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james_davis_nicollList courtesy of Andrew Wheeler
1978
January THE POWER THAT PRESERVES by Stephen R. Donaldson
Another Covenant novel that I did not read.
Orbit 19 ed. Damon Knight (Harper & Row, 1977, hc)
+ o They Say o [Misc. Material] o ms
+ o Lollipop and the Tar Baby o John Varley o nv *
+ o State of Grace o Kate Wilhelm o ss *
+ o Many Mansions o Gene Wolfe o ss *
+ o The Veil Over the River o Felix C. Gotschalk o nv *
+ o Fall of Pebble-Stones o R. A. Lafferty o ss *
+ o The Memory Machine o [Misc. Material] o ms
+ o Tomus o Stephen Robinett o ss *
+ o Under Jupiter o Michael McClintock o nv *
+ o To the Dark Tower Came o Gene Wolfe o ss *
+ o Vamp o Michael Conner o nv *
+ o Beings of Game P-U o Phillip Teich o ss *
+ o Night Shift o Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. o ss *
+ o Going Down o Eleanor Arnason o ss *
+ o The Disguise o Kim Stanley Robinson o nv *
+ o Arcs & Secants o [Misc. Material] o ms
The Varley is a tale of a young girl, her not especially nice mother and the talking black hole they meet out in the Oort cloud.
Complete blank otherwise. I had no idea KSR went back as far as 1978.
The Star Trek Reader III James Blish (E.P. Dutton, 1977, hc)
+ o Star Trek 5 o oc New York: Bantam Feb '72
+ o Whom Gods Destroy o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Lee Erwin & Jerry Sohl
+ o The Tholian Web o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by Judy Burns & Chet Richards
+ o Let That Be Your Last Battlefield o sa Star Trek #5,
Bantam, 1972; screenplay by O. Crawford & Lee Cronin
+ o This Side of Paradise o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by N. Butler & D.C. Fontana
+ o Turnabout Intruder o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry & A.H. Singer
+ o Requiem for Methuselah o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Jerome Bixby
+ o The Way to Eden o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by A. Heinemann & M. Richards
+ o Star Trek 6 o oc New York: Bantam Apr '72
+ o The Savage Curtain o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry & A. Heinemann
+ o The Lights of Zetar o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Jeremy Tarcher & Shari Lewis
+ o The Apple o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972; screenplay by
Max Ehrlich & Gene L. Coon
+ o By Any Other Name o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by D.C. Fontana & Jerome Bixby
+ o The Cloud Miners o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by M. Armen, D. Gerrold & O. Crawford
+ o The Mark of Gideon o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by G.F. Slavin & S. Adams
+ o Star Trek 7 o oc New York: Bantam Jul '72
+ o Who Mourns for Adonais? o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by G. Ralston & Gene L. Coon
+ o The Changeling o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by John Meredyth Lucas
+ o The Paradise Syndrome o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Margaret Armen
+ o Metamorphosis o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by Gene L. Coon
+ o The Deadly Years o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by David P. Harmon
+ o Elaan of Troyius o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by John Meredyth Lucas
Hsssssss.
[Actually, I have since come to regard old Trek's ambitious with some respect, even if the execution was sometimes flawed. Reach, grasp and all that; at least they *had* ambitions]
February
The Best of L. Sprague de Camp L. Sprague de Camp (SFBC #2164, 1978,
$2.98, 301pp, hc, cover by Corben)
+ ix o L. Sprague de Camp--Engineer and Sorcerer o Poul
Anderson o in
+ 1 o Hyperpilosity o ss Astounding Apr '38
+ 13 o Language for Time Travelers o ar Astounding Jul '38
+ 27 o The Command o ss Astounding Oct '38
+ 40 o The Merman o ss Astounding Dec '38
+ 55 o Employment [as by Lyman R. Lyon] o ss Astounding May '39
+ 73 o The Gnarly Man o nv Unknown Jun '39
+ 94 o "Reward of Virtue" o pm F&SF Sep '70
+ 95 o Nothing in the Rules o nv Unknown Jul '39
+ 123 o The Hardwood Pile o nv Unknown Sep '40
+ 149 o The Reluctant Shaman o ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Apr
'47
+ 162 o The Inspector's Teeth o ss Astounding Apr '50
+ 176 o The Guided Man o nv Startling Stories Oct '52
+ 207 o "The Ameba" o pm Yandro Dec '73
+ 208 o Judgment Day o ss Astounding Aug '55
+ 227 o A Gun for Dinosaur o nv Galaxy Mar '56
+ 253 o The Emperor's Fan o nv Astounding, ed. Harry Harrison,
Random, 1973
+ 269 o Two Yards of Dragon o nv Flashing Swords! #3, ed. Lin
Carter, Dell, 1976
+ 295 o "The Little Green Men" o pm Fantasy Crossroads #7 '76
+ 296 o Author's Afterword o aw
I read this at my father's funeral (in MMPK, though). It's a nice mixture of de Camp material; the Best of series really was quite well done.
SILENCE IS DEADLY by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
This is the fourth and I think final Jan Darzek novel. This is the book I was referring to in another thread when I mentioned that the Galactics had handed many of their democratic responsibilities to machines: one world may have developed a death ray of a sort that might attract automatic destruction from the machine intelligence defenders of the Galaxy's democracies.
THE FUTURIANS by Damon Knight (Alternate)
Now this is weird. I have this edition so I must have belonged to the SFBC at this point. So why do I not have the Best of De Camp in the SFBC edition?
This is a somewhat bile-filled retrospective of the New York City group that produced such writers as Asimov, Pohl and Knight himself. Makes interesting paired reading with Pohl's far more amiable The Way the Future Was. Well written and recommended.
March TIME STORM by Gordon R. Dickson
For some reason, Earth has been hit with 'time storms', events that place places from different periods adjacent to each other. Fred Hoyle did OK with this basic idea and I am sure pre-stroke Laumer could have but for some reason GRD's treatment of this left me cold.
THE FADED SUN: KESRITH by C.J. Cherryh
First in the Faded Sun series, I think. A human in contact with an alien race ofsaps janissaries for a race of alien overlords named the Regul(1) suffers one of the most profound cases of Stockholm Syndrome I have ever seen in SF.
Looking at the Amazon entry, it seems to me that in a few years we might want to keep an eye out for a new poster named Scott Ward.
[What the hell was I on about there?]
1: The Regul indicated anger by clamping their nostrils and mouths shut. This indicates to me a less violent way of dealing with them as enemies: simply send them comedians like Carrot Top and Howard Stern until they all expire from anger.
THE CURRENTS OF SPACE by Isaac Asimov (Alternate)
Reprint of a 1950s Empire novel, already reviewed.
THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Ray Bradbury (Alternate)
Reprint from the Club's first year, already discussed.
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (Alternate)
This is a fix-up of three stories about North America post-WWIII and aftermath, beginning with a monk discovering what might be an important religious relic, then detailing the slow recovery of lost knowledge and the final misuse of it *again*. Miller was a Catholic (pre-Vatican II variety, due to causality) and his theology informs the story.
I think the ending is optimistic, because of the name of the man who leads the children away from Earth, but I could be entirely out to lunch here.
MORE THAN HUMAN by Theodore Sturgeon (Alternate)
Fix-up of three novellas about super-humans of a particular sort and it left me utterly cold.
SLAN by A.E. Van Vogt (Alternate)
Classic (which is to say, badly written) tale of superhuman mutants and the meanies who pick on them.
THE DEMOLISHED MAN by Alfred Bester (Alternate)
One of the two Must Have Bester novels, this is a murder mystery in which the killer must figure out how to get away with his crime despite the existence of police telepaths. Comes with free ear-worm.
April
I can't seem to find this particular version in Contento but here are the contents of the two separate volumes:
Galactic Empires Volume One ed. Brian W. Aldiss (Weidenfeld Nicolson
0-297-77108-6, 1976, hc); An Anthology of Way-Back-When
Futures. US edition: St. Martin's 1977.
