The Multidimensional Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Twentieth Century, Volume 1
THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, VOLUME 1
EDITED BY NAT TILANDER
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Copyright © 2010 by Nathaniel Garret Tilander
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.
Cover art from the novella Last Enemy by H. Beam Piper, first published in the August 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and illustrated by Miller. Image downloaded from the ―zorger.com‖ website which states that the image is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License.
Additional copyrighted materials incorporated in this book are as follows:
Copyright © 1949-1951 by L. Sprague de Camp. These articles originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction. Copyright © 1951-1979 by P. Schuyler Miller. These articles originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction. Copyright © 1975-1979 by Lester Del Rey. These articles originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction. Copyright © 1978-1981 by Spider Robinson. These articles originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction. Copyright © 1979-1999 by Tom Easton. These articles originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction. Copyright © 1950-1954 by J. Francis McComas. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1950-1959 by Anthony Boucher. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1959-1960 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1960-1962 by Alfred Bester. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1961-1973 by James Blish. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1962-1975 by Avram Davidson. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1965-1969 by Judith Merril. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1965-1966 by Fritz Leiber. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1967-1980 by Joanna Russ. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1974-1982 by John Clute. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1975-1993 by Algis Budrys. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1987-1993 by Orson Scott Card. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1994-1999 by Charles de Lint. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1970-1982 by Barry N. Malzberg. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1993-1995 by John Kessel. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1994-1999 by Robert J. Killheffer. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1964-1972 by Ron Goulart. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1968-1976 by Gahan Wilson. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1967-1974 by Harlan Ellison. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction and Dangerous Visions. Permission to reprint quoted material is granted by Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., literary agent of Harlan Ellison, and by E-Reads (ereads.com), publishers of Harlan Ellison’s works. Copyright © 1967-1968 by Ted White. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1980-1982 by Michael Bishop. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1971 by Baird Searles. These articles originally appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 1977-1982 by Charles N. Brown. These articles originally appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction. Copyright © 1979-1993 by Baird Searles. These articles originally appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction. Copyright © 1983-1999 by Norman Spinrad. These articles originally appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction. Copyright © 1994-1996 by Moshe Feder. These articles originally appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction. Copyright © 1994-1999 by Paul Di Filippo. These articles originally appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction. Copyright © 1950-1955 by Groff Conklin. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1952-1953 by Villiers Gerson. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1955-1963 by Floyd C. Gale. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1965-1971 by Algis Budrys. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1963 by Theodore Sturgeon. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1963-1965 by Frederik Pohl. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1972-1975 by Theodore Sturgeon. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1975-1977 by Spider Robinson. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction. Copyright © 1977-1979 by Paul Walker. These articles originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction.
