1970s

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Ice-Covered Cities

/ Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1959 edition of We Who Survived (1959), Sterling Noel)

One of many ways science fiction authors speculate about the end (or beginning of the end/or an apocalyptic hurdle) of the human race is the coming of an Ice Age.  Such an occurrence (induced by us or the arrival of a natural cycle) would cover our cities with layers of ice — conjure the disturbing images from Gilliam’s film 12 Monkeys (1985) or Roland Emmerich’s egregious The Day After Tomorrow (2004) — forcing us to evacuate to the more inhabitable zones.  Those left behind might eek out an existence, revert to a primitive state, or die out completely…

I have a review for John Christopher’s The Long Winter (1962) in the works — Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Scenes from the Control Room

/ Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

(Malcolm Smith’s cover for the October 1953 issue of Imagination)

Inspired by some of the cover art I found for my earlier post Through the View Screen, Through the Window, I decided to focus on the image of gazing from within the control room of a spaceship (either at objects within or scenes outside the view screens).  The trope is extraordinarily effective at conveying the action of a story: the unfolding canvas of an epic battle, the tension of charting a course through the stars and nefarious nebulae, the destruction of cities, the last glance at a beautiful astronaut adrift, or even, Earth within grasp!

I’ve tried not to be redundant in the covers I use — with this Continue reading →

Book Review: The Florians, Brian M. Stableford (1976)

/ Joachim Boaz / 7 Comments

(Michael Whelan’s cover for the 1976 edition)

2/5 (Bad)

Even after the underwhelming Journey to the Center (1982) I decided to give Brian M. Stableford a second chance.  Unfortunately, The Florians (1976), the first in a six novel series about the adventures of the starship Daedalus, is even less impressive.  Both works contain a potentially fascinating premise around which the barest framework of a story is cobbled.  At least Journey the Center maintained some sense of wonder and excitement despite its incredible brevity, poor prose, disappointing ending, and dull characters.  The Florians, on the other hand, fails to conjure Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XXX (Christopher + Benford + Shaw + Frank + et al.)

/ Joachim Boaz / 16 Comments

My second batch of books from my youthful haunt (Austin, TX) is equally as varied and intriguing as the first.  I’m most interested in Pat Frank’s famous late 50s classic Alas, Babylon. Yes, a sci-fi fan like me should have read it a LONG time ago.  John Christopher’s The Long Winter (1962) should also prove a worthwhile read — an ice age hits Earth and the English main characters flee to Africa.  Shaw’s Orbitsville (1975) is the the vein of Larry Niven’s more famous Ringworld (1970) and Arthur C. Clarke’s classic Rendezvous with Rama (1972) — explorers encountering unusual alien worlds (in this case, a dyson sphere).

As always, a few stunning covers…  My favorite of the bunch is John Schoenherr’s cover for Mark Phillips’ Brain Twister (1962)…

Enjoy!  If you’ve read any of the novels few free to comment.  I’ve not read any of Benford, Frank, Mark Phillips (pseudonym for Laurence Janifer and Randall Garrett) or Platt’s works before.

1. In The Ocean of Night, Gregory Benford (1977)

(Larry Kresek’s cover for the 1977 edition) Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Acquisitions No. XXIX (Dick + White + Harrison + et al.)

/ Joachim Boaz / 24 Comments

A return to old familial haunts yields a heart warming stash of gems and a few radiating a more dubious aura…

And more Richard Powers’ covers for my growing collection….

Most importantly, I picked up my fourteenth or fifteenth Philip K. Dick novel! I will acquire ALL of them eventually.

And another Ace double — little did I know (but I should have guessed considering the egregious art and interior images) that is was sci-fi of the more comic variety.  But, I wanted at least one of Lafferty’s novels after reading a few of his impressive short stories.

Enjoy!

1. Star Surgeon, James White (1963)

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1963 edition) Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Eye[s] in the Sky

/ Joachim Boaz / 27 Comments

(Ed Valigursky’s cover for the 1957 edition of Eye in the Sky (1957), Philip K. Dick)

Inspired by Ed Valigursky’s stunning cover for the 1957 edition of Philip K. Dick’s early novel Eye in the Sky (1957), I kept on the lookout for novels with similar disembodied eyes (floating, gazing with menacing presence at fearful scurrying forms arrayed below).  I discovered that it was a common theme — sci-fi artists use eyes to illustrate otherworldly (alien, spiritual) presence, big brother-esque governmental control, inhuman powers…  Few equal the true presence of Ed Valigursky’s cover but are fascinating nevertheless.

Many years ago I read Eye in the Sky but remember little.  I was intrigued but not blown away by Simak’s Way Station (below).  Dr. Futurity (below) is waiting to be read on my shelf and Continue reading →

Book Review: The Outcasts of Heaven Belt, Joan D. Vinge (1978)

/ Joachim Boaz / 13 Comments

(Vincent Di Fate’s cover for the 1978 edition)

3.25/5 (Average)

The title of Joan D. Vinge’s first novel, The Outcasts of Heaven Belt (1978), is an homage to The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1869) by the turn of the century western writer and poet Bret Harte.  He is famous for his depictions of resourceful women in California pioneer settlements.  Vinge creates a resourceful female captain of a powerful but weaponless spaceship who finds herself beset–with only a depleted crew–by a series of challenges in the decadent, grasping, and fractured pioneer societies of Heaven Belt.  Although the often less than amicable conflict between the egalitarian society with powerful women and the male-focused pioneer cultures could be the focus of the novel, Vinge is less interested in exploring the social ramifications (à la Le Guin and other works of the previous decade — the 1960s).  Instead, this conflict provides a suitable world-building backdrop for a traditional space opera — a bedraggled but technologically Continue reading →

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 →

Book Review: Traitor to the Living, Philip José Farmer (1973)

/ Joachim Boaz / 9 Comments

(Hans Ulrich Osterwalder and Ute Osterwalder’s cover for the 1973 edition)

2.5/5 (Bad)

In disappointing fashion, Traitor to the Living (1973) follows a similar pattern to Philip José Farmer’s famous Hugo winning To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) — the fascinating premise is bogged down by blank characters and repetitive action.  Despite my fervent conviction that To Your Scattered Bodies Go is one of the worst Best Novel Hugo winners (and I’ve read a majority of them) and that the endlessly laborious sequels are a complete waste of ink, paper, and time, I gave Farmer a second chance — albeit with one of his lesser known works.  Because some of the pieces are in place in Traitor to the Living for a worthwhile novel, I hold out hope that he produced a readable work that I might be compelled to acquire (queue question: what is your favorite novel/short story/novella by Farmer?).

If you’re a Farmer completest, Traitor to the Living might be Continue reading →