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

February 13, 2012April 14, 2013 / 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

February 8, 2012June 25, 2012 / 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 →

Book Review: The Man in the Maze, Robert Silverberg (1969)

February 5, 2012January 14, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 30 Comments

(Ron Walotsky’s cover for the 1978 edition)

4.5/5 (Very Good)

The Man in the Maze (1969) is yet another glorious novel from Silverberg’s best period (1967-1975). Silverberg adeptly recasts Sophocles’ play Philoctetes (perhaps more of a loose inspiration) in an inventive and fully realized science fiction future where man has newly come into contact with interstellar beings. As with some of his more serious works (The World Inside, Downward to the Earth, Hawksbill Station, etc.) the tone is that of a dark and brooding rumination. The setting, a massive and unexplained ancient maze/city on the planet of Lemnos, is the perfect backdrop for the thought-provoking human drama that unfolds.

Plot Summary

Our hero, Richard Muller, is a one-time diplomat famous Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XXI (Silverberg + Compton + Malzberg + Anderson)

January 28, 2012April 30, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

A few more Christmas gift card purchases…

Dying Inside (1972) is often considered one of Silverberg’s best works and I can’t wait to read it (I will after my soon to be hellish weekend grading ~60 undergrad history papers). Despite a painfully negative review on Amazon slamming Compton’s The Silent Multitude (1967) as a dull imitation of J. G. Ballard, it is high on my to read list — almost any experimental (allegorical) work exploring a crumbling city intrigues me. Malzberg’s Conversations (1975) was a shot in the dark — it might be the least read of any of his novels — hence, my interest.

Pohl Anderson is almost always worth reading — even his middling short stories are fun.

Enjoy!

1. Dying Inside, Robert Silverberg (1972)

(Jerry Thorp’s cover for Continue reading →

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

January 23, 2012January 24, 2012 / 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 →

Adventures in (Bad) Science Fiction Cover Art: Miserable Monday No. III (Through the Purple Haze)

January 23, 2012January 23, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 5 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1971 edition of Paradise is Not Enough (1970), Michael Elder)

My third Miserable Monday installment! (part I, part II)

Evil lurks behind purple clouds — a mascara-eyed man be-speckled with sparkling stars leers from the purple haze (the aphrodisiacal gases of paradise?), a goggled hero clutches his chest due to the horrific color palette sheeting towards them (a purple god’s purple tears?)(“O no! Run! Shall we run from the purple and green atomic rays?”), and real humans aren’t purple, so, the androids must be — to blend in with the real humans? or, are all humans purple but only androids see the purple spectrum? Serious questions.

No wonder the cover artists aren’t credited!

Enjoy, and try not to Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Art: Doomed Cities Part II (migrating icebergs, firestorms, the horsemen of the apocalypse)

January 22, 2012January 22, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 7 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1963 edition of Doomsday, 1999 (variant title: Midge), Paul MacTyre)

Behold Part II of my popular series on the doomed city in science fiction cover art (see Part I). A doomsday that never happened, a tank and a skeletal reminder of a past battle — a ruined city, colliding stars, colliding planets…

Behold the august ruins of our people, our cities, our achievements. If there’s anyone still left.

As always, are the books/authors worth reading? Continue reading →

Book Review: Beyond the Sealed World, Rena Vale (1965*)

January 21, 2012January 30, 2021 / 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 →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XX (Clifton + Aldiss + et al.)

January 13, 2012September 16, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

Christmas giftcard expenditures continue…

An interesting collection of acquisitions — Clifton’s Eight Keys to Eden (1960) is considered, at least by the reviews I’ve found online, to be a little read classic — i.e. my kind of sci-fi novel. Aldiss always has wonderful ideas and The Long Afternoon of Earth (variant title: Hothouse) is generally proclaimed one of his best — I’m still waiting for work which garners the same magic as his masterpiece Non-stop (variant title: Starship) (1958).

After reading Kornbluth’s masterful short story collection The Explorers (1953) I felt obligated to pick up a copy of one of the more famous Pohl + Kornbluth collaborations, Gladiator-In-Law (1954).

A few intriguing Malzberg stories in Future City (1973) compelled me to snatch one of his lesser known novels off of the shelf — In The Enclosure (1973) tells the story of an alien tortured by his human captives. I find Malzberg’s relentlessly dark visions very appealing… He has a HUGE catalog I’ve yet to read.

1. The Long Afternoon of Earth (variant title: Hothouse), Brian Aldiss (1962)