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Copyright © 1959 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in IF Science Fiction. Copyright © 1959-1961 by Frederik Pohl. These articles originally appeared in IF Science Fiction. Copyright © 1969-1974 by Lester Del Rey. These articles originally appeared in IF Science Fiction. Copyright © 1955-1957 by Villiers Gerson. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1957-1964 by S. E. Cotts. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1964 by Lester Del Rey. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1964-1965 by Robert Silverberg. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1967-1968 by Harry Harrison. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1968-1969 by James Blish. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1968-1973 by Alexei Panshin. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1969-1974 by Ted White. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1969-1976 by Barry N. Malzberg. These articles originally appeared in Amazing Stories. Copyright © 1962-1964 by S. E. Cotts. These articles originally appeared in Fantastic. Copyright © 1965 by Robert Silverberg. These articles originally appeared in Fantastic. Copyright © 1968-1978 by Fritz Leiber. These articles originally appeared in Fantastic. Permission to reprint quoted material courtesy of the Fritz Leiber Estate. Copyright © 1970-1972 by Ted White. These articles originally appeared in Fantastic. Copyright © 1954 by Robert Frazier. These articles originally appeared in Fantastic Universe Science Fiction. Copyright © 1955-1960 by Hans Stefan Santesson. These articles originally appeared in Fantastic Universe Science Fiction. Copyright © 1978-1979 by Spider Robinson. These articles originally appeared in Destinies. Copyright © 1979-1980 by Orson Scott Card. These articles originally appeared in Destinies. Copyright © 1952-1953 by James Blish. These articles originally appeared in Future Science Fiction. Copyright © 1953-1956 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in Future Science Fiction. Copyright © 1955-1958 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in Infinity Science Fiction. Copyright © 1958 by Robert Silverberg. These articles originally appeared in Infinity Science Fiction. Copyright © 1956-1958 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in Original Science Fiction. Copyright © 1955-1958 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in Science Fiction Stories. Copyright © 1950-1951 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in Worlds Beyond. Copyright © 1951 by George O. Smith. These articles originally appeared in Science Fiction Quarterly. Copyright © 1953-1956 by Damon Knight. These articles originally appeared in Science Fiction Quarterly. Copyright © 1951-1952 by P. Schuyler Miller. These articles originally appeared in Other Worlds Science Stories. Copyright © 1952-1960 by Leslie Flood. These articles originally appeared in New Worlds Science Fiction. Copyright © 1966-1969 by J. Cawthorn. These articles originally appeared in New Worlds Science Fiction. Copyright © 1987-1999 by Darrell Schweitzer. These articles originally appeared in Aboriginal Science Fiction. Copyright © 1988-1996 by Janice M. Eisen. These articles originally appeared in Aboriginal Science Fiction. Copyright © 1953-1954 by Mark Reinsberg. These articles originally appeared in Imagination Science Fiction. Copyright © 1954-1958 by Henry Bott. These articles originally appeared in Imagination Science Fiction. Copyright © 1966-1969 by Robert A. Lowndes. These articles originally appeared in Famous Science Fiction. Copyright © 1969-1970 by Ron Goulart. These articles originally appeared in Venture Science Fiction. Copyright © 1952-1953 by George O. Smith. These articles originally appeared in Space Science Fiction. Copyright © 1958 by Lester Del Rey. These articles originally appeared in Vanguard Science Fiction.
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“A” LISTING BY AUTHOR1
AANDAHL, Vance (-) US English professor and author of nearly thirty stories published in SF magazines.
Stories Beyond the Game (1968) A sadistic phys ed teacher pits two teams of boys against one another in a brutal variant of dodge ball. When a sensitive youth refuses to play, the teacher ups the ante. (F&SF, May 1968) 1,492,633 Marlon Brandos (1962) See complete GUIDE.
ABBOTT, Edwin A. (1839-1926) UK clergyman, religious writer, and author of the popular mathematical fantasy Flatland (1884).
Quotes On the military: ―Creatures almost on a level with women in their lack of intelligence‖ (Flatland).
On women: See complete GUIDE.
On the importance of appearances: ―The real author of this diabolical Bill determined at one blow to lower the status of the Hierarchy by forcing them to submit to the pollution of Colour‖ (Flatland).
Novels Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884) See complete GUIDE.
ABE, Kobo (1924-1993) Pseudonym of Japanese author, poet, inventor, and playwright KIMIFUSA ABE, whose novels include
1 Note that ratings of reviewers’ excerpted reviews are not the reviewers’ ratings, but rather this editor’s estimates of their ratings based on a careful reading of the entirety of the reviews.
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The Woman in the Dunes (1960-winner of the Yomiuri Prize for literature), The Face of Another (1966), The Kangaroo Notebook (ca 1973-1977), and The Ark Sakura (1984).
