What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month?
Here’s April’s installment of this column.
First, a bit about Isaac Asimov’s Foundation (1951) from M. Keith Booker’s Monsters, Mushroom Clouds, and the Cold War: American Science Fiction and the Roots of Postmodernism, 1946-1964 (2001), my current history of science fiction read:
Continue readingToday I’m joined by Rachel S. Cordasco, the creator of the indispensable website and resource Speculative Fiction in Translation, for something a bit different!
We will both offer our reviews of one of Kōbō Abe’s first published speculative short stories, “The Flood” (1950). Over the next few months, we’ll post reviews of speculative fiction in translation from Romania, Chile, Austria, Poland, France, and the Netherlands. Depending on the story and our thoughts, I might also include our responses to each other’s review.
Also if you haven’t checked out Rachel’s website, you must. Not only does she review the global phenomena of speculative fiction but gathers lists of translated fiction by language. Also check out her reference monograph Out of This World: Speculative Fiction in Translation from the Cold War to the New Millennium (2021). In 2016, she contributed to my site reviews of three French SF stories in translation.
We read Kōbō Abe’s “The Flood” (1950) in The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories, ed. John L. Apostolou and Martin H. Greenberg (1989). Translated by Lane Dunlop. You can read it online here.
Now let’s get to our reviews!
Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?
1. Dinner at Deviant’s Palace, Tim Powers (1985)
From the inside flap: “The civilized world had come to an end more than a century earlier, but in California life and society went on… taking strange, often horrifying forms.
Gregorio Rivas was a survivor–a proud, resourceful man who had, most recently, made his way from the corrupt, crumbling city of Venice to carve out a successful career as a musician within the walls of Ellay. He played his pelican with raw energy and flashy style, and people came from all over to hear him. But Greg’s real claim to fame had nothing to do with music. It was a part of his past he wanted to forget. And it had come back to haunt him…
Continue readingHoward Waldrop (1946-2024), David J. Skal (1952-2024), and Tom Purdom (1936-2024) all passed away since the beginning of the year. As I’ve only read Howard Waldrop’s “God’s Hooks!” (1982), “My Sweet Lady Jo” (1974), and “The Ugly Chickens” (1980) and Tom Purdom’s “Toys” (1967), I impulsively thought I’d stich together a post featuring a tale by each.
Please note that I have not read enough to identify their best work and a negative review is not intended to be a statement about their entire oeuvre and impact on the genre. If you have any fond memories, recommendations for stories, or other tangents related to the three authors, let me know in the comments.
Terry Bisson (1942-2014) also passed away this year but did not publish any short fiction until the 90s. I’ll make sure to review one of his 80s novels—Wyrldmaker (1981) or Talking Man (1986)–this year instead. I’ve also procured novels by Purdom and Skal to feature later this year.
Now let’s get to the stories!
4.5/5 (Very Good)
Howard Waldrop’s “Mary Margaret Road-Grader” first appeared in Orbit 18, ed. Damon Knight (1976). If you have an Internet Archive account, you can read it online here.
Nominated for the 1977 Nebula Award for Best Short Story. Lost to Charles L. Grant’s “A Crowd of Shadows” (1976).
Continue readingHappy holidays. I hope you’ve been able to squeeze in a bit of science fiction reading.
Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?
1. Those Who Watch, Robert Silverberg (1967)
From the back cover: “CRASH LANDING FROM THE STARS.
Only three humans would ever know that the blinding flash in the sky on that night in 1982 was an exploding flying saucer. Only they would learn the truth about THOSE WHO WATCH–about the alien beings who came into this world in a crash landing from the stars. THOSE WHO WATCH is the strange, seductive novel of three accidental colonists from outer space whose chance encounter with Earth triggers interplanetary conflict. It is also the most unusual love story ever written.”
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What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading this week?
I’ve settled on a monthly schedule for this column. Check out the previous installment!
If you’re new and curious about my rationale for the perimeters of my site, check out this recent interview and podcast. And follow me on Mastodon if you don’t already as I no longer post on my Twitter account.
And, most importantly, let me know what pre-1985 SF you’ve been reading!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
What am I writing about?
Continue readingWhich books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?
1. Under Compulsion (variant title: Fun with Your New Head), Thomas M. Disch (1968)
From the back cover: “A BLACK BANQUET OF PURE DISCH
A part-human, part-electronic brain going slowly mad in the Venus jungle.
The last man on earth rejecting the last woman.
A Russian astronaut looking for a good reason to die on the moon.
A chilling glimpse of a 21st century America where war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength–and they like it like that.
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What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading this week?
It’s been over a month since the previous installment. Sorry! While I’d like to keep a schedule, I find myself pathologically unable to do so. As with so much on my site, I’ll post continue to post these updates when I feel the inclination.
As these posts seem to bring in new readers, if you’re curious about my rationale for the perimeters of my site, check out this recent interview and podcast. And follow me on Mastodon if you don’t already as I no longer post on my Twitter account.
Let me know what pre-1985 SF you’ve been reading!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
Continue reading
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading this week?
I apologize for the break in my update schedule. It’s been a month since the previous installment. Alas. As I say week after week, thank you for all the great conversation. The community that’s emerged over the years is one of the main reasons I keep writing. I’ve included a bit about the books in the photograph, birthdays from the last two weeks, and brief ruminations on what I’ve been reading and writing.
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Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 