#philipjosefarmer — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #philipjosefarmer, aggregated by home.social.
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Jetzt, wo #HarlanEllison|s klassische #NewWave #ScienceFiction-Anthologie »Gefährliche Visionen« (1967; erstmals vollständig Deutsch #CarcosaVerlag, 2026) raus ist, gönne ich mir z.B. YT-Besprechungen der von mir übersetzten #PhilipJoséFarmer Story »Reiter der Purpurprämie«. Ist ja eine heikle Geschichte, mit massig Kalauern und bewusst provokanten Szenen, gemischt mit Satire auf Gott und die Welt, insbesondere experimentelle Literatur. Emily & Greg hatten ›dennoch‹ Spaß.
https://youtu.be/0HwwHPJe00w -
Heut sind meine Belegexemplare der #HarlanEllison-Anthologie »Gefährliche Visionen« (1967; zum ersten mal komplett Deutsch #CarcosaVerlag 2026) angekommen. Ich durfte mir an »Reiter der Puprpurprämie« von #PhilipJoséFarmer die Zähne ausbeißen.
Würde ja irre gern ein Exemplar der Frankfurter Stadtbücherei schenken, aber nachdem die mein Belegegeschenk von #AlanMoores »Jerusalem« auf dem Flohmarkt-Tisch verscherbelt haben, statt es in Bestand einzupflegen, hab ich irgendwie keine Lust.
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A quotation from Philip Jose Farmer
The old ladies sitting on the side porch waved and called out to him, and he waved back at them. They sat like a bunch of ancient crows on a branch. Time was shooting them down, one by one.
Philip José Farmer (1918-2009) American author
“Stations of the Nightmare — Part One,” Continuum I [ed. Roger Elwood] (1974)More info about this quote: wist.info/farmer-philip-jose/8…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #philipjosefarmer #death #mortality #oldage #passageoftime
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What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XX
- A selection of read volumes from my shelves
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s the January installment of this column (sorry I missed a month).
Before John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910-1971) attempted to raise the “standards and thinking in magazine SF,” David Lasser (1902-1996) attempted his own brief (1929-1933) program to improve science fiction as managing editor of Hugo Gernsback’s Science Wonder Stories, Wonder Stories, and Wonder Stories Quarterly. According to Mike Ashley’s The Time Machine: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazine from the Beginning to 1950 (2000), Lasser is a “much neglected revolutionary in science fiction” and through his efforts the genre “started to mature” (66).
Ashley highlights Lasser’s letter of instruction mailed to his regular contributors on the 11th of May, 1931, in which he “exhorted them to bring some realism to their fiction” (72). He also outlawed common tropes like the giant insect story and space opera (73). He emphasized the need to focus on characters that “should really be human” — not everything needs to be a “world-sweeping epic” (73). Stories in this vein, according to Ashley, include Clifford D. Simak’s religiously themed “The Voice in the Void” (1932), P. Schuyler Miller and Walter Dennis’ “The Red Spot on Jupiter” (1931) and “The Duel on the Asteroid” (1934), which featured a grim realism and character development (74).
Lasser also seems like a fascinating individual. He wrote the The Conquest of Space (1931), the first “non-fiction English-language book to deal with spaceflight,” was a member Socialist Party, and was elected head of the Workers Alliance of America (a merger of the Socialist Unemployed Leagues and the Communist Unemployment Councils). He also was banned from federal employment by name in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress due to his political connections. President Jimmy Carter sent him a personal letter of apology when he was finally officially cleared as a subversive in 1980!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- Poul Anderson’s The People of the Wind (1973). I mysteriously adored this one back in 2010… Sometimes my oldest reviews befuddle. I praised Anderson’s refusal to create “monumentally homogeneous societies” yet despaired at its moments of silly and dull battle sequences.
- Doris Piserchia’s A Billion Days of Earth (1976). The best of Piserchia’s novels I’ve read so far. She was an original voice.
- Philip José Farmer’s Night of Light (1966)– a fix-up of “Night of Light” (1957). I remember enjoying this Father Carmody tale despite my inability to write a review. As many know, it influenced Jimi Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze” (1967).
- Robert Silverberg’s collection Needle in a Timestack (1966) contains one of my favorite early Silverberg tales–“The Pain Peddles” (1963).
What am I writing about?
Since my last installment, I’ve posted a review of Star Science Fiction Stories No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955) which contained three standout stories: Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), and Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955). I did not know Williamson was capable of such things. In addition, I posted short reviews of two middling (but interesting) novels: Margot Bennett’s The Long Way Back (1954) and Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964).
I compiled a rare Adventures in Science Fiction art post in order to commemorate Rodger B. MacGowan’s passing. Few know his early science-fictional work in Vertex magazine.
Continuing my general interest in science fiction on themes of sexuality and identity, I surveyed an account of the first gay and lesbian-themed SF panel at a Worldcon.
What am I reading?
Makes secret/sad noises. I’m fighting exhaustion on all fronts. I’m struggling to complete projects or stay focused. The only way I get through these spells is to refuse to make plans. This is all for fun! That said, my history reading continues to focus on the working-class experience. See Tobias Higbie’s fascinating book in the previous photo.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks
March 3rd: Artist Ric Binkley (1921-1968)
March 5th: Author Mike Resnick (1942-2020).