Novels Inter Ice Age 4 (1959; trans 1970) As the world‘s ice caps melt, a concerned scientist weighs the moral dilemma of allowing millions to die or adapting humanity to the increasingly widespread aquatic environment. ―A wheels-within-wheels mystery that is nicely developed‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, July 1971). ***
ABERNATHY, Robert (1924-1990) US language professor and science fiction author, who published roughly forty science fiction stories during the 1940s and 1950s. Acclaimed short fiction: Peril of the Blue World (1942), The Canal Builders (1945), Heirs Apparent (1954), Grandma’s Lie Soap (1956), Single Combat (1955), and When the Rockets Come (1945).
Stories Deep Space (1953) A determined astronaut is physically transformed into an entity capable of surviving in outer space. Improbable and forgettable. Also published as Axolotl (1954). ―Worth the price of the book . . . the only one which stuck in my mind‖ (Avram Davidson, F&SF, February 1964). Junior (1955) A humorous and modestly entertaining tale of a young polyp‘s scandalous adolescence as a mobile organism. (Galaxy, January 1956) ―A comedy of genius‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, Aug 1956). ***1/2 ―Amusing‖ (Hans Stefan Santesson, Fantastic Universe, August 1956). **1/2
ABLEMAN, Paul (1927-2006) UK playwright, poet, and novelist, whose mainstream works include The Mouth (1969), a nonfiction book about oral sex. Ableman‘s speculative novels include I Hear Voices (1958) and The Twilight of the Vilp (1969).
ABRASHKIN, Raymond (1911-1960) US author, screenwriter, director, and producer, whose SF books include fifteen young adult novels in the Danny Dunn series (1956-1977), co-authored
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with Jay Williams. Abrashkin also co-directed and wrote the screenplay for Little Fugitive (1953), which was nominated for an Academy Award. Pseudonyms: Ray Ashley.
ADAMS, Douglas (1952-2001) UK writer and humorist, best known for his Hitchhiker series (1979-1992) about an itinerant Earthman at large in the galaxy experiencing, firsthand, the application of Murphy‘s Law.
Quotes On the beginnings of Christianity: ―Two thousand years [ago] one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change‖ (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).
On artificial intelligence: See complete GUIDE.
On a newly-created planet: See complete GUIDE.
On the Ultimate Truth: ―There comes a point I‘m afraid where you begin to suspect that if there‘s any real truth, it‘s that the entire multidimensional infinity of the Universe is almost certainly being run by a bunch of maniacs‖ (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).
Novels Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The (1980) The unfortunate placement of a hyper spatial expressway smack through the middle of the solar system leaves an orphaned Earthman no choice but set out with a couple of zany aliens and explore the cosmos. In the process, the plucky hero encounters evil Vogons, takes a ride on the Infinite Improbability Drive, and enlists the aid of the Second Greatest Computer in the Universe. Unfortunately, too many of the jokes are only modestly funny. For example: ―‗Computer . . . if you don’t open that exit hatch this moment I shall zap straight off to your major data banks and reprogram you with a very large ax.‘‖ Ok, maybe that‘s more than a little funny. The final chapters improve the wit-to-slapstick ratio, but, in general, Adams‘ first Hitchhiker book comes off as Vonnegut light. ―A joy . . . sometimes damagingly sophomoric . . . a constant taint of collegiate wit . . . remind[s] one of Kurt Vonnegut's lesser moments . . . [but] there is enough joy throughout . . . enough rude knowingness . . . to make 'Hitchhiker' one of the genre's rare genuinely funny books‖ (John Clute, F&SF, February 1982). ***
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Average rating of five out of five stars on Amazon.com based on 505 reviewers.
ADAMS, Hunter (1918-1994) Pseudonym of US author JIM LAWRENCE, who published three erotic novels in The Man from Planet X series (1975-1977).
Novels She-Beast, The (1975) An erotic SF adventure about an alien sent to Earth to observe human mating customs: ―Mimi stopped long enough to cram her breasts into Peter’s mouth.‖ The first book in the Man from Planet X series.
