#poulanderson — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #poulanderson, aggregated by home.social.
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Recenzje fantastyczne:
»[Recenzja] „Podniebna krucjata” Poul Anderson«„Podniebna krucjata” opowiada historię podbojów istnego zabijaki, nieustraszonego sir Rogera de Tourneville, sojusznika króla Anglii. Rzecz w tym jednak, że ten sojusz nie został skonsumowany, bo ów zawadiaka i duszą awanturnik nie poprowadził swojego wojska za kanał angielski do Francji...
#Fahrenheit_zin #recenzja #DomWydawniczyRebis #Wehikułczasu #Rebis #AgnieszkaHorzowska #PoulAnderson #SławomirFolkman #IgorMorski #TomaszKokowski #Podniebnakrucjata #TheHighCrusade #JarosławKotarski
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Recenzje fantastyczne:
»[Recenzja] „Podniebna krucjata” Poul Anderson«„Podniebna krucjata” opowiada historię podbojów istnego zabijaki, nieustraszonego sir Rogera de Tourneville, sojusznika króla Anglii. Rzecz w tym jednak, że ten sojusz nie został skonsumowany, bo ów zawadiaka i duszą awanturnik nie poprowadził swojego wojska za kanał angielski do Francji...
#Fahrenheit_zin #recenzja #DomWydawniczyRebis #Wehikułczasu #Rebis #AgnieszkaHorzowska #PoulAnderson #SławomirFolkman #IgorMorski #TomaszKokowski #Podniebnakrucjata #TheHighCrusade #JarosławKotarski
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Recenzje fantastyczne:
»[Recenzja] „Podniebna krucjata” Poul Anderson«„Podniebna krucjata” opowiada historię podbojów istnego zabijaki, nieustraszonego sir Rogera de Tourneville, sojusznika króla Anglii. Rzecz w tym jednak, że ten sojusz nie został skonsumowany, bo ów zawadiaka i duszą awanturnik nie poprowadził swojego wojska za kanał angielski do Francji...
#Fahrenheit_zin #recenzja #DomWydawniczyRebis #Wehikułczasu #Rebis #AgnieszkaHorzowska #PoulAnderson #SławomirFolkman #IgorMorski #TomaszKokowski #Podniebnakrucjata #TheHighCrusade #JarosławKotarski
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Recenzje fantastyczne:
»[Recenzja] „Podniebna krucjata” Poul Anderson«„Podniebna krucjata” opowiada historię podbojów istnego zabijaki, nieustraszonego sir Rogera de Tourneville, sojusznika króla Anglii. Rzecz w tym jednak, że ten sojusz nie został skonsumowany, bo ów zawadiaka i duszą awanturnik nie poprowadził swojego wojska za kanał angielski do Francji...
#Fahrenheit_zin #recenzja #DomWydawniczyRebis #Wehikułczasu #Rebis #AgnieszkaHorzowska #PoulAnderson #SławomirFolkman #IgorMorski #TomaszKokowski #Podniebnakrucjata #TheHighCrusade #JarosławKotarski
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Recenzje fantastyczne:
»[Recenzja] „Podniebna krucjata” Poul Anderson«„Podniebna krucjata” opowiada historię podbojów istnego zabijaki, nieustraszonego sir Rogera de Tourneville, sojusznika króla Anglii. Rzecz w tym jednak, że ten sojusz nie został skonsumowany, bo ów zawadiaka i duszą awanturnik nie poprowadził swojego wojska za kanał angielski do Francji...
#Fahrenheit_zin #recenzja #DomWydawniczyRebis #Wehikułczasu #Rebis #AgnieszkaHorzowska #PoulAnderson #SławomirFolkman #IgorMorski #TomaszKokowski #Podniebnakrucjata #TheHighCrusade #JarosławKotarski
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Fantastyka:
»Poul Anderson „Podniebna krucjata”«Dzisiaj (24.03.2026 r.) w serii "Wehikuł czasu" Domu Wydawniczego REBIS ukazuje się książka Poula Andersona "Podniebna krucjata".
https://www.fahrenheit.net.pl/ksiazki/o-ksiazkach/fantastyka/poul-anderson-podniebna-krucjata/
#Fahrenheit_zin #DomWydawniczyRebis #Wehikułczasu #Rebis #AgnieszkaHorzowska #PoulAnderson #SławomirFolkman #IgorMorski #Podniebnakrucjata #TheHighCrusade #JarosławKotarski
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Fantastyka:
»Poul Anderson „Podniebna krucjata”«Dzisiaj (24.03.2026 r.) w serii "Wehikuł czasu" Domu Wydawniczego REBIS ukazuje się książka Poula Andersona "Podniebna krucjata".