March 5th: Artist Attila Hejja (1955-2007). The master of the blues!
March 6th: Author William F. Nolan (1928-2021). Best known for Logan’s Run (1967).
March 7th: Author Leonard Daventry (1915-1987). Wrote A Man of Double Deed (1965)–which I described as a “dark and grungy tale of polyamory, telepathy, and apocalyptical violence.”
- Tadanoi Yokoo’s cover for the 1979 edition
March 7th: Kobo Abe (1924-1993). Secret Rendezvous (1977, trans. 1979) is one of my favorite SF novels of the 70s. And it received a thematically and visually perfect cover by Tadanoi Yokoo (above).
March 7th: Author Elizabeth Moon (1945-).
March 7th: Author and editor Stanley Schmidt (1944-).
March 9th: Author William F. Temple (1914-1989). Another prolific magazine author whom I’ve not read…
March 9th: Author Manly Banister (1914-1986).
March 9th: Author Pat Murphy (1955-). She left a lovely comment on my review of The Shadow Hunter (1982) recently. I need to fast track my post on her first three published short stories.
- Carlos Ochagavia’s cover for the 1979 edition of John Morressy’s Frostworld and Dreamfire (1977)
March 10th: Artist Carlos Ochagavia (1913-2006). I’ve featured his work here.
March 11th: Author F. M. Busby (1921-2005). Despite missteps like Cage a Man (1973), Busby was capable of some effective introspection — notable “If This is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy” (1974).
March 11th: Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).
March 12th: Author Harry Harrison (1925-2012). 2025 if finally the year I get to Make Room! Make Room! (1966). Say it with me!
- Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971)
March 13th: Artist Diane Dillon (1933-). One half of the illustrious art partnership of the 60s/70s/80s! Diane created fantastic cover art with her husband Leo. I’m particularly partial to their cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971) (above).
March 13th: Author William F. Wu (1951-). With his short stories of the late 70s, Wu is one of the earlier Asian-American SF authors. I need to read his work.
March 14th: Author Mildred Clingerman (1918-1997). Another hole in my SF knowledge… I own her collection A Cupful of Space (1961).
March 16th: Artist Chris Foss (1946-). As I say every year as the fans circle… He’s iconic. He spawned a lot of clones. People love him. He’s not for me.
March 16th: Author P. C. Hodgell (1951-). God Stalk (1982) is supposed to be bizarre.
March 16th: Artist James Warhola (1955-). Best known for his cover for the 1st edition of Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984).
March 17th: James Morrow (1947-).
March 17th: William Gibson (1948-). Very much an author of my youth — I devoured Neuromancer (1984), Virtual Light (1993), Idoru (1996), All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999), Count Zero (1986), the stories in Burning Chrome (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). I haven’t returned to his work in almost two decades.
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #books #dorisPiserchia #fantasy #fiction #paperbacks #PhilipJoséFarmer #poulAnderson #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #technology -
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XX
- A selection of read volumes from my shelves
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s the January installment of this column (sorry I missed a month).
Before John W. Campbell, Jr. attempted to raise the “standards and thinking in magazine SF,” David Lasser (1902-1996) attempted his own brief (1929-1933) program to improve science fiction as managing editor of Hugo Gernsback’s Science Wonder Stories, Wonder Stories, and Wonder Stories Quarterly. According to Mike Ashley’s The Time Machine: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazine from the Beginning to 1950 (2000), Lasser is a “much neglected revolutionary in science fiction” and through his efforts the genre “started to mature” (66).
Ashley highlights Lasser’s letter of instruction mailed to his regular contributors on the 11th of May, 1931, in which he “exhorted them to bring some realism to their fiction” (72). He also outlawed common tropes like the giant insect story and space opera (73). He emphasized the need to focus on characters that “should really be human” — not everything needs to be a “world-sweeping epic” (73). Stories in this vein, according to Ashley, include Clifford D. Simak’s religiously themed “The Voice in the Void” (1932), P. Schuyler Miller and Walter Dennis’ “The Red Spot on Jupiter” (1931) and “The Duel on the Asteroid” (1974), which featured a grim realism and character development (74).
Lasser also seems like a fascinating individual. He wrote the The Conquest of Space (1931), the first “non-fiction English-language book to deal with spaceflight,” was a member Socialist Party, and was elected head of the Workers Alliance of America (a merger of the Socialist Unemployed Leagues and the Communist Unemployment Councils). He also was banned from federal employment by name in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress due to his political connections. President Jimmy Carter sent him a personal letter of apology when he was finally officially cleared as a subversive in 1980!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- Poul Anderson’s The People of the Wind (1973). I mysteriously adored this one back in 2010… Sometimes my oldest reviews befuddle. I praised Anderson’s refusal to create “monumentally homogeneous societies” yet despaired at its moments of silly and dull battle sequences.
- Doris Piserchia’s A Billion Days of Earth (1976). The best of Piserchia’s novels I’ve read so far. She was an original voice.
