book reviews

Book Review: The Hieros Gamos of Sam and An Smith, Josephine Saxton (1969)

/ Joachim Boaz / 29 Comments

(Jack Faragasso’s cover for the 1970 edition)

4.5/5 (Very Good)

The Hieros Gamos of Sam and An Smith (1969) is an experimental (but approachable) science fiction fable set in a world which, at least on the surface, is very much like our own.  The buildings remain, food dispensers still dispense food, and undisturbed store shelves are fully stocked.  However, the majority of the animals have disappeared and people are almost all gone. Cannibalism is hinted at.  A few other individuals flit on the outskirts of the narrative, phantom-like, unsubstantial in their physicality.  Are they hallucinations, or external viewers of the spectacle who intrude when needed before vanishing with no evidence of their arrival?

Josephine Saxton deftly utilizes the coming of age narrative, Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XLII (Malzberg + Roshwald + Clement + Moorcock)

/ Joachim Boaz / 23 Comments

A nice selection of books from my fellow book reviewer at Potpourri of Science Fiction Literature and a few from a recent trip to Indianapolis — the fried chicken and waffles at Maxine’s were far superior to their used book stores….

My trilogy of dark/brilliant/disturbed Malzberg novels dealing with the space program, The Falling Astronauts (1971), Revelations (1972), and Beyond Apollo (1972) is now complete!  When I get around to reading The Falling Astronauts I will put together a special post with a series of intriguing space program documents given to me by my fiancé — including a hilarious 1965 publication, The Astronauts & Their Families, where real life astronauts pose with their happy families, play with puppies, teach their children to shoot rifles, pose with their cars, pretend to play at the piano, etc — i.e. the oposite of Malzberg’s vision of the “manliest” of American heroes…

The Moorcock novel, The Ice Schooner (1969) was a rather impulsive buy — I’ve yet to read any of his works, but voyagers to cities wreathed in ice is always a fun trope.

Level 7 (1959) is generally considered a Cold War masterpiece…

Clement’s Through the Eye of the Needle (1978) is the sequel to Needle (magazine 1949) — I’ll probably want to find a copy of the first in the series before I give the sequel a shot….

1. The Falling Astronauts, Barry N. Malzberg (1971) (MY REVIEW)

(Davis Meltzer’s cover Continue reading →

Book Review: The Eleventh Commandment, Lester del Rey (1962, revised: 1970)

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

(Dean Ellis’ cover for the 1970 edition)

3.5/5 (Good)

Lester del Rey’s The Eleventh Commandment, originally published in 1962, was revised by the author in 1970. I’ve reviewed the 1970 edition — I do not know to what extent the original was changed.

My first exposure to Lester del Rey’s sci-fi bucks the impression of general averageness conveyed by my fellow reviewers.  This work strikes me as a product of the more mature side of del Rey, a move away from his normal space opera YA fare.  In The Eleventh Commandment del Rey explores the religious ramification of overpopulation (see list) concerns of the 50s/60s.  Due to the fact that overpopulation fears gained a lot of currency after the publication of the 1968 bestselling non-fiction work The Population Bomb,  I suspect it provided the impulse for del Rey to rewrite the novel.  Despite the involving premise, the plot is often a Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XLI (Sheckley + Sohl + Cooper + Silverberg)

/ Joachim Boaz / 8 Comments

A selection of gems sent to me by one of my friends 2theD at Potpourri of Science Fiction Literature…  Don’t worry at least eight books are being sent his way….  And a few left over Marx book purchases…  I have two of Sheckley’s short story collection — now I have one of his short satirical novels!  Sohl’s Costigan’s Needle (1953) has spectacular early Powers cover art AND Sohl isn’t supposed to be half bad either.

Enjoy.

1. The Status Civilization, Robert Scheckley (1960) (MY REVIEW)

(Uncredited cover for the 1960 edition) Continue reading →

Book Review: Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, Brian Aldiss (1960)

/ Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

(Paul Lehr’s cover for the 1960 edition)

3/5 (collated rating: Average)

The concept behind Brian Aldiss’ short story collection Galaxies Like Grains of Sand (1960) is intriguing.  Take previously published stories (in this case from magazines in the late 50s), graft them together by means of mini-introductions, and arrange them so they fit into a future history framework à la Olaf Stapledon’s Last and First Men (1930) or Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953).