ADAMS, Richard (1920-) UK writer and ex-civil servant who published his first book at the age of fifty-seven, and was President of the RSPCA. Many of his novels have fantasy tie-ins and champion the cause of animals. His books include The Girl in a Swing (1980), Maia (1984), The Iron Wolf and Other Stories (1980), and The Outlandish Knight (1999).
Novels Plague Dogs, The (1977) A moving tale about two dogs from an experimental research station who manage to escape into the Scottish highlands and make their way fifty kilometers across country. A harrowing and suspenseful tale which culminates dramatically on the far side of the Cumbrian mountains. ―A complete mess . . . slush and slop‖ (Paul Walker, Galaxy, February 1978). *
Shardik (1974) A young man living in a barbaric age becomes convinced that a gigantic bear is the reincarnation of God. The first book in the Beklan Empire series. ―One of the best novels of the year‖ (Lester Del Rey, Galaxy, October 1976). ***1/2 ―An ever so-slightly flawed masterpiece‖ (Spider Robinson, Galaxy, October 1976). ***
Watership Down (1972) See complete GUIDE.
ADAMS, Robert (1932-1990) US author, anthologist, and professional soldier, whose books include those in the Horseclans
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series (1975-1988), set in a post-holocaust world, as well as the alternate-history series, Castaways in Time (1979-1989).
Novels Castaways in Time (1980) The occupants of a modern-day suburban house are displaced back in time to an alternate 17th century England in which the Reformation has not yet occurred. ―An old but always enjoyable premise . . . inventively altered‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, October 1982). ***
Horseclans Odyssey (1981) See complete GUIDE.
ADDEO, Edmond G. (-) US (?) author and popular psychologist, whose speculative works, both co-authored with Richard M. Garvin, include The Fortec Conspiracy (1968) and The Talbott Agreement (1968). See also under co-author RICHARD M. GARVIN.
ADLER, Allen (1916-1964) US author who co-wrote the script for Forbidden Planet (1956).
Novels Mach 1: A Story of Planet Ionus (1957) A group of brave atomic torpedo men attempt to destroy a monster named Karkong who pursues them back to Earth from another world. Also published as Terror on Planet Ionus (1966). ―No originality . . . [yet] oddly fascinating . . . reads like a . . . novelization of one of the more lurid monster movies‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, May 1958 - March 1967). ** ―Worthless . . . [a waste of] your reading hours‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, February 1958). *
AICKMAN, Robert (1914-1981) UK author of ghost and horror stories, whose books include We Are the Dark (1951-with Elizabeth Jane Howard), The Model (1987), and The Wine-Dark Sea (1988). Acclaimed short fiction: Growing Boys (1977), Pages From a Young Girl’s Journal (1973-winner of the 1975 World Fantasy award for best short fiction), and The Visiting Star (1966).
Collections Cold Hand in Mine (1975) See complete GUIDE.
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Sub Rosa (1968) A collection of eight stories, including The House of the Russians (1968) and Into the Wood (1968). ―Just a dandy collection . . . I cannot recommend this book too highly‖ (Gahan Wilson, F&SF, October 1970). ***1/2 Honored by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman as one of the 100 best all-time horror books.
Stories Hospice, The (1976) A commuter loses his way on his drive home from work and ends up spending the night at a creepy ―hospice.‖ An eerie, evocative, and admirably down-played tale which skirts the edge of believability. (COLD HAND IN MINE)
AIKEN, Joan (1924-2004) UK author, well known for her witty fantasy books for young readers, among them Nightbirds on Nantucket (1966), The Stolen Lake (1981), and The Witch of Clatteringshaws (2005).
Novels Black Hearts in Battersea (1964) See complete GUIDE.
Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The (1962) Two orphaned children escape from a rural English manor ruled over by an evil governess and flee across the countryside. The first book in the Wolves Chronicles. JUV ―Wonderful . . . must reading‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, December 1981 - April 1982). ***1/2
AIKIN, Jim (1948-) UK author, whose science fiction novels include Walk the Moon’s Road (1985) and Wall at the Edge of the World (1993).
