john brunner

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XXVIII (Ace Doubles: Brunner, Dick, Delany, et al.)

/ Joachim Boaz / 15 Comments

I’m the proud new owner of four ace doubles in remarkable condition!  And considering the general quality of many of the Ace doubles, I consider it quite the haul.  The contents: two early pulp works (of rather dubious quality) by John Brunner (one under his pseudonym Keith Woodcott), one early Philip K. Dick novel, two early Samuel Delany novels, and an assortment of works by lesser known authors (Tom Purdom, Jack Sharkey, and Bruce W. Ronald).  I will devour the Philip K. Dick and John Brunner works — yes, Brunner’s early works are terrible but I’m a Brunner completest which requires a high pain threshold for his pre-Stand On Zanzibar (1968) works.

1. Captives of the Flame/The Psionic Menace (1963), Samuel R. Delany, John Brunner (as Keith Woodcott)

(Cover by Jack Gaughan Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: A Selection of Bleak Alien Landscapes

/ Joachim Boaz / 16 Comments

(Alex Schomburg’s cover for the 1953 edition of Space, Space, Space (1953), ed. William Sloane)

Our science fiction heroes are often confronted by bleak alien landscapes adorned with rocks, vast deserts, adverse atmospheres — commonly these vistas are traversed, colonized, tamed…  Spaceships touch down on virgin surfaces, the explorers tentatively step forward, aliens peer from the distance.  When settlements are built the alien vista remains an ever present source of fear and fascination.  The depiction of a convincingly bleak alien landscape (think Arrakis in Frank Herbert’s Dune) can be of paramount importance in conveying not only  otherworldliness but the backdrop for human drama and the challenges our heroes must overcome (by technology or other Continue reading →

Update: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. V

/ Joachim Boaz / 14 Comments

I promised not to buy any more books over the summer unless I ran out — alas, Memorial Day Sale at one of the best Half Price Books in the country (Austin) is a “bad” combination.  I had to reduce my gigantic pile by half before I dared approach the buy counter….

I’m proud of this haul!

1. Hawksbill Station (1968), Robert Silverberg (MY REVIEW)

I’ve wanted to procure Hawksbill Station for quite a while — the premise is fantastic, five dangerous prisoners are held at Hawksbill Station located in the Cambrian era… One bizarre use of time travel!  I hope Silverberg is at his best à la The World Inside and Downward to the Earth.

2. Master of Life and Death, Robert Continue reading →

Update: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. I

/ Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

Oh the joys of amazon gift cards… And perusing dusty corners of local bookstores.

Here are my latest acquisitions.

1. Robert Silverberg’s World Inside (1971) (MY REVIEW HERE)

I’ve always enjoyed semi-dystopic works about the social ramifications of overpopulation (John Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar is my all time favorite sci-fi novel).  I wonder if Silverberg was inspired by Brunner’s work.  I’ve yet to read a Silverberg novel and I’ve read that this is a pretty good effort.  So, those factors contributed to my purchase.

2. Doris Piserchia’s Continue reading →

Book Review: Meeting at Infinity, John Brunner (1961)

/ Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

 

https://i0.wp.com/www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/3/39/MTNGTNFNTF0000.jpg

A wonderful creepy cover by John Schoenherr

4/5 (Good)

Readers from the first days of my blog might recall my rather dismissive comment in my review of John Brunner’s abysmal Born under Mars (1967),

“I have still yet to find in Brunner’s early pulp(ish) novels any solid indication of his future brilliance that manifests itself so poignantly in his great novels of the late 60s Continue reading →

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

/ 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 →