Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?
1. Joe Haldeman and Jack C. Haldeman II’s There is No Darkness (1983)
Jim Burns’ cover for the 1st edition
From the back cover: “The universe is not interested in fair play. The universe is interested in survival. That is lesson number one aboard the giant advance-training ship called ‘Starschool.’ Those who fail to learn lesson one very rarely have cause to worry about what comes next…”
Initial Thoughts: Even at his worst, I find Joe Haldeman a polished author. I’ve only read a few of his brother’s short stories. I’ve hear this volume is a bit on the juvenile SF side of things. We shall see.
Clifford D. Simak’s speech “The Face of Science Fiction” appeared in Minnesota Libraries, vol. XVII, no. 7. (September 1953). He originally gave it to the Minneapolis Branch Library staff. I have not found evidence that the speech appeared elsewhere or is anywhere online. I requested the article through the university library I’m affiliated with. I’ve included a transcription below. I hope with the easy access of important primary sources related to Simak’s fan activities and views on SF, we can see more scholarship on his fiction in the future vs. empty repetition of time-worn designators of his brand of SF.1 As with other posts on Simak’s interviews, speeches, and fan articles, I’ll provide a few words of summary first.
Four editions of Clifford D. Simak’s City (1952): Artists and publication date from L to R, Ed Valigursky (1958), Richard Powers (1954), Karel Thole (1964), uncredited (1965)
“The Face of Science Fiction” articulates the intersection of Simak’s own interest in the genre (and hope for its future), its larger history, with observations about the growing contemporary interest. He highlights the exploding popularity (and commercialism) the genre underwent in the 50s in the aftermath of WWII, for example the sheer quantity of magazines, toys, games, gadgets, and scientific gadgets designed with “science fiction motif” for teenagers. He charts his own exposure to the genre through authors like Jules Verne.
And echoing later arguments by Darko Suvin, posits an incredible “long and honorable lineage” of the genre with works like the Greek Legend of Icarus, Plato’s Republic, Thomas Moore’s Utopia, and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels that detach its origins from the influence of Hugo Gernsback (he does not mention his name but does acknowledge the “first science fiction magazines” that appeared in 1926).2 Arguments like this one partially serve as a rhetorical flourish meant to legitimize the genre and to self-justify your own brand of writing. And like those classics of old, 50s SF seems to re-manifest some of that ancient maturity (“fewer and fewer of them think of it in terms of Buck Rogers and rocket guns”) with increasing quality of writing. While acknowledging the fix-up novels still hitting print culled from the old pulps, he hopes the “backlog of old stories” is coming to its end.3 He admits that modern science fiction is still a young genre with growing to do!
William Timmins’ cover art for Astounding Science Fiction, ed. John W. Cambell, Jr. (March 1944). Contains Cleve Cartmill’s “Deadline” (1944)
Three locations where Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955) appeared: L to R. Star Science Fiction No. 3 (1955), The Best Of Philip K. Dick (1977), and Second Variety (1991)
I appeared on the podcast DickHeads (i.e. Philip K. Dick fans) to discuss one of his most underrated (in my opinion) short fictions: “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955). If you want to read the short story before you listen to the quite detailed discussion, it’s available online here. I’m a sucker for science fiction satires of 50s American defense policy, commercialism, and the idiocracy of fallout shelters. As I am allergic to listening to myself, I’ve not given it a re-listen! Hopefully it went as well as I thought it did at the time.
Also, here is my short review of the story–part of my larger review of the entire original anthology Star Science Fiction No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955)–from last year if you don’t have time to listen to the podcast at the moment.
The following reviews serve as the 38th installment of my series searching for “SF short stories that are critical in some capacity of space agencies, astronauts, and the culture which produced them.” Some stories I’ll review in this series might not fit or are poor quality. And that is okay. I relish the act of literary archaeology. I’ve previously covered two Harlan Ellison short stories for this series: “Psycho at Mid-Point” (1956) and “The Discarded” (variant title: “The Abnormals”) (1959). As always, if you know of any others that might fit, let me know. I’ve compiled an extensive list but like all lists it’s incomplete.
Thank you Richard, “Friend of the Site,” for these recommendations all the way back in 2022. I didn’t forget.
Ed Valigursky’s cover for the Amazing Stories, ed. Paul W. Fairman (May 1957)
3/5 (Average)
Harlan Ellison’s “Night Vigil” (variant title: “Yellow Streak Hero”) first appeared in the fanzine Peon, ed. Charles Lee Riddle (May 1955). It was reprinted in Amazing Stories, ed. Paul W. Fairman (May 1957). You can read it online here in Peon and here in Amazing Stories.
Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?
1. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic (1972, trans. Olena Bormashenko, 2012)
Dominic Harman’s cover for the 2012 edition
From the back cover: “Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those misfits who are compelled, in spite of the extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the the alien products. Even the nature of his mutant daughter has been determined by the Zone. And it is for her that he makes his last, tragic foray into the hazardous and hostile territory.”