- Philip José Farmer’s Night of Light (1966)– a fix-up of “Night of Light” (1957). I remember enjoying this Father Carmody tale despite my inability to write a review. As many know, it influenced Jimi Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze” (1967).
- Robert Silverberg’s collection Needle in a Timestack (1966) contains one of my favorite early Silverberg tales–“The Pain Peddles” (1963).
What am I writing about?
Since my last installment, I’ve posted reviews of Star Science Fiction Stories No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955) which contained three standout stories: Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), and Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955). I did not know Williamson was capable of such things. I posted short reviews of two middling (but interesting) novels: Margot Bennett’s The Long Way Back (1954) and Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964).
I compiled a rare Adventures in Science Fiction art post in order to commemorate Rodger B. MacGowan’s passing. Few know his early science-fictional work in Vertex magazine.
Continuing my general interest in science fiction on themes of sexuality and identity, I surveyed an account of the first gay and lesbian-themed SF panel at a Worldcon.
What am I reading?
Makes secret noises. I’m fighting exhaustion on all fronts. I’m struggling to complete projects or stay focused. The only way I get through these spells is to refuse to make plans. This is all for fun! That said, my history reading continues to focus on the working-class experience. See Tobias Higbie’s fascinating book in the previous photo.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks
March 3rd: Artist Ric Binkley (1921-1968)
March 5th: Author Mike Resnick (1942-2020).
March 5th: Artist Attila Hejja (1955-2007). The master of the blues!
March 6th: Author William F. Nolan (1928-2021). Best known for Logan’s Run (1967).
March 7th: Author Leonard Daventry (1915-1987). Wrote A Man of Double Deed (1965)–which I described as a “dark and grungy tale of polyamory, telepathy, and apocalyptical violence.”
- Tadanoi Yokoo’s cover for the 1979 edition
March 7th: Kobo Abe (1924-1993). Secret Rendezvous (1977, trans. 1979) is one of my favorite SF novels of the 70s. And it received a thematically and visually perfect cover by Tadanoi Yokoo (above).
March 7th: Author Elizabeth Moon (1945-).
March 7th: Author and editor Stanley Schmidt (1944-).
March 9th: Author William F. Temple (1914-1989). Another prolific magazine author whom I’ve not read…
March 9th: Author Manly Banister (1914-1986).
March 9th: Author Pat Murphy (1955-). She left a lovely comment on my review of The Shadow Hunter (1982) recently. I need to fast track my post on her first three published short stories.
- Carlos Ochagavia’s cover for the 1979 edition of John Morressy’s Frostworld and Dreamfire (1977)
March 10th: Artist Carlos Ochagavia (1913-2006). I’ve featured his work here.
March 11th: Author F. M. Busby (1921-2005). Despite missteps like Cage a Man (1973), Busby was capable of some effective introspection — notable “If This is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy” (1974).
March 11th: Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).
March 12th: Author Harry Harrison (1925-2012). 2025 if finally the year I get to Make Room! Make Room! (1966). Say it with me!
- Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971)
March 13th: Artist Diane Dillon (1933-). One half of the illustrious art partnership of the 60s/70s/80s! Diane created fantastic cover art with her husband Leo. I’m particularly partial to their cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971) (above).
March 13th: Author William F. Wu (1951-). With his short stories of the late 70s, Wu is one of the earlier Asian-American SF authors. I need to read his work.
March 14th: Author Mildred Clingerman (1918-1997). Another hole in my SF knowledge… I own her collection A Cupful of Space (1961).
March 16th: Artist Chris Foss (1946-). As I say every year as the fans circle… He’s iconic. He spawned a lot of clones. People love him. He’s not for me.
March 16th: Author P. C. Hodgell (1951-). God Stalk (1982) is supposed to be bizarre.
March 16th: Artist James Warhola (1955-). Best known for his cover for the 1st edition of Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984).
March 17th: James Morrow (1947-).
March 17th: William Gibson (1948-). Very much an author of my youth — I devoured Neuromancer (1984), Virtual Light (1993), Idoru (1996), All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999), Count Zero (1986), the stories in Burning Chrome (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). I haven’t returned to his work in almost two decades.
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #books #dorisPiserchia #fantasy #fiction #paperbacks #PhilipJoséFarmer #poulAnderson #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #technology
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What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XX
- A selection of read volumes from my shelves
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s the January installment of this column (sorry I missed a month).
Before John W. Campbell, Jr. attempted to raise the “standards and thinking in magazine SF,” David Lasser (1902-1996) attempted his own brief (1929-1933) program to improve science fiction as managing editor of Hugo Gernsback’s Science Wonder Stories, Wonder Stories, and Wonder Stories Quarterly. According to Mike Ashley’s The Time Machine: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazine from the Beginning to 1950 (2000), Lasser is a “much neglected revolutionary in science fiction” and through his efforts the genre “started to mature” (66).
