1950s

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Underwater Expeditions (futuristic submarines, unusual sea life, underwater cities) Part I

/ Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

(Paul Lehr’s cover for the 1968 edition of Conquerors from the Darkness (1965), Robert Silverberg)

A cornucopia of underwater sci-fi cover art images!  As always, Paul Lehr’s covers are among my favorite for he masterfully renders the green-blue depths and textures of water inundated worlds (especially above, Conquerers from the Darkness).  Watery worlds evoke unusual underwater life, a place fraught with danger where humans and aliens meet, unusual cityscapes (domes, water impervious shields, a plethora of transport craft) and of course, the vehicles for transportation (for example below, the futuristic submarine in Treasure of the Black Flacon and 21st Century Submarine, etc)  evoke the same giddy sense of adventure as when first reading Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) or watching Richard Fleischer’s surprisingly good 1954 film adaptation of the novel.

There are countless films, sci-fi TV shows, novels, short stories Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Domed Cities of the Future Part II

/ Joachim Boaz / 164 Comments

(Dean Ellis’ cover for the 1970 edition of Eight Against Utopia (1967), Douglas R. Mason)

Part II of my sci-fi art series on domed cities of the future (perhaps doomed as well) — part I.

Glass-domed against pollution, the ravages of evil space creatures, the vacuum of space (below: April, 1954 edition of If), adverse climates/atmospheres (below: The Sands of Mars, Trouble on Titan)?  Or, nagging fears that something might come — whatever it might be.  And of course, to keep people in (above: Eight Against Utopia).   Some of these seemingly fragile domes contain devastating weapons (below: The Lunar Eye), or are part of a vast computer network (below: Matrix), or contain the last remnants of a previous metropolis (below: The Years of the City)

Some truly wonderful works of art….  Are any of the books Continue reading →

Book Review: Daughters of Earth, Judith Merril (1968)

/ Joachim Boaz / 14 Comments

daughters of earth

(Robert Foster’s cover for the 1970 edition)

4/5 (Good)

Judith Merril was not only an important early science fiction author of novels and short stories but a political activist and a member of the influential 1940s sci-fi group known as the Futurians (members included her husband Frederik Pohl, James Blish, Damon Knight, David A. Wollheim, C. M. Kornbluth, et al.).  Her fascinating collection, Daughters of Earth (1968), contains three novellas from the 1950s: ‘Project Nursemaid’ (1955), the highlight of the collection — ‘Daughters of Earth’ (1952), and the underwhelming ‘Homecalling’ (1956).  

All three contain a plethora of female characters Continue reading →

Book Review: The Dark Side of the Earth, Alfred Bester (1964)

/ Joachim Boaz / 23 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1964 edition)

3/5 (Average)

Despite enjoying Alfred Bester’s famous novels The Demolished Man (1952) and The Stars My Destination (1956), I found his short stories in The Dark Side of the Earth (1964) on the whole nowhere near as masterful.  Yes, they are witty, comedic, playful, silly, pseudo-intellectual (references to film directors such as De Sica, etc), and on occasion refreshingly experimental in structure (‘The Pi Man’).  Of those adjectives, ‘silly’ is the most constant.

Bester is at his best when he blends his satirical/comedic side with a fascinating concept — for example, an inventive theory of time travel in ‘The Man Who Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XXVII (Gerrold, Panshin, Shaw, et al.)

/ Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

My second to last backlog acquisitions post from Spring Break — a fruitful sci-fi hunting adventure indeed!

With my PhD Qualifying exams complete (proposal defense in months and months and months), I will actually get around to posting sci-fi art related (and perhaps get back to my film reviews) and reading my massive to read pile.

Enjoy!