https://www.fahrenheit.net.pl/ksiazki/o-ksiazkach/fantastyka/poul-anderson-podniebna-krucjata/
#Fahrenheit_zin #DomWydawniczyRebis #Wehikułczasu #Rebis #AgnieszkaHorzowska #PoulAnderson #SławomirFolkman #IgorMorski #Podniebnakrucjata #TheHighCrusade #JarosławKotarski
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ENSIGN FLANDRY (1978)
Acrylic on illustration board - 26” x 16”Dominic Flandry debuted in print way back in 1966, a decade before I worked on ACE reprints of the series. Early in my career, I was often paired with established authors like Poul Anderson. 1/4
#scienceficiton #illustration #poulAnderson #dominicflandry #acebooks
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ENSIGN FLANDRY (1978)
Acrylic on illustration board - 26” x 16”Dominic Flandry debuted in print way back in 1966, a decade before I worked on ACE reprints of the series. Early in my career, I was often paired with established authors like Poul Anderson. 1/4
#scienceficiton #illustration #poulAnderson #dominicflandry #acebooks
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ENSIGN FLANDRY (1978)
Acrylic on illustration board - 26” x 16”Dominic Flandry debuted in print way back in 1966, a decade before I worked on ACE reprints of the series. Early in my career, I was often paired with established authors like Poul Anderson. 1/4
#scienceficiton #illustration #poulAnderson #dominicflandry #acebooks
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ENSIGN FLANDRY (1978)
Acrylic on illustration board - 26” x 16”Dominic Flandry debuted in print way back in 1966, a decade before I worked on ACE reprints of the series. Early in my career, I was often paired with established authors like Poul Anderson. 1/4
#scienceficiton #illustration #poulAnderson #dominicflandry #acebooks
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The flip sides of using massive force to seize members of governments from abroad are hostage taking of travelling officials or citizens; and assassination of officials and key workers at home.
#SciFi #PoulAnderson wrote of wars of #assassination #Herbert posited something larger in #Dune
The USA has already taken up assassination, in third countries. American citizens are made less safe, and American officials are less safe to be adjacent to wherever they are. As are their advisers.
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Just finished updating the @norwescon historical archives with a new, high-quality scan of an original 1978 #NWC1 program book autographed by #TheodoreSturgeon, #AlanENourse, #PoulAnderson, #JFBone, #VondaNMcIntyre, #HWarnerMunn, #SydneyJVanScyoc, and #JohnVarley!
https://history.norwescon.org/items/show/1
This is a really neat bit of #Norwescon history, and the first time I'd seen one of these in person. I knew they were small, but I hadn't really realized how small until I got to scan this one in.
Some technical notes: The book was scanned in at 300 dpi, OCR'd and manually corrected for accuracy, and the final PDF is fully tagged for accessibility and verified with PAC as meeting both PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 standards.
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Just finished updating the @norwescon historical archives with a new, high-quality scan of an original 1978 #NWC1 program book autographed by #TheodoreSturgeon, #AlanENourse, #PoulAnderson, #JFBone, #VondaNMcIntyre, #HWarnerMunn, #SydneyJVanScyoc, and #JohnVarley!
https://history.norwescon.org/items/show/1
This is a really neat bit of #Norwescon history, and the first time I'd seen one of these in person. I knew they were small, but I hadn't really realized how small until I got to scan this one in.
Some technical notes: The book was scanned in at 300 dpi, OCR'd and manually corrected for accuracy, and the final PDF is fully tagged for accessibility and verified with PAC as meeting both PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 standards.
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Just finished updating the @norwescon historical archives with a new, high-quality scan of an original 1978 #NWC1 program book autographed by #TheodoreSturgeon, #AlanENourse, #PoulAnderson, #JFBone, #VondaNMcIntyre, #HWarnerMunn, #SydneyJVanScyoc, and #JohnVarley!
https://history.norwescon.org/items/show/1
This is a really neat bit of #Norwescon history, and the first time I'd seen one of these in person. I knew they were small, but I hadn't really realized how small until I got to scan this one in.