Ashley highlights Lasser’s letter of instruction mailed to his regular contributors on the 11th of May, 1931, in which he “exhorted them to bring some realism to their fiction” (72). He also outlawed common tropes like the giant insect story and space opera (73). He emphasized the need to focus on characters that “should really be human” — not everything needs to be a “world-sweeping epic” (73). Stories in this vein, according to Ashley, include Clifford D. Simak’s religiously themed “The Voice in the Void” (1932), P. Schuyler Miller and Walter Dennis’ “The Red Spot on Jupiter” (1931) and “The Duel on the Asteroid” (1974), which featured a grim realism and character development (74).
Lasser also seems like a fascinating individual. He wrote the The Conquest of Space (1931), the first “non-fiction English-language book to deal with spaceflight,” was a member Socialist Party, and was elected head of the Workers Alliance of America (a merger of the Socialist Unemployed Leagues and the Communist Unemployment Councils). He also was banned from federal employment by name in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress due to his political connections. President Jimmy Carter sent him a personal letter of apology when he was finally officially cleared as a subversive in 1980!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- Poul Anderson’s The People of the Wind (1973). I mysteriously adored this one back in 2010… Sometimes my oldest reviews befuddle. I praised Anderson’s refusal to create “monumentally homogeneous societies” yet despaired at its moments of silly and dull battle sequences.
- Doris Piserchia’s A Billion Days of Earth (1976). The best of Piserchia’s novels I’ve read so far. She was an original voice.
- Philip José Farmer’s Night of Light (1966)– a fix-up of “Night of Light” (1957). I remember enjoying this Father Carmody tale despite my inability to write a review. As many know, it influenced Jimi Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze” (1967).
- Robert Silverberg’s collection Needle in a Timestack (1966) contains one of my favorite early Silverberg tales–“The Pain Peddles” (1963).
What am I writing about?
Since my last installment, I’ve posted reviews of Star Science Fiction Stories No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955) which contained three standout stories: Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), and Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955). I did not know Williamson was capable of such things. I posted short reviews of two middling (but interesting) novels: Margot Bennett’s The Long Way Back (1954) and Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964).
I compiled a rare Adventures in Science Fiction art post in order to commemorate Rodger B. MacGowan’s passing. Few know his early science-fictional work in Vertex magazine.
Continuing my general interest in science fiction on themes of sexuality and identity, I surveyed an account of the first gay and lesbian-themed SF panel at a Worldcon.
What am I reading?
Makes secret noises. I’m fighting exhaustion on all fronts. I’m struggling to complete projects or stay focused. The only way I get through these spells is to refuse to make plans. This is all for fun! That said, my history reading continues to focus on the working-class experience. See Tobias Higbie’s fascinating book in the previous photo.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks
March 3rd: Artist Ric Binkley (1921-1968)
March 5th: Author Mike Resnick (1942-2020).
March 5th: Artist Attila Hejja (1955-2007). The master of the blues!
March 6th: Author William F. Nolan (1928-2021). Best known for Logan’s Run (1967).
March 7th: Author Leonard Daventry (1915-1987). Wrote A Man of Double Deed (1965)–which I described as a “dark and grungy tale of polyamory, telepathy, and apocalyptical violence.”
- Tadanoi Yokoo’s cover for the 1979 edition
March 7th: Kobo Abe (1924-1993). Secret Rendezvous (1977, trans. 1979) is one of my favorite SF novels of the 70s. And it received a thematically and visually perfect cover by Tadanoi Yokoo (above).
March 7th: Author Elizabeth Moon (1945-).
March 7th: Author and editor Stanley Schmidt (1944-).
March 9th: Author William F. Temple (1914-1989). Another prolific magazine author whom I’ve not read…
March 9th: Author Manly Banister (1914-1986).
March 9th: Author Pat Murphy (1955-). She left a lovely comment on my review of The Shadow Hunter (1982) recently. I need to fast track my post on her first three published short stories.
- Carlos Ochagavia’s cover for the 1979 edition of John Morressy’s Frostworld and Dreamfire (1977)
March 10th: Artist Carlos Ochagavia (1913-2006). I’ve featured his work here.
March 11th: Author F. M. Busby (1921-2005). Despite missteps like Cage a Man (1973), Busby was capable of some effective introspection — notable “If This is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy” (1974).
March 11th: Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).
March 12th: Author Harry Harrison (1925-2012). 2025 if finally the year I get to Make Room! Make Room! (1966). Say it with me!
- Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971)
March 13th: Artist Diane Dillon (1933-). One half of the illustrious art partnership of the 60s/70s/80s! Diane created fantastic cover art with her husband Leo. I’m particularly partial to their cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971) (above).
March 13th: Author William F. Wu (1951-). With his short stories of the late 70s, Wu is one of the earlier Asian-American SF authors. I need to read his work.
March 14th: Author Mildred Clingerman (1918-1997). Another hole in my SF knowledge… I own her collection A Cupful of Space (1961).
March 16th: Artist Chris Foss (1946-). As I say every year as the fans circle… He’s iconic. He spawned a lot of clones. People love him. He’s not for me.
March 16th: Author P. C. Hodgell (1951-). God Stalk (1982) is supposed to be bizarre.
March 16th: Artist James Warhola (1955-). Best known for his cover for the 1st edition of Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984).
March 17th: James Morrow (1947-).