Novels Wall at the Edge of the World (1993) A respected telepath living in a utopian community of paranormals becomes distraught when his wife is ―cleansed‖ due to her loss of telepathic ability. His disillusionment grows when he‘s kidnapped by wild women and exposed to the realities of the outside world. ―Wondrous vigor, color, and depth‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, November 1993). *** ―Neat twists . . . not without its surprises‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, October 1993). ***
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AKERS, Alan Burt See KENNETH BULMER.
ALDISS, Brian W. (1925-) UK anthologist, playwright, poet, and author, whose roughly fifty books include Neanderthal Planet (1970), Brothers in the Head (1977), The Year Before Yesterday (1987), Dracula Unbound (1991), White Mars (1999-with Roger Penrose), Jocasta (2006), and HARM (2007). Acclaimed short fiction: A Chinese Perspective (1978), All the World’s Tears (1957), Appearance of Life, An (1976), But Who Can Replace a Man? (1958), Confluence (1967), Day of the Doomed King (1965), Game of God, The (1958), Gesture of Farewell (1957), The God Who Slept with Women (1994-Finalist for the 1995 World Fantasy Award for best novella), Hothouse (1960), In the Arena (1963), Indifference (1979), Lambeth Blossom (1967), Legends of Smith’s Burst, The (1959), Man in His Time (1965), A Matter of Life and Death (1990), North of the Abyss (1989), O Moon of My Delight (1961), Old Hundredth (1960), Our Kind of Knowledge (1955), Out of Reach (1957), Paternal Care (1966), Pogsmith (1955), Psyclops (1956), Scarfe’s World (1965), Ratbird (1992), The Source (1965), T (1956), A Tupolev Too Far (1989), The Underprivileged (1963), Visiting Amoeba (1957), and Where the Lines Converge (1977). Acclaimed anthologies: Galactic Empires Volume One (1976) and Galactic Empires Volume Two (1976).
Critical Overview & Quotes – Moral questioning, self- awareness, self-doubt, melancholy, nihilism and carnal desire are never far beneath the surface of the typical Brian W. Aldiss story. Yet the author seems at his best when he gives his upbeat, ironic, manically inventive side a chance to assume command, as he does in novels such as Hothouse (1962), Starship (1958), Greybeard (1964), and Enemies of the System (1978). At these times, Aldiss‘s fierce intelligence, cunning insights and control of language are as headily engaging as that of any SF author.
On traitorous thoughts: ―Never think what cannot be said‖ (Enemies of the System).
On the evidence for God: See complete GUIDE.
On the carnal ways of aliens: See complete GUIDE.
On time traveling in the past: See complete GUIDE.
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On love: ―He recalled . . . obsessively, over and over, the particular gesture with which she had raised one bent leg to admit him to her embrace, and his surprise and gratitude to find that . . . there was a sweet hole to go to‖ (Cryptozoic!).
On the joys of wanton sex: ―Beautiful women with corrupt natures— they have always been my life‘s target‖ (Moment of Eclipse).
On wit: ―She was piquant company, and provided a flow of scandal almost unseemly enough to be indistinguishable from wit‖ (The Moment of Eclipse).
On maintaining a healthy balance: See complete GUIDE.
On leadership: ―Born leaders need give no reasons‖ (Starship).
On the decline of America: See complete GUIDE.
On complacence: See complete GUIDE.
On family values: See complete GUIDE.
On moral certitude: ―That‘s one thing about these religious boys—they reckon that if they are on God‘s side, then the enemy must be on the devil‘s, and so they have no qualms about giving it to ‘em hot and strong‖ (Greybeard).
On poverty: ―Absolute poverty, like absolute power, corrupts absolutely‖ (Vanguard from Alpha).
On religious conviction: See complete GUIDE.
On the demands of the State: ―Loyalty is the most dangerous of all human attributes‖ (Sober Noises of Morning in a Marginal Land).
