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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 September installment of this column. I am a few days late with this post. We’ll pretend it appeared in October!
I’ve been reading the little scholarship on H. Beam Piper (1904-1964) in order to more adeptly understand his political views when I tackle his various union-related stories for my series. I was struck by the extreme poverty, impact of a memorable cover, and dependence on a responsive agent that he found himself mired in after he lost his railroad guard job and had to rely on writing. He kept himself alive by selling off his gun collection that he had accumulated over the years and eating pigeons his shot on his porch. While he doesn’t seem to have been the best with the little money that came his way, often blowing the majority of a paycheck from Campbell, Jr. on expensive suits, it’s shocking what he had to do to survive between story acceptances. Piper seems to have committed suicide in part due to his financial hardships.
Despite the fact that I can’t wholeheartedly recommend John F. Carr’s H. Beam Piper: A Biography (2008) or Typrewriter Killer (2015) as large sections take the form of haphazardly strung together journal entries with little larger historical analysis, I found Carr’s often unnervingly voyeuristic look into his life lay bare the financial realities of publishing SF, even in a moment when magazines paid well. Unfortunately, Carr leaves comments like Piper’s 1961 letter in which he states “John [Cambell, Jr.] is almost as big a fascist sonofabitch as I am — but he wants a couple of points hammered home a bit harder” un-analyzed.
And let me know what pre-1985 science fiction you’ve been reading!
The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)
- Robert A. Heinlein’s Orphans of the Sky (1963). Comprised of two 1941 novelettes — “Universe” and “Common Sense” — Orphans is an important early installment in the history of the generation ship subgenre. I reviewed it 2010, the first year of my website (I think I wrote the review even earlier and had it posted on Amazon). While I can’t say my review is worth the read due to its early date, I have fond memories of the story itself (not something I can say often about Heinlein).
- Leigh Brackett’s The Big Jump (1955). Another review from the earliest days of the site, I described the novel as “a solid (if predictable) pulp sci-fi adventure with a few delightful poetic moments.” I remember nothing about the book. I much preferred Brackett’s The Long Tomorrow (1955).
- Poul Anderson’s There Will Be Time (1972). As of now, my favorite Anderson novel… Surprising considering it’s a time travel tale.
- D. G. Compton’s The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe (variant title: The Unsleeping Eye) (1973). One of my favorite SF novels — my old review doesn’t do it justice.
What am I writing about?
It’s a secret!
In the past month, I’ve posted reviews of Best Science Fiction of Clifford D. Simak (1967) and three short stories on union-related themes: Philip K. Dick’s “Stand-By” (variant title: “Top Stand-By Job”) (1963), Milton Lesser’s “Do It Yourself” (1957), and H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire’s “Hunter Patrol” (1959).
What am I reading?
A Philip McCutchan novel (I don’t know why, as I said I’m impulsive)… Lots of scholarship about 50s leftist thought, the political impact of the New Deal, H. Beam Piper (discussed above), etc.
A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks
October 19th: Editor and author Maxim Jakubowski (1944-).
October 19th: Russell Kirk (1918-1994). Yes, the conservative political thinker. Until Brian Collins wrote a review of one of Kirk’s fantasies, I did not realize that he was the same person.
October 20th: L. P. Davies (1914-1988).
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Candy Amsden’s disturbing cover for the 1978 edition
October 20th: Emma Tennant (1937-2017). I’ve written a post about her science fictional influences and reviewed The Time of the Crack (variant title: The Crack) (1973). I also read, but never managed to review, Hotel de Dream (1976).
October 21st: Edmond Hamilton (1904-1977)
October 21st: Richard C. Meredith (1937-1979)
October 21st: Artist Don Davis (1952-).
October 21st: Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018).
October 22nd: Doris Lessing (1919-2013).
October 22nd: Vincent King (1935-2000). A bizarre, unique, and often exasperating voice. He’s obsessed with the ellipses to the point of fault. When I read his work, I imagine someone never able to vocalize a sentence without trailing off. Candy Man (1971) was a strange, strange, verging on incoherent, read.
October 22nd: Suzy McKee Charnas (1939-2023). A favorite of mine due to Walk to the End of the World (1974). I resolve to read the sequel Motherlines (1978) later this year or early next.
October 22nd: Editor and publisher Jim Baen (1943-2006).
October 23rd: Nathalie Henneberg (1910-1977)
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Bob Pepper’s cover for the 1983 edition of Philip K. Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965)
October 23rd: Bob Pepper (1938-2019). I find his covers fascinating. I imagine a few of his PKD covers are the iconic PKD editions, like his 1983 take on Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1965) above.
October 23rd: Michael Crichton (1942-2008)
October 24th: Mark Clifton (1906-1963)
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Leo Morey’s cover for Amazing Stories (April 1932)
October 24th: Artist Leo Morey (1899-1965).
October 26th: George H. Smith (1922-1996). I thoroughly enjoyed Smith’s “The Last Crusade” (1955). I have not read anything else by him.
October 27th: Robert Thurston (1936-2021). Another large hole in my knowledge–I’ve been eyeing Thurston’s Alicia II (1978) for years.
October 27th: Walter Jon Williams (1953-).
October 28th: William Harrison (1933-2013). The author of “Roller Ball Murder” (1973), the source material for Rollerball (1975). While he has more stories listed on The Internet Speculative Fiction Database, could any others be classified as SF?
November 1st: Zenna Henderson (1917-1983). A gaping hole in my SF knowledge… I have a collection her non-People stories somewhere.
November 1st: Gordon R. Dickson (1923-2001).
November 2nd: Evelyn Lief (1945-). Wrote a handful of SF short stories — I should include her in my momentarily paused series on the first three published short fictions by female authors I should know more about.
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
