Updates + Articles

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. VI

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

I’ve held to my promise not to buy any more books this summer considering I have at least 40 unread sci-fi books looming over my shoulder.   However, other people are welcome to procure books FOR me! And they have — all of the following were gifts! Thank you!

1. The Last Starship from Earth (1968), John Boyd (MY REVIEW)

I’ve read multiple reviews which claim that John Boyd’s The Last Starship from Earth is a lost classic.  However, opinion are far from unanimous (for example, the sci-fi author Joanna Russ wrote a scathing review blaming the publishers for subjecting her and fellow readers to Continue reading →

Update: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. V

/ Joachim Boaz / 14 Comments

I promised not to buy any more books over the summer unless I ran out — alas, Memorial Day Sale at one of the best Half Price Books in the country (Austin) is a “bad” combination.  I had to reduce my gigantic pile by half before I dared approach the buy counter….

I’m proud of this haul!

1. Hawksbill Station (1968), Robert Silverberg (MY REVIEW)

I’ve wanted to procure Hawksbill Station for quite a while — the premise is fantastic, five dangerous prisoners are held at Hawksbill Station located in the Cambrian era… One bizarre use of time travel!  I hope Silverberg is at his best à la The World Inside and Downward to the Earth.

2. Master of Life and Death, Robert Continue reading →

Science Fiction Inspired Song: Van der Graaf Generator’s ‘Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End’ (1976)

/ Joachim Boaz / 2 Comments

Van der Graaf Generator is one of my favorite prog-rock bands active in the late 60s and 70s.  Although this isn’t one of their best songs, ‘Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End’ from the album Still Life (1976) perfectly fits the theme of this sci-fi inspired song series.  The song is directly inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal novel Childhood’s End (1953) which postulates a future where aliens usher in the next stage of human Continue reading →

Update: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. IV

/ Joachim Boaz / 6 Comments

I’ve finally acquired enough science fiction books to hold me (hopefully) over the summer YET few enough that I’ll clear out 90% of previous unread novels languishing in dark forgotten corners of my bookshelves….  A valiant statement I know.  Most likely more will arrive mysteriously in the mail — when I sleepwalk I buy books (books in the mail = evidence of sleepwalking)…

1. The Time Hoppers, Robert Silverberg (1967) (MY REVIEW)

https://i0.wp.com/www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/b/b4/THTMHPPRSC1968.jpg

Another overpopulation themed novel!  From the few reviews I’ve read this pales in Continue reading →

Update: Sci-fi about the social ramifications of overpopulation, a call for suggestions

/ Joachim Boaz / 9 Comments

    

I need reading suggestions.

After reading John Brunner’s Hugo winning masterpiece Stand on Zanzibar (1968) a few years back I became entranced by science fiction exploring social themes (intelligently) extrapolated from a future Earth condition of extreme overpopulation.  In the recent months I’ve read and reviewed a glut of similarly themed works of uneven quality.  Many of these works were inspired by Paul and Anne Ehrlich’s non-fiction The Population Bomb (1968) which warned of the mass starvation of humans in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of overpopulation. Continue reading →

Update: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. III

/ Joachim Boaz / 2 Comments

1. The Complete Stories of J. G. Ballard, J. G. Ballard (2009)

My girlfriend gave me this MASSIVE (1196 pages) newly released volume of all of Ballard’s short stories  (arranged in chronological order) for my birthday.  I’m extremely excited because I enjoyed my first Ballard work, High-Rise (1975).  Does anyone have a particular story which I should start with? Continue reading →