The quality of the stories makes the format less than successful.   Only three stories are worth reading — ‘Secret of a Mighty City’ (1958), ‘Out of Reach’ (1957), and ‘All Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XL (Miller, Jr + Cogswell + Pohl/del Rey + Kornbluth/Merril)

/ Joachim Boaz / 11 Comments

A couple from my father + a few left over Marx Book purchases….

Three delightfully gorgeous Powers covers.  And one stunning John Schoenherr cover despite the unknown quality of the short stories within….

A short story collection and a three novella collection by Walter M. Miller, Jr., the author of A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959)…  A scathing, and hilarious satire by Frederik Pohl and Lester del Rey…  Among others.

1.  The View from the Stars, Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1965) (MY REVIEW)

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1965 edition) Continue reading →

Book Review: Total Eclipse, John Brunner (1974)

/ Joachim Boaz / 8 Comments

(John Cayea’s cover for the 1974 edition)

3/5 (Average)

Over the years I’ve deluded myself into becoming a John Brunner completest — around twenty-five of his novels line my shelves and I’ve read most of them over the years.  At his best he’s without question one of the great masters of the genre — Stand on Zanzibar (1968), The Sheep Look Up (1972), etc. are evidence of this.  However, in-between his social science fiction masterpieces are a plethora of unsatisfying attempts at traditionalist space opera.  In these works Brunner never fully leaves his pulp roots although he occasionally tries to inject a dose of hard science, (pseudo) intellectualism, and social commentary.

Total Eclipse (1974) fits this mold.  A group of scientists attempt to figure out the mystery of a highly advanced race which has apparently, died out. Character interactions are painfully silly along the “Oh heroic main character, you’re a genius let me jump into your bed” sort of Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. XXXIX (Priest + Brunner + Crowley + Wallace + Duncan)

/ Joachim Boaz / 14 Comments

Ah, what a delightful group! A few from my father, a few from Marx books which I hadn’t posted yet….  Priest and Crowley’s novels involve fascinating worldscapes — a world winched across the horizon, a world at the top of a pillar…  Both are considered among the better stylists in science fiction and fantasy.

And, my 22nd (?) Brunner novel!  The Stone That Never Came Down (1973) — from his glory period of the late 60s-early 70s (this period produced Stand on Zanzibar, The Sheep Look Up, Shockwave Rider, The Jagged Orbit).

And two more impulsive finds — Ian Wallace’s Croyd (1967) — a reader claimed it was one of the best sci-fi novels of the 60s, and thus due to my intense curiosity, I had to find a copy.  And Dark Dominion (1954), I know little about David Duncan — he wrote only three sci-fi novels in the 50s.  His work is described by SF encyclopedia as “quietly eloquent, inherently memorable, worth remarking upon.”

And the covers!

1. The Inverted World, Christopher Priest (1974)

(Jack Fargasso’s cover for the 1975 edition) Continue reading →

Book Review: The Joy Makers, James Gunn (1961, magazine publication 1955)

/ Joachim Boaz / 8 Comments

(William Hofmann’s cover for the 1961 edition)

4.25/5 (collated rating: Good)

The three parts of James Gunn’s fix-up novel The Joy Makers (1961) were originally published in magazine form in 1955 as ‘Name Your Pleasure,’ ‘The Naked Sky’, and ‘The Unhappy Man.’  I have not read the originals so I’m unsure of how much was added or subtracted or completely re-conceptualized.  Largely a satire — Gunn pushes his point to the logical, and terrifying extreme — each part is a further chronological progression of a society whose chief aim is to make people happy.  It is hard not to read Part I as a satirical take on some aspects of Scientology,  a movement that was gaining force in the early 1950s.

Because each part is only linked thematically to the others

Continue reading →