Initial Thoughts: One of those obvious holes in my SF knowledge… I certainly have read about the writing pair but I’ve only read a story here and there–for example “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)–and one novel that I never managed to review. My father has been pushing me to read more of their work. And yes, Andrei Tarkovsky’s adaptation Stalker (1979) remains one of my favorite movies. I took a History of Russian Film class in college and wrote my term paper on Tarkovsky’s use of color.
In 2019, I reviewed and adored David Ely’s science fiction thriller Seconds (1963), the source material for John Frankenheimer’s similarly brilliant 1966 film. I did not know that Ely got his start in genre magazines under the editorship of Cele Goldsmith Lalli (1933-2002), known for “discovering” SF luminaries like Ursula K. Le Guin, Thomas M. Disch, Keith Laumer, Sonya Dorman, and Roger Zelazny (among others).1 Before his writing career, Ely served in the Navy (1945-1946) and Army (1950-1952) and as a reporter in St. Louis (until 1956) before entering the corporate world as an “administrative assistant” for the nebulously named Cold War organization Development and Resources Corporation in New York (1956-1959).2
After a handful of short stories in genre magazines, Ely moved to far more lucrative venues like Playboy and Cosmopolitan. I’ve had my eyes on his collection–containing additional SF tales–Time Out (1968) for years. Unfortunately, prices rarely drop below $70 with shipping. Science fiction seems to have been close to his heart as he returned to the genre with his novel Journal of the Flood Year (1992).
Let’s get to the stories!
Alex Schomburg’s cover for Fantastic Stories of Imagination, ed. Cele Goldsmith (October 1961)
3/5 (Average)
“Court of Judgment” (1961) first appeared in Fantastic Stories of Imagination, ed. Cele Goldsmith (October 1961). You can read it online here. Received an Honorable Mention at the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction.
The following review is the 37th installment of my series searching for “SF short stories that are critical in some capacity of space agencies, astronauts, and the culture which produced them.” Some stories I’ll review in this series might not fit or are poor quality. And that is okay. I relish the act of literary archaeology. I’ve added an extra Simak story to round out the post.
Howard V. Brown’s cover for Thrilling Wonder Stories, ed. Mort Weisinger (April 1939)
3/5 (Average)
Clifford D. Simak’s “Madness from Mars” first appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, ed. Mort Weisinger (April 1939). You can read it online here.
In the 1941 article “The Future of Science Fiction,” Clifford D. Simak described the transformative effect of Stanley G. Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey” (1934) (and a handful of other stories) on the development of science fiction.1 He uses the story to explain how SF has achieved “realism” by moving beyond “wooden plots” plot by incorporating a “scientific basis of the story.” I’d suggest “Madness from Mars” is Simak’s attempt to craft a scientifically-grounded and truly alien alien in the Weinbaum mold. I will feature Simak’s early commentary on the genre in a future Exploration Log post. 2
Richard Powers’ cover for the 1961 paperback edition
3.25/5 (collated rating: Above Average)
At this point in my reading adventure, I approach Clifford D. Simak’s science fiction with a clear intention to expand my understanding of his economic, political, and technological critiques of American society. This culminated in 2024 with my article “’We Must Start Over Again and Find Some Other Way of Life’: The Role of Organized Labor in the 1940s and ’50s Science Fiction of Clifford D. Simak.” Since then, albeit at a slower pace, I’ve continued to cover his science fiction, speeches, and additional interviews I’ve been able to track down. I find him a deeply fascinating author who’s often pigeonholed as “bucolic” or “pastoral” with no real attempt to read beyond his tendency to set a few of his narratives in a rural simulacrum of his childhood corner of America.
Note: My read but “waiting to be reviewed pile” is growing. Short rumination/tangents/impressions are a way to get through the stack before my memory and will fades. My website partially serves as a record of what I have read and a memory palace for future projects. Stay tuned for more detailed and analytical reviews.
1. Polly Toynbee’s Leftovers (1966)
Paul May’s cover for the 1969 edition
2.5/5 (Bad)
After reading a monograph on the history of science fiction I inevitably find a handful of works that I must track down (more as an act of data collection than a quest for literary genius). Andrew Hammond’s Cold War Stories: British Dystopian Fiction, 1945-1990 (2017) contained a wealth of lesser-known works that immediately dented my pocketbook.1
Polly Toynbee’s Leftovers (1966) fits into Hammond’s analysis of a British Empire irrevocably weakened by WWII and growing US supremacy in the Cold War. Toynbee’s novel, and in even more severe terms Lewis Gibbs’ Late Final (1951) discussed below, with its focus on a handful of self-absorbed survivors of an apocalyptic event depicts a nation “irrelevant to the geopolitical present and as unrecognizable to its own past.”2 Intriguing ideas aside, debilitating flaws sink Leftovers. I found it interesting only as a lens for the moment — youth culture and rebellion in the mid-60s. As a literary and reading experience, Leftovers leaves a lot to be desired. Toynbee would soon abandon her literary career for a famous career in journalism from a leftist perspective.
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 