A review by jnzllwgr
Spacecraft by Timothy Morton

5.0

Just wrapped up reading this wee book…twice! I am not a Timothy Morton completist, but after reading portions of a few of their books and “Being Ecological” in its entirety (also twice) and listened to podcasts and read interviews, I think I can admit I enjoy their work; especially these brief, almost stream-of-consciousness essays. Here, Morton has been given the opportunity to focus their unique blend of romantic futurism on spacecraft. That’s spaceCRAFT. Not spaceSHIPS. There is a difference as you will learn. And while 2001 and Star Trek are mentioned, Morton spends the lion’s share of their effort using Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon (with frequent pairings or diversions about Dr. Who’s TARDIS) to touch on the traditional Greek chorus in film and house music, patriarchal and capitalist society, hyperspace as Saturday-on-a-Monday lounge space, object-oriented ontology, William Blake, American democracy as innovative junk recycling of past societies, feminist circulsion and the Muppets. I’m serious. It’s brilliant. It’s a romp. Don’t expect a complete explication or an itemized defense either. Think of this as a “what if?…” Or an inventory every vector of thought between Morton’s ears…(aka, what might serve as a forward to a developed 400-page take-down with proper citations for the academy). Treat it lightly. Have fun with it. Take in what you can, come back and reread later! Morton has said in interviews that they like to think that their writing is from the future, a future self they call “Future Tim”. This is a tiny book with a high weight-to-potential ratio. Let it plant some seeds for you.