Updates: Recent Acquisitions No. LXI (James E. Gunn x 5)

April 15, 2013May 6, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 13 Comments

I loved James E. Gunn’s The Joy Makers (1961) and found the collection Station in Space (1958) quite solid… Thus, I snatched up a lot of Gunn’s fix-up novels and short story collections from ebay…. It is often difficult to distinguish Gunn’s short story collections from his novels due to the fact that his favorite form tended to be the novella and novelette — after their original magazine publications they were combined into “proper novels” or existing novellas, for example ‘The Listeners’ (1968), were expanded to novel length.

Regardless, I cannot wait to read these. Which ones to do you recommend?

And some intriguing covers….

1. The Burning, James Gunn (1972) (MY REVIEW)

(Robert Foster’s cover for the 1972 edition)

From the inside flap: “Death to the scientists! The cry for blood vengeance went up all over the Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Acquisitions No. LX (Galouye 4x + Bunch)

April 1, 2013May 23, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

What a group of novels! Four novels by the highly underrated and underread 1960s/early 70s author Daniel F. Galouye — the only novel of his I’m missing is The Infinite Man (1973)… I’ve previously read his most famous work Dark Universe (1961) — here’s my review (be warned, one of my first reviews on the site, I’d like to think that I’ve improved) — but copies tend to go for around $10+ online so I didn’t own a copy until I stumbled on a great lot of his novels on ebay for a few bucks…

Just read the back covers quotes (below). They all sound disturbing and absolutely fantastic. Rainer Werner Fassbinder — yes, you read that correctly — even made a German language miniseries adaptation, Welt Am Draht (1973) (World on a Wire), of Simulacron-3 (1964). Criterion just released a DVD…. And of course, Josef Rusnak’s more famous film The Thirteenth Floor (1999) was a lose adaptation of the same novel.

Also, I spent the most I’ve ever spend on a paperback for David R. Bunch’s near masterpiece, Moderan (1971). I finished the novel last week (interlibrary loan) and had to find a copy… They are usually $18 + online but again, found a copy on ebay and made an offer. I’ll have a review of Moderan up in a few days, I promise!

1. Lords of the Psychon, Daniel F. Galouye (1963)

(Uncredited cover Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LVIV (Laumer + del Rey + Stableford + Dickson)

March 18, 2013March 18, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

An overpopulation themed novel (at least for part) by Gordon R. Dickson….

A supposedly underrated/dark novel by Brian M. Stableford (according to some, one of his best)…

An early novel in Keith Laumer’s famous Retief sequence…

And a fun juvenile by Lester del Rey….

1. The Outposter, Gordon R. Dickson (1971)

(Bruce Pennington’s cover for the 1976 edition)

From the back cover: “Destination: Oblivion. The Lottery played no favorites — if a person’s number came up, he joined the rest of the losers marked for exile from the overcrowded Continue reading →

Updates: An Incomplete List of Worthwhile Classic Science Fiction Blogs/Resources

March 1, 2013November 14, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 32 Comments

I love the idea of a community of science fiction reviewers — so I’ve put together a list of a handful of book review blogs focused on classic/slightly more esoteric science fiction. Obviously there are plenty of great blogs I’ve omitted that have reviews of new releases or only occasional vintage science fiction…. Or, blogs that refrain from reviews of vintage science fiction unless participating in certain reading challenges….

Please visit them, comment on their reviews, and browse through their back catalogues.

1] Speculiction….: An under visited /commented on blog with quality book reviews of classic science fiction — however, the reviewer, Jesse, is limited by the lack of older science fiction available to him in Poland. I especially enjoyed his reviews of Ballard’s “beautifully strange enigma” that is The Crystal World (1966) and of course, my favorite science fiction novel of all time, John Brunner’s magisterial Stand on Zanzibar (1968). An index of his reviews can be found here. He also has a good mix of newer science fiction reviews as well.

2] The PorPor Books Blog: SF and Fantasy Books 1968-1988: I find this blog Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LVIII (Tiptree, Jr. + Shaw + Bamber + Rossiter)

February 13, 2013February 25, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 11 Comments

An eclectic grab bag of books… The last remaining gifts from 2thD… And a few from bookstores I’ve visited over the past few months. Two are complete mysteries — Bamber’s The Sea is Boiling Hot (1971) and Rossiter’s Tetrasomy Two (1974) — both author’s only published sci-fi novel. I don’t have high hopes — although, the premise of the former is fantastic — domed cities and over pollution!

My second collection of Tiptree shorts — was impressed with a handful of stories in her most famous collection Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home (1973). I find her work hit or miss… Unfortunately, there are some books that I can never convince myself to review. Although published in the 80s, Byte Beautiful (1985) contains mostly 70s stories so it is firmly within my era….

And Shaw, well, Shaw is Shaw — utterly average but always (at least so far) suprisingly satisfying…

1. The Sea is Boiling Hot, George Bamber (1971) (MY REVIEW)

(Jack Gaughan’s cover for the Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LVII (del Rey + Knight + Pohl + Kornbluth + Weinbaum)

February 2, 2013July 19, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

A nice collection of old, venerable, classic authors…. I’ve yet to read any of Weinbaum’s pulp — a short story collection is probably a good place to start…. I was somewhat impressed with Lester del Rey’s The Eleventh Commandment (1962) so I look forward to his short stories — and, the fantastic Richard Powers collage cover will be a welcome addition to my collection.

1. A Martian Odyssey (variant title: A Martian Odyssey and Other Classics of Science Fiction), Stanley G. Weinbaum (1962) (MY REVIEW)

(Robert E. Shultz’s cover for the 1966 edition) Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LVI (Herbert + Pohl + Kornbluth + Harrison + Wouk)

January 16, 2013January 19, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 15 Comments

More Christmas gifts and winter break purchases….

Another Herbert non-Dune novel with a great vat baby fetus cover by the indomitable Lehr…

Another Pohl + Kornbluth 50s satire about worlds sunk into savage degeneration….

A lesser known illustrated utopian space fable by the Pulitzer Prize winning Herman Wouk… I really have no idea what to expect from this one.

And an alternate history sci-fi adventure by Harry Harrison.

1. Tunnel Through the Deeps (variant title: A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!), Harry Harrison (1972)

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1974 edition) Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XLVV (Herbert + Anderson + Brackett + Kornbluth)

January 7, 2013July 26, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

More Christmas gifts + Winter break used bookstore finds….

Two more Richard Powers covers from the 50s…

A non-Dune Frank Herbert find with a wonderful Vincent Di Fate cover… I’ve been somewhat ambivalent with Herbert’s non-Dune corpus in the last few years. A 50s Poul Anderson adventure, a later Leigh Brackett novel, and another scathing satire from the delightful pen of C. M. Kornbluth…

1. The God Makers, Frank Herbert (1972) (MY REVIEW)