book reviews

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LXVIII (Varley + Cherryh + Cummings + et. al)

/ Joachim Boaz / 17 Comments

Some fun finds!  Perhaps surprisingly, I still haven’t read Clarke’s “The Sentinel” (1951) so I was happy to find it in a collection collated by Kingsley Amis and Robert Conquest — Spectrum 3 (1963).  Even more appealing are the famous Poul Anderson, J. G. Ballard, and Murray Leinster tales in the same volume…  The entire Spectrum collection (I-V) brings together some fantastic works.

John Varley is one of the important 70s writers that I still haven’t read. Thus, despite the egregious cover, I snatched his collection of 70s stories, The Persistence of Vision (1978)…  I look forward to diving into this one.

Also, C. J. Cherryh was one of my favorite authors as a teen so it’s always nice to come across one of her works I hadn’t devoured yet — in this case, her second novel Brothers of Earth (1976).

1. The Persistence of Vision, John Varley (1978)

(Jim Burns’ cover for Continue reading →

Book Review: Approaching Oblivion, Harlan Ellison (1974)

/ Joachim Boaz / 56 Comments

(Leo and Diane Dillon’s cover for the 1974 edition)

4.25/5 (collated rating: Good)

Ellison’s stories punch where it hurts.  Approaching Oblivion (1974) is filled with transfixing tales about violent future racism (“Knox”), humanity’s last moments (“Kiss of Fire”), the desperate desire to change one’s own past (“One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty”), a last rebel against the militarizing system (“Silent in Gehanna”), and familial rivalry within a vast arcology (“Catman”), etc…

They are terrifying and vicious, immersive and gut-wrenching, and span from baroque far future speculations to near future warnings.  Above all, they are well-written and intelligent.  Many are infused with (pseudo) autobiographical content and lament the societal ills Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Future Archaeology and Mysterious Artifacts (Alien + Human)

/ Joachim Boaz / 22 Comments

SPCSCNCFCC1953

(Hannes Bok’s cover for the  Space Science Fiction [UK], Volume 1 No. 4 (1953), ed. unlisted)

A spaceship arrives on Mars…  After a cursory initial exploration, the human astronauts conclude that the planet has always been barren and uninhabited.  But in some chasm or scattered in desolate plain, a column is found, and rows of mysterious buildings, and a pulsating crystal…  An abandoned outpost of an alien society?  Or, Earth’s mysterious forebearers…  Summaries such as this one proliferate the dusty SF paperbacks on back shelves of used book stores and the closets of SF fans — the variations are countless.

Queue my cover art theme: The future discovery of mysterious ruins/artifacts Continue reading →

Book Review: Why Call Them Back From Heaven?, Clifford D. Simak (1967)

/ Joachim Boaz / 28 Comments

(Leo and Diane Dillon’s cover for the 1970 edition)

4.5/5 (Very Good)

I have found that the most successful science fiction novels on the theme of immortality are not about the immortals themselves or the state of “being immortal.”  Novels like Raymond Z. Gallun’s The Eden Cycle (1974) might attempt to convey, at moments effectively, the ennui of an endless existence with endless possibilities but, as with mind of the immortal in question, the reader too feels the effects of endless, repetitive inundation.  Rather, the most successful and evocative novels — for example James Gunn’s The Immortals (1962) — explore the social space that is created by the presence of immortals although they might be only peripheral characters.  Simak’s Why Call Them Back From Heaven? (1967) takes Gunn’s premise a step further: What would happen to our society if almost everyone bought into the idea that immortality would be a real possibility sometime in the future? Continue reading →

Book Review: Mister Da V. and Other Stories, Kit Reed (1967)

/ Joachim Boaz / 5 Comments

Screen shot 2013-07-16 at 10.06.04 AM

(Uncredited cover for the 1967 edition)

4.25/5 (collated rating: Good)

Kit Reed has been publishing literary, thought-provoking, and darkly satirical sci-fi + speculative fiction + non-genre fiction since the late 50s… And she is still going strong — her most recent novel Son of Destruction (2012) came out last year.  Reed’s collection Mister Da V. and Other Stories (1967) contains three stories from the late 50s including her first published work, ‘The Wait’ (variant title: ‘To be Taken to a Strange Country’) (1958) and ten others from the 60s.  A few of the stories in the collection are not overtly science fiction — regardless, one could argue that all but ‘I am Through with Bus Trips’ (1967) contain speculative and/or sci-fi elements.