+ viii o Introduction o Brian W. Aldiss o in
+ o A Sense of Perspective o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 6 o Been a Long, Long Time o R. A. Lafferty o ss Fantastic
Dec '70
+ 14 o The Possessed o Arthur C. Clarke o ss Dynamic Science
Fiction Mar '53
+ 20 o Protected Species o H. B. Fyfe o ss Astounding Mar '51
+ 23 o All the Way Back o Michael Shaara o ss Astounding Jul
'52
+ o `Wider Still and Wider...' o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 60 o The Star Plunderer o Poul Anderson o nv Planet Stories
Sep '52
+ 90 o Foundation o Isaac Asimov o nv Astounding May '42
+ 127 o We're Civilized o Mark Clifton & Alex Apostolides o ss
Galaxy Aug '53
+ o Horses in the Starship Hold o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 146 o The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal o
Cordwainer Smith o ss Amazing May '64
+ 165 o The Rebel of Valkyr o Alfred Coppel o nv Planet Stories
Fll '50
+ 215 o Brightness Falls from the Air [contest story] o Idris
Seabright o ss F&SF Apr '51
+ 223 o Immigrant o Clifford D. Simak o na Astounding Mar '54
+ o The Health Service in the Skies o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 289 o Resident Physician o James White o nv New Worlds Sep
'61
+ 318 o Age of Retirement o Mal Lynch o ss Astounding Apr '54
+ 325 o Planting Time o Pete Adams & Charles Nightingale o ss
Antigrav: Cosmic Comedies, ed. Philip Strick, London:
Hutchinson, 1975
__________________________________________________________
Galactic Empires Volume Two ed. Brian W. Aldiss (Weidenfeld Nicolson
0-297-77223-6, 1976, hc); An Anthology of Way-Back-When Futures
US edition: St. Martin's 1977.
+ vi o Introduction o Brian W. Aldiss o in
+ 1 o `You Can't Impose Civilization by Force' o Brian W.
Aldiss o si
+ 8 o Escape to Chaos o John D. MacDonald o na Super Science
Stories Jun '51
+ 55 o Concealment o A. E. van Vogt o ss Astounding Sep '43
+ 72 o To Civilize o Algis Budrys o ss Future Jan '54
+ 82 o Beep o James Blish o nv Galaxy Feb '54
+ 123 o The Other End of the Stick o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 126 o Down the River o Mack Reynolds o ss Startling Stories
Sep '50
+ 135 o The Bounty Hunter o Avram Davidson o ss Fantastic
Universe Mar '58
+ 141 o Not Yet the End o Fredric Brown o vi Captain Future Win
'41
+ 145 o All Things Are Cyclic o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 150 o Tonight the Stars Revolt! o Gardner F. Fox o nv Planet
Stories Mar '52
+ 192 o Final Encounter o Harry Harrison o nv Galaxy Apr '64
+ 215 o Big Ancestors and Descendants o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 219 o Lord of a Thousand Suns o Poul Anderson o nv Planet
Stories Sep '51
+ 251 o Big Ancestor o F. L. Wallace o nv Galaxy Nov '54
+ 278 o The Interlopers o Roger Dee o ss Astounding Sep '54
+ 296 o Epilogue o Brian W. Aldiss o aw
I have these in the Orbit editions and I read and reread them in the 1970s. I still reread them from time to time. One of the best pairs of anthologies I bought in the 1970s.
Each volume consists of thematic sections with stories chosen to illustrate Aldiss' themes. Strongly recommended.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND by Stephen Spielberg
Novelization of the movie. I wonder who really wrote this?
THE VIEW FROM SERENDIP by Arthur C. Clarke (Alternate)
This is a collection of essays by Clarke, non-fiction which is why Contento does not seem to have it. Or as it turns out, ISFDB either.
[I'd discovered ISFDB.
Something I discovered is that almost every part of UW has some SF novel associated with it; the coffee lounge in Chem 2 ~ Shaw's Wreath of Stars, the parking lot near University and Seagram ~ All the Myriad Ways, 3rd floor chem stores ~ Inherit the Stars. The View from Serendib comes to mind as I approach Chem 2 from the North East]
May UP THE WALLS OF THE WORLD by James Tiptree, Jr.
One of the very few (two?) novels Tiptree ever wrote, this details a first contact between humans and aliens. Unfortunately, the contact is psychic and since the aliens's homeworld is about to be torched (part of a fire lane clearing program, I think) the aliens have a strong motivation to relocate their minds.
SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE by Alan Dean Foster
Non-canonical sequel to Star Wars. I never read this. Since it is pre-Empire, I wonder if Luke slips Leia a little tongue in this book?
MICHAELMAS by Algis Budrys (Alternate)
I own this, I used to be a raving Budrys fan and I have No Idea what this is about. I have never managed to finish it.
Spring DREAMSNAKE by Vonda N. McIntyre
Novel length expansion of "Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand", which solves the mystery of where new healing snakes come from. Unfortunately the nature of the solution implies all previous researchers were morons. Despite that, I really liked this book.
MASTODONIA by Clifford D. Simak
I know I read this and thought it was like an inferior update of "The Big Back Yard" but only the memory of my impression remains. I have this in the SFBC edition as well.
THE END OF ALL SONGS by Michael Moorcock (Alternate)
I did not read this.
June THREE HAINISH NOVELS (omnibus of ROCANNON'S WORLD, PLANET OF EXILE and
CITY OF ILLUSIONS) by Ursula K. Le Guin
Three novels of variable competence from UKLG, all set in the same interstellar mileau as The Word for World is Forest and The
Dispossessed. My take on the events of these novels (Girl trapped on low tech world, I Forget and post-invasion Earth from POV of an amnesiac, I think) is that the Hainish habit of screwing around with the biology of other human(oid) races finally came back to bite them on the ass.
Are the later Hainish short stories at all reconcilable with these? And were the other HILFs actually humans?
Stellar #4 ed. Judy-Lynn del Rey (Ballantine, May '78, pb)
+ o We Who Stole the Dream o James Tiptree, Jr. o nv *
+ o Animal Lover o Stephen R. Donaldson o na *
+ o Snake Eyes o Alan Dean Foster o nv *
+ o The Last Decision o Ben Bova o nv *
+ o The Deimos Plague o Charles Sheffield o ss *
+ o Assassin o James P. Hogan o nv *
+ o About the Authors o [Misc. Material] o bg
to which I append an old review of mine.
The cover shows an alien crying what appears to be tears of blood, while holding a cup. Art by H.R. Dongen. Illustrates the Tiptree story but as art doesn't work for me.
We Who Stole the Dream (James Tiptree): The story of some plucky aliens who escape enslavement and exploitation by humans at some great cost to themselves, only to discover their free kin are no better ethically than the humans.
It's a Tiptree. Well written, depressing as hell. I still have not worked my way through her recent anthology from Tor, although there it's the contrast between some of her comments in the book and her eventual fate.
Animal Lover (Stephen R. DOnaldson): An animal loving cyborg discovers a foul plot at a hunting reservation and foils it with much gore.
Far too long for the story it wants to tell but didn't grate on me that way Donaldson's first trilogy did.
Snake Eyes: Flinx and his minidrag help an old prospector recover some valuable gems and avoid getting whacked by some reprobates. Lots of double crossing.
A minor Flinx story. Inoffensive.
[Dear Hollywood; no, I don't want to see Johnny Depp as Flinx]
The Last Decision (Benm Bova): The Sun is going to brighten slightly, enough to kill a now mostly rural Earth. The Empire can possibly halt this, at great cost, but the Emperor is not sure he wants to: his son was killed there for failing to meet the standards necessary in an Emperor. He's also not sure how to ensure the long project will be carried out. Eventually, he comes up with a plan to save the Earth by moving the Imperial court back to the Solar System from Alpha Centauri.
Interesting if only because it's a sequel to someone else's story. The dead son was killed in a Gordon R. Dickson story. Not sure why Bova decided to limit the Empire to NAFAL ships but I am a sucker for NAFAL backgrounds.
The Deimos Plague (Charles Sheffield): A lawyer, having ratted out the mob, flees to Mars with two pigs. His disguise accidentally allows him to survive a plague with kills the rest of the crew and deliver the pigs, which are carrying the serum to stop the plague.
Well, I remember liking this series. Sheffield apparently sat down and made a list of subjects which SF was too genteel to discuss and then wrote stories about them. I think he calls the series his sewer series and it's true the protagonists spend a lot of time up to their chins in human excrement in the tales. New collection of them is out, although I forget from who.
