there seemed to be only so much room for Native authors in literary criticism. The "Big Three" (Momaday, Welch, and Silko) gave way to the 'big four" (add Gerald Vizenor), which gave way to the "big five" (enter Louise Erdrich), which gave way to the "big six" (plus Tom King), which finally came to be the "big seven" (include Sherman Alexie). Occasionally, by sheer force of imagination and talent, another contender mus- cles his or her way in-think Tomson Highway, LeAnne Howe, Susan Power, and Joseph Boyden. If, however, one surveys the critical ink spilled in journal articles and conference papers since the onset of the so-called Native American Renaissance, the vast majority of it has concerned the seven writers listed above.

To a certain extent, this fact is understandable. All seven of the authors noted are popular and immensely gifted. Their works are regularly taught in literature and Native American/American Indian studies (na/ais) courses. With the exception of Jim Welch, who passed prematurely, all of them are still productive. Vizenor, Erdrich, and King-at least-are still at the height of their powers. Yet the narrow focus on this small group of authors, to the relative exclusion of consideration of other equally talented Native writers, has led to Native literature-once a vital wellspring of na/ais-being marginalized.

In the related genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the field of Native candidates for recognition is inevitably much narrower than for Native lit as a whole. Vizenor's first novel, Darkness in St. Louis Bearheart (later republished as Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles) is a postapocalyptic masterpiece. One also thinks of graphic artists and writers such as Roy Boney, Joseph Erb, A. A. Carr (with his Navajo vampire novel, Eye Killers), and...