March 17th: William Gibson (1948-). Very much an author of my youth — I devoured Neuromancer (1984), Virtual Light (1993), Idoru (1996), All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999), Count Zero (1986), the stories in Burning Chrome (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). I haven’t returned to his work in almost two decades.
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #books #dorisPiserchia #fantasy #fiction #paperbacks #PhilipJoséFarmer #poulAnderson #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #technology
-
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XX
- A selection of read volumes from my shelves
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s the January installment of this column (sorry I missed a month).
Before John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910-1971) attempted to raise the “standards and thinking in magazine SF,” David Lasser (1902-1996) attempted his own brief (1929-1933) program to improve science fiction as managing editor of Hugo Gernsback’s Science Wonder Stories, Wonder Stories, and Wonder Stories Quarterly. According to Mike Ashley’s The Time Machine: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazine from the Beginning to 1950 (2000), Lasser is a “much neglected revolutionary in science fiction” and through his efforts the genre “started to mature” (66).
Ashley highlights Lasser’s letter of instruction mailed to his regular contributors on the 11th of May, 1931, in which he “exhorted them to bring some realism to their fiction” (72). He also outlawed common tropes like the giant insect story and space opera (73). He emphasized the need to focus on characters that “should really be human” — not everything needs to be a “world-sweeping epic” (73). Stories in this vein, according to Ashley, include Clifford D. Simak’s religiously themed “The Voice in the Void” (1932), P. Schuyler Miller and Walter Dennis’ “The Red Spot on Jupiter” (1931) and “The Duel on the Asteroid” (1934), which featured a grim realism and character development (74).
Lasser also seems like a fascinating individual. He wrote the The Conquest of Space (1931), the first “non-fiction English-language book to deal with spaceflight,” was a member Socialist Party, and was elected head of the Workers Alliance of America (a merger of the Socialist Unemployed Leagues and the Communist Unemployment Councils). He also was banned from federal employment by name in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress due to his political connections. President Jimmy Carter sent him a personal letter of apology when he was finally officially cleared as a subversive in 1980!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- Poul Anderson’s The People of the Wind (1973). I mysteriously adored this one back in 2010… Sometimes my oldest reviews befuddle. I praised Anderson’s refusal to create “monumentally homogeneous societies” yet despaired at its moments of silly and dull battle sequences.
- Doris Piserchia’s A Billion Days of Earth (1976). The best of Piserchia’s novels I’ve read so far. She was an original voice.
- Philip José Farmer’s Night of Light (1966)– a fix-up of “Night of Light” (1957). I remember enjoying this Father Carmody tale despite my inability to write a review. As many know, it influenced Jimi Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze” (1967).
- Robert Silverberg’s collection Needle in a Timestack (1966) contains one of my favorite early Silverberg tales–“The Pain Peddles” (1963).
What am I writing about?
Since my last installment, I’ve posted a review of Star Science Fiction Stories No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955) which contained three standout stories: Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), and Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955). I did not know Williamson was capable of such things. In addition, I posted short reviews of two middling (but interesting) novels: Margot Bennett’s The Long Way Back (1954) and Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964).
I compiled a rare Adventures in Science Fiction art post in order to commemorate Rodger B. MacGowan’s passing. Few know his early science-fictional work in Vertex magazine.
Continuing my general interest in science fiction on themes of sexuality and identity, I surveyed an account of the first gay and lesbian-themed SF panel at a Worldcon.
What am I reading?
Makes secret/sad noises. I’m fighting exhaustion on all fronts. I’m struggling to complete projects or stay focused. The only way I get through these spells is to refuse to make plans. This is all for fun! That said, my history reading continues to focus on the working-class experience. See Tobias Higbie’s fascinating book in the previous photo.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks
March 3rd: Artist Ric Binkley (1921-1968)
March 5th: Author Mike Resnick (1942-2020).
March 5th: Artist Attila Hejja (1955-2007). The master of the blues!
March 6th: Author William F. Nolan (1928-2021). Best known for Logan’s Run (1967).
March 7th: Author Leonard Daventry (1915-1987). Wrote A Man of Double Deed (1965)–which I described as a “dark and grungy tale of polyamory, telepathy, and apocalyptical violence.”
- Tadanoi Yokoo’s cover for the 1979 edition
March 7th: Kobo Abe (1924-1993). Secret Rendezvous (1977, trans. 1979) is one of my favorite SF novels of the 70s. And it received a thematically and visually perfect cover by Tadanoi Yokoo (above).
March 7th: Author Elizabeth Moon (1945-).
March 7th: Author and editor Stanley Schmidt (1944-).
March 9th: Author William F. Temple (1914-1989). Another prolific magazine author whom I’ve not read…
March 9th: Author Manly Banister (1914-1986).
March 9th: Author Pat Murphy (1955-). She left a lovely comment on my review of The Shadow Hunter (1982) recently. I need to fast track my post on her first three published short stories.
- Carlos Ochagavia’s cover for the 1979 edition of John Morressy’s Frostworld and Dreamfire (1977)
March 10th: Artist Carlos Ochagavia (1913-2006). I’ve featured his work here.
