SF Book Reviews

Book Review: Eight Keys to Eden, Mark Clifton (1960)

/ Joachim Boaz / 24 Comments

(Ralph Brillhart’s cover for the 1962 edition)

3.25/5 (Average)

Mark Clifton’s readable and thought-provoking Eight Keys to Eden (1960) has been unfortunately overshadowed by his dismal failure, They’d Rather Be Right (1955) (co-written with Frank Riley), which is generally considered the worst novel ever to win the Hugo Award.  Although I wouldn’t classify Eight Keys to Eden as a masterpiece, the novel does contains an original premise, good plotting, and sufficiently thought out “pseudo-intellectual” content that is only overbearing at the work’s climax.  The serious nature of the premise is weakened by a forced strain of unfunny “humor” that creeps in at the wrong moments.  Also, a complete lack of character development makes us care little for the challenges Continue reading →

Book Review: The Man in the Maze, Robert Silverberg (1969)

/ Joachim Boaz / 30 Comments

(Ron Walotsky’s cover for the 1978 edition)

4.5/5 (Very Good)

The Man in the Maze (1969) is yet another glorious novel from Silverberg’s best period (1967-1975).  Silverberg adeptly recasts Sophocles’ play Philoctetes (perhaps more of a loose inspiration) in an inventive and fully realized science fiction future where man has newly come into contact with interstellar beings.  As with some of his more serious works (The World Inside, Downward to the Earth, Hawksbill Station, etc.) the tone is that of a dark and brooding rumination.  The setting, a massive and unexplained ancient maze/city on the planet of Lemnos, is the perfect backdrop for the thought-provoking human drama that unfolds.

Plot Summary

Our hero, Richard Muller, is a one-time diplomat famous Continue reading →

Book Review: Conversations, Barry N. Malzberg (1975)

/ Joachim Boaz / 12 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1975 edition)

3.25/5 (Average)

“Here I live.  Twenty up, twenty down, me in the middle with the Group.  Twenty up, broken gray and movement to the distance, twenty down to the landing, farther out the arena.  Gray up, landing down, me forever in the middle (1).”

Malzberg’s novella (89 pages), Conversations (1975), distills the common future dystopia tropes into an occasionally poignant but unremarkable young adult novel.  By young adult I mean completely suitable for young readers interested in science fiction (Malzberg fans know his usual relentlessly dark fare often verges on crass/risque).  I was unable to glean any information from the web on the work — only two or three of Malzberg’s extensive canon (late 60s-early 80s) receive any attention — so I had no idea that it was for younger readers.  A shot in the dark…

The main downfall of the work is the overly simplistic setting Continue reading →

Book Review: Beyond the Sealed World, Rena Vale (1965*)

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1965 edition)

2/5 (Bad)

*Concerning the publication date: Rena Vale’s Beyond the Sealed World was written in the 50s and sold to Shasta press.  However, the press went bankrupt and the novel remained unpublished until 1965.  No wonder it took forever for another press to pick it up….

Before Rena Vale became a science fiction author she was a secretary for the California State Assembly Committee on Un-American activities.  In an affidavit she detailed her own experiences as a member of the Communist party and implicated famous individuals she worked with including Lucille Ball (of I Love Lucy fame), novelist John Steinbeck, actress Gale Sodergaard, and various others!  Wonderful.

I’m not going to lie but this piqued Continue reading →

Book Review: The Explorers, C. M. Kornbluth (1954)

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1954 edition)

collated rating: 4/5 (Good)

I’ve stayed away from C. M. Kornbluth for far too long.  I read Kornbluth and Pohl’s The Space Merchants (1953) when I was quite young and was put off for some unexplainable reason.  What a shame!  This collection of short stories and novelettes contains some of the best short works I’ve ever read from the 50s (a few of Philip K. Dick’s early works are just as good).  As with The Space Merchants, Kornbluth exposes (in an often satirical manner) the dark underbelly of the usually glamourous 50s accounts of space travel, interplanetary trade, and the devastating social ramifications of technology on astronauts, new cultures, etc.  Kornbluth is equally adept at infusing his work with devastating commentary on American society.

This collection is brilliant throughout — only the annoying silly Continue reading →

Book Review: The City Machine, Louis Trimble (1972)

/ Joachim Boaz / 9 Comments

THCTMCHNGH1972

(Kelly Freas’ cover for the 1972 edition)

3.75/5 (Good)

First, a snarky comment about Kelly Freas’ unfortunate cover art — I can’t help but giggle at the imposing sci-fi behemoth cityscape which accidentally wandered onto a Thomas Kinkade, “Painter of Light” (or, as I call him, “The Painter of Kitsch”) Christmas tableau.  Kelly Freas’ fuzzy light, happy-budget-hotel-color-scheme art seldom impresses me.  Perhaps I’m too harsh….

On the other less caustic hand, Louis Trimble’s The City Machine is a surprisingly intriguing blend of allegory and sci-fi tale.  In line with my previous Continue reading →

Book Review: Magellan, Colin Anderson (1970)

/ Joachim Boaz / 6 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1970 first edition)

3.5/5 (Good)

Magellan (1970), Colin Anderson’s only science fiction publication, is an inventive but emotionally hollow novel, overly brief, and lacking in sufficient prose to adequately convey the lengthy allegorical sequences.  It is a shame that Colin Anderson didn’t write other science fiction works because this one holds great potential.  The future evolution of mankind — waiting to be subsumed into a computer of their own making — is a fascinating premise.  The tepid  and unadventurous prose conflicts with the grand and audacious subject matter.

Brief Plot Summary (limited Continue reading →

Book Review: The Watch Below, James White (1966)

/ Joachim Boaz / 15 Comments

(George Ziel’s cover for 1966 Ballantine edition)

4/5 (Good)

James White, famous for his Sector General series, spins a disturbing tale of two isolated and decaying societies — one alien, one human.  Without doubt the work demands a certain suspension of disbelief.  The isolated human society half of the premise comes off as highly artificial/improbably/impossible (and, well, bluntly put, hokey).  I found the alien half of the story line a more “realistic” situation but less emotionally involving as the human half.  White has difficultly meshing the trans-generational nature of both story lines — and the inevitable intersection at the end is predictable, anti-climactic, and dents the great appeal of the central portion of the work.

Lest this dissuade you, White’s dark vision is a transfixing take on the generation ship (literally) — how would a society descended from five individuals evolve for a hundred years trapped Continue reading →

Book Review: Future City, ed. Roger Elwood (1973)

/ Joachim Boaz / 15 Comments

3.25/5 (Average)

According to Future City, the cities of the future are to be avoided at all costs.  There are no utopias here — only overpopulation, pollution, racial warfare, natural disasters, robot takeovers, and eventual reversion to primitivism!  But there’s a trajectory!  In fact, Roger Elwood, the editor of the volume, asked for new stories that fit along this arc.  Elwood claims that there are twenty-two leading science-fiction writers who contributed to the volume.  Unfortunately, three of these leading authors don’t submit stories: Tom Disch contributes a one page poem, Clifford D. Simak a brief introduction, and Frederick Pohl a short afterword.  Also, two of the twenty-two are monikers for Barry N. Malzberg.  Famous authors like Frank Herbert and Ellison contribute substandard short stories.  Many of the other leading figures are not “leading figures” in any sense of the word!

As with most collections there are gems AND complete blunders.  Robert Silverberg, R. A. Lafferty, Ben Bova (and others) all contribute thought-provoking stories making this collection Continue reading →