[Sadly, Sheffield must now be referred to in the past tense]
Assassin (James P. Hogan): a killer travels to Earth to murder a scientist who fled the tyranny of Mars. The killer is fairly successful but runs afoul of the scientist's subject matter: matter duplication. One copy of the killer is sent back off to Mars, unaware that another version of him is being questioned by the Terran authorities.
Deadly tedious exposition, cardboard characters. Hogan at the height of his abilities. It's interesting to contrast this with an Orson Scott Card story with much the same idea wrt prisoners in his Capital collection. Points for not having the plucky rebels be the default good guys, although I am not entirely certain the Terrans are so much more ethical.
Again, a bit of a mixed bag. The Tiptree alone justifies the collection, though.
THE SILMARILLION by J.R.R. Tolkien (Alternate)
I can't read Tolkien. It's my secret shame.
July
The Persistence of Vision John Varley (Quantum/Dial, 1978, hc); UK pb
edition (Futura 1978) as In the Hall of the Martian Kings.
+ o Introduction o Algis Budrys o in
+ o The Phantom of Kansas o nv Galaxy Feb '76
+ o Air Raid [as by Herb Boehm] o ss IASFM Spr '77
+ o Retrograde Summer o nv F&SF Feb '75
+ o The Black Hole Passes o nv F&SF Jun '75
+ o In the Hall of the Martian Kings o na F&SF Feb '77
+ o In the Bowl o nv F&SF Dec '75
+ o Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance o nv Galaxy Jul '76
+ o Overdrawn at the Memory Bank o nv Galaxy May '76
+ o The Persistence of Vision o na F&SF Mar '78
Another Must Have anthology. Many of these are set in Varley's Eight Worlds setting (post-human, post-We Got Our Ass Kicked by Aliens, New Solar System) but not all of them.
Varley's use of the New Solar System was always skillful. I miss fun SF like the EW (And no, I don't consider his post-Holly-weird EW material as fun).
[It got worse]
About the only story I didn't care for is "Air Raid", which grew into the novel "Millennium" and the wretched movie of the same name.
THE HOSTAGE OF ZIR by L. Sprague de Camp
A Krishna novel from the Viagens setting. I think this is one where a put-upon tour guide must lead a party of idiots through the various cultures of Krishna, a habitable planet orbiting Tau Ceti.
For a rough idea of the feel, imagine if the group of tourists from If This is Tuesday, This Must be Belgium had found themselves in 1980s Iran, with Cary Grant in the role of Susanne Pleshette.
In general I do not recommend recasting all Pleshette roles with Grant although advances in software should make it possible.
DYING OF THE LIGHT by George R.R. Martin (Alternate)
Martin's first novel, a moody tale of extreme culture clash on a world whose artificial ecosystem is rapidly collapsing. Until he turned to writing his current fantasy series, this was the only Martin I couldn't really get into.
August
The 1978 Annual World's Best SF ed. Donald A. Wollheim & Arthur W.
Saha (DAW 0-87997-376-5, May '78, $1.95, 270pp, pb)
+ 7 o Introduction o Donald A. Wollheim o in
+ 11 o In the Hall of the Martian Kings o John Varley o na F&SF
Feb '77
+ 53 o A Time to Live o Joe W. Haldeman o ss Analog May '77
+ 61 o The House of Compassionate Sharers o Michael Bishop o nv
Cosmos SF&F Magazine May '77
+ 98 o Particle Theory o Edward Bryant o ss Analog Feb '77
+ 121 o The Taste of the Dish and the Savor of the Day o John
Brunner o nv F&SF Aug '77
+ 142 o Jeffty Is Five o Harlan Ellison o ss F&SF Jul '77
+ 163 o The Screwfly Solution o Raccoona Sheldon o ss Analog
Jun '77
+ 184 o Eyes of Amber o Joan D. Vinge o nv Analog Jun '77
+ 222 o Child of the Sun o James E. Gunn o nv Analog Mar '77
+ 251 o Brother o Clifford D. Simak o nv F&SF Oct '77
I missed most of these.
The Varley is a story that uses an idea that is fashionable from time to time, that the Martian surface undergoes extreme cycles in habitability.
The Ellison is about a boy who seems to never age.
The Sheldon is about aliens gentrifying Earth by getting us to wipe ourselves out.
The Vinge was the lead in the All Women (with a lot of men) edition of Analog and is about radio contact via a space probe between the inhabitants of Titan and NASA. I liked it.
FALSE DAWN by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
I missed this.
The Star Trek Reader IV James Blish (E.P. Dutton, 1978, hc)
+ o Star Trek 10 o oc New York: Bantam Feb '74
+ o The Alternative Factor o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by Don Ingalls
+ o The Empath o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974; screenplay by
Joyce Muskat
+ o The Galileo Seven o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by S. Wincelberg & O. Crawford
+ o Is There No Truth in Beauty? o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam,
1974; screenplay by Jean Lisette Aroeste
+ o A Private Little War o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by Don Ingalls & Gene Roddenberry
+ o The Omega Glory o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry
+ o Star Trek 11 o oc New York: Bantam Apr '75
+ o What Are Little Girls Made Of? o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam,
1975; screenplay by Robert Bloch
+ o The Squire of Gothos o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Paul Schneider
+ o Wink of an Eye o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975; screenplay
by Arthur Heinemann & Lee Cronin
+ o Bread and Circuses o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry & Gene L. Coon
+ o Day of the Dove o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Jerome Bixby
+ o Plato's Stepchildren o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Meyer Dolinsky
+ o Spock Must Die! o n. New York: Bantam Feb '70
(A Torrent of Obscenities taken as read)
Spock Must Die! is one of the worst ST novels I ever read.
September THE FAR CALL by Gordon R. Dickson
This is a story of an international joint mission to Mars and is heavily affected by the experiences of Skylab, in particular the tendency of people who are forking out billions of dollars to want to squeeze every penny of labour they can from the astronauts, even when this undermines productivity.
The terrestial scenes seem underpopulated. One fairly high ranking gov't agent has no visible staff, for example.
STAR RIGGER'S WAY by Jeffrey A. Carver
Carver is an author whose works I have never been able to finish.
[I don't know why]
The Illustrated Roger Zelazny Roger Zelazny (Baronet, Feb '78, lp);
Edited by Byron Preiss, stories shortened.
+ o Illustrations o Gray Morrow o il
+ o Introduction o Byron Preiss o in
+ o Shadowjack o ss *
+ o An Amber Tapestry o Gray Morrow o il Mediascene
+ o A Rose for Ecclesiastes o nv F&SF Nov '63; ; Illustrated
version-, Heavy Metal Jan '78
+ o The Furies o nv Amazing Jun '65
+ o A Zelazny Tapestry o Gray Morrow o il *
+ o Zelazny Speaks o ar *
+ o Morrow Speaks o Gray Morrow o ar *
+ o The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth o nv F&SF Mar
'65; ; Illustrated version-, Star-Reach
+ o Rock Collector [adapted from "Collector's Fever"] o ct
Galaxy Jun '64
I can safely say I never saw these versions of these stories.
QUAZAR, QUAZAR, BURNING BRIGHT by Isaac Asimov (Alternate)
A collection of science essays.
October THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN (omnibus of DRAGONFLIGHT, DRAGONQUEST and
THE WHITE DRAGON) by Anne McCaffrey
As far as I recall, the last McCaffrey I read was Get Off the Unicorn and whatever I read didn't include her Pern stuff, aside from the original Analog story.
THE FADED SUN: SHON'JIR by C.J. Cherryh
Another entry in the Faded Sun series, this suffers from Middle Book Syndrome. It's necessary to get from book one to three but otherwise is unmemorable.
THE PERFECT LOVER by Christopher Priest (Alternate)
I missed this.
Fall
The Earth Book of Stormgate Poul Anderson (Berkley/Putnam, 1978, hc);
Also in pb (Berkley May '79).
+ o Wings of Victory o ss Analog Apr '72
+ o The Problem of Pain o nv F&SF Feb '73
+ o How to Be Ethnic in One Easy Lesson o nv Future Quest, ed.