March 11th: Author F. M. Busby (1921-2005). Despite missteps like Cage a Man (1973), Busby was capable of some effective introspection — notable “If This is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy” (1974).
March 11th: Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).
March 12th: Author Harry Harrison (1925-2012). 2025 if finally the year I get to Make Room! Make Room! (1966). Say it with me!
- Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971)
March 13th: Artist Diane Dillon (1933-). One half of the illustrious art partnership of the 60s/70s/80s! Diane created fantastic cover art with her husband Leo. I’m particularly partial to their cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971) (above).
March 13th: Author William F. Wu (1951-). With his short stories of the late 70s, Wu is one of the earlier Asian-American SF authors. I need to read his work.
March 14th: Author Mildred Clingerman (1918-1997). Another hole in my SF knowledge… I own her collection A Cupful of Space (1961).
March 16th: Artist Chris Foss (1946-). As I say every year as the fans circle… He’s iconic. He spawned a lot of clones. People love him. He’s not for me.
March 16th: Author P. C. Hodgell (1951-). God Stalk (1982) is supposed to be bizarre.
March 16th: Artist James Warhola (1955-). Best known for his cover for the 1st edition of Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984).
March 17th: James Morrow (1947-).
March 17th: William Gibson (1948-). Very much an author of my youth — I devoured Neuromancer (1984), Virtual Light (1993), Idoru (1996), All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999), Count Zero (1986), the stories in Burning Chrome (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). I haven’t returned to his work in almost two decades.
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #books #dorisPiserchia #fantasy #fiction #paperbacks #PhilipJoséFarmer #poulAnderson #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #technology -
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XX
- A selection of read volumes from my shelves
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s the January installment of this column (sorry I missed a month).
Before John W. Campbell, Jr. attempted to raise the “standards and thinking in magazine SF,” David Lasser (1902-1996) attempted his own brief (1929-1933) program to improve science fiction as managing editor of Hugo Gernsback’s Science Wonder Stories, Wonder Stories, and Wonder Stories Quarterly. According to Mike Ashley’s The Time Machine: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazine from the Beginning to 1950 (2000), Lasser is a “much neglected revolutionary in science fiction” and through his efforts the genre “started to mature” (66).
Ashley highlights Lasser’s letter of instruction mailed to his regular contributors on the 11th of May, 1931, in which he “exhorted them to bring some realism to their fiction” (72). He also outlawed common tropes like the giant insect story and space opera (73). He emphasized the need to focus on characters that “should really be human” — not everything needs to be a “world-sweeping epic” (73). Stories in this vein, according to Ashley, include Clifford D. Simak’s religiously themed “The Voice in the Void” (1932), P. Schuyler Miller and Walter Dennis’ “The Red Spot on Jupiter” (1931) and “The Duel on the Asteroid” (1974), which featured a grim realism and character development (74).
Lasser also seems like a fascinating individual. He wrote the The Conquest of Space (1931), the first “non-fiction English-language book to deal with spaceflight,” was a member Socialist Party, and was elected head of the Workers Alliance of America (a merger of the Socialist Unemployed Leagues and the Communist Unemployment Councils). He also was banned from federal employment by name in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress due to his political connections. President Jimmy Carter sent him a personal letter of apology when he was finally officially cleared as a subversive in 1980!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- Poul Anderson’s The People of the Wind (1973). I mysteriously adored this one back in 2010… Sometimes my oldest reviews befuddle. I praised Anderson’s refusal to create “monumentally homogeneous societies” yet despaired at its moments of silly and dull battle sequences.
- Doris Piserchia’s A Billion Days of Earth (1976). The best of Piserchia’s novels I’ve read so far. She was an original voice.
- Philip José Farmer’s Night of Light (1966)– a fix-up of “Night of Light” (1957). I remember enjoying this Father Carmody tale despite my inability to write a review. As many know, it influenced Jimi Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze” (1967).
- Robert Silverberg’s collection Needle in a Timestack (1966) contains one of my favorite early Silverberg tales–“The Pain Peddles” (1963).
What am I writing about?
Since my last installment, I’ve posted reviews of Star Science Fiction Stories No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955) which contained three standout stories: Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), and Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955). I did not know Williamson was capable of such things. I posted short reviews of two middling (but interesting) novels: Margot Bennett’s The Long Way Back (1954) and Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964).
I compiled a rare Adventures in Science Fiction art post in order to commemorate Rodger B. MacGowan’s passing. Few know his early science-fictional work in Vertex magazine.
Continuing my general interest in science fiction on themes of sexuality and identity, I surveyed an account of the first gay and lesbian-themed SF panel at a Worldcon.
What am I reading?
Makes secret noises. I’m fighting exhaustion on all fronts. I’m struggling to complete projects or stay focused. The only way I get through these spells is to refuse to make plans. This is all for fun! That said, my history reading continues to focus on the working-class experience. See Tobias Higbie’s fascinating book in the previous photo.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks
March 3rd: Artist Ric Binkley (1921-1968)
March 5th: Author Mike Resnick (1942-2020).
March 5th: Artist Attila Hejja (1955-2007). The master of the blues!
