Adored An Infinite Summer (1979), had to procure more Priest…
I want to give Matheson another chance—although some of the stories in Third From the Sun (1955) were worth reading…
William Tenn, great short story author—needed more! I had previously read both Of Men and Monsters (1968) and his collection The Human Angle (1956).
Thoughts?
1. The Shores of Space, Richard Matheson (1957)
(Uncredited cover for the 1957 edition)
From the back cover: “Shocking— Startling — Incredible. 13 strange and unusual stories set against the background of new worlds and fantastic futures—
A woman is terrorized by the strange creatures she carries in her womb.
A man substitutes for a robot in a new kind of prize fight.
A vampire decides to have a funeral for himself.
A little girl gets lost in another dimension.
And many, many more exciting stories by the talented author of THIRD FROM THE SUN, I AM A LEGEND [sic], THE SHRINKING MAN.
2. The Affirmation, Christopher Priest (1980) (MY REVIEW)
(Tyler Stalman and Julyan Bayes’ cover for the 2011 edition)
From the back cover of an earlier edition: “Peter Sinclair is tormented by bereavement and failure. In an attempt to conjure some meaning from his life, he embarks on an autobiography. Soon he finds himself writing the story of another man in another, imagined, world whose insidious attraction draws him forever further in. a major work of fiction from one of Britain’s most exciting authors.”
3. The Seven Sexes, William Tenn (1968)
(Stephen Miller’s cover for the 1968 edition)
From the back cover: “THE SEVEN SEXES is almost entirely dedicated to the cynicism of nature’s prime conman, homo sapiens, in such a variety of stories that it is difficult to believe they all derive from the same source, capped by a hilarious piece of nonsense in which a has-been producer cons the seven variable sexes of Venus into starring in a “typical” Hollywood love epic—with results that defy description. This book is part of a simultaneous six volume publication celebrating William Tenn, and featuring his first full-length science fiction novel, OF MEN AND MONSTERS.”
4. The Wooden Star, William Tenn (1968)
(Stephen Miller’s cover for the 1968 edition)
From the back cover: “Of the six volumes of William Tenn’s work now made simultaneously available, THE WOODEN STAR comes closest to being a pacifist collection, the general theme being an ironic and sometimes bitter comment on man’s stupidity to man. But Tenn’s humor is irrepressible and bursts forth in a joyous satire on the ways of the sexes titled “The Masculinist Revolt”—which may yet bring codpieces back into fashion.”
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 
I don’t generally read a lot of vampire fiction, but the short story about a vampire throwing himself a funeral sounds intriguing.
Not a fan of vampires, at all…. Alas.
I’m not either,not of the traditional supernatural variety anyway.Those of novels like “I am Legend”,George’s Martin’s “Ferve Dream”,and of a sort in Jack Williamson’s “Darker Than You Think”,have a naturalistic origin,that affects a concrete premise.
the Steve Miller 1968 cover is fascinating!
Which one? He illustrated all 6 volumes (included two in this post) of the William Tenn series in 1968 — Of Men and Monsters has one as well. So, I have three of the six.
Though not vintage, the NESFA William Tenn collection is wonderful, and the companion book of essays
Not sure I am a big enough fan to buy stories that I already own in another form even with a handful of essays — BUT, new readers who want to explore Tenn’s work should! 🙂
I still say the influence of Philip K.Dick on this novel was unmistakable,but I’ve changed my opinion about the quality of the influence,and in this case,It was exemplary.From it emerged a very readable,strange,haunting and polished novel.Priest is obviously one of the most skilled authors of the English language writing in sf,and a great contempory writer.It’s a shame I haven’t read it for nearly nine years,and my memory of it isn’t that clear now.
I’m sorry I haven’t read more William Tenn.He’s supposed to be very humourous in the vein of Robert Sheckley.The only one I read I’ve read was “The Men in the Walls” in an anthology,but was rather serious as I remember.
Yes, you brought that up a few days ago.
Tenn’s short story collection The Human Angle impressed more than his novel — he is definitely better in the short form.
I thought so.I did have his “Men and Monsters” novel on my wish list,but decided it was best to take it off.He seems to have become a forgotten author who vanished early from the sf scene.
As the previous commentator noted, they did come out with a retrospective in an attempt to bolster interest in his work.
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?39083
Perhaps, as you do not own that much of his stuff, you should acquire them! I’m happy tracking down the old paperbacks personally 😉
I looked at your link.It would be nice to have them,but there’s so many I want.I’m also very difficult to please,as you probably know.
The Shores of Space sounds like it needs to be on my list of stuff to look out for!
I have five of the six Tenn volumes… Great art, but I have yet to read them aside from a few excellent stories in magazines of the age. (Tenn could give Sheckley or Kornbluth a run for their money.) The Matheson is on my buy list, but I’m not sure it will be up your alley given your response to Third from the Sun. Chris Priest, though, I think you’ll like his best stuff.
I do love Priest — I finished The Affirmation a few days ago. My type of “SF”!
Yes,as I said,it was great.As I remember,quite mesmerising and mysterious,with no definite conclusion.I’m sorry I only read a library copy.
Like “Dying Inside” by Bob Silverberg,it contained no obvious sf tropes and was set in the present day.Both novels also contained an ingenuity of thought however,that is at the core of great sf.
Dying Inside did have a SF trope — telepathy. Last time I checked this was an impossible skill 😉 As for The Affirmation, yeah, all the fantastical elements are part of a psychological landscape, the Dream Archipelago… As for “an ingenuity of thought” — that might characterize some SF but is obviously a cornerstone of literature!. If anything, SF is mostly the opposite — i.e. lacking great ingenuity of thought as it is very convention bound (again, most of the time and not the best authors). I try to avoid carbon copy SF!