Roger Elwood, Avon, 1973
+ o Margin of Profit o nv Astounding Sep '56; revised
+ o Esau ["Birthright"] o nv Analog Feb '70
+ o The Season of Forgiveness o ss Boys' Life Dec '73
+ o The Man Who Counts o n. Astounding Feb '58 (+2); ; as War
of the Wing-Men, New York: Ace, 1958
+ o A Little Knowledge o nv Analog Aug '71
+ o Day of Burning ["Supernova"] o na Analog Jan '67
+ o Lodestar o nv Astounding, ed. Harry Harrison, Random, 1973
+ o Wingless ["Wingless on Avalon"] o ss Children of Infinity,
ed. Roger Elwood, Watts, 1973
+ o Rescue on Avalon o ss Boys' Life Jul '73
I have this from the SFBC.
I remember being disappointed and I think it was because all the material in here that I liked I already had in other books.
Of these, the oddest is The Man Who Counts, a tribute to the Awesome Power of Management (comes with free hapless engineer). I am tempted to send a copy to Scott Adams to see if his head explodes.
It occurs to me that Falkayn not only betrays his boss in "Lodestar" (discovery of a world with transuranics) but sets the scene for the Long Night in "Day of Burning" (Merisa saved from a nearby super nova in as humiliting fashion as DF and his buddies could arrange). Not bad for one spice merchant...
BLIND VOICES by Tom Reamy
Tom Reamy's only novel, this is what a Ray Bradbury novel might be like if Ray Bradbury wrote stuff I liked.
Millennial Women ed. Virginia Kidd (Delacorte, 1978, hc); Also as The
Eye of the Heron and Other Stories (Panther 1980, pb).
+ o Prayer for My Daughter o Marilyn Hacker o pm *
+ o Introduction o Virginia Kidd o in
+ o No One Said Forever o Cynthia Felice o ss *
+ o The Song of N'Sardi-el o Diana L. Paxson o ss *
+ o Jubilee's Story o Elizabeth A. Lynn o ss *
+ o Mab Gallen Recalled o Cherry Wilder o ss *
+ o Phoenix in the Ashes o Joan D. Vinge o nv *
+ o The Eye of the Heron o Ursula K. Le Guin o n. *
+ o Biographical Notes o [Misc. Material] o bg
Unfortunately Kidd is now the late Virginia Kidd, having died this January.
http://www.sfwa.org/News/kidd.htm
The only story I recall from these is the Le Guin, a story of pacifists dealing with some very nasty men, badly. Provoked an irate essay from Gregory Benford and Charles Platt.
November THE MASTERS OF SOLITUDE by Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin
Post-WWIII, I think, but otherwise gone from memory.
SPACEMIND by Doris Piserchia
I never read this.
THE WAY THE FUTURE WAS by Frederik Pohk (Alternate)
This is Pohl's autobiography up to the 1970s. My only criticisms are that it was too short and that there has never been a second volume.
I don't have this in the SFBC version but only MMPK. Stupid stupid James.
[Yeah, don't know what I was on about. I have it in both SFBC and MMPK]
December THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE TALISMAN by Clifford D. Simak
[did I read this?]
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA by Robert Thurston
And I never read this.
The Best of Lester del Rey Lester del Rey (Ballantine, Sep '78, pb)
+ o The Magnificent o Frederik Pohl o in
+ o Helen O'Loy o ss Astounding Dec '38
+ o The Day Is Done o ss Astounding May '39
+ o The Coppersmith o ss Unknown Sep '39
+ o Hereafter, Inc. o ss Unknown Dec '41
+ o The Wings of Night o ss Astounding Mar '42
+ o Into Thy Hands o ss Astounding Aug '45
+ o And It Comes Out Here o ss Galaxy Feb '51
+ o The Monster o ss Argosy Jun '51
+ o "The Years Draw Nigh" o ss Astounding Oct '51
+ o Instinct o ss Astounding Jan '52
+ o Superstition o nv Astounding Aug '54
+ o For I Am a Jealous People! o na Star Short Novels, ed.
Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1954
+ o Keepers of the House o ss Fantastic Universe Jan '56
+ o Little Jimmy o ss F&SF Apr '57
+ o The Seat of Judgment o ss Venture Jul '57
+ o Vengeance Is Mine ["To Avenge Man"] o nv Galaxy Dec '64
+ o Author's Afterword o aw
I have this. Most of it is lost to the care of time but some do stay in my memory. "Coppersmith" is a typical Unknown style fantasy, about one of the small folk discovering how to survive in the hostile modern world. "People" is about humanity discovering God has made a new covenant with aliens and certain references imply we then went on to kick His ass. "Vengence" is the quest of a robot to hunt down the killers of humanity, with positive side-effects even when it develops that those responsible are beyond retribution.
THE STARS IN SHROUD by Gregory Benford (Alternate)
*This* is the rewrite I mentioned earlier. This book of humanity plagued by hostile aliens parallels the decay of an empire with the decay of the protagonist's marriage to a two dimensional shrew. I liked it when I was a teenager but in retrospect my lack of dates in high school is no longer the mystery it was to me then.
[This has not aged well]
1978
January THE POWER THAT PRESERVES by Stephen R. Donaldson
Another Covenant novel that I did not read.
Orbit 19 ed. Damon Knight (Harper & Row, 1977, hc)
+ o They Say o [Misc. Material] o ms
+ o Lollipop and the Tar Baby o John Varley o nv *
+ o State of Grace o Kate Wilhelm o ss *
+ o Many Mansions o Gene Wolfe o ss *
+ o The Veil Over the River o Felix C. Gotschalk o nv *
+ o Fall of Pebble-Stones o R. A. Lafferty o ss *
+ o The Memory Machine o [Misc. Material] o ms
+ o Tomus o Stephen Robinett o ss *
+ o Under Jupiter o Michael McClintock o nv *
+ o To the Dark Tower Came o Gene Wolfe o ss *
+ o Vamp o Michael Conner o nv *
+ o Beings of Game P-U o Phillip Teich o ss *
+ o Night Shift o Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. o ss *
+ o Going Down o Eleanor Arnason o ss *
+ o The Disguise o Kim Stanley Robinson o nv *
+ o Arcs & Secants o [Misc. Material] o ms
The Varley is a tale of a young girl, her not especially nice mother and the talking black hole they meet out in the Oort cloud.
Complete blank otherwise. I had no idea KSR went back as far as 1978.
The Star Trek Reader III James Blish (E.P. Dutton, 1977, hc)
+ o Star Trek 5 o oc New York: Bantam Feb '72
+ o Whom Gods Destroy o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Lee Erwin & Jerry Sohl
+ o The Tholian Web o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by Judy Burns & Chet Richards
+ o Let That Be Your Last Battlefield o sa Star Trek #5,
Bantam, 1972; screenplay by O. Crawford & Lee Cronin
+ o This Side of Paradise o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by N. Butler & D.C. Fontana
+ o Turnabout Intruder o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry & A.H. Singer
+ o Requiem for Methuselah o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Jerome Bixby
+ o The Way to Eden o sa Star Trek #5, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by A. Heinemann & M. Richards
+ o Star Trek 6 o oc New York: Bantam Apr '72
+ o The Savage Curtain o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry & A. Heinemann
+ o The Lights of Zetar o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Jeremy Tarcher & Shari Lewis
+ o The Apple o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972; screenplay by
Max Ehrlich & Gene L. Coon
+ o By Any Other Name o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by D.C. Fontana & Jerome Bixby
+ o The Cloud Miners o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by M. Armen, D. Gerrold & O. Crawford
+ o The Mark of Gideon o sa Star Trek #6, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by G.F. Slavin & S. Adams
+ o Star Trek 7 o oc New York: Bantam Jul '72
+ o Who Mourns for Adonais? o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by G. Ralston & Gene L. Coon
+ o The Changeling o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by John Meredyth Lucas
+ o The Paradise Syndrome o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by Margaret Armen
+ o Metamorphosis o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972; screenplay
by Gene L. Coon
+ o The Deadly Years o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by David P. Harmon
+ o Elaan of Troyius o sa Star Trek #7, Bantam, 1972;
screenplay by John Meredyth Lucas
Hsssssss.