March 6th: Author William F. Nolan (1928-2021). Best known for Logan’s Run (1967).
March 7th: Author Leonard Daventry (1915-1987). Wrote A Man of Double Deed (1965)–which I described as a “dark and grungy tale of polyamory, telepathy, and apocalyptical violence.”
- Tadanoi Yokoo’s cover for the 1979 edition
March 7th: Kobo Abe (1924-1993). Secret Rendezvous (1977, trans. 1979) is one of my favorite SF novels of the 70s. And it received a thematically and visually perfect cover by Tadanoi Yokoo (above).
March 7th: Author Elizabeth Moon (1945-).
March 7th: Author and editor Stanley Schmidt (1944-).
March 9th: Author William F. Temple (1914-1989). Another prolific magazine author whom I’ve not read…
March 9th: Author Manly Banister (1914-1986).
March 9th: Author Pat Murphy (1955-). She left a lovely comment on my review of The Shadow Hunter (1982) recently. I need to fast track my post on her first three published short stories.
- Carlos Ochagavia’s cover for the 1979 edition of John Morressy’s Frostworld and Dreamfire (1977)
March 10th: Artist Carlos Ochagavia (1913-2006). I’ve featured his work here.
March 11th: Author F. M. Busby (1921-2005). Despite missteps like Cage a Man (1973), Busby was capable of some effective introspection — notable “If This is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy” (1974).
March 11th: Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).
March 12th: Author Harry Harrison (1925-2012). 2025 if finally the year I get to Make Room! Make Room! (1966). Say it with me!
- Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971)
March 13th: Artist Diane Dillon (1933-). One half of the illustrious art partnership of the 60s/70s/80s! Diane created fantastic cover art with her husband Leo. I’m particularly partial to their cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971) (above).
March 13th: Author William F. Wu (1951-). With his short stories of the late 70s, Wu is one of the earlier Asian-American SF authors. I need to read his work.
March 14th: Author Mildred Clingerman (1918-1997). Another hole in my SF knowledge… I own her collection A Cupful of Space (1961).
March 16th: Artist Chris Foss (1946-). As I say every year as the fans circle… He’s iconic. He spawned a lot of clones. People love him. He’s not for me.
March 16th: Author P. C. Hodgell (1951-). God Stalk (1982) is supposed to be bizarre.
March 16th: Artist James Warhola (1955-). Best known for his cover for the 1st edition of Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984).
March 17th: James Morrow (1947-).
March 17th: William Gibson (1948-). Very much an author of my youth — I devoured Neuromancer (1984), Virtual Light (1993), Idoru (1996), All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999), Count Zero (1986), the stories in Burning Chrome (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). I haven’t returned to his work in almost two decades.
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #books #dorisPiserchia #fantasy #fiction #paperbacks #PhilipJoséFarmer #poulAnderson #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #technology
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Übrigens: Ende März erschien die neue Ausgabe der klassischen von #HarlanEllison herausgegebenen #ScienceFiction-Anthologie in neuer Auflage, und erste vollständige deutsche Ausgabe von »Dangerous Visions« (1967) wird derzeit bei #CarcosaVerlag vorbereitet (ich darf den #PhilipJoséFarmer machen).
Im Juni und Oktober folgen dann die beiden englischsprachigen Fortsetzungen von 1972 und 2024. Bin gespannt, ob die dann auch bei uns kommen werden.
Und: ich finde die Gestaltung sehr schick.
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Book Review: Strange Relations, Philip José Farmer (1960)
(Blanchard’s cover for the 1960 edition)
4/5 (collated rating: Good)
Blanchard’s abstract vaginal cover for the 1960 first edition of Philip José Farmer’s Strange Relations (1960) hints, just obliquely enough to avoid being explicit, at the collection’s radical and groundbreaking contents. Nothing else existed like this from the 50s! Having exploded onto the scene with the “transgressive” (SF encyclopedia) novella “The Lovers” (1952) (later expanded to novel length), Strange Relations (1960) collects a further five short works from the mid-50s and later on similar themes — theology, sex, xenobiology, Freud, and social satire.
Each work revolves around a particular Freudian scenario, a Freudian fantasy. One can imagine that authors such as Barry N. Malzberg were profoundly influenced by Farmer’s meditations on humanity’s “strange peccadilloes.”
Long time readers of my blog might know of my dislike of Farmer’s Hugo-winning To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) and the subsequent sequels which manage to add layers and layers of boredom. I’ve also reviewed the painfully tedious Traitor to the Living (1973)… So, it was with some trepidation that picked up Strange Relations. My dislike has diminished and metafictional pastiches such as Lord Tyger (1970) are on my to acquire radar. The Green Odyssey (1957) and Behind the Walls of Terra (1970), long relegated to a back corner of the to read pile are suddenly more appealing…
Highly recommended for the novelette “Mother” (1953) and its sequel short story “Daughter” (1954). The hard-shelled, hilltop living, female-only womb aliens who fertilize themselves via roving mobile “male” objects whom they capture and thrust into their womb-spaces, described in the these two stories are downright fantastic. The only one of the five that does not live up to its premise is “Son” (1954)–maternal /”female” ocean going robots who adopt and manipulate shipwrecked men should result in a more intriguing story!