Yes I know it did Joachim,but I meant to say it appeared entirely naturalistic,rather than some gaudy explanation such as being a mutant.The setting helped and yes,it was skillfully done as I remember within an otherwise entirely mainstream setting.Also,the fact that he was losing his power,suggests that it was something abnormal and perhaps not what it seemed within the ordinary reality it was set.
“The Affirmation” is rather cerebral,but the concept of inner space that pertains to it,is not an unknown territory in sf of course,and he seemed to navigate it well.By ingenuity of thought,I was trying to say that exciting and inventive sf can take place in the mundane contemporary world,but yes it’s also essential to literature,that is at the roots of modern sf.
I’m very keen to read more William Tenn. Only recently have I read some of his shorts, including The Liberation of Earth.
What other writers of humourous sf have you read?
I read a bunch of Robert Sheckley shorts many years ago and one of his novels too – Immortality Inc. When I was much younger I was a big fan of Douglas Adams. I also read the novelizations of Red Dwarf written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. But in truth I am wary these days of humourous fiction.
I see.I don’t go for books that were based on tv serials.Adams was inspired by Sheckley and other authors.Have you read Vonnegut,Harrison and Sladek?
I’ve only read The Sirens of Titan and that 20 years ago. I liked it a lot at the time but strangely didn’t move on to any more of his work. I haven’t read Sladek. Which Harrison are you speaking of?
Return to Vonnegut! Cat’s Cradle all the way!
I’m not sure why I haven’t. It’s one of those strange vaguely embarrasing lacunae we all seem to suffer from in those realms which we love.
I;ve read”The Sirens of Titan”,but longer ago than that.”Bill the Galactic Hero” and “The Stainless Steel Rat”,but the only other one of his I read,was “Captive Universe”.That was mediocre sf slush I thought.
I don’t know HHs work that well. I read West of Eden back in the 80s but never felt the need to check out more of his work. I did listen to an early short story of his recently and thought it was good.
When was “West of Eden” written,and what’s it about?
It’s was published in 1984. I read it in 1985. It’s an alternate history story, on an Earth where the dinosaurs didn’t die out and one branch becoming sentient. However humans also evolved in isolation and the two meet in the New World when the dinosaurs arrive from the Old… I liked it at the time though I don’t remember the particulars. It spawned sequels but I haven’t read any.
I see.Don’t know what to think about it.
I imagine that HH was just trying to get a piece of the multi volume epic saga action of the 80s.
He has written a lot so far as I know.I think his earlier stuff is his best;the best of it I mean.I did want to read his “Make Room!Make Room”,partly because David Pringle chose it for his book,”Science Fiction:The 100 Best Novels”.
I’ve wanted to read this as long as I’ve known that it was the loose basis for Soylent Green. Also his (proto steam punk?) A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!
Yes i thought at one time of reading that one as well.Also his “Deathworld” novel or novels.
Some great choices here Joachim particularly the William Tenn volumes of which I’m lucky to have collected the full set of six. Enjoy your reading.
Slightly jealous. I think I have four! A couple I’m too scared to read for fear the books will fall apart!
I know! So often I have to glue books back together before I can read them… and then discover them wedged between other books (where I had left them so the glue can dry)…. haha
They’re a bit tough to find in decent condition so good luck in your search. Here’s my story – https://unsubscribedblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/a-william-tenn-reader/
Mine aren’t in horrible condition — however there are some terrible bookstores out there that put large stickers on the front which damage the covers… alas.
I’ve seen quite a few examples of those for sale and reluctantly turned them down as I know I’ll never be able to remove the sticker without causing further damage. It’s a terrible practice.
Thriftbooks is the worst — they have these terrible ultra sticky spine stickers that essentially remove the entire surface of book…
Yes, I have a copy of Ray Bradbury’s Golden Apples of the Moon with such a sticker. I only bought it because of the extremely rare Ian Miller wraparound cover but it still annoys the hell out of me every time I look at it!
It’s infuriating. I buy them anyway due to the cheap price — but, I feel bad about supporting the practice.
That’s the only one I have and I only relented due to its scarcity otherwise I always pass them by. I think we’ve already established that I’m far pickier than you are Joachim. It really is inexcusable though, imagine doing that to a car!
I lack the “collector syndrome” (CS) — hahaha
I am somewhat anally retentive when it comes to paperbacks.
Yes I think “Cat’s Cradel” is probably the best,but haven’t read it for a long time.
Richard, I get the sense from the recent reviews over at MPorcius’ blog that you’d enjoy (or at least appreciate) the SF work of Doris Lessing…. http://mporcius.blogspot.com/2015/12/briefing-for-descent-into-hell-by-doris.html
Thanks for the link.You did a post on her earlier in the year.It’s difficult to judge from the review what it would be like.Didn’t know what to make of it really.I might like it though.It depends upon the craftsmanship.
I did think years ago,that I’d like to read her “Canopus in Argos” novels,that Brian Aldiss was so keen on and describes lovingly in “Trillion Year Spree”.She had a fondness for earlier non-generic sf,and she did read the first series of Gollancz paperback classics,with her appreciative review of them appearing on their backs.
She also wrote the introduction to Olaf Stapleton’s “Last and First Men” in the Millenium classics,that she read when a very young woman.
She won the Nobel Prize for literature — I suspect there is craft….
Yes I believe she did now you mention it,as did William Golding,another British author,whose books I’ve read and admired.
I don’t doubt she posseses great craft by her reputation,but hope it’s applied thoughtfully to the perhaps more difficult task of writing speculative fiction.
I might read her next year.I’ll probably look at your post on her again.