John Collier

Short Book Reviews: John Collier’s Tom’s A-Cold (1933), Kenneth Bulmer’s The Insane City (1971), and Peter Tate’s The Thinking Seat (fix-up 1969)

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

Note: My read but “waiting to be reviewed pile” is growing. Short rumination/tangents/impressions are a way to get through the stack before my memory and will fades. My website partially serves as a record of what I have read and a memory palace for future projects. Stay tuned for more detailed and analytical reviews.

1. John Collier’s Tom’s A-Cold (1933)

  • Uncredited cover for the 1st edition

4.25/5 (Very Good)

If it were not for my general writing slump with a growing, and demoralizing, backlog to cover, I’d give John Collier’s Tom’s A-Cold (variant title: Full Circle) (1933) a full review. It’s the surprise of the year so far. According to SF Encyclopedia, John Collier (1901-1980) is best known for his “rather precious short stories” featuring “acerbic snap” endings common to the “disillusioned, wary kind of slick fantasy.” I can’t say that’s a writing style that appeals to me. In stark (and Boaz approved) contrast, John Clute characterizes Tom’s A-Cold as “radically dissimilar to his most familiar work.”

Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Purchases No. CCCXLIX (Aldous Huxley, Joyce Thompson, John Collier, and an anthology of stories from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)

/ Joachim Boaz / 18 Comments

Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?

1. The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, 8th Series, ed. Anthony Boucher (1959)

  • Ed Emshwiller’s cover for the 1963 edition

From the back cover: No summary blurb.

Contents: C. S. Lewis’ “Ministering Angels” (1955), Poul Anderson’s “Backwardness” (1958), Kit Reed’s “The Wait” (1958), Isaac Asimov’s “The Up-to-Date Sorcerer” (1958), Fritz Leiber’s “A Deskful of Girls” (1958), Damon Knight’s “Eripmav” (1958), Brian W. Aldiss’ “Poor Little Warrior!’ (1958), Shirley Jackson’s “The Omen” (1958), Jules Verne’s “Gilt Braltar” (1887), Avram Davidson’s “The Grantha Sighting” (1958), C. M. Kornbluth’s “Theory of Rocketry” (1958), John Shepley’s “Gorilla Suit” (1958), Zenna Henderson’s “Captivity” (1958), and Alfred Bester’s “The Men Who Murdered Mohammed” (1958)

Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Purchases No. CCCXLVIII (Eric Frank Russell, Ben Bova, Pat Frank, and John Collier)

/ Joachim Boaz / 17 Comments

Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?

1. Men, Martians, and Machines, Eric Frank Russell (1955)

  • Paul Lehr’s–uncredited but certainly his style–cover for the 1965 edition

From the back cover: “VOYAGE OF THE MARATHON. Even at the time when space ships were making regular voyages across the universe, the MARATHON was a remarkable craft. Powered by the Flettner system, its speed was so great that for the first time exploration of the outer galaxies was made possible.

Continue reading →