Book Review: The Light That Never Was, Lloyd Biggle, Jr. (1972)

September 4, 2011September 4, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 7 Comments

3.25/5 (Average)

The Light That Never Was (1972) is an unusual take on space opera — there are no epic battles, voyages on spaceships, weird technology, or heroic figures. Instead, the swirling eddies of interstellar change descend on a tourist planet replete with legions of rather atrocious, silly, and easily maleable “artists.” The island of Zrilund on the plant of Donev is afflicted by a general artistic malaise — artists paint for the swarms of tourists which descend on the fountains and beaches of the island snatching Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: The Art of Robert Foster, Part I

September 1, 2011March 7, 2013 / Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

Robert Foster produced only a handful of science fiction covers. The most inventive graced a span of Frederik Pohl novels and short story collections released by Ballantine Books in the late 60s. Sadly, I can find no information about the artist himself online (if you do please let me know). Here’s a selection of the most interesting, haunting, and spectacular…

Part II (here)

Mechanical man — a bedraggled simulacra. Nude woman — embodiment of flesh. A lunar landscape greets them…

(ranks among my favorite covers of all time)

(Cover for the 1969 edition of Turn Left at Thursday (1961), Frederik Pohl) Continue reading →

Book Review: The Alien Way, Gordon Dickson (1965)

August 28, 2011July 8, 2020 / Joachim Boaz / 1 Comment

3.75/5 (Good)

I was pleasantly surprised by Gordon R. Dickson’s intelligent and occasionally thought-provoking The Alien Way (1965). Considering he’s famous for his military sf Dorsai! saga, the lack of epic space battles — i.e. inter-species conflict in the traditional manner — came as a shock. There are a few instances of violence but they’re few and far between.

The ultimate message is a cautionary one — only when the pattern of human nature (its instincts, reactions, ets) is understood can non-violent contact be made with an alien species. We react to protect our species just as animals react to protect their young. Of course the aliens have to come to this realization Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. X

August 23, 2011March 15, 2014 / Joachim Boaz / 4 Comments

Gifts! Gifts! A varied haul — Spinrad, Herbert, Dickson, Niven, Norton…

1. The Solarians (1966), Norman Spinrad

Before Norman Spinrad’s metafictional if Hitler wrote a pulp extravaganza The Iron Dream (1972) and Bug Jack Barron (1969) there was The Solarians… Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. IX

August 16, 2011October 8, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 2 Comments

Success (i.e. infrequent purchases)! Only three new but unknown/fascinating/and potentially interesting) acquisitions to report….

1. The Alien Way (1965), Gordon R. Dickson (MY REVIEW HERE)

I’ve not read any of Gordon R. Dickson’s substantial corpus of novels. Yes, I need to pick up a copy of his classic work Dorsai! but, military sci-fi has never 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 →

Book Review: The Unsleeping Eye (variant title: The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe), D. G. Compton (1974)

August 10, 2011August 10, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 11 Comments

5/5 (Masterpiece)

I’d previously read four of D. G. Compton’s lesser known works before procuring a copy of his acknowledged masterpiece, The Unsleeping Eye (variant title: The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe) (1973). The Unsleeping Eye far surpasses the remarkable The Steel Crocodile (1970) and Synthajoy (1968). Many of the themes and techniques Compton uses in the other works of his I’ve read are honed to perfection and greatly expanded on: strong intelligent female characters dominate the pages, Continue reading →

Book Review: Beyond the Barrier, Damon Knight (1964)

August 5, 2011August 10, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

1/5 (Bad)

Damon Knight’s dismal Beyond the Barrier (1964) is all plot, lacks even the most cursory world development, makes no attempt to construct a “character”, and contains one of the single most ludicrous scenes I’ve encountered. Knight is considered somewhat of a “master” of sci-fi but his supposed skills are not on show here (short stories?). Yes, there’s adventure, intrigue, action, bizarre technology, green frog aliens, time travel, Earth core traversing oscillating field machines, and time Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Assorted 1970s Surrealistic Faces by Richard Powers

August 4, 2011September 5, 2011 / Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

This is the second post in a potential series of posts showcasing the science fiction cover art by Richard Powers (1921-1996). My first post discussed a few surrealist cityscape covers from the 1950s. Here I’ve selected a variety of surrealistic, composite, conglomerated, and masked faces from his 1970s covers.

A delightful green human shape — mouthless — replete with translucent hollows? emerging occupants or surfacing memories?