There are superficial differences between the 1967 Faber and Faber edition and the 1973 Berkley Medallion edition.  Because I own the Berkley paperback I’ve gone ahead and followed its chronological story order and page numbers.

A few of the themes/topics of the volume:  Paranoia.  Post-apocalyptic Landscapes.  Youth  Continue reading →

Book Review: Big Planet, Jack Vance (magazine publication 1952)

/ Joachim Boaz / 14 Comments

Screen shot 2013-06-01 at 6.18.27 PM

(Ed Emshwiller’s cover for the 1952 edition)

3.25/5 (Good)

After Jack Vance’s recent passing I decided that as an informal remembrance I’d review one of his novels.  However Big Planet (1952), the only unread novel of his I had on my shelf, is from early in his career and far from the level of his best works.  Of his novels I’ve read, Wyst: Alastor, 1716 (1978) and the loose sequel to Big Planet, Showboard World (1975) were the most satisfying.  The Blue World (1966), Marune: Alastor, 933 (1975), and City of the Chasch (1968) were all enjoyable adventure tales set in fantastic worlds.  I recommend those — along with his more famous novels — before picking up a copy of Big Planet.

Over the course of its publication history Big Planet was cut and modified multiple times from its original magazine form.  A restored text was published in 1978…  Unfortunately, I read the 1957 Ace Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: The Space Station, Part III

/ Joachim Boaz / 12 Comments

8fb71adc43d8c6f43977b5522a534504(Graham Kaye’s cover for the 1955 edition of Tom Swift and his Outpost in Space (1955), Victor Appleton II)

This is Part III of my series on space stations (Part I + Part II).  Ever since I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as a teen I’ve been fascinated by space stations — platforms for further space exploration!  I can only imagine how exciting it was for fans of science fiction who read about stations before they existed to see them finally constructed. The fact that they became reality — well, perhaps not (yet) as a launching point for space going exploration vessels — almost vindicates the scientific extrapolation of some of these early visions.  Also, Arthur C. Clarke’s Islands in the Sky (1952) happened to be one of my first science fiction novels…..  And C. J. Cherryh’s Downbelow Station (1981) Continue reading →

Book Review: Mortals and Monsters, Lester del Rey (1965)

/ Joachim Boaz / 5 Comments

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1965 edition)

3.25/5 (collated rating: Average)

Lester del Rey’s collection Mortals and Monsters (1965) — first editions are adorned with a gorgeous collage by the superb Richard Powers — is comprised of eight short stories from the 50s and four from the early 60s.  The collection, as with all but the best collections, is a mixed bag.  ‘The Years Draw Nigh’ (1951) is almost a masterpiece while ‘Recessional’ (1965) is an upsetting exercise in 60s sexism despite the fascinating premise.

I found that a few of the del Rey’s shorts are some of the more blatantly sexist 50s works Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LXVII (Simak, Clement, Bradley, White)

/ Joachim Boaz / 28 Comments

I just came back from more than a month in Paris where I was rather sci-fi deprived so I headed immediately (well, not literally) to the local used bookstore.  A nice collection of novels from some of the genre’s greats — Hal Clement, James White, Clifford D. Simak, and Marion Zimmer Bradley.  I’ve not read any of Bradley’s novels and I’ve heard that Darkover Landfall (1972) is probably the place to start.

And I’ve enjoyed James White’s work so far.  Clement isn’t exactly my cup of tea but it might be good to read another one of his novels before I come to a conclusion.

And some fun Paul Lehr covers…

1. Lifeboat (variant title: Inferno), James White (1972)

(John Berkey’s cover for the 1972 edition) Continue reading →