1. Space Skimmer (1972), David Gerrold.  Another author whom I know little about and haven’t read yet.  As a Star Trek fan I know that he submitted the script that became The Trouble With Tribbles…

(Dean Ellis’ cover for Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: The Space Age Family

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

(Malcolm Smith’s cover for the 1951 edition of Space on My Hands (1951), Frederic Brown)

I’ve scrounged through my collection of cover images over and over again trying to find families — and not alien families being slaughtered by intrepid earthmen à la The Red Planet (below).  Simply put, sci-fi generally revolves around characters who set off on their own, occasionally (at the end) finding a spouse (alien or not) and starting a family.  Heinlein’s juveniles are a great example — boy from broken family (dead mother, abandoned orphan…) learns all the math necessary for navigating in space from a book, sets off (or stows away) in the nearest possible spaceship and goes on grand adventures — perhaps killing some alien families along the way…..

I’ve still managed to find a few.  The best Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XXVI (Malzberg + Wells + Gunn +Pohl)

/ Joachim Boaz / 12 Comments

A nice (varied) selection of finds….

I’ve continued to be on the lookout for Malzberg’s novels and, due to the proliferation of comments by my readers about what is his best, I’ve acquiesced and picked up a copy of his acknowledged masterpiece, Beyond Apollo (1972).  I suspect it will be as good as In The Enclosure (1973).

If there is any area (besides sci-fi from the 21st century) that I haven’t read a good portion of the classics, it’s works from around the turn of the century.  I have read a large swathe of Verne’s works and from beginning of the 20th century  all of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter series — but, only a few of H. G. Wells’ oeuvre (The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine).  So, when I came across a 60s edition of The First Men in the Moon (1901) with a nostalgic looking cover I snatched it up!

The two short story collections are unknown commodities: Frederick Pohl’s In The Problem Pit (1976) and James Gunn’s Station in Space (1958).  I’ve never heard of Gunn and sort of dislike what I’ve read of Pohl so far.  Regardless, both works have intriguing covers!

Enjoy!

1. Beyond Apollo, Barry Malzberg (1972)

(Don Maitz’ cover for Continue reading →

Book Review: The Falling Torch, Algis Budrys (1959)

/ Joachim Boaz / 12 Comments

(Bob Engle’s cover for the 1959 edition)

3.25/5 (Vaguely Good)

A smile, or tears, perhaps.  Tears are easier than laughter.  Tears need no gust of breath, as laughter must though breath is short — tears do not crack the muscles of the back or make the jaws ache when the jaws are sore-gummed from the artificial teeth — yes old men’s or old women’s gentle tears; these too are safe; not grown men’s sobs, but children’s tears;  not children’s tantrum-cries but children’s tears upon the moment when they learn that, in all justice, children, too, can fairly died–those are the tears that we regain when we are very old (pg 149).

Algis Budrys’ The Falling Torch (1959) is on the surface yet another simplistic brave oppressed mankind rebelling against the alien invaders who have conquered Earth novel à la Aldiss’ Bow Down to Nul (variant title: The Interpreter) (1960) and the ilk.  And I was deluded into thinking it was Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XXV (Silverberg + Dickson + Bester + et al.)

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

I have a substantial backlog of purchases from my “productive” book hunting Spring Break in Texas….

I’ve read Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man (1952), which I loved, and The Stars My Destination (1956), which I mostly enjoyed, however I’ve rarely seen his short story collections in used book stores.  I snatched up the gorgeous covered The Dark Side of the Earth (1956).  I suspect Bester is even better at short stories than his novel length works….

The Time of the Great Freeze (1964) is considered one of Robert Silverberg’s best pulp works.  On indirect advise of my friend Michael Dalke at Potpourri of Science Fiction Literature, I’ve procured more of Gordon R. Dickson’s short works…  Thankfully, he hasn’t reviewed the collection The Star Road (1973) yet (I think) — we have a “rivalry.”  Haha.

I’ve already reviewed the short story collection edited by Donald Wollheim, The End of the World (1956) (MY REVIEW), and highly recommend it. A few of the stories are duds but two are in my top 5 short work list.  Philip K. Dick’s ‘Impostor’ (1953) alone is reason enough to track down the volume.

1. The Dark Side of the Earth (1964), Alfred Bester (MY REVIEW)

(Uncredited cover for the 1964 edition) Continue reading →