Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Hoot von Zitzewitz’s Fantastic Flights of Fancy

October 5, 2011October 7, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 5 Comments

(Hoot von Zitzewitz’s cover for the 1967 edition of The Winged Man (1966), A. E. van Vogt and E. Mayne Hull)

In the 1960s the sci-fi covers of the major publishers Dell, Berkley Medallion, Signet, Avon, Ace (etc) ran the gamut from Richard Powers’ avant-garde landscapes and conglomerate faces to the fantastic collages of a relatively unknown artist by the name of Hoot von Zitzewitz (Hubertus Octavio von Zitzewitz).

I’ve cobbled together a few bits of a biography (if any one knows some more concrete facts let me know). He was a fine arts teacher at Hofstra University and passed away around 2002. Hoot worke Continue reading →

Book Review: A Life for the Stars, James Blish (1962)

August 16, 2011August 16, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 8 Comments

3.25/5 (Good)

A Life for the Stars is the second novel according to internal chronology in James Blish’s famous Cities in Flight series. Unlike the much more serious first installment, They Shall Have Stars (1956), A Life for the Stars is generally regarded as a juvenile work (i.e. science fiction for a younger audience containing a positive moral message, an intelligent but poor teen boy Continue reading →

Update: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. IV

May 13, 2011August 16, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 6 Comments

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 →

Book Review: They Shall Have Stars (Variant title: Year 2018!), James Blish (1956)

November 13, 2010June 20, 2016 / Joachim Boaz / 5 Comments

3.75/5 (Good)

They Shall Have Stars (1956) is the first of James Blish’s famous Cities in Flight novels (note: the series was not released according to its internal chronology — the third volume, Earthman Come Home was published first in 1955). Continue reading →

Book Review: The Seedling Stars, James Blish (1957)

August 4, 2010August 1, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 11 Comments

Overall score 3.75/5 (Good)

James Blish’s The Seedling Stars is a collection of three novelettes (Seeding Program, The Thing in the Attic, Surface Tension) and a short story (Watershed). Each is loosely connected by internal chronology and subject matter: pantropy (the modifications of humans for live on other planets instead of terraforming). The quality Continue reading →

Book Review: Galactic Cluster, James Blish (1959) — collected short stories from 1953-59

June 22, 2010January 28, 2014 / Joachim Boaz / 6 Comments

3.25/5 (Good — collated rating)

James Blish, famous for his Hugo winning novel, A Case of Conscience, early Star Trek novelizations, and the Cities in Flight series also wrote some interesting short shorties. This volume includes a Continue reading →

Update: Science Fiction Books to be Reviewed/Read this summer

June 19, 2010August 3, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / Leave a comment

I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of science fiction books from the classics to the not so classic. I’ve decided to use this blog as motivation to read new books. Hence, reviews of Dune (Herbert), Hyperion (Simmons), Stand on Zanzibar (Brunner) and other major works probably will not reviewed in the near future since I’ve read them already and until I run out of things to read I’m not inclined to read them Continue reading →