Some technical notes: The book was scanned in at 300 dpi, OCR'd and manually corrected for accuracy, and the final PDF is fully tagged for accessibility and verified with PAC as meeting both PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 standards.
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Just finished updating the @norwescon historical archives with a new, high-quality scan of an original 1978 #NWC1 program book autographed by #TheodoreSturgeon, #AlanENourse, #PoulAnderson, #JFBone, #VondaNMcIntyre, #HWarnerMunn, #SydneyJVanScyoc, and #JohnVarley!
https://history.norwescon.org/items/show/1
This is a really neat bit of #Norwescon history, and the first time I'd seen one of these in person. I knew they were small, but I hadn't really realized how small until I got to scan this one in.
Some technical notes: The book was scanned in at 300 dpi, OCR'd and manually corrected for accuracy, and the final PDF is fully tagged for accessibility and verified with PAC as meeting both PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 standards.
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Just finished updating the @norwescon historical archives with a new, high-quality scan of an original 1978 #NWC1 program book autographed by #TheodoreSturgeon, #AlanENourse, #PoulAnderson, #JFBone, #VondaNMcIntyre, #HWarnerMunn, #SydneyJVanScyoc, and #JohnVarley!
https://history.norwescon.org/items/show/1
This is a really neat bit of #Norwescon history, and the first time I'd seen one of these in person. I knew they were small, but I hadn't really realized how small until I got to scan this one in.
Some technical notes: The book was scanned in at 300 dpi, OCR'd and manually corrected for accuracy, and the final PDF is fully tagged for accessibility and verified with PAC as meeting both PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 standards.
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This weeks new #videogames, and a couple of new (to me) books from half price books.
#PS4 Shovel Knight and The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim (Which I didn't realize I already owned.)
And The books, Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson and Whichway books Star Trek Phaser Fight
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Let the Spacemen Beware, by Poul Anderson, starts as the well-worn trope of astronauts discovering a planet full of over-happy people with no fears or competitive spirit, but the sinister truth turns out to be an interesting take.
A 9/10 from me.
The review contains spoilers which are labelled and shepherded towards the end.
https://rdmp.org/dale-mellor/bookblog/?review=let-the-spacemen-beware
@bookstodon #reading #scifi #ScifiReading #books #PoulAnderson #LetTheSpacemenBeware
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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
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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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@AlgoCompSynth Imagine where we'd be if he'd read Tau Zero instead of whatever Mars pulp he was consuming - Although I guess he'd still hate women.
-
Virgil Finlay illustrates The Star Beast by Poul Anderson, from Super Science Stories, September 1950. #FinlayFriday
#VirgilFinlay #PoulAnderson #Illustration #Art #Tiger #SF #SFF #ScienceFiction
“Won’t you change?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. I won’t even be able to remember a lot of things I now know. I doubt if even the most intelligent tiger could understand vector analysis. But that won’t matter. I’ll get it back when they restore my human form.” -
Virgil Finlay illustrates The Star Beast by Poul Anderson, from Super Science Stories, September 1950. #FinlayFriday
#VirgilFinlay #PoulAnderson #Illustration #Art #Tiger #SF #SFF #ScienceFiction
“Won’t you change?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. I won’t even be able to remember a lot of things I now know. I doubt if even the most intelligent tiger could understand vector analysis. But that won’t matter. I’ll get it back when they restore my human form.” -
Virgil Finlay illustrates The Star Beast by Poul Anderson, from Super Science Stories, September 1950. #FinlayFriday
#VirgilFinlay #PoulAnderson #Illustration #Art #Tiger #SF #SFF #ScienceFiction
“Won’t you change?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. I won’t even be able to remember a lot of things I now know. I doubt if even the most intelligent tiger could understand vector analysis. But that won’t matter. I’ll get it back when they restore my human form.” -
Virgil Finlay illustrates The Star Beast by Poul Anderson, from Super Science Stories, September 1950. #FinlayFriday
#VirgilFinlay #PoulAnderson #Illustration #Art #Tiger #SF #SFF #ScienceFiction
“Won’t you change?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. I won’t even be able to remember a lot of things I now know. I doubt if even the most intelligent tiger could understand vector analysis. But that won’t matter. I’ll get it back when they restore my human form.” -
Virgil Finlay illustrates The Star Beast by Poul Anderson, from Super Science Stories, September 1950. #FinlayFriday
#VirgilFinlay #PoulAnderson #Illustration #Art #Tiger #SF #SFF #ScienceFiction
“Won’t you change?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. I won’t even be able to remember a lot of things I now know. I doubt if even the most intelligent tiger could understand vector analysis. But that won’t matter. I’ll get it back when they restore my human form.” -
Short Story Review: Poul Anderson’s “The Troublemakers” (1953)
This is the 20th post in my series of vintage generation ship short fiction reviews. You are welcome to read and discuss along with me as I explore humanity’s visions of generational voyage. And thanks go out to all who have joined already. I also have compiled an extensive index of generation ship SF if you wish to track down my earlier reviews on the topic and any that you might want to read on your own.