[Actually, I have since come to regard old Trek's ambitious with some respect, even if the execution was sometimes flawed. Reach, grasp and all that; at least they *had* ambitions]
February
The Best of L. Sprague de Camp L. Sprague de Camp (SFBC #2164, 1978,
$2.98, 301pp, hc, cover by Corben)
+ ix o L. Sprague de Camp--Engineer and Sorcerer o Poul
Anderson o in
+ 1 o Hyperpilosity o ss Astounding Apr '38
+ 13 o Language for Time Travelers o ar Astounding Jul '38
+ 27 o The Command o ss Astounding Oct '38
+ 40 o The Merman o ss Astounding Dec '38
+ 55 o Employment [as by Lyman R. Lyon] o ss Astounding May '39
+ 73 o The Gnarly Man o nv Unknown Jun '39
+ 94 o "Reward of Virtue" o pm F&SF Sep '70
+ 95 o Nothing in the Rules o nv Unknown Jul '39
+ 123 o The Hardwood Pile o nv Unknown Sep '40
+ 149 o The Reluctant Shaman o ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Apr
'47
+ 162 o The Inspector's Teeth o ss Astounding Apr '50
+ 176 o The Guided Man o nv Startling Stories Oct '52
+ 207 o "The Ameba" o pm Yandro Dec '73
+ 208 o Judgment Day o ss Astounding Aug '55
+ 227 o A Gun for Dinosaur o nv Galaxy Mar '56
+ 253 o The Emperor's Fan o nv Astounding, ed. Harry Harrison,
Random, 1973
+ 269 o Two Yards of Dragon o nv Flashing Swords! #3, ed. Lin
Carter, Dell, 1976
+ 295 o "The Little Green Men" o pm Fantasy Crossroads #7 '76
+ 296 o Author's Afterword o aw
I read this at my father's funeral (in MMPK, though). It's a nice mixture of de Camp material; the Best of series really was quite well done.
SILENCE IS DEADLY by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
This is the fourth and I think final Jan Darzek novel. This is the book I was referring to in another thread when I mentioned that the Galactics had handed many of their democratic responsibilities to machines: one world may have developed a death ray of a sort that might attract automatic destruction from the machine intelligence defenders of the Galaxy's democracies.
THE FUTURIANS by Damon Knight (Alternate)
Now this is weird. I have this edition so I must have belonged to the SFBC at this point. So why do I not have the Best of De Camp in the SFBC edition?
This is a somewhat bile-filled retrospective of the New York City group that produced such writers as Asimov, Pohl and Knight himself. Makes interesting paired reading with Pohl's far more amiable The Way the Future Was. Well written and recommended.
March TIME STORM by Gordon R. Dickson
For some reason, Earth has been hit with 'time storms', events that place places from different periods adjacent to each other. Fred Hoyle did OK with this basic idea and I am sure pre-stroke Laumer could have but for some reason GRD's treatment of this left me cold.
THE FADED SUN: KESRITH by C.J. Cherryh
First in the Faded Sun series, I think. A human in contact with an alien race of
Looking at the Amazon entry, it seems to me that in a few years we might want to keep an eye out for a new poster named Scott Ward.
[What the hell was I on about there?]
1: The Regul indicated anger by clamping their nostrils and mouths shut. This indicates to me a less violent way of dealing with them as enemies: simply send them comedians like Carrot Top and Howard Stern until they all expire from anger.
THE CURRENTS OF SPACE by Isaac Asimov (Alternate)
Reprint of a 1950s Empire novel, already reviewed.
THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES by Ray Bradbury (Alternate)
Reprint from the Club's first year, already discussed.
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (Alternate)
This is a fix-up of three stories about North America post-WWIII and aftermath, beginning with a monk discovering what might be an important religious relic, then detailing the slow recovery of lost knowledge and the final misuse of it *again*. Miller was a Catholic (pre-Vatican II variety, due to causality) and his theology informs the story.
I think the ending is optimistic, because of the name of the man who leads the children away from Earth, but I could be entirely out to lunch here.
MORE THAN HUMAN by Theodore Sturgeon (Alternate)
Fix-up of three novellas about super-humans of a particular sort and it left me utterly cold.
SLAN by A.E. Van Vogt (Alternate)
Classic (which is to say, badly written) tale of superhuman mutants and the meanies who pick on them.
THE DEMOLISHED MAN by Alfred Bester (Alternate)
One of the two Must Have Bester novels, this is a murder mystery in which the killer must figure out how to get away with his crime despite the existence of police telepaths. Comes with free ear-worm.
April
I can't seem to find this particular version in Contento but here are the contents of the two separate volumes:
Galactic Empires Volume One ed. Brian W. Aldiss (Weidenfeld Nicolson
0-297-77108-6, 1976, hc); An Anthology of Way-Back-When
Futures. US edition: St. Martin's 1977.
+ viii o Introduction o Brian W. Aldiss o in
+ o A Sense of Perspective o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 6 o Been a Long, Long Time o R. A. Lafferty o ss Fantastic
Dec '70
+ 14 o The Possessed o Arthur C. Clarke o ss Dynamic Science
Fiction Mar '53
+ 20 o Protected Species o H. B. Fyfe o ss Astounding Mar '51
+ 23 o All the Way Back o Michael Shaara o ss Astounding Jul
'52
+ o `Wider Still and Wider...' o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 60 o The Star Plunderer o Poul Anderson o nv Planet Stories
Sep '52
+ 90 o Foundation o Isaac Asimov o nv Astounding May '42
+ 127 o We're Civilized o Mark Clifton & Alex Apostolides o ss
Galaxy Aug '53
+ o Horses in the Starship Hold o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 146 o The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal o
Cordwainer Smith o ss Amazing May '64
+ 165 o The Rebel of Valkyr o Alfred Coppel o nv Planet Stories
Fll '50
+ 215 o Brightness Falls from the Air [contest story] o Idris
Seabright o ss F&SF Apr '51
+ 223 o Immigrant o Clifford D. Simak o na Astounding Mar '54
+ o The Health Service in the Skies o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 289 o Resident Physician o James White o nv New Worlds Sep
'61
+ 318 o Age of Retirement o Mal Lynch o ss Astounding Apr '54
+ 325 o Planting Time o Pete Adams & Charles Nightingale o ss
Antigrav: Cosmic Comedies, ed. Philip Strick, London:
Hutchinson, 1975
__________________________________________________________
Galactic Empires Volume Two ed. Brian W. Aldiss (Weidenfeld Nicolson
0-297-77223-6, 1976, hc); An Anthology of Way-Back-When Futures
US edition: St. Martin's 1977.
+ vi o Introduction o Brian W. Aldiss o in
+ 1 o `You Can't Impose Civilization by Force' o Brian W.
Aldiss o si
+ 8 o Escape to Chaos o John D. MacDonald o na Super Science
Stories Jun '51
+ 55 o Concealment o A. E. van Vogt o ss Astounding Sep '43
+ 72 o To Civilize o Algis Budrys o ss Future Jan '54
+ 82 o Beep o James Blish o nv Galaxy Feb '54
+ 123 o The Other End of the Stick o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 126 o Down the River o Mack Reynolds o ss Startling Stories
Sep '50
+ 135 o The Bounty Hunter o Avram Davidson o ss Fantastic
Universe Mar '58
+ 141 o Not Yet the End o Fredric Brown o vi Captain Future Win
'41
+ 145 o All Things Are Cyclic o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 150 o Tonight the Stars Revolt! o Gardner F. Fox o nv Planet
Stories Mar '52
+ 192 o Final Encounter o Harry Harrison o nv Galaxy Apr '64
+ 215 o Big Ancestors and Descendants o Brian W. Aldiss o si
+ 219 o Lord of a Thousand Suns o Poul Anderson o nv Planet
Stories Sep '51
+ 251 o Big Ancestor o F. L. Wallace o nv Galaxy Nov '54
+ 278 o The Interlopers o Roger Dee o ss Astounding Sep '54
+ 296 o Epilogue o Brian W. Aldiss o aw
I have these in the Orbit editions and I read and reread them in the 1970s. I still reread them from time to time. One of the best pairs of anthologies I bought in the 1970s.
Each volume consists of thematic sections with stories chosen to illustrate Aldiss' themes. Strongly recommended.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND by Stephen Spielberg
Novelization of the movie. I wonder who really wrote this?
THE VIEW FROM SERENDIP by Arthur C. Clarke (Alternate)
This is a collection of essays by Clarke, non-fiction which is why Contento does not seem to have it. Or as it turns out, ISFDB either.
[I'd discovered ISFDB.
Something I discovered is that almost every part of UW has some SF novel associated with it; the coffee lounge in Chem 2 ~ Shaw's Wreath of Stars, the parking lot near University and Seagram ~ All the Myriad Ways, 3rd floor chem stores ~ Inherit the Stars. The View from Serendib comes to mind as I approach Chem 2 from the North East]
May UP THE WALLS OF THE WORLD by James Tiptree, Jr.
