Short stories

Updates: A New Classic SF Review Blog to add to your list

/ Joachim Boaz / 33 Comments

MPorcius, a frequent and well-read commentator on my site, has started transferring his numerous amazon reviews and writing new reviews of classic SF (a substantial portion is pre-1980s) to his blog.  Please visit him and comment on his posts!

queue rant: I’ve noticed a surprising lack of frequently updated classic SF blogs online.  Yes, many bloggers occasionally dabble in the distant era of SF glory or publish yet another review of the obligatory masterpieces because they appear on a some “best of” list (Dune, The Left Hand of Darkness, etc).  However, few are devoted to the period and make it a point to write reviews of books that very few people will ever actually read due to their obscurity i.e. blogs that don’t sell out by churning out reviews of new Tor releases (I have declined their offer) or endless 4/5 or 5/5 starred let’s pat each other on the back reviews of self-published (and generally awful) ebooks Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: The City as Canvas, Part I

/ Joachim Boaz / 46 Comments

Screen shot 2013-04-25 at 9.00.06 PM

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1969 edition of Cosmic Engineers (1939), Clifford D. Simak)

The theme of this post is the future metropolis as canvas where the entire surface of the cover is arrayed and ordered by the forms and forces of the city.    The city as a matrix that holds the scene unfolding amongst its spires…  Richard Powers’ masterful cover for the 1969 edition of Cosmic Engineers is the perfect example.  The mass of the buildings arch, indistinct, upward — causeways and platforms amongst the cityscape hold faceless humanoid forms that “look” Continue reading →

Book Review: The Human Angle, William Tenn (1956)

/ Joachim Boaz / 8 Comments

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1964 edition)

3.75/5 (collated rating: Good)

I’ve been in a 50s SF short story craze of late, devouring collections by Robert Silverberg (Godling, Go Home!), Walter M. Miller, Jr. (The View From the Stars), Fritz Leiber (A Pail of Air), Lester Del Rey (Mortals and Monsters), and a few Robert Sheckley volumes a few months before. Fresh off of William Tenn’s solid novel Of Men and Monsters (1968) I went into The Human Angle (1956) (containing three novelettes and five short stories predominately from the 50s) with high expectations.  Despite the handful of duds — “The Human Angle” (1948), “Project Hush” (1954) and “The Discovery of Morniel Mathaway” (1955) —  that tend to creep into most collections of shorts, the majority were characterized by sardonic brilliance.

Although not as biting as his august contemporaries Robert Sheckley and C. M. Kornbluth, Tenn’s visions are delightfully humorous and ironic.  It’s worth getting your Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: The Vaguely Defined Looming Man Shape

/ Joachim Boaz / 23 Comments

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(John Richards’ cover for the 1961 edition of Earth Abides (1949), George R. Stewart)

Note: if anyone can identify the artist for the first three downright spectacular covers I’d be very very happy.  I’m positive that they match stylistically (the vague human shape, the cityscape, the brush strokes, the textures).  Two of the three covers were made for Signet press and all three are from the early 1960s.  I suspect if I perused the covers from the Signet catalogue from that era I’d find even more….  Perhaps it’s the work of Sanford Kossin?  He was producing covers for Signet around the same time.  Solved: The cover artist is John Richard.

And now The Vaguely Defined Looming Man Shape Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LXXIII (Aldiss + Nourse + Biggle, Jr. + Levy + Coleman)

/ Joachim Boaz / 18 Comments

Part 4 of 5 acquisition posts covering my haul from the marvelous SF bookstore Dawn Treader Books in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Part I, Part II, Part III).

Three of the five books have been on my to acquire list for long time.  I adore Brian Aldiss’ early work (Non-Stop is one of my favorite SF novels) so I snatched up Starswarm (1964) without a moment’s hesitation.  Lloyd Biggle, Jr. writes very unusual (not sure if it’s good) SF — The Light That Never Was (1972) certainly had potential despite its flaws.  Regardless, The World Menders (1971) is supposedly his best work (despite the egregious Freas cover it was “graced” with).  After reading some good reviews of some of Alan E. Nourse’s 1950s medical themed stories, I’ve been looking for a copy of the fix-up novel The Mercy Men (1955).  The remaining two novels in this post were in the 50 cent clearance section — both have stunning covers (Powers + Lehr) and are probably absolutely atrocious reads.