On conviction: See complete GUIDE.
On the inadequacies of modern education: Since life is such a tragic business, why are we not educated how to write decent suicide notes?‖ (Working in the Spaceship Yards).
On a cure for illness: See complete GUIDE.
On death: See complete GUIDE.
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On the dark within: ―I think the darkest place in the universe is inside human skulls‖ (Helliconia Spring).
On the purpose of life: ―When I was younger . . . I had wanted to make an effect, to leave a mark, to raise some sort of barrier . . . against time‖ (The Game with the Big Heavy Ball).
On the course of planets: See complete GUIDE.
On aging: See complete GUIDE.
On the ambiguity of time: ―We now have absolute proof . . . that . . . the flow of time in fact moves in the opposite direction to its apparent one . . . imagine what the true state of affairs is! A football is lying in a field; suddenly it starts rolling, gains speed, shoots to the boot of a footballer!‖ (Cryptozoic!).
On the hidden benefits of sex: ―Remember that sexual intercourse is an approved social usage. It is pleasurable. Inevitably, it increases the physical and mental well-being of both partners, thus enhancing their value to the system‖ (Enemies of the System).
On free will: See complete GUIDE.
On the waning of SF invention: ―Once-daring assumptions that man might travel through interplanetary space in machines built for the purpose, or visit distant stars powered by a fast-than-light drive, or even step into the past and future in time-machines, are daring no longer. They are clichés . . . the magazines . . . are cannibalizing their past. There is no science here, no imagination, only a meaningless rehash of what might once have had scientific and imaginative meaning‖ (Nebula Award Stories Number Two).
Novels and Collections Airs of Earth, The (1963) See complete GUIDE.
An Age (1967) See complete GUIDE.
Barefoot in the Head (1969) In the aftermath of a war fought with psychedelic drugs, a young man leads a messianic crusade across Europe. ―One of the half dozen most stylistically innovative novels ever
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written‖ (Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s, August 1984). ***1/2 ―Fills me with awe‖ (Theodore Sturgeon, Galaxy, March 1973). *** ―Dazzlement created by language‖ (Blish, F&SF, December 1970). ***
Book of Brian W. Aldiss (1972) See complete GUIDE.
Bow Down to Null (1960) Thousands of years in the future, Earth suffers under the tyrannical domination of the Nuls. ―A rousing good story‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, October 1960). *** ―Smoothness but none of his usual originality‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, May 1961). **1/2
Canopy of Time, The (1959) See complete GUIDE.
Comic Inferno (1973) See complete GUIDE.
Cryptozoic! (1968) A solitary artist retreats into Earth‘s antediluvian past, communing with primitive saurians, reluctantly meeting up with fellow time travelers, and returning occasionally to obtain supplies at an impromptu trading post on the shore of an ancient Jurassic river. Needing to clear up some loose ends, he travels back to the present, only to find the authorities more repressive than ever, eager to persecute those guilty of fomenting rebellion and committing the sin of time heresy. Annoyingly self-indulgent at times, the book‘s most serious flaw is the unsympathetic lead character who spends a lot of time whining about his lot in life and whose neuroses lead to his attempted assassination of his ex-lover. The book also gets bogged down in existential BS and a confusing, and not entirely convincing, scheme of reverse time flow. On the plus side, the novel is fast-paced, and features spectacular conceptual ideas, as well as lushly poetic visions of a prehistoric age. Published in the UK as An Age (1967). ―The concept presented here is one I do not believe has been treated before in fiction except in miniature . . . the book is full of petty inconsistencies and internal contradictions . . . and yet . . . so right intuitionally . . . what does matter is the excitement . . . of snatching at . . . a strange, alluring, and frightening avatar of Truth . . . read it‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, August 1968). *** ―Beautifully written . . . but comes perilously close to being a failure‖ (James Blish, Amazing, September 1968). **1/2 ―A never quite consistent chain of hallucinations . . . but the book will still grip you and annoy you‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog,
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October 1968). **1/2 ―Unsurpassed . . . for reader uninvolvement . . . a useless book‖ (Algis Budrys, Galaxy, August 1968). *
Dark Light Years, The (1964) See complete GUIDE.
