1. A complete unknown! As is frequently the case, I discovered it during a lengthy Internet Speculative Fiction Database browse a few weeks back. I’m not sure what to expect. Although the back cover is problematic –“In danger of losing her sanity, her virginity, and even her life”–is her sanity less important than her virginity? Who knows.

2. John Brunner short stories! He’s a favorite and I buy his collections on site.

A few John Brunner short fictions I’ve particularly enjoyed:

• “Nobody Axed You” (1965)
• “Lungfish” (1957)
• “The Last Lonely Man” (1964)

3. In my late teens I read every Dune novel I could get my hands on—including those written by Frank Herbert’s son Brian (I don’t remember being impressed). And yes, I’ve decided to read some of Brian Herbert’s non-Dune related SF.

4. I’ve enjoyed the two Marta Randall novels I’ve reviewed.

• A City in the North (1976)
• Islands (1976)

Might as well grab the last one I didn’t own? Right? It’s the sequel to Journey (1978).

Let me know what books/covers intrigue you. Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?

1. Pzyche, Amanda Hemingway (aka Jan Siegel) (1982)

(Uncredited cover for the 1982 edition)

From the back cover: “On a desolate planet at the furthest rim of galaxy lived Pzyche, brought up quite alone by her eccentric father Professor Corzin. Who preferred to carry on his lifelong research into the working of the human mind quite unhindered by the disturbing presence of actual people.

Pzyche had learned much: history and legend, theory and practice. Her tutor and her sole companion—father apart—was a computer. Which had taught her well, completely and correctly. She was happy and full of knowledge.

Until the day when, quite unexpectedly, her younger sister arrived and Pzyche began to realize that, most disturbingly, knowledge is not the same as understanding. Until the day that she and her newly discovered sister realized that their quiet planet was now the target of a motley collection of cosmic adventurers, prospectors and villainous entrepreneur.

In danger of losing her sanity, her virginity, and even her life, Pzyche had to come to terms with the strange, oddly changeable, teasingly unpredictable habits and natures of humankind.”

2. From This Day Forward, John Brunner (1972)

(Peter Rauch’s cover for the 1st edition)

From the inside flap: “It behooves us all to be interested in the future, writes John Brunner, because that’s where we’re going to spend the rest of our lives. And in this intriguing collection of twelve short stories and poem he offers some truly provocative speculations about the shape that mysterious realm may take.

All of the pieces are about people—individuals or groups–to whom, very suddenly, the future happens.  The future that closes like the jaws of a trap… or the one which lies down a path which it is no longer possible to avoid…. or which merely maps a life colored by hopeless resignation. Together they provide a fascinating blend of accurate analysis and sometimes devastating insights on the human condition.”

Contents: “The Biggest Game” (1956), “The Trouble I See” (1959), “An Elixir for the Emperor” (1964), “Wasted on the Young” (1965), “Even Chance” (1965), “Planetfall” (1965), “Judas” (1967), “The Vitanuls” (1967), “Factsheet Six” (1968), “Fifth Commandment” (1970), “Fairy Tale” (1970), “The Inception of the Epoch of Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid” (1971)

3. Sudanna, Sudanna, Brian Herbert (1985)

(Uncredited cover for the 1986 edition)

From the inside cover: “The #1 hit across the universe.

On the peanut-shaped planetoid of Ut, a 15-million-year-old computer named Mamacita rules with dictatorial control. Her every whim is a steadfast rule, and no command is stronger than her ban of Sudanna, the wind that sweeps across Ut spreading the liberating sounds of music.

Hiley OIV is one of Ut’s most sonscientious inhabitants, a man so afraid of losing his head (Ut-people have very precarious necks) t hat a Bad Thought almost never enters his mind. But now his teenage daughter has fallen in love with Prussirian BBD—Ut’s most notorious outlaw—and Hiley is sure that his luck has run out. For Prussirian has broken Mamacita’s cardinal rule: he makes music…”

4. Dangerous Games, Marta Randall (1980)

(Uncredited cover for the 1st edition)

from the back cover: “THE STAKES: ALL OF OUTER SPACE, INCLUDING TAUSPACE, WHERE NO TIME EXISTS.

The opponents are the proud and peaceful Kennerin clan… Parallax, a headless economic monolith that feeds it way across the galaxies… and the beautiful catlike Tatha, who travels through Federation and Parallax circles and all of tauspace as easily as an alley cat picks its way along a back fence.

Figuring out which side she’s on is just the first in a winner-take-all series of…. DANGEROUS GAMES.”

For book reviews consult the INDEX

For cover art posts consult the INDEX