(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
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)
(Uncredited cover for the 1962 edition) Continue reading
(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
(Kelly Freas’ cover for the 1972 edition)
3.75/5 (Good)
First, a snarky comment about Kelly Freas’ unfortunate cover art — I can’t help but giggle at the imposing sci-fi behemoth cityscape which accidentally wandered onto a Thomas Kinkade, “Painter of Light” (or, as I call him, “The Painter of Kitsch”) Christmas tableau. Kelly Freas’ fuzzy light, happy-budget-hotel-color-scheme art seldom impresses me. Perhaps I’m too harsh….
On the other less caustic hand, Louis Trimble’s The City Machine is a surprisingly intriguing blend of allegory and sci-fi tale. In line with my previous Continue reading
(Uncredited cover for the 1960 edition of The 22nd Century (1954), John Christopher)
There’s no better way to start off the new year than a gallery of science fiction covers depicting rampant imagination, unlimited promise. Some of us probably wish for mechanisms that conjure extraordinary feats of telepathy or the throbbing delights (avoiding all the pitfalls, of course) of a wisdom inundated supermind (well, I do at least).
Regardless, depicting extraordinary intelligence — whether harnessed for nefarious schemes or not — is a common trope: gigantic brains! unusual metal helmets! exploding heads replete with spectral fires! rays darting from eyes! otherworldly auras encircling heads, emanating symbols Continue reading
(Uncredited cover for the 1970 first edition)
3.5/5 (Good)
Magellan (1970), Colin Anderson’s only science fiction publication, is an inventive but emotionally hollow novel, overly brief, and lacking in sufficient prose to adequately convey the lengthy allegorical sequences. It is a shame that Colin Anderson didn’t write other science fiction works because this one holds great potential. The future evolution of mankind — waiting to be subsumed into a computer of their own making — is a fascinating premise. The tepid and unadventurous prose conflicts with the grand and audacious subject matter.
Brief Plot Summary (limited Continue reading
Here are my favorite films and science fiction novels I’ve reviewed this year (and some other interesting categories) with links to my reviews….
Watch them! Read them! Gaze at them! (the array below….)
The World Inside (1971), Robert Silverberg (REVIEW) 5/5 (Masterpiece)
Silverberg’s The World Inside is a fascinating take on the theme of overpopulation — what if society was organized towards a single goal, propagation? What would society look like? What position in society would women occupy? Men? What would cities look like? Hallways? Rooms? Institutions? What happens to those who don’t fit in? Or, can’t have children?
The Unsleeping Eye (variant title: Continue reading
(Jack Gaughn’s cover for the 1964 edition of Three Worlds to Conquer (1964), Poul Anderson)
I spend a substantial amount of time looking through the sci-fi publisher catalogues of Ace, Pyramid Books, Dell, Doubleday, Signet, Ballantine, etc for both books to read and interesting covers that fit into various themes for my Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art posts (INDEX).
While perusing I’m occasionally baffled by covers that I’ve sworn I’ve seen on other books — and lo and behold, publishers sold art to different publishers, often lesser-known and unable to commission their own Continue reading
Half-Price Books in Dallas, Texas (its first location!) = bliss.
9 books = only 12 dollars. (curtesy of my girlfriend’s parents’ pre-Christmas gift)
What an amazing haul — and if I had known they were only going to be twelve dollars I would have picked up nine more. Lots of Silverberg from his glory years… Generation ships… City building machines… Weird psychic forcefields out beyond Pluto… Vietnam army camps experimenting with intelligence enhancing (and death inducing) syphilis strains…
1. Camp Concentration, Thomas M. Disch (1972)
(Uncredited cover for the 1971 edition) Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 