#james-blish — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #james-blish, aggregated by home.social.
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At the beginning of the Cities in Flight tetralogy #JamesBlish described the building of a bridge on Jupiter, and the society involved as needing a massive pointless project in its decline.
#SciFi
I wonder if this comes close. -
Picked up a flat of Star Trek Books from a local auction the other day, Really only because I needed Star Trek Log Two to complete my "Log" collection from Alan Dean Foster, but also needed Star Trek 3 from James Blish
Most of these are TOS/Movie Era books, most in good or better condition - but you can really tell which ones have been read/re-read.
There are 25 books, that I picked up for $10.00 so not too bad of a deal.
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Blish left out the two Mudd stories from the previous 12 books and then tried to adapt them both and make one story. He died before finishing, and his wife, JA Lawrence, finished it and added a 3rd, original story. Later reprinted with a new title.
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Book 12 and an image from The Corbomite Manoeuvre that everyone remembers from the closing credits. A nice clean image from Chris Achileos' website, too. This is (almost) the last of the episode adaptations, but don't worry. There are lots more covers to come.
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The cover image of the 11th volume of James Blish's Star Trek episode adaptations. I have been buying these books from eBay and this one stands out because it was in MINT condition. No joke. 40 years old and £3.00. Where has this been kept??
I've never been one to keep things in their packaging, as my FunkoPop collection proves, but this has really been taken care of. Unread too. 🤷🏻♂️😳😊
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Book 10 and a thoughtful looking Spock from the episode "The Galileo Seven", as featured inside the book. I should probably mention that every cover is based on one of the episodes in each book
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Book 9 already, and an image from The Immunity Syndrome -first broadcast in the UK on Mon 10th Aug 1970. We had to wait quite a while, didn't we? A nice clean copy from Chris Achileos' website too.
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Book 8. It took me a while to realise that the face in the background was supposed to be Gary Mitchell, but apart from a slightly weird take on William Shatner's face, I still like this one. I also like how the continuity error has been fixed on the gravestone.
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The cover image of the 7th volume of James Blish's Star Trek episode adaptations. Did this happen in the episode? I may check later, but I don't think it did. Michael Forest starring as the god Apollo, a role he returned to 46 years later in the fan series Star Trek Continues.
#StarTrek #JamesBlish #ChrisAchilleos #MichaelForest #Apollo
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Time for Book 6 and an image from one of the episodes that EVERYONE remembers - The Apple, possibly for two reasons. 1: The big scary snake head and 2: David Soul from Starsky and Hutch was in it, in not-quite his first role.
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Hello! Me again. This is not the greatest cover in the series, but then again, I'm not a fan of floating heads. It's taken from "The Tholian Web." The episodes Blish adapted were done in an order quite apart from the broadcast or production order., hence a third series episode in Book 5.
Enjoy!!
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I think this is my favourite cover - Book 4. It depicts a scene from episode 78, the second-to-last one: All Our Yesterdays, and I have borrowed a "clean" version from Chris Achilléos' website, too. Nostalgia, creativity, and skill—perfect.
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They just keep getting better. This is another great Chris Achilléos cover from James Blish's third volume of Star Trek episode adaptations, featuring a scene from a great episode—Amok Time. Originally published in 1972, this is the 1984 Corgi reprint.
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As promised, here's another great Chris Achilléos cover from James Blish's second volume of Star Trek episode adaptations. Originally published in 1972, this is the 1984 Corgi reprint.
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These books were a lifeline for the Trek fan in a time before VHS. Well written, fun and just the correct length for a pre-sleep read. When you consider that he hadn't even seen the episodes when he wrote the early books, they become even more remarkable.
Tomorrow, Book 2!
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The covers were changed often and ranged from the bland to perfection, as you can see from the beautiful artwork in the third example. The work of the amazing Chris Achilléos, who is sadly no longer with us.
houseofachilleos.com
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In the 1970s and early 1980s, if you wanted Star Trek, you had to wait for linear TV or buy these wonderful James Blish novels. Each book contained adaptations of five or six episodes, most of which were based on the original scripts, meaning some were quite different from the broadcast episodes.
