1950s

Book Review: The Bright Phoenix, Harold Mead (1955)

/ Joachim Boaz / 7 Comments

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1956 edition)

3/5 (Average)

Harold Mead’s The Bright Phoenix is a readable future ultra-regulated “perfect” State themed science fiction novel with a time-worn but proven plot. Unfortunately, the end product, despite moments of intriguing characterization and oppressive gloom, sinks into forgettable melodrama and the conclusion resorts to frustratingly obvious references to a “second coming” (of sorts).  Mead is less interested in describing the mechanisms of the “perfect” state and more interested in the slow evolution of a character coming to grips with the deficiencies of the system.  This is an admirable program that falls woefully short in part due to the paltry descriptions of the before mentioned system.  This causes our hero’s evolution to occasionally ring hollow.  The primitive but somehow “truer” pseudo-Christian civilization contacted by our hero, the fulcrum of his transformation, lacks any seductive qualities that would facilitate Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Through the View Screen, Through the Window

/ Joachim Boaz / 8 Comments

(Julian S. Krupa’s cover for the July 1947 issue of Amazing Stories)

Through the window, through the view screen cities are discovered, worlds end in searing flame,  vectors to unknown lands are plotted, the horrors of earth are left behind.  Alone in a space station an astronaut observes the fragile construction arrayed around him.  Through the window, through the view screen aliens observe our strife, loved ones watch in agony, and the culmination of our era’s scientific endeavors are arrayed in orderly rows.  

In short, the possibilities are endless.  The glass (or some scientifically advanced clear material) frames the story, we watch others watching or we see what they see while we stand among them… 

Definitely a delightful sci-fi cover art trope worth exploring.  Here are a broad selection of covers from juvenile science fiction novels, pulp magazines, edited Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XXIII (Farmer, Malzberg + et al.)

/ Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

A while back I slogged through Philip José Farmer’s dismal To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) (the worst novel ever to win the Hugo Award?) and all the increasingly terrible sequels and made a solemn vow to wait a few years before I returned to his extensive oeuvre — so, against my better judgement I picked up a copy of  Traitor to the Living (1973).  I don’t have high hopes (but I love the cover!).  I hope my two dollars were well spent.

Malzberg is shaping into my “under read/unjustly forgotten author of the year” whom I’ll showcase.  Last year’s winner was the brilliant D. G. Compton (see INDEX for reviews).  Fresh off Conversations (1975) and In The Enclosure (1973) I picked up a copy of Guernica Night (1975).  I can’t wait!

Harold Mead’s The Bright Phoenix (1955) is yet another against the oppressive state à la Orwell’s 1984… But, I’ve found that the premise generally holds up despite frequent re-interpretations…

Greenfield’s Waters of Death (1967) should be avoided — at all cost.  I’ve already written a scathing review (rant).

1. Traitor to the Living (1973), Philip José Farmer (MY REVIEW)

(Hans Ulrich Osterwalder and Ute Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XXII (Cooper + Wilhelm + Kornbluth + Merril)

/ Joachim Boaz / 6 Comments

I was so impressed with C. M. Kornbluth’s masterful collection The Explorers (1954) that I picked up a copy his 1958 collection A Mile Beyond the Moon (I own the hardback first edition but I prefer Powers’ cover below).  Also, recently inspired (again) to read more 1960s works by female authors I bought a collection of three novellas by Merril and a 1963 collection of shorts by Kate Wilhelm.  Wilhem and Merril aren’t always top-notch but worth a read (and in Wilhelm’s case, a second chance — I enjoyed Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang (1977) but I’m still not convinced it was Hugo/Nebula quality work).

Cooper’s Seed of Light (1958) is considered one of his more mature works — to the chagrin of some of his fans who prefer his more “pulpish” works — but my obsession with generation ships was my real motivation to add it to my collection.

One short story, a novel, and one of the novellas take place on generation ships!

A nice haul — a mixture of lesser known works by some famous figures.

Enjoy (the covers)!

1. Daughters of Earth (1968), Judith Merril (MY REVIEW)

(Robert Foster’s cover for Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Rocket, Field, Figure Part I

/ Joachim Boaz / 9 Comments

(Rod Dunham’s cover for the 1953 edition of Planet of the Dreamers (1953), John D. MacDonald)

First (archetypal) incarnation: rocket, field, figure.  Second incarnation: rocket with extra fins, field with unusual terrain, human staring at alien figure (s).  Repeat with virtually infinite variation.

By far one of my favorite science fiction cover tropes, rocket/field/figure evokes covers spanning the entire history of science fiction.  Rod Dunham’s cover for the 1953 edition of John D. MacDonald’s Planet of the Dreamers (above) perfectly evokes the archetype in its pure unadulterated form.  Emswiller’s cover for the 1960 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (below) uses a more traditional perspective but manipulates the field with a Continue reading →

Updates: Visit + Submit to the BSFA Award Nominated Review Site SF Mistressworks

/ Joachim Boaz / Leave a comment

   

Hello all,  Ian Sales’ wonderful SF Mistressworks (link), a review collating blog, has recently been nominated for the BSFA award (British Science Fiction Association) in the non-fiction category (link for the list).  I’ve submitted nine of my reviews of sci-fi works written by women over the last few months.  It was created in direct response to the absence of sci-fi masterpieces by women on a list by The Guardian, a lack of general knowledge in the sci-fi community about early female pioneers in the genre, and general lack of readership for their many award-winning works.

If you’ve written reviews of science fiction works by women (the novels/short story collections need to be written before 2000) please submit them as well (500 words or so is preferred)!  So, gather up any Russ, Norton, Cherryh, C. L. Moore, Merril, Brackett, Piserchia, Le Guin, MacLean, Butler, etc etc etc reviews you might have on your blog or anywhere else.  It’s a great resource for finding seldom read works/authors which deserve a greater readership. 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 →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: On the Doctor’s Table

/ Joachim Boaz / 15 Comments

(Ed Emshwiller’s cover for the 1962 edition of Recalled to Life (magazine publication 1958), Robert Silverberg)

The science fiction doctor’s table — a place of healing, a place of inhuman manipulation, unusual prosthetic limbs are attached, immortality conferred, brains are transfered, descending mechanical arms wield their scalpels, vast arenas expose the spectacle, a mad scientist’s altar for ritualistic modification/sacrifice in the name of science or personal gain (legions of super men, alien/human hybrids, etc)…

I LOVE Ed Emshwiller’s cover for the 1962 edition of Silverberg’s Recalled to Life (1958).  The book itself is suposed to be one of Silverberg’s weaker ones.  I have read Silverberg’s To Live Again (1969) — a work filled with interesting concepts which are sadly not sustained 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 →