Brief Plot Summary/Analysis
“Mother” (1953) (novelette) 4/5 (Good): The second best story of the collection follows the emotional opera singer Eddie Fetts who has a mother complex and an unhealthy attachment to the nipple-shaped rubber top of his liquor thermos. His mother, an accomplished pathologist, is a constant factor in his life, especially after Eddie’s wife left because they “couldn’t get together” (9). Eddie and his mother crash land on an unusual planet where Farmer’s skill at describing unusual aliens manifests itself. Eddie and his mother are captured, after being lured by a mating scent, and placed inside different immobile hilltop dwelling aliens.
He soon discovers that these aliens are all female, they impregnate themselves by capturing roving animal life like himself, and they feed their children inside the womb by producing a stew generated by captured animals and water syphoned via long tubes from the ground. Eddie literally returns to the womb and discovers that he strangely likes it there and takes an active part nurturing the young. Of course, the alien mother, Polyphema, gains great prestige having a talking male mobile.
“Daughter” (1954) (short story) 5/5 (Very Good): The best of the collection and one of my favorites of the 50s. The sequel to “Mother”, “Daughter” is narrated by one of the female children of Polyphema, the alien that captured Eddie. This child, Little Hardhead, was Eddie’s favorite and the one who learned all Eddie knew about the outside world. When she is evicted from Polyphema’s womb, she puts Eddie’s teaching to the test and constructs a multi-layered womb-shell from all different materials when she finds a suitable hill to implant herself (and gains the ridicule of the other children more quickly establish themselves and produce young).
And then the big bad wolf creature, another fantastically bizarre alien conjured by Farmer, who eats all the crops planted by the womb-aliens, and slowly synthesizes chemicals to pry through the layers of the hard womb-shell approaches the last of Polyphema and Eddie’s children. Will Eddie’s teaching payoff when the mobile attacks! Little Hardhead is ready.
“Father” (1955) (novella) 4/5 (Good): “Father” is one of numerous stories in sequence that follow Father (not the father of the title) Carmody, a Catholic priest of the future, in a series of adventures on planets that challenge Catholic theology. In this case, Carmody and the crew of the Gull crash land on the planet of Abatos, where so many vessels have never been seen before. Abatos is an unusual jungle-like world (queue Farmer’s obsessions with Tarzan) filled with only female plants and animals. The reason for this is revealed — a god-like being is offended by even the slightest of sins, animal and planet sex included. So, in his omnipotence he generates a Garden of Eden environment according to his fervent strictures regarding every possible sin. A debate emerges amongst the crew, do they bring the God-like creature back to Earth an utilize it as an instrument of the Church, or, is the God-like creature so utterly delusional and self-obsessed that it should be left to its own devices? One of the more intriguing theological ruminations of the 50s, up there with James Blish’s A Case of Conscience (1958).
“Son” (1954) (short story) 3.5/5 (Good): The fantastic premise devolves into a rather descriptive story that lacks the vibrancy of the others in the collection. Jones, after his luxury liner blows up by the enemy, is miraculously rescued by a sentient robot submersible. The robot takes Jones into the amniotic depths of the ocean where he is drugged, hypnotized, and manipulated into assisting “her” repairs. Soon Jones realizes that Keet is more than simply programming—a maternal instinct exists. But Jones, turns “out to be an American with the good old American name of Jones” (137) sees through her deception and forces himself from her womb-like interior. A second birth, another attempt to make things right…. A forced, violent, birth.
“My Sister’s Brother” (variant title: “Open to Me, My Sister”) (1960) (novella) 4/5 (Good): Nominated for the Short Fiction Hugo category in 1961. Perhaps the most unusual story of the collection…. Lane, a member of the first explorers of Mars, is tasked with discovering where the rest of companions have disappeared. He sets off across the Martian landscape and discovers unusual aliens who farm planets along long hollow tubes that stretch across the landscape. Soon he gains entry to one of the tubes after he encounters a nubile female humanoid looking alien named Martia….
Unlike other SF stories of the era, Lane is unable to overcome his revulsion of the alien’s characteristics, and more specifically bizarre mating patterns. He resorts to an act of brutal violence because, due to the hatred of her differences, “could not accept her love and still remain a man” (190). This is a rather radical story for our manly man, who lusts after aliens but really wants them to be more human than alien (especially when they have sex), despite encountering a peaceful race can only react with violence when his sexual mores are challenged.
(Uncredited cover for the 1966 edition)
(Uncredited cover for the 1973 edition)
(V. Calabrase’s cover for the 1974 edition)
(David Palladini’s cover for the 1978 edition)
(George Underwood’s cover for the 1982 edition)
(Mark Salwowski’s cover for the 1985 edition)
(Clyde Caldwell’s grotesque cover (BAEN books, who else?) for the 2006 edition)
For more book reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #avantGarde #bookReviews2 #paperbacks #philipJoseFarmer #pulp #sciFi #scienceFiction #shortStories #spaceOpera #spaceships #technology