1. Starswarm, Brian Aldiss (1964) (MY REVIEW)

starswarm

(Uncredited cover for the 1964 edition) Continue reading →

Book Review: A Pail of Air, Fritz Leiber (1964)

/ Joachim Boaz / 23 Comments

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1964 edition)

4/5 (Collated rating: Good)

My only previous exposure to Fritz Leiber was his enjoyable and highly experimental Hugo-winning novel The Big Time (1958) — an unusual story (evoking a one-act play) whose characters are soldiers recruited from all eras of history relaxing in between missions during a vast temporal war.  The same sort of invention and incisive wit abounds in the collection A Pail of Air (1964).  Against a post-apocalyptical backdrop that runs throughout most of the stories, Leiber’s stories are chimeric (and satirical) parables on a vast spectrum of themes — the mechanization of the future, gender relations, endless war, media saturation…  The stories shift between whimsical delight and gut-wrenching despair.

This collection of eleven stories from the early 50s to the early 60s is highly recommended for all SF fans — especially the title story  “A Pail of Air” (1951),  “The Foxholes of Mars” (1952), Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. LXX (Lafferty, Sheckley, Lightner, Ball)

/ Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

There is no better book store for used SF in the US (that I have been to) than Dawn Treader Books in Ann Arbor, Michigan….  Thankfully, I made the pilgrimage for an altogether different purpose — I delivered a paper at a conference at the University of Michigan — but couldn’t help but spend a while amongst the heavenly stacks (well for a SF fanatic).  This is part 1 of 5 acquisition posts which will showcase the bounty I procured.  And there were probably close to 80 other books I wanted.  Alas.

So, what have we here?  One of Lafferty’s most famous novels — nebula nominated Fourth Mansions (1969).  I’ve only read his shorter work so I’ll be devouring this one soon. More Sheckley for one can never have enough of his biting, wonderful, and hilariously satirical short stories.  A straight-forward space opera by Brian N. Ball (yes, I know, not normally my cup of tea) on recommendation from Mike at Potpourri of Science Fiction Literature… And a somewhat more risky purchase, A. M. Lightner’s The Day of the Drones (1969) — this work of social SF is supposedly her most mature work (she tended to write for the young adult audience) but it was still edited for publication to be suitable for younger readers.  Despite the socially relevant theme, I suspect it will come off as rather corny/undeveloped.

1. Fourth Mansions, R. A. Lafferty (1969)

(Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for the 1969 edition) Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Crashed Spaceships, Part II

/ Joachim Boaz / 14 Comments

SFA53-02

(Earle Bergey’s cover for the February 1953 issue of Science Fiction Adventures, ed. Philip St. John — i.e. Lester del Rey)

Make sure to take a peek at Part I if you haven’t already.

Crashed spaceships!  Our heroes forced to trek across desolate landscapes, fight giant robots, and evil aliens….  Or, aliens stumble from the wreckage of their flying saucers — unusual green matter emanates while the flames reach ever upward.  I suspect that if I were a kid in the era of pulp SF magazines I would have snatched everyone with a crashed spaceship regardless of the often dubious contents.

I am generally no fan of Kelly Freas but his cover for the July 1957 issue of Science Fiction Stories, is one of my favorite action/adventure type SF covers.  Unusual aliens on the back of a massive turtle alien swimming through lava Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Art: Spacewomen of the Future (flying spaceships + exploring alien landscapes + delivering galactic mail), Part II

/ Joachim Boaz / 28 Comments

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(Ed Emshwiller’s cover for the February 1953 issue of Space Stories, ed. Samuel Mines)

Part II of my Spacewomen of the Future series — Part I.

In my first installment I discussed the stereotype of the 40s/50s SF pulp heroine — for example, she shrieks at the evil alien while the man has to rescue her or despite her education, she spends her time serving the men coffee on the spaceship (there’s a cringeworthy scene along these lines in It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958), dir. Edward L. Cahn).  Hopefully these cover art depictions will complicate the stereotype.  Of course, I have not read all the contents of magazines/novels bellow so I can not speak for the portrayals within the texts.  In the stories they could potentially be astronauts in the service, scientists, civilian love interests, colonists, partners of the male astronauts, etc…

I have somewhat arbitrarily decided for thematic reasons that “Spacewomen”  is a woman in a space uniform of the future or Continue reading →