Book Review: The Penultimate Truth, Philip K. Dick (1964)

June 27, 2012June 20, 2019 / Joachim Boaz / 16 Comments

(Uncredited cover for the 1964 edition)

4/5 (Good)

Although I’ve read a great majority of Philip K. Dick’s novels and short stories, I’ve only reviewed one of Philip K. Dick’s novels in the lifetime of this blog, The Man Who Japed (1956). Despite not reaching the near perfection which characterizes his best works, The Penultimate Truth (1964) is worth the read. The work’s premise is pure PKD. As with his best, an uncanny sci-fi infused surrealism seeps from the pages…. However, the work is plagued by ramshackle editing, the unfortunate tendency to use words like “homeostatic” and “tropism” ever few pages, and an ungainly plethora of named characters who have little to no import in the novel creates unnecessary confusion.

Brief Plot Summary (limited spoilers)

Most of the inhabitants of Earth, due to worries about an approaching nuclear war with the Soviets, retreated to massive underground facilities (Tom Mix Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Spaceships Under Construction

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 11 Comments

(James B. Settles’ cover for the October 1948 issue of Amazing Stories)

A spaceship rearing from the plain, scaffolding surrounds its lithe form… A classic image (the new Star Trek movie for example)! Often utilizing a very traditional science fiction trope which I’ve dubbed Rocket Field Figure, cover art concerning spaceship construction is often more stylized than realistic. My favorite is Carlo Jacono’s cover for the Italian edition of The Stars are Ours (1954). I’m not sure that he is actually the artist due to the fact that MANY foreign editions use the work of American or British artists modified slightly (this is not a hard fast rule, the work Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: My Top 15 Science Fiction Covers

June 18, 2012June 26, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 28 Comments

1. Harold Bruder’s cover for the 1967 edition of Pyschogeist (1966), L. P. Davies.

Because everyone loves lists…

…I’ve selected from my collection of cover art, placed in no particular order, my fifteen favorite science fiction covers of all time. Of course, lists being lists, and the fact that I’ve only seen a portion of all the covers ever made, it is incomplete and maleable. Although many of the most famous sci-fi artists (Powers, Lehr, and pulp masters such as Wesso) feature, some of my favorites are by lesser known artists whose visual contributions to the field should not be forgotten (Bruder, Podwil, Foster, Schongut, etc).

A few points to consider: 1) The artist rarely had control over the font. If the graphic designer responsible for putting together the final cover wasn’t up to snuff, the text often doesn’t Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Disembodied Brains, Part I

June 17, 2012June 17, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 5 Comments

(Gerard Quinn’s cover for the December 1956 issue of New Worlds)

Disembodied brains — in large metal womb-like containers, floating in space or levitating in the air (you know, implying PSYCHIC POWER), pulsating in glass chambers, planets with brain-like undulations, pasted in the sky (GOD!, surprise) above the Garden of Eden replete with mechanical contrivances among the flowers and butterflies and naked people… The possibilities are endless, and more often than not, taken in rather absurd directions.

I’ve cobbled together a large variety of images from pulp magazines to covers from the late 70s. My favorites include Valigrusky’s Continue reading →

Book Review: The Long Winter, John Christopher (1962)

June 12, 2012August 10, 2019 / Joachim Boaz / 17 Comments

(Paul Lehr’s cover for the 1968 edition)

3.75/5 (Good)

Although known for his famous young adult Tripod Trilogy (The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, The Pool of Fire), John Christopher produced a substantial corpus of science fiction works for older readers — most notably, the post-apocalyptical tale No Blade of Grass (1956). The Long Winter (1961), one of Christopher’s lesser known works, is on the surface another post-apocalyptical novel (or sorts). However, the post-apocalyptical elements are subsumed by a bitting satire on colonial and post-colonial British attitudes towards their colonies. The publication date of 1962 is of vital importance in understanding the work. Nigeria gained its independence from the British in 1960, Ghana in 1957, and South Africa in 1961.

A large percentage of the reviews I’ve read complain that they Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Scenes from the Control Room

June 6, 2012June 13, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

(Malcolm Smith’s cover for the October 1953 issue of Imagination)

Inspired by some of the cover art I found for my earlier post Through the View Screen, Through the Window, I decided to focus on the image of gazing from within the control room of a spaceship (either at objects within or scenes outside the view screens). The trope is extraordinarily effective at conveying the action of a story: the unfolding canvas of an epic battle, the tension of charting a course through the stars and nefarious nebulae, the destruction of cities, the last glance at a beautiful astronaut adrift, or even, Earth within grasp!

I’ve tried not to be redundant in the covers I use — with this Continue reading →

Book Review: The Florians, Brian M. Stableford (1976)

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 7 Comments

(Michael Whelan’s cover for the 1976 edition)

2/5 (Bad)

Even after the underwhelming Journey to the Center (1982) I decided to give Brian M. Stableford a second chance. Unfortunately, The Florians (1976), the first in a six novel series about the adventures of the starship Daedalus, is even less impressive. Both works contain a potentially fascinating premise around which the barest framework of a story is cobbled. At least Journey the Center maintained some sense of wonder and excitement despite its incredible brevity, poor prose, disappointing ending, and dull characters. The Florians, on the other hand, fails to conjure Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XXX (Christopher + Benford + Shaw + Frank + et al.)

June 4, 2012July 7, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 16 Comments

My second batch of books from my youthful haunt (Austin, TX) is equally as varied and intriguing as the first. I’m most interested in Pat Frank’s famous late 50s classic Alas, Babylon. Yes, a sci-fi fan like me should have read it a LONG time ago. John Christopher’s The Long Winter (1962) should also prove a worthwhile read — an ice age hits Earth and the English main characters flee to Africa. Shaw’s Orbitsville (1975) is the the vein of Larry Niven’s more famous Ringworld (1970) and Arthur C. Clarke’s classic Rendezvous with Rama (1972) — explorers encountering unusual alien worlds (in this case, a dyson sphere).

As always, a few stunning covers… My favorite of the bunch is John Schoenherr’s cover for Mark Phillips’ Brain Twister (1962)…

Enjoy! If you’ve read any of the novels few free to comment. I’ve not read any of Benford, Frank, Mark Phillips (pseudonym for Laurence Janifer and Randall Garrett) or Platt’s works before.

1. In The Ocean of Night, Gregory Benford (1977)

(Larry Kresek’s cover for the 1977 edition) Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Acquisitions No. XXIX (Dick + White + Harrison + et al.)

May 28, 2012December 26, 2012 / Joachim Boaz / 24 Comments

A return to old familial haunts yields a heart warming stash of gems and a few radiating a more dubious aura…

And more Richard Powers’ covers for my growing collection….

Most importantly, I picked up my fourteenth or fifteenth Philip K. Dick novel! I will acquire ALL of them eventually.

And another Ace double — little did I know (but I should have guessed considering the egregious art and interior images) that is was sci-fi of the more comic variety. But, I wanted at least one of Lafferty’s novels after reading a few of his impressive short stories.

Enjoy!

1. Star Surgeon, James White (1963)