Earthworks (1965) A darkly atmospheric tale about the captain of an automated cargo ship whose vessel runs aground off the coast of west Africa. Haunted by memories of an unhappy childhood, he joins a group of terrorists determined to usher in the apocalypse. Eerie, disturbing, and at times confusing, the story might have been more effective if the author had narrated the action in sequence rather than through a series of disorienting flashbacks. ―The whole first half is Aldiss at his best . . . turns into a completely routine, artificially contrived, adventure-chase‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, July 1966). **1/2 ―Coincidence is outrageously twisted‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, December 1966). **
Eighty-Minute Hour: A Space Opera (1974) See complete GUIDE.
Enemies of the System: A Tale of Homo Uniformis (1978) A vivid tale about a group of vacationing galactic elites whose transport breaks down, marooning them in an untamed jungle on the frontier world of Lysenka II. The author brilliantly portrays his exotic cast of characters, their tense conflicts, and the challenges they face making their way back to safety. ―A little heavy on the speeches but thought-provoking nonetheless‖ (Tom Staicar, Amazing, September 1981). **1/2 Finalist for the 1978 Hugo award for best novella.
Frankenstein Unbound (1973) See complete GUIDE.
Galaxies Like Grains of Sand (1960) See complete GUIDE.
Greybeard (1964) 1/2 The detonation of nuclear bombs in the Van Allen belts renders humanity sterile. Fifty years later, civilization is on the verge of extinction: ―Year by year, as the living died, the empty rooms about him would multiply, like the cells of a giant hive which no bees visited, until they filled the world.‖ The author reveals his story through a series of vivid flashbacks, combining realistic extrapolation and well- drawn characters. Ironically, Aldiss‘s most affecting novel turns out to be a British disaster tale, a sub-genre the author gently derided in his epic
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study, Trillion Year Spree (1986). ―Odd and good‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, March 1973). **1/2 ―One more turkey‖ (Ron Goulart, F&SF, December 1964). * Selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best science fiction novels.
Hand Reared Boy, The (1970-not SF) A young man undergoes an erotic rite-of-passage, partaking in mutual masturbatory pleasures with siblings, maids, teachers, and fellow students at an all-male academy: ―Esmeralda . . . tossed it off, cunningly varying the pace, until I groaned and came into my outspread handkerchief. All this while, I had a hand clamped between her chubby legs.‖ The reader muses: wish- fulfillment or reminiscence? An uninhibited story, told in uncluttered, readable prose.
Helliconia Spring (1982) See complete GUIDE.
Helliconia Summer (1983) See complete GUIDE.
Helliconia Winter (1985) As Helliconia enters its dreary, centuries-long winter, a few far-sighted individuals try to insure the survival of the human race. The third book in Aldiss‘s Helliconia Trilogy. ―A marvelous book in its own right . . . unifies the trilogy in a quite satisfying way‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, Mid-December 1985). *** Finalist for the 1985 Nebula award for best novel. Winner of the 1985 BSFA award for best novel.