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Well, here is my #review of #BlackEaster by #JamesBlish
This book was honestly pretty nice to read and while a bit more niche than what I've read before I still think it's worth a look. A pretty unique plot and setting I think.
This is day 88 of #100DaysToOffload and post 4 for #WritingMonth!
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Aaaaand I just finished the book. It was actually kind of great, not the usual stuff I would read so I'm glad I went pretty blind into it, I just saw a short review on a whim and decided to try it.
Review coming soon!
Here are some stats in the meantime ;)
#BlackEaster by #JamesBlish, book 12 of the year
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My 12th book of the year is #BlackEaster by #JamesBlish btw, I'm not sure I mentioned it already haha.
I started it a few days after I begun #LeviathanWakes since I knew it would be very different and stories wouldn't mix.
Honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised, it's much more niche than The Expanse and it can be a bit boring at times because of its more serious tone. But it's such an interesting premise I'm going to finish it today!
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Local auction finds.....
Betrayal at House on the Hill
board game, Ripley's Believe it of Not board game, and 2 books
The Galaxy Primes by EE Doc Smith, and The Triumph of Time by James Blish (I have a feeling I'm going to need to find the first books in this series)
All for under $10.00 - I say you can't beat deals like that.#books #scifi #board #games #DocSmith #JamesBlish
#boardGame -
In observance of Futurian James Blish ( #BOTD ), here are a couple of whacky covers by Barye Phillips and possibly Saul Lambert. Plus James Bama’s “Green Spock” cover and his two collections of no-longer-pseudonymous #sf criticism by John Stopa and Alex Eisenstein, respectively.
#JamesBlish #WilliamAthelingJr #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #StarTrek #Futurians #JamesBama @sciencefiction
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Resale shop find.$1.99.
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#JamesBlish -
@theAeon I remember that now. It might have been a plotline in #JamesBlish ’s #SpockMustDie novel, too? (read it 50ya, so it’s fuzzy)
We never did get an explanation of how the visually-distinct #Supervisor ‘s transporter, from #AssignmentEarth, worked
Yet, the existing tech, as described, led to some interesting plot lines, though. Including #ThomasRiker, a variation on Blish’s novel.
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Gonna do one of those "here is a list of all my general nerdery" toots:
(Part One: Authors)
#MaryShelley
#HGWells
#EdgarAllanPoe
#EdgarRiceBurroughs
#ArthurConanDoyle
#Saki
#MRJames
#JSheridanLeFanu
#IsaacAsimov
#BrianAldiss
#ArthurCClarke
#AlanDeanFoster
#DCFontana
#JamesBlish
#IainBanks
#IainMBanks
#WilliamSBurroughs
#AllenGinsberg
#DianeDuane
#TimothyZhan
#MichaelAMartin
#AndyMangels
#UnaMcCormack -
Il Come Eravamo del Come Saremo – Isole nello Spazio 4
La Fantascienza come poesia per immagini - puntata numero 24Testo suggerito: James Blish, Guerra al Grande Nulla; per ver
https://www.labottegadelbarbieri.org/il-come-eravamo-del-come-saremo-isole-nello-spazio-4/
#bottegadelbarbieri #labottegadelbarbieri
#Articoli #Difuturicen'ètanti #Fantascienzacomepoesia #GuerraalGrandeNulla #IlComeEravamodelComeSaremo #immaginifantascienza #JamesBlish #MauroAntonioMiglieruolo #Miglieruolo -
Book Review: Galactic Cluster, James Blish (1959) — collected short stories from 1953-59
3.25/5 (Good — collated rating)
James Blish, famous for his Hugo winning novel, A Case of Conscience, early Star Trek novelizations, and the Cities in Flight series also wrote some interesting short shorties. This volume includes a selection of his work from the 1950s: ‘Tomb Tappers’, ‘King of the Hill’, ‘Common Time’, ‘A Work of Art’, ‘To Pay the Piper’, ‘Nor Iron Bars’, ‘Beep’, and ‘This Earth of Hours.‘
(4/5) ‘Tomb Tappers’ (1956) is a wonderful and haunting story set sometime during Cold War with a spine chilling twist. McDonough, a member of the Air Intelligence arm of the CAP (Civil Air Patrol) has the unfortunate job of reading the minds of recently dead Russian pilots who crash during bombing runs over the United States. A mysterious rocket/plane is found in a train tunnel somewhere in the Northwest USA and McDonough is sent to investigate….