One of the very few (two?) novels Tiptree ever wrote, this details a first contact between humans and aliens. Unfortunately, the contact is psychic and since the aliens's homeworld is about to be torched (part of a fire lane clearing program, I think) the aliens have a strong motivation to relocate their minds.
SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE by Alan Dean Foster
Non-canonical sequel to Star Wars. I never read this. Since it is pre-Empire, I wonder if Luke slips Leia a little tongue in this book?
MICHAELMAS by Algis Budrys (Alternate)
I own this, I used to be a raving Budrys fan and I have No Idea what this is about. I have never managed to finish it.
Spring DREAMSNAKE by Vonda N. McIntyre
Novel length expansion of "Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand", which solves the mystery of where new healing snakes come from. Unfortunately the nature of the solution implies all previous researchers were morons. Despite that, I really liked this book.
MASTODONIA by Clifford D. Simak
I know I read this and thought it was like an inferior update of "The Big Back Yard" but only the memory of my impression remains. I have this in the SFBC edition as well.
THE END OF ALL SONGS by Michael Moorcock (Alternate)
I did not read this.
June THREE HAINISH NOVELS (omnibus of ROCANNON'S WORLD, PLANET OF EXILE and
CITY OF ILLUSIONS) by Ursula K. Le Guin
Three novels of variable competence from UKLG, all set in the same interstellar mileau as The Word for World is Forest and The
Dispossessed. My take on the events of these novels (Girl trapped on low tech world, I Forget and post-invasion Earth from POV of an amnesiac, I think) is that the Hainish habit of screwing around with the biology of other human(oid) races finally came back to bite them on the ass.
Are the later Hainish short stories at all reconcilable with these? And were the other HILFs actually humans?
Stellar #4 ed. Judy-Lynn del Rey (Ballantine, May '78, pb)
+ o We Who Stole the Dream o James Tiptree, Jr. o nv *
+ o Animal Lover o Stephen R. Donaldson o na *
+ o Snake Eyes o Alan Dean Foster o nv *
+ o The Last Decision o Ben Bova o nv *
+ o The Deimos Plague o Charles Sheffield o ss *
+ o Assassin o James P. Hogan o nv *
+ o About the Authors o [Misc. Material] o bg
to which I append an old review of mine.
The cover shows an alien crying what appears to be tears of blood, while holding a cup. Art by H.R. Dongen. Illustrates the Tiptree story but as art doesn't work for me.
We Who Stole the Dream (James Tiptree): The story of some plucky aliens who escape enslavement and exploitation by humans at some great cost to themselves, only to discover their free kin are no better ethically than the humans.
It's a Tiptree. Well written, depressing as hell. I still have not worked my way through her recent anthology from Tor, although there it's the contrast between some of her comments in the book and her eventual fate.
Animal Lover (Stephen R. DOnaldson): An animal loving cyborg discovers a foul plot at a hunting reservation and foils it with much gore.
Far too long for the story it wants to tell but didn't grate on me that way Donaldson's first trilogy did.
Snake Eyes: Flinx and his minidrag help an old prospector recover some valuable gems and avoid getting whacked by some reprobates. Lots of double crossing.
A minor Flinx story. Inoffensive.
[Dear Hollywood; no, I don't want to see Johnny Depp as Flinx]
The Last Decision (Benm Bova): The Sun is going to brighten slightly, enough to kill a now mostly rural Earth. The Empire can possibly halt this, at great cost, but the Emperor is not sure he wants to: his son was killed there for failing to meet the standards necessary in an Emperor. He's also not sure how to ensure the long project will be carried out. Eventually, he comes up with a plan to save the Earth by moving the Imperial court back to the Solar System from Alpha Centauri.
Interesting if only because it's a sequel to someone else's story. The dead son was killed in a Gordon R. Dickson story. Not sure why Bova decided to limit the Empire to NAFAL ships but I am a sucker for NAFAL backgrounds.
The Deimos Plague (Charles Sheffield): A lawyer, having ratted out the mob, flees to Mars with two pigs. His disguise accidentally allows him to survive a plague with kills the rest of the crew and deliver the pigs, which are carrying the serum to stop the plague.
Well, I remember liking this series. Sheffield apparently sat down and made a list of subjects which SF was too genteel to discuss and then wrote stories about them. I think he calls the series his sewer series and it's true the protagonists spend a lot of time up to their chins in human excrement in the tales. New collection of them is out, although I forget from who.
[Sadly, Sheffield must now be referred to in the past tense]
Assassin (James P. Hogan): a killer travels to Earth to murder a scientist who fled the tyranny of Mars. The killer is fairly successful but runs afoul of the scientist's subject matter: matter duplication. One copy of the killer is sent back off to Mars, unaware that another version of him is being questioned by the Terran authorities.
Deadly tedious exposition, cardboard characters. Hogan at the height of his abilities. It's interesting to contrast this with an Orson Scott Card story with much the same idea wrt prisoners in his Capital collection. Points for not having the plucky rebels be the default good guys, although I am not entirely certain the Terrans are so much more ethical.
Again, a bit of a mixed bag. The Tiptree alone justifies the collection, though.
THE SILMARILLION by J.R.R. Tolkien (Alternate)
I can't read Tolkien. It's my secret shame.
July
The Persistence of Vision John Varley (Quantum/Dial, 1978, hc); UK pb
edition (Futura 1978) as In the Hall of the Martian Kings.
+ o Introduction o Algis Budrys o in
+ o The Phantom of Kansas o nv Galaxy Feb '76
+ o Air Raid [as by Herb Boehm] o ss IASFM Spr '77
+ o Retrograde Summer o nv F&SF Feb '75
+ o The Black Hole Passes o nv F&SF Jun '75
+ o In the Hall of the Martian Kings o na F&SF Feb '77
+ o In the Bowl o nv F&SF Dec '75
+ o Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance o nv Galaxy Jul '76
+ o Overdrawn at the Memory Bank o nv Galaxy May '76
+ o The Persistence of Vision o na F&SF Mar '78
Another Must Have anthology. Many of these are set in Varley's Eight Worlds setting (post-human, post-We Got Our Ass Kicked by Aliens, New Solar System) but not all of them.
Varley's use of the New Solar System was always skillful. I miss fun SF like the EW (And no, I don't consider his post-Holly-weird EW material as fun).
[It got worse]
About the only story I didn't care for is "Air Raid", which grew into the novel "Millennium" and the wretched movie of the same name.
THE HOSTAGE OF ZIR by L. Sprague de Camp
A Krishna novel from the Viagens setting. I think this is one where a put-upon tour guide must lead a party of idiots through the various cultures of Krishna, a habitable planet orbiting Tau Ceti.
For a rough idea of the feel, imagine if the group of tourists from If This is Tuesday, This Must be Belgium had found themselves in 1980s Iran, with Cary Grant in the role of Susanne Pleshette.
In general I do not recommend recasting all Pleshette roles with Grant although advances in software should make it possible.
DYING OF THE LIGHT by George R.R. Martin (Alternate)
Martin's first novel, a moody tale of extreme culture clash on a world whose artificial ecosystem is rapidly collapsing. Until he turned to writing his current fantasy series, this was the only Martin I couldn't really get into.
August
The 1978 Annual World's Best SF ed. Donald A. Wollheim & Arthur W.
Saha (DAW 0-87997-376-5, May '78, $1.95, 270pp, pb)
+ 7 o Introduction o Donald A. Wollheim o in
+ 11 o In the Hall of the Martian Kings o John Varley o na F&SF
Feb '77
+ 53 o A Time to Live o Joe W. Haldeman o ss Analog May '77
+ 61 o The House of Compassionate Sharers o Michael Bishop o nv
Cosmos SF&F Magazine May '77
+ 98 o Particle Theory o Edward Bryant o ss Analog Feb '77
+ 121 o The Taste of the Dish and the Savor of the Day o John
Brunner o nv F&SF Aug '77
+ 142 o Jeffty Is Five o Harlan Ellison o ss F&SF Jul '77
+ 163 o The Screwfly Solution o Raccoona Sheldon o ss Analog
Jun '77
+ 184 o Eyes of Amber o Joan D. Vinge o nv Analog Jun '77
+ 222 o Child of the Sun o James E. Gunn o nv Analog Mar '77
+ 251 o Brother o Clifford D. Simak o nv F&SF Oct '77
I missed most of these.
The Varley is a story that uses an idea that is fashionable from time to time, that the Martian surface undergoes extreme cycles in habitability.
The Ellison is about a boy who seems to never age.
The Sheldon is about aliens gentrifying Earth by getting us to wipe ourselves out.
The Vinge was the lead in the All Women (with a lot of men) edition of Analog and is about radio contact via a space probe between the inhabitants of Titan and NASA. I liked it.
FALSE DAWN by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
I missed this.
The Star Trek Reader IV James Blish (E.P. Dutton, 1978, hc)
+ o Star Trek 10 o oc New York: Bantam Feb '74
+ o The Alternative Factor o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by Don Ingalls
+ o The Empath o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974; screenplay by
Joyce Muskat
+ o The Galileo Seven o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by S. Wincelberg & O. Crawford
+ o Is There No Truth in Beauty? o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam,
1974; screenplay by Jean Lisette Aroeste
+ o A Private Little War o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by Don Ingalls & Gene Roddenberry
+ o The Omega Glory o sa Star Trek #10, Bantam, 1974;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry
+ o Star Trek 11 o oc New York: Bantam Apr '75
+ o What Are Little Girls Made Of? o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam,
1975; screenplay by Robert Bloch
+ o The Squire of Gothos o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Paul Schneider
+ o Wink of an Eye o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975; screenplay
by Arthur Heinemann & Lee Cronin
+ o Bread and Circuses o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Gene Roddenberry & Gene L. Coon
+ o Day of the Dove o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Jerome Bixby
+ o Plato's Stepchildren o sa Star Trek #11, Bantam, 1975;
screenplay by Meyer Dolinsky
+ o Spock Must Die! o n. New York: Bantam Feb '70
(A Torrent of Obscenities taken as read)
Spock Must Die! is one of the worst ST novels I ever read.
September THE FAR CALL by Gordon R. Dickson
This is a story of an international joint mission to Mars and is heavily affected by the experiences of Skylab, in particular the tendency of people who are forking out billions of dollars to want to squeeze every penny of labour they can from the astronauts, even when this undermines productivity.
The terrestial scenes seem underpopulated. One fairly high ranking gov't agent has no visible staff, for example.
STAR RIGGER'S WAY by Jeffrey A. Carver
Carver is an author whose works I have never been able to finish.
[I don't know why]
The Illustrated Roger Zelazny Roger Zelazny (Baronet, Feb '78, lp);
Edited by Byron Preiss, stories shortened.
+ o Illustrations o Gray Morrow o il
+ o Introduction o Byron Preiss o in
+ o Shadowjack o ss *
+ o An Amber Tapestry o Gray Morrow o il Mediascene
+ o A Rose for Ecclesiastes o nv F&SF Nov '63; ; Illustrated
version-, Heavy Metal Jan '78
+ o The Furies o nv Amazing Jun '65
+ o A Zelazny Tapestry o Gray Morrow o il *
+ o Zelazny Speaks o ar *
+ o Morrow Speaks o Gray Morrow o ar *
+ o The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth o nv F&SF Mar
'65; ; Illustrated version-, Star-Reach
+ o Rock Collector [adapted from "Collector's Fever"] o ct
Galaxy Jun '64
I can safely say I never saw these versions of these stories.
QUAZAR, QUAZAR, BURNING BRIGHT by Isaac Asimov (Alternate)
A collection of science essays.
October THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN (omnibus of DRAGONFLIGHT, DRAGONQUEST and
THE WHITE DRAGON) by Anne McCaffrey
As far as I recall, the last McCaffrey I read was Get Off the Unicorn and whatever I read didn't include her Pern stuff, aside from the original Analog story.
THE FADED SUN: SHON'JIR by C.J. Cherryh
Another entry in the Faded Sun series, this suffers from Middle Book Syndrome. It's necessary to get from book one to three but otherwise is unmemorable.
THE PERFECT LOVER by Christopher Priest (Alternate)
I missed this.
Fall
The Earth Book of Stormgate Poul Anderson (Berkley/Putnam, 1978, hc);
Also in pb (Berkley May '79).
+ o Wings of Victory o ss Analog Apr '72
+ o The Problem of Pain o nv F&SF Feb '73
+ o How to Be Ethnic in One Easy Lesson o nv Future Quest, ed.
Roger Elwood, Avon, 1973
+ o Margin of Profit o nv Astounding Sep '56; revised
+ o Esau ["Birthright"] o nv Analog Feb '70
+ o The Season of Forgiveness o ss Boys' Life Dec '73
+ o The Man Who Counts o n. Astounding Feb '58 (+2); ; as War
of the Wing-Men, New York: Ace, 1958
+ o A Little Knowledge o nv Analog Aug '71
+ o Day of Burning ["Supernova"] o na Analog Jan '67
+ o Lodestar o nv Astounding, ed. Harry Harrison, Random, 1973
+ o Wingless ["Wingless on Avalon"] o ss Children of Infinity,
ed. Roger Elwood, Watts, 1973
+ o Rescue on Avalon o ss Boys' Life Jul '73
I have this from the SFBC.
I remember being disappointed and I think it was because all the material in here that I liked I already had in other books.
Of these, the oddest is The Man Who Counts, a tribute to the Awesome Power of Management (comes with free hapless engineer). I am tempted to send a copy to Scott Adams to see if his head explodes.
It occurs to me that Falkayn not only betrays his boss in "Lodestar" (discovery of a world with transuranics) but sets the scene for the Long Night in "Day of Burning" (Merisa saved from a nearby super nova in as humiliting fashion as DF and his buddies could arrange). Not bad for one spice merchant...
BLIND VOICES by Tom Reamy
Tom Reamy's only novel, this is what a Ray Bradbury novel might be like if Ray Bradbury wrote stuff I liked.
Millennial Women ed. Virginia Kidd (Delacorte, 1978, hc); Also as The
Eye of the Heron and Other Stories (Panther 1980, pb).
+ o Prayer for My Daughter o Marilyn Hacker o pm *
+ o Introduction o Virginia Kidd o in
+ o No One Said Forever o Cynthia Felice o ss *
+ o The Song of N'Sardi-el o Diana L. Paxson o ss *
+ o Jubilee's Story o Elizabeth A. Lynn o ss *
+ o Mab Gallen Recalled o Cherry Wilder o ss *
+ o Phoenix in the Ashes o Joan D. Vinge o nv *
+ o The Eye of the Heron o Ursula K. Le Guin o n. *
+ o Biographical Notes o [Misc. Material] o bg
Unfortunately Kidd is now the late Virginia Kidd, having died this January.
http://www.sfwa.org/News/kidd.htm
The only story I recall from these is the Le Guin, a story of pacifists dealing with some very nasty men, badly. Provoked an irate essay from Gregory Benford and Charles Platt.
November THE MASTERS OF SOLITUDE by Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin
Post-WWIII, I think, but otherwise gone from memory.
SPACEMIND by Doris Piserchia
I never read this.
THE WAY THE FUTURE WAS by Frederik Pohk (Alternate)
This is Pohl's autobiography up to the 1970s. My only criticisms are that it was too short and that there has never been a second volume.
I don't have this in the SFBC version but only MMPK. Stupid stupid James.
[Yeah, don't know what I was on about. I have it in both SFBC and MMPK]
December THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE TALISMAN by Clifford D. Simak
[did I read this?]
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA by Robert Thurston
And I never read this.
The Best of Lester del Rey Lester del Rey (Ballantine, Sep '78, pb)
+ o The Magnificent o Frederik Pohl o in
+ o Helen O'Loy o ss Astounding Dec '38
+ o The Day Is Done o ss Astounding May '39
+ o The Coppersmith o ss Unknown Sep '39
+ o Hereafter, Inc. o ss Unknown Dec '41
+ o The Wings of Night o ss Astounding Mar '42
+ o Into Thy Hands o ss Astounding Aug '45
+ o And It Comes Out Here o ss Galaxy Feb '51
+ o The Monster o ss Argosy Jun '51
+ o "The Years Draw Nigh" o ss Astounding Oct '51
+ o Instinct o ss Astounding Jan '52
+ o Superstition o nv Astounding Aug '54
+ o For I Am a Jealous People! o na Star Short Novels, ed.
Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1954
+ o Keepers of the House o ss Fantastic Universe Jan '56
+ o Little Jimmy o ss F&SF Apr '57
+ o The Seat of Judgment o ss Venture Jul '57
+ o Vengeance Is Mine ["To Avenge Man"] o nv Galaxy Dec '64
+ o Author's Afterword o aw
I have this. Most of it is lost to the care of time but some do stay in my memory. "Coppersmith" is a typical Unknown style fantasy, about one of the small folk discovering how to survive in the hostile modern world. "People" is about humanity discovering God has made a new covenant with aliens and certain references imply we then went on to kick His ass. "Vengence" is the quest of a robot to hunt down the killers of humanity, with positive side-effects even when it develops that those responsible are beyond retribution.
THE STARS IN SHROUD by Gregory Benford (Alternate)
*This* is the rewrite I mentioned earlier. This book of humanity plagued by hostile aliens parallels the decay of an empire with the decay of the protagonist's marriage to a two dimensional shrew. I liked it when I was a teenager but in retrospect my lack of dates in high school is no longer the mystery it was to me then.
[This has not aged well]
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no subject
Date: 2013-07-25 09:54 pm (UTC)I barely recall "Many Mansions" as involving moving houses, but nothing beyond that.
I recall that Rocannon's World involves faster-than-light travel but only for non-living cargo, which I recall reading somewhere that Le Guin regarded as a mistake. The world is also where mindspeech is supposed to have come from.
I have fond memories of "The Deimos Plague" and other stories in the sewage series, mostly because of the anti-hero / narrator Henry Carver.
I was annoyed to discover that The Silmarillion was not the Even More Epic Adventures of the Elves in Middle Earth. As the introduction in my edition says, it's a "compendious narrative", collecting stories in varying styles. I read most of it except for the saga of Turin Turambar, which is some people's favourite part, but which I found too depressing.
"Particle Theory" combines a new treatment for prostate cancer and a rash of novas (or maybe supernovas) in a way that impressed me when I first read it in high school, but when I re-read it later, found pretty dubious in terms of anything that was supposed to be happening outside of the protagonist's head.
The dragonriders books were my introduction to McCaffrey, and while I greatly enjoyed the first two, The White Dragon didn't do much for me, and I stopped partway through the Harper Hall trilogy.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 05:54 pm (UTC)A wind came across the ocean, sweeping with it a pall of fine white ash. The ash fell into the sea and into the breakers. The breakers washed dead shrimp ashore with the driftwood. Then they washed up the whiting. The shark swam out to his deepest waters and brooded in the old clean currents. He was very hungry that season.
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From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2013-07-25 01:24 am (UTC) - Expandno subject
Date: 2013-07-24 06:05 pm (UTC)I think I liked More Than Human more than you did.
A Canticle for Liebowitz was very good, though not the all-time favorite that many people rate it; but discussions with various people suggest to me that if you were raised Catholic, you get things from the book that I didn't necessarily see.
I recall Simak's "Immigrant" being a favorite of the hippie-ish couple who ran the special summer educational program that I went to one year in high school.
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Date: 2013-07-24 06:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2013-07-24 06:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2013-07-25 11:13 pm (UTC) - Expand"The Screwfly Solution"
From:no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 06:21 pm (UTC)Not only is this a GREAT book, with a great title, but I once came across a remainder table where I bought every copy of it for one dollar each. So it has been one of those books I occasionally send home with someone.
I recently donated a copy of The Way the Future Was to Northern Illinois University's SF research collection. Because SF scholars need to read it.
My only criticisms are that it was too short and that there has never been a second volume.
There is yet hope for a second volume, as I'm sure you know. Fred's been blogging ever since he was ninety. Frequently he writes about the old days. At the same time, he has been writing Volume II. The extent to which blog content will overlap book content has been a matter for speculation.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 06:40 pm (UTC)"MICHAELMAS by Algis Budrys (Alternate)
I own this, I used to be a raving Budrys fan and I have No Idea what this is about. I have never managed to finish it."
It's a story about a journalist who is the secret master of the world, due to his control of a sentient computer program (originally developed as a "blue box" I think, to save money on telephone bills) that can find and manipulate information anywhere in the world. The plot finds Michaelmas fighting another force that is apparently attempting to destabilize the world (as well as other reporters who have annoyed him). The ending features a battle in an information-scape, making this a proto-cyberpunkish story. I think the character of Michaelmas shows up in a short story of Budrys too.
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From:no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 06:46 pm (UTC)Faded Sun: I've sometimes wondered if Cherryh wasn't riffing on Dune with these. You have an inhospitable planet, a warrior race whose religion accords an important role to women, bad guys too fat to move without help, and an outsider becoming part of the warrior race's culture. Though this being Cherryh Sten Duncan does so with much less status than Paul Atreides.
Close Encounters: Wikipedia says the novelisation was by Leslie Waller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Waller), disproving my theory that they're all done by Alan Dean Foster.
Splinter of the Mind's Eye: The possibility of a romance between Luke and Leia is still there in this one, though I don't recall it getting physical.
Michaelmas: I remember a journalist who secretly controls the world with the help of his AI, and a returning astronaut who may or may not be what he seems. I have no memory of how the plot resolved.
Varley, "The Phantom of Kansas": This one has an artist whose art form uses controlled weather and thundering herds of wildebeest, and whose problem is that someone keeps killing her. I remember enjoying it quite a lot.
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From:no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 07:48 pm (UTC)I read "the faded sun" on a trip back to Waterloo on a Saturday night. I was always in a bad mood on those trips (Waterloo? Really?) and that may be why I didn't like the book. It turned out later, btw, that I just don't like travelling on Sunday night. Or, for that matter, travelling. I stopped reading Cherryh at this point and never really began again, though I tried several times, finishing one book and almost another.
I did like "More than Human", and bits of it tend to stick in the mind. During a medical procedure the other day I was thinking how we could use those powers. But alas.
There's an interesting dichotomy between Aldiss the editor and Aldiss the writer in these years. The writer comes up with "Aimez-vous Holman Hunt?" and other stories of pur laine new wavity, but edits "Space Opera" and "Galactic Empires". I beleive he said somewhere that he liked those old stories, but that wasn't the kind of story he wanted to write.
"Michelmas". Man makes computer, computer makes man, enemies are dealt with, story ends. Lupoff's review was a rave for the first 90% of the book but he hated, hated, hated the ending, which I can't recall.
For me "The Dying of the Light" was a big step up in my appreciation of Martin, whose thematic range before that point had been a bit limited. I'm sure I liked it a bit more for that reason alone.
"The Silmarillion" is really not everyone's cup of tea, even for those who idolize LOTR. I've only read it ten times, myself.
William Hyde
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From:no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 08:01 pm (UTC)I did not realize there was a novel from it for years and years. I did not care at all for how he changed the end of the novella.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 08:29 pm (UTC)Novelization of the movie. I wonder who really wrote this?
Leslie Waller, according to Wikipedia.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 08:42 pm (UTC)Very good post-doomsday stuff, highly recommended. Near-future ecological/economical etc. collapse, perfectly transports the mood hanging in the air in the late 70s. And the post-collapse world is really shite, in the non-Stevar sense.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-24 10:42 pm (UTC)Since it's a Simak novel some of the group include a mopey ghost, a banshee, and an exiled demon. Also, to spoil things: gur grnz snvyf va gurve zvffvba: juvyr gurl qryvire gur znahfpevcg gur rkcreg jub fubhyq or noyr gb nhguragvpngr vg unf qvrq. Guvf vf npprcgrq fgbvpnyyl: fbzrqnl crbcyr jub pbhyq nafjre gb vgf nhguragvpvgl jvyy or sbhaq, be or genvarq vagb qbvat gur jbex, naq vs gur cebfcrpgf ner tevz abj, gurl jba'g nyjnlf or.
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2013-07-25 12:08 am (UTC)it's a difficult book, but I think that Dying of the Light is GRRM's best novel. ymmcv.
I have read all of my post Persistence of Vision Varley on the basis of that collection alone. and have mostly been disappointed.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-25 01:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-25 01:52 pm (UTC)Correction: QUASAR, QUASAR, BURNING BRIGHT by Isaac Azimov.