Previously: Fred Saberhagen’s “Birthdays” (1976)
Next Up: TBD
- Uncredited cover for Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, ed. L. B. Cole (September 1953)
3.25/5 (Above Average)
Poul Anderson’s “The Troublemakers” (1953) first appeared in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, ed. L. B. Cole (September 1953). You can read it online here.
Anderson’s tale is a fascinating collision of two of my recurring interests in post-WWII science fiction: generation ships and organized labor. Due to my love of Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Paradises Lost” (2002) and Brian W. Aldiss’ Non-Stop (variant title: Starship) (1959), I started a review series on generation ship short fiction in 2019. The series has languished recently as I am running out of pre-1985 depictions of the theme available in English to read. I read Anderson’s vision last year but could not muster a review. However, my recent focus on organized labor caused me to reread Anderson’s account of generational conflict, the working class experience, and the contours of power and government.
“The Troublemakers” ruminates on the type of society that should exist in the intermediary generations between departure and arrival. Some authors speculate that stasis (often achieved via religion or indoctrinating ritual) or decadence (the loss of knowledge about the voyage) would set in the generations after departure from Earth. Anderson, on the other hand, examines the role of deliberate instability to combat stasis and decadence in the grand colonizing scheme. Recommended for diehard fans of the history of generation ship stories (me!) or Poul Anderson completists.
The Nature of the Voyage
The Pioneer, a vast generation ship six miles long and two miles wide, replete with massive parks, hydroponics bays, and entertainment facilities sets off from Earth to Centauri. Only partially constructed in order to give the crew something to do for the first generation, the original crew of 200 hundred men and women is planned to rise to 10k by the time of arrival.1
The story follows the youthful Ensign Evan Friday, a rising officer in the Astrogation caste (“the aristocracy of the aristocracy”), who starts to wonder about the corrupt nature of his world: “Eighty years later, what do we have? An unending succession of tyrannies, revolutions, tensions, hatreds, corruptions—all the social evils which Earth so painfully overcome, reborn between the stars” (3). He’s accused by the Captain and his Council, a representative from each of the major factions, on the “flimsiest tissue of fabrications” (3) of gross misconduct and is stripped of “all title, honor, and privilege” (4). Instead of execution, he’s assigned a common crewman position with the Engineering section (4). He must put aside his snooty elitism and learn to excel in the world of the common laborer. Friday, who yearns for a ship refocused on the grandeur of its mission and cured of its corruption, slowly rises up from the bottom. He befriends fellow workers. He attends union meetings. He watches the demagoguery of the union representative Wilson. He sees how power functions from another perspective.
Eventually, as tensions threaten to explode between different groups, Evan falls in with the rising correlate of the American middle class–small-scale artisans and business owners–who begin to organize their own Guilds. With Evan’s leadership, the Guilds start to flex their muscles and angle for their voice to be heard. And eventually Evan must learn the true shape of things.
Final Thoughts
Due to rise of fascism abroad in the intra-war period, there was a resurgence of interest among psychologists in the validity of crowd psychology.2 In this formulation, the public manifests an opinion that is a “latent disease state, subject to turbulent infection at unpredictable moments.”3 Far from a uniquely foreign occurrence, psychologists on the Homefront identified similarly troubling tendencies.4 Fearful of similar unrest at home, psychologists in the post-WWII moment positioned themselves as the experts needed design “democratic personalities and predict emotional surges in national and international tension.”5 In short, psychologists defended social engineering.
