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A selection of previously read novels from my shelf
What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s July’s installment of this column.
Last month I waxed rhapsodic about a powerful interaction with a professor in graduate school… this month I’ll show you a recent obsessive territory I’ve been reading and ruminating about: 1940s and 1950s (and a few from the 60s) social commentary on American affluence, technology, and media. It all started with my media landscapes of the future series–I could not write on the topic unless I read some Marshall McLuhan. And then I had to read about C. Wright Mills to write about Clifford D. Simak and organized labor. And then I needed to track down other popular authors of social commentary published in era. It should not be surprising so much 50s SF revolved around social commentary — it was in the air. You get the idea. This pile represents some of what I now own:
…and there are more on the way. And I imagine there’s another project brewing in all of this, I’m not exactly sure what it is, I have to read more (and more) first.
Let me know what pre-1985 science fiction you’ve been reading!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- If you’re new to SF in translation, Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris (1961) is a great place to start. I suspect it was the first SF novel in translation I’ve read, and I promptly devoured fistfuls of his work in the years leading up to creating my site.
- I was thrilled to learn that Faber & Faber recently published a new edition of Sven Holm’s wonderful post-apocalyptic novel Termush (1967). I reviewed it in the original 1969 translated edition back in 2020.
- C. J. Cherryh’s Downbelow Station (1981) used to be the type of Sf I gravitated towards after my shift from fantasy. You know, the epic space opera with far too many characters and references… Despite my current views on space opera, I appreciate Cherryh’s ability to layer on the paranoia.
- D. G. Compton’s Synthajoy (1968). I bizarre rumination, with a strong female lead, on strange new technology that can record emotions. Highly recommended!
What am I writing about?
I recently perused Eric Garber and Lyn Paleo’s indispensable Uranian Worlds: A Reader’s Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction and Fantasy (1983, second ed. 1990), my eyes were drawn to a handful of stories that I’ll post about in the coming months.
This month I’ve finally posted promised reviews of Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon (1959)! I’m currently prepping another post in my series with Rachel S. Cordasco on SF in translation. She, prompt as always, already sent me her review… Stay tuned.
What am I reading?
As my Clifford D. Simak project on his depictions of organized labor winds to a close, I eager look forward to returning to my media landscapes of the future series. It’s been a while. I am eyeing works on the theme by Algis Budrys, Frederik Pohl, M. A. Foster, Edward Bryant, and Helen Urban.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks
August 10th: Ward Moore (1903-1978) was born on this day. As I am increasingly interested in the evolution of radical leftist thought amongst SF authors in the post-WWII world, I should should address Moore’s work more systematically. Mike Davis, in “Ward Moore’s Freedom Ride” which appeared in Science Fiction Studies (November 2011), describes him as a “whirling dervish of unorthodox opinion and radical sensibility, a Trotskyist and a libertarian.” I reviewed Moore’s disturbing “Lot” (1953) for my 1950s sex and sexuality review series.
August 10th: Alexis A. Gilliland (1931-). Best known for the Rosinante sequence. I haven’t read his work.
August 10th: Curt Siodmak (1902-2000). Best known for Donovan’s Brain (1942), which he adapted into a 1953 film by the same name. He was publishing SF as late as 1992 — a career of 66 years.
August 11th: Alan E. Nourse (1928-1992). I’ve only read his medical-themed The Mercy Men (variant title: The Man Obsessed) (1955).
August 12th: Chan Davis (1926-2022). I read my first Chan Davis stories last year — “The Nightmare” (1946), “To Still the Drums” (1946), and “The Aristocrat” (1949).
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John Berkey’s “Nasa”
August 13th: Artist John Berkey (1932-2008). His work is iconic and not to be missed. Click the name for an index of his wonderful covers.
August 13th: Author and editor Martin Bax (1933-). I reviewed his only (unfortunately) SF experiment–The Hospital Ship (1976). If you enjoy Ballard at his most experimental, Bax might be worth tracking down.
August 14th: Alexei Panshin (1940-2022). I still have not read any of his work.
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Darrell K. Sweet’s cover for the 1975 edition of James Blish’s A Case of Conscience (1958)
August 15th: Artist Darrell K. Sweet (1934-2011).
August 15th: Author Robert L. Forward (1932-2002).
August 16th: Author and editor Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967).
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Paul Lehr’s cover art for the 1st edition of Emil Petaja’s The Nets of Space (1969)
August 16th: Artist Paul Lehr (1930-1998). If you own any older SF books, you probably have seen his majestic covers. He’s a favorite of mine!
August 17th: Rachel Pollack (1945-2023). I’ve only reviewed Alqua Dreams (1987). On Facebook, before her recent passing, she called my review “fair.”
August 18th: Brian W. Aldiss (1925-2017). Another Joachim Boaz favorite. Check out my review of Hothouse (variant title: The Long Afternoon of Earth) (1962) if you haven’t already.
August 19th: D. G. Compton (1930-2023) crafted a fascinating range of SF novels — I recommend The Unsleeping Eye (variant title: The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe) (1973), Synthajoy (1968), and Farewell, Earth’s Bliss (1966) in particular. In 2021 he rightly won the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award.
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H. W. Wesso’s cover art for Astounding Stories of Super-Science (May 1930)
August 19th: Artist H. W. Wesso (1894-1948) was one of the iconic Astounding Stories artists.
August 20th: Artist H. R. Van Dongen (1920-2010).
August 20th: Greg Bear (1951-2022). In my more expansive SF-reading days, I consumed Bear’s Darwin’s Radio (1999), Blood Music (1985), and Eon (1985).
August 20th: H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). If his work tickles your fancy, definitely check out Bobby D.’s wonderful website Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein. I’ve only read a few stories here and there.
August 21st: Anthony Boucher (1911-1968). I’ll be on a podcast in the next few months on one of his stories.
August 21st: Miriam Allen deFord (1888-1975). Check out my review of her Xenogenesis (1969) collection.
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Ron Walotsky’s “The Architects of Hyperspace” (1987)
August 21st: Artist Ron Walotsky (1943-2002)
August 21st: Lucius Shepard (1943-2014).
August 22nd: Ray Bradbury (1920-2012).
August 22nd: Chuck Rothman (1952-). A completely new author to me — he apparently wrote a generationship novel Staroamer’s Fate (1986), which I recently acquired.
August 24th: James Tiptree, Jr. (1915-1987). There are so many authors I need to read more extensively, and Tiptree ranks near the top of the list. I’ve covered the following: “A Momentary Taste of Being” (1975), “A Source of Innocent Merriment” (1980), “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” (1973), “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” (1976), and “Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death” (1973).
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