(3/5) ‘King of the Hill’ (1955) is another tale set during the Cold War. The culmination of the US government’s foreign policy is a weapons satellite which has the ability to drop atomic bombs at precise parts of the world at a moment’s notice. However, in an effort to save cost, the lone officer in charge of the platform stays over his allotted time with grave consequences. ‘King of the Hill’ is an interesting study of a man under stress but rather banal.
(3/5) ‘Common Time’ (1953) describes early attempts at faster-than-light interstellar travel. Here, Blish explores a bizarre formulation of time dilation. The main character Garrard slowly figures out that time around him is moving infinitesimally slow in comparison to his mind. Also, his body functions are also infinitesimally slow… As a result Garrard has to control his his emotions (since the glandular reactions last hours) and movements (which exert extreme force). Blish is fantastic in ploting Garrard’s slow realization of his surroundings. However, the story is weakened by a rather timid/silly introduction of aliens into a fascinating example of early hard science fiction.
(5/5) ‘A Work of Art’ (1956) is by far the best story in the collection. Mind sculptors sculpt famous human minds on otherwise talentless individuals in an attempt to one-up each other. The mentality and ability of the famous composer Strauss is sculpted on the mind of a musically ignorant individual. The story is actually quite touching and sad as this new Strauss realizes his fate and the circumstances of his creation when he is unable to compose anything but a hollow shell of his previous works — likewise, the music produced is only well received since it shows the expertize of the mind sculptors. This fascinating story reminded me of Philip K. Dick’s works which explore the mind, consciousness, and individuality.
(4/5) ‘To Pay the Piper’ (1956) is another gem. I’ve always been a fan of sci-fi stories about humans retreating to fallout shelters and other underground installations because of various apocalyptic events. This particularly disturbing take develops the problems that arrive when the survivors get wind the potentially of returning to the surface. The most disturbing aspect is the continued hatred of the enemy despite the virtual annihilation of the two parties.
(3/5) ‘Nor Iron Bars’ (1956 and 1957) is one of the weaker stories in the collection. Blish describes Earth’s continued attempts at faster-than-light interstellar travel. Here, time dilation doesn’t occur, instead matter becomes expanded and more porous. The most interested section is definitely Blish’s inclusion of interracial relations. One of the passengers is a super famous white explorer whom all the other female characters fawn over. We eventually learn that his fiance is a young African-American woman who is dieing. Even the main characters have to question their own racial prejudices (which they thought they had expunged years before). Other than that, the story is forgettable.
(2/5) ‘Beep’ (1954) is by far the worst of the the bunch. The Service has developed a way to look into the future using an instantaneous interstellar communication device (here, once again, time dilation makes this possible). A new recruit uncovers this secret and as a result is promoted. Boring and just plain silly.
(2/5) ‘This Earth of Hours’ (1959) is another poor entry. Interstellar travel is finally become a practicality and an unintelligent telepathic alien race in the core planets of the galaxy is discovered. Blish tries to make this premise interesting by interjecting randomly some tidbits of the Matriarchy government on earth an its colonies created as a result of the ability to chose the sex of one’s children. This story is forced and unexciting and its conclusion is anti-climatic.
#aliens #bookReviews2 #coldWar #jamesBlish #literature #scienceFiction #shortStories #space #spaceships