4.5/5 (Very Good)
Nominated for the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novel
“The ground was covered with old names…” (76)
Joanna Russ, famous for her feminist sci-fi novel The Female Man (1975), weaves together a bizarre (and difficult) novel filled with strange images, peculiar characters, and a fragmented/layered/bewildering narrative structure. And Chaos Died (1970) is a startlingly original take on the staple sci-fi Continue reading
Van der Graaf Generator is one of my favorite prog-rock bands active in the late 60s and 70s. Although this isn’t one of their best songs, ‘Childlike Faith in Childhood’s End’ from the album Still Life (1976) perfectly fits the theme of this sci-fi inspired song series. The song is directly inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal novel Childhood’s End (1953) which postulates a future where aliens usher in the next stage of human Continue reading
5/10 (Average)
Continuing my nascent series of episode by episode blog posts of Space: 1999 (1975) I present Episode 2, season 1 ‘A Matter of Life and Death.’
Plot Summary (spoilers — inherent in the very nature of this sci-fi episode post series because endings are the easiest to rant about)
Moonbase Alpha, hurtling across space, comes into contact with its first potentially inhabitable Continue reading
I’ve finally acquired enough science fiction books to hold me (hopefully) over the summer YET few enough that I’ll clear out 90% of previous unread novels languishing in dark forgotten corners of my bookshelves…. A valiant statement I know. Most likely more will arrive mysteriously in the mail — when I sleepwalk I buy books (books in the mail = evidence of sleepwalking)…
1. The Time Hoppers, Robert Silverberg (1967) (MY REVIEW)
Another overpopulation themed novel! From the few reviews I’ve read this pales in Continue reading
1971 Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel
3.75/5 (Good)
D. G. Compton’s novel The Steel Crocodile (1971) is a thoughtful yet ultimately unspectacular exploration of the intersection of religion and science. Although the work is nowhere near the level of Compton’s masterpieces (Synthajoy, The Unsleeping Eye), it infinitely surpasses the later The Missionaries (1972) which attempted to explore similar themes. I find his strong female characters Continue reading
Everyone! I’ve decided to start a new series of posts! An episode by episode log of my reactions (including, but not limited to rants, ravings, tangential ruminations, mutterings, and indecipherable utterances) to Space: 1999 (1975-1977). I’ve never seen the show before and don’t have very high expectations. But with 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired visuals and some 70s flare (see the hilarious costumes of the cast image below), how bad can it be? (haha). A general naïveté (on my part) Continue reading
Nektar, an English band founded in Germany, is another virtually forgotten group restricted mostly to the more esoteric of psychedelic music circles. Their debut album, Journey to the Center of the Eye (1972), is sci-fi themed throughout (I’ll post more songs over the coming weeks). ‘Astronauts Nightmare’ is my favorite of the Continue reading
I need reading suggestions.
After reading John Brunner’s Hugo winning masterpiece Stand on Zanzibar (1968) a few years back I became entranced by science fiction exploring social themes (intelligently) extrapolated from a future Earth condition of extreme overpopulation. In the recent months I’ve read and reviewed a glut of similarly themed works of uneven quality. Many of these works were inspired by Paul and Anne Ehrlich’s non-fiction The Population Bomb (1968) which warned of the mass starvation of humans in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of overpopulation. Continue reading
2/5 (Bad)
Mack Reynolds’ Rolltown (1976) takes place a few decades in the future where democracy has devolved into a meritocracy. The United States has a huge database for every individual and jobs are given based on IQ scores, etc. The most intelligent people get to vote. However, because of the meritocracy all racial tension Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 