I bring this historical context up as the final conclusion of “The Troublemakers” (1953) directly echoes this sense that psychologists are the guarantees of a more socially progressive and stable future–socially engineering must occur. Anderson’s suspicion of traditional societal organizing institutions and concepts–unions, guilds, class, etc.6–echoes 50s views on the growing centrality of the expert in informing policy. Anderson deliberately ignores mentioning institutional religion. Instead, the idealism of the frontier liminal space that must be conquered takes on an almost religious imperative and forms the ideological thrust of the story. After World War II, psychologists saw themselves as guiding America towards a more democratic future. In parallel, psychologists in Anderson’s story socially engineer a system to contain and encourage particular types of behaviors that will culminate in a generation suitable to colonize.
In addition, Anderson’s take on unions echoes some strands of contemporary 50s criticism. As I’ve discussed at length previously and reproduce here in broad strokes, during the Great Depression there was broad consensus among leftist thinkers that the labor movement would lead to radical change. The Second World War and the economic recovery shattered that consensus.7 They struggled to grapple with an economic system they had expected to collapse and the lack of interest in socialism within American unions. Within unions, the political and social transformation of capitalism became secondary to preserving their organizations and maintaining a harmonious relationship with industry.8 On the right, American corporate powers and their conservative congressional allies unleashed a “propaganda campaign” against the labor movement.9
Where does Poul Anderson fit into this political scenario? Unlike H. Beam Piper’s “Day of the Moron” (1951), Anderson’s story isn’t reactionary or alarmist in a visceral sense despite his critical take on unions. He describes unions (in the story they organize lower class workers) and guilds (described as more middle-class) as an important means to protect against monopolistic oppression. However, unions leaders like Wilson–characterized with crass physical cliches like obesity to indicate his corruption–utilize demagoguery to control the masses. Evan Friday’s coming-of-age sojourn amongst the lower classes does cause him to see Wilson’s manipulation and dismiss the Communist views of many union members. The radical potential of unions will simply lead to more cycles of oppression under a Stalinist dictatorship. Unions might have immediate value in their desire to protect the worker from oppression or advocate for a previously ignored voice but the expert psychologist must channel policy to heal the larger population. Friday leaves with a deep appreciation of the working-class struggle. Anderson positions him as an empathetic leader who will defer to the intellectual elite.
As a literary experience, I’m not convinced of the merit of “The Troublemakers” (1951). As a means to extrapolate from contemporary 50s politics within the distilled world of a generation ship, Anderson provides a fascinating range of political ruminations that ultimately demonstrate his deep distrust of “large, encompassing systems,”10 belief in the dangerous potential of crowd psychology, and skepticism that there is a true political system.11 Anderson conjures a version of a sociological view popularized in 1956 by C. Wright Mills that a “power elite”–a web of industrial, military, and corporate interests–dictates from behind the scenes. Unlike Mills, as long as the power elite are guided by experts who will make sure humans can conquer the new frontier (and minimize human casualties), he’s okay with it.
Notes
- I found this detail–partial construction–fascinating. While not discussed in detail, the implication is that the crew could complete large sections of the interior to suit their interests and needs over the generations. This gives the opportunity for a laboring class to be firmly entrenched in the ship. ↩︎
- See Ch. 3, “The Dilemmas of Democratic Morale” of Ellen Herman’s brilliant The Romance of American Psychology: Political Culture in the Age of Experts (1995), 48-81. ↩︎
- Herman, 55. ↩︎
- Herman examines numerous psychological studies of the US military. ↩︎
- Herman, 81. ↩︎
- There’s substantial scholarship on the image of the American West transposed into the future. For example, Carl Abbott’s Frontiers Past and Future: Science Fiction and the American West (2006), which does not mention Anderson’s story. Anderson’s story is a bog standard, but illuminative, example. If you’re interested in revisionist takes on the West in SF that would enrich Abbott’s take substantially, check out Craig Strete’s corpus of works typified by “When They Find You” (1977) and William Tenn’s “Eastward Ho!” (1958). ↩︎
- Jeffrey W. Coker’s Confronting American Labor: The New Left Dilemma (2002), 51. ↩︎
- See Ch. 19, “Retrenchment, Cold War, and Consolidation, 1946-1955,” of Melvyn Dubofsky and Joseph A. McCartin’s Labor in America: A History, 9th edition (2017), 303-320. ↩︎
- See Elizabeth A. Fones-Wolf’s Selling Free Enterprise: The Business Assault on Labor and Liberalism, 1945-1960 (1994). She describes both a local and a national campaign. ↩︎
- See Anderson’s obituary for a brief discussion of his politics. ↩︎
- For more on his politics, check out this interesting article. ↩︎
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #bookReview #bookReviews #bookReviews #books #fiction #generationShip #poulAnderson #sciFi #scienceFiction #spaceships
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Poul Anderson’s 1952 novella Sargasso of Lost Starships is superior-grade complex space opera. With three interstellar civilisations in conflict and no clear-cut good guys and bad guys. High adventure and action plus a twisted love story.
My review: https://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2024/07/poul-andersons-sargasso-of-lost.html
#sciencefiction #scifi #spaceopera #swordandplanet #PoulAnderson
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Apropos my toot the other day about my mom freaking out in the 80s because young me was reading "smut" (science fiction, smutty or not, with lurid paperback covers). This femdom giantess naked-man-in-bondage cover artwork comes from the cover of a 1960 paperback by scifi legend Poul Anderson, who didn't really do smutty:
https://www.erosblog.com/2017/02/24/femdom-giantess-humiliation/
#ScienceFiction #SciFi #Pulp #PaperBack #PoulAnderson #VirginPlanet #Smut #Smutty
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Poul Anderson's 1960 historical novel The Golden Slave, a roller-coaster ride of action, betrayal and sudden changes in fortune in ancient Rome but with more to it than that. With characters who are not just modern people in historical costume.
My review: https://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2024/06/poul-andersons-golden-slave.html
#HistoricalNovel #HistoricalNovels #HistoricalFiction #PoulAnderson
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SHERLOCK HOKA (1983)
Acrylic on watercolor board - 20" x 13"The "Hoka" books, by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson, have been favorites among SF fans for many years. 1/6
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/sherlock-hoka/
#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #gordonrdickson #poulanderson #hokas
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SHERLOCK HOKA (1983)
Acrylic on watercolor board - 20" x 13"The "Hoka" books, by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson, have been favorites among SF fans for many years. 1/6
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/sherlock-hoka/
#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #gordonrdickson #poulanderson #hokas
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SHERLOCK HOKA (1983)
Acrylic on watercolor board - 20" x 13"The "Hoka" books, by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson, have been favorites among SF fans for many years. 1/6
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/sherlock-hoka/
#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #gordonrdickson #poulanderson #hokas
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SHERLOCK HOKA (1983)
Acrylic on watercolor board - 20" x 13"The "Hoka" books, by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson, have been favorites among SF fans for many years. 1/6
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/sherlock-hoka/
#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #gordonrdickson #poulanderson #hokas
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SHERLOCK HOKA (1983)
Acrylic on watercolor board - 20" x 13"The "Hoka" books, by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson, have been favorites among SF fans for many years. 1/6
https://www.michaelwhelan.com/galleries/sherlock-hoka/
#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #gordonrdickson #poulanderson #hokas
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#introduction 3! I AM ALSO EXTREMELY INTO.... #books and #reading. I particularly enjoy #SciFi and #HardScienceFiction / #HardSciFi - generally anything by #JoeHaldeman #JohnScalzi #DennisETaylor #MarkoKloos #PoulAnderson #AndyWeir #AdrianTchaikovsky. I would absolutely LOVE it if people suggested books to me as I'm not very good at finding ones I like. The #Bobiverse series was probably my most favourite recent read. Again I welcome interaction about this.
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I'm also Extremely Into #ScienceFiction #SciFi #HardSciFi #HardScienceFiction #Books
During lockdown I rediscovered my love of reading - stumbling across #JohnScalzi #OldMansWar, which I loved and reminded a bit me of the #JoeHaldeman #ForeverWar series. Which led me to the #Bobiverse books by #DennisETaylor which I LOVED.
I also very much like....
#MarkoKloos
#AndyWeir
#PoulAnderson
#AdrianTchaikovskyGenuinely looking for more suggestions!
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My 2022 SF/fantasy reading highlights:
Poul Anderson's Swordsmen from the Stars
https://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2022/01/poul-andersons-swordsmen-from-stars.htmlC.L. Moore's Judgment Night
https://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2022/07/cl-moores-judgment-night.htmlGardner Francis Fox's (Simon Majors) The Druid Stone
https://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2022/09/gardner-francis-foxs-druid-stone.htmlEdmond Hamilton's The Avenger from Atlantis
https://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2022/03/edmond-hamiltons-avenger-from-atlantis.html#scifi #sciencefiction #fantasy #swordandplanet #GardnerFrancisFox #swordandsorcery #CLMoore #CatherineLMoore #PoulAnderson #EdmondHamilton #atlantis
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Latest read, The Gate of the Flying Knives (1979) by Poul Anderson, from the anthology Thieves' World, Book 1.
The bard Cappen Varra seeks to rescue his love from a winged demon that has spirited her, and her Lady, to another dimension.
Charming to read this very D&D-esqe, Sword and Sorcery adventure again.
Playful material, smartly written.76 of #400FantasyStories #Fantasy #SwordAndSorcery #HeroicFantasy #Books #PoulAnderson #ThievesWorld
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Here's some #writingadvice: Include the five senses in your fiction or dramatizations of history. #PoulAnderson , an #SF legend, gave this advice at a convention I attended, saying to add at least one sense per paragraph. Every paragraph might be overkill, but why not try? When I revise a draft, I always look at each paragraph for opportunities.
This wonderful #writingprompt post (https://eldritch.cafe/@oneoveralpha@chinwag.org/109470941337849608) asked us to "Describe the sound of rain," presumably without the word rain. So... I did so!
I realized swiftly that the experience of rain encompasses more than just sound. There's the very special smell you notice, with the non-literary name of #petrichor. There's electricity, which you smell as ozone, maybe feel as the tiny hairs on your skin raise, or see as a flash of lightning. The drops spatter on the pavement and darken it in spots. You feel them blow into your eyes—or may drip down your cheeks and neck like the tears of dozens of sad ghosts.
Do you get the idea? I #challenge you to write something using the concept. Use the hashtag #fivesenses and reply to this post. Boost if you like this type of post.
Thank you, @oneoveralpha
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CW: EXTREME #hashtag use
I'm also Extremely Into #ScienceFiction #SciFi #HardSciFi #HardScienceFiction #Books
During lockdown I rediscovered my love of reading - fortunately stumbling across #JohnScalzi #OldMansWar, which I loved and reminded a bit me of the #JoeHaldeman #ForeverWar series. Which led me to the #Bobiverse books by #DennisETaylor which I LOVED. I'm looking for suggestions. Currently on #TermsOfEnlistment by #MarkoKloos & enjoying so far. I like #AndyWeir, #PoulAnderson and I'll always read anything in the #Dune universe. Really liked #ChildrenOfTime, #ChildrenOfRuin & #DogsOfWar / #BearHead by #AdrianTchaikovsky. Enjoyed #TheThreeBodyProblem, but The Dark Forest has left me in the weeds a bit (will return for another go at some point). Genuinely looking for suggestions!
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Il Come Eravamo del Come Saremo – Mondi Alternativi 2
Ancora Mondi e stranissimi MondiLa fantascienza come poesia per immagini - puntata 27
Romanzo caldeggiato: Poul Anderson, I proteiformi
https://www.labottegadelbarbieri.org/il-come-eravamo-del-come-saremo-mondi-alternativi-2/
#bottegadelbarbieri #labottegadelbarbieri
#Articoli #Difuturicen'ètanti #Fantascienzacomepoesia #Iproteiformi #IlComeEravamodelComeSaremo #immaginifantascienza #MauroAntonioMiglieruolo #PoulAnderson -
Il Come Eravamo del Come Saremo – Mondi Alternativi 2
Ancora Mondi e stranissimi MondiLa fantascienza come poesia per immagini - puntata 27
Romanzo caldeggiato: Poul Anderson, I proteiformi
https://www.labottegadelbarbieri.org/il-come-eravamo-del-come-saremo-mondi-alternativi-2/
#bottegadelbarbieri #labottegadelbarbieri
#Articoli #Difuturicen'ètanti #Fantascienzacomepoesia #Iproteiformi #IlComeEravamodelComeSaremo #immaginifantascienza #MauroAntonioMiglieruolo #PoulAnderson -
Il Come Eravamo del Come Saremo – Astronavi 4
La Fantascienza come poesia per immagini (n. 20).Raccogliendo in un unico delta la tensione ideale verso i
https://www.labottegadelbarbieri.org/il-come-eravamo-del-come-saremo-astronavi-4/
#bottegadelbarbieri #labottegadelbarbieri
#Articoli #Difuturicen'ètanti #astronavi #Fantascienzacomepoesia #fantascienzaperimmagini #IlComeEravamodelComeSaremo #immaginifantascienza #MauroAntonioMiglieruolo #Miglieruolo #PoulAnderson #Quoziente1000