After a long time without purchasing books I’ve published two Recent Acquisition lists in quick succession! Visiting parents = free books + many thanks. The haul wasn’t the best but I left with a fun selection of works by Andre Norton and Robert Silverberg.
Some of the covers are great (especially Norton’s Sargasso in Space)!
Enjoy!
1. Star Born, Andre Norton (1957)
(Virgil Finlay’s cover for the 1957 edition) Continue reading
Over the last months I’ve restrained myself from impulsive science fiction purchases considering the massive pile of books I still need to read — however, a stop at Half-Price books while visiting my nostalgic onetime home of Austin, TX was too good to pass up.
And lo and behold, I procured a first edition Philip K. Dick novel with a gorgeous Jerome Podwil cover, an underrated novel by James White, one future pastoral vision by Simak, and a collection of short stories (Malzberg, Herbert, Lafferty, Silverberg, Scortia, Ellison) edited by Elwood about future metropolises — a wonderful edition to my collection considering the plethora of sci-fi city related cover art posts I’ve written as of late (Elevated Cities Part I, Part II, Richard Power’s Surrealistic Cityscapes).
Enjoy!
1. The Crack in Space (1966), Philip K. Dick
(Jerome Podwil’s cover for the 1966 edition)
Michael (2theD), one of my friends whose reviews on Amazon I’ve been compulsively reading, has just started a review blog (on blogspot) called the Potpourri of Science Fiction Literature.
(the titles above are a small sample of the works Continue reading
A few fellow History grad students and I (and two or three from various departments — Gender Studies, English) have cobbled together a science fiction reading group list for this fall and spring: mainly social sci-fi by female authors along with a few random gems by Ballard (The Drowned World), Silverberg (The World Inside), and Delany (Nova). I wasn’t going to buy any sci-fi books this semester. I promise. That is before we formed our reading group! So, I had to pick up the few works on our list that I didn’t already own.
What a haul!
1. The Drowned World (1962), J. G. Ballard
1. The Trial of Terra (1962), Jack Williamson (MY REVIEW)
I’ve only read one of Jack Williamson’s novels co-authored with Frederik Pohl The Reefs of Space (1964) so I thought I’d pick up a solo effort. I don’t have high hopes but the general plot from the back cover sounds a lot like Star Trek’s Prime directive: “The Men of Earth were on the verge of breaking into space. The first of their manned moon rockets was on its way to Luna. Now, after ten thousand years, the celestial Continue reading
Gifts! Gifts! A varied haul — Spinrad, Herbert, Dickson, Niven, Norton…
1. The Solarians (1966), Norman Spinrad
Before Norman Spinrad’s metafictional if Hitler wrote a pulp extravaganza The Iron Dream (1972) and Bug Jack Barron (1969) there was The Solarians… Continue reading
Success (i.e. infrequent purchases)! Only three new but unknown/fascinating/and potentially interesting) acquisitions to report….
1. The Alien Way (1965), Gordon R. Dickson (MY REVIEW HERE)
I’ve not read any of Gordon R. Dickson’s substantial corpus of novels. Yes, I need to pick up a copy of his classic work Dorsai! but, military sci-fi has never Continue reading
My month of infrequent posts is over — I’ve returned to Austin after a month long sojourn across Colorado, New Mexico, France and Italy…. So, what do I do in my jet lagged state? Head to the Half Price Books. Not the best haul this time but a few potentially interesting reads.
1. Witch World (1963), Andre Norton
I’ve yet to read any of Andre Norton’s immense number of novels. Not knowing exactly where to start I picked up what is generally considered among her best works — Witch World (1963). It was nominated for the 1964 Hugo award for Best novel and often places in best Fantasy/Sci-fi lists. And the cover is Continue reading
Austin’s Half Price Books will be my downfall. I’ve broken my promise not to buy any more science fiction books this summer…
1. The Big Jump (1955), Leigh Brackett (MY REVIEW)
I’ve yet to read a work by the famous female sci-fi writer and screenwriter (The Big Sleep, The Empire Strikes Back, Rio Bravo, El Dorado) Leigh Brackett. I look forward to this “pulp” work with great Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 