Hothouse (1962) In a hellish far future, in which riotous plants, fungi, and giant spiders have taken over control of the planet and the remnants of humanity survive by hiding out in various niches and quiet backwaters, one of the last tribes makes its way through the jungle, its young warriors aware they‘re no longer safe or welcome on the world of their once- dominant ancestors: ―this . . . is the long age of the vegetable . . . it has grown green upon the Earth, it has rooted and proliferated . . . it has taken many forms and exploited many environments, so that every possible ecological nook has long since been filled.‖ A prodigiously imaginative work which displays the author‘s talent for ecological invention and gripping narrative. A shorter version was published in the US as The Long Afternoon of Earth (1962). ―Completely engrossing . . . a tour de force . . . four and one half stars out of five‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, October 1962). ***1/2 ―A richly detailed fantasy . . . its continuing popularity . . . is well deserved‖ (Charles N. Brown, Asimov’s, Winter 1977). ***
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―Very little of this would bear up if you were to attack it with a slide rule and logic . . . but the total picture of a green nightmare is memorable‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, June 1962). *** ―A superb first section . . . from then on there is a gradual decline through to a disappointing and abrupt end‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, May 1962). **1/2 Selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best science fiction novels. Winner of the Hugo Award in 1962 for best series (short fiction).
Interpreter, The (1961) See complete GUIDE.
Island Called Moreau, An (1981) See complete GUIDE.
Long Afternoon of Earth, The (1962) See complete GUIDE.
Malacia Tapestry, The (1976) See complete GUIDE.
Male Response, The (1961-not SF) A mainstream farce about a young British computer expert who becomes embroiled in the politics of a small African country and incurs the wrath of a local witchdoctor. Rising, eventually, to the position of President, he consummates his political victory by copulating in front of an arena of faithful followers. A wish-fulfillment fantasy and extended joke, with the uptight British humor getting decidedly wearing by the end.
Man in His Time, the Best Science Fiction Stories of Brian W. Aldiss (1988) See complete GUIDE.
Moment of Eclipse (1970) See complete GUIDE.
Moreau’s Other Island (1980) See complete GUIDE.
New Arrivals, Old Encounters (1985) A collection of eleven stories and a play. As with many of his later works, the author indulges in an excess of ironic profundity, abstraction, and hypersensitivity. The two most interesting pieces are Three Ways (1978) and Indifference (1979). ―A miscellany of hits and misses‖ (Thomas N. Disch, F&SF, July 1980). **1/2
Non-Stop (1958) See complete GUIDE.
No Time Like Tomorrow (1959) See complete GUIDE.
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Of Space, Time and Nathaniel (1957) A collection of fourteen stories. Standouts include Our Kind of Knowledge (1955), Pogsmith (1955), T (1956), Psyclops (1956), and The Shubshub Race (1957). ―An excellent introduction to a new young writer . . . delightfully skilled . . . consistently inventive, amusing pointed‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, November 1957). ***
Primal Urge, The (1961) A humorous tale about a near future society in which sexual arousal is signaled by the flashing of a light on the forehead. ―A fondly humorous dissection of British society‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, May 1962). ** ―One prodigious yawn‖ (Alfred Bester, F&SF, April 1962). *
Report on Probability A (1968) See complete GUIDE.
Saliva Tree, The (1965) A classic adventure/horror story written in the understated style of H. G. Wells. A meteor lands on a farm outside the town of Cottersall and invisible space travelers emerge to wreak havoc on the surrounding countryside. Although marred somewhat by the protagonist‘s boorish demeanor, the suspenseful and witty tale makes for entertaining reading. ―Something of a stunt‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, April 1967). **1/2 1965 Nebula Award Winner for best novella.
Saliva Tree and Other Strange Growths, The (1966) See complete GUIDE.
Starship (1959) See complete GUIDE.
Starswarm (1964) Sixteen unusual and exotic tales assembled as a ―chronicle novel‖ of the far-distant future. Standouts include Legends of Smith’s Burst (1959), Old Hundredth (1960), A Kind of Artistry (1962), The Underprivileged (1963), The Game of God (1964), and O Moon of My Delight (1964). Also published as The Aires of Earth (1963), without, however, the poetic and wonder-filled connecting material of the American edition. ―Incisive, witty and well worth reading‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, August 1986). *** ―A misguided and lamentable book, and a vivid demonstration of the dangers of brilliance . . . but read it anyway‖ (Robert
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Silverberg, Amazing, August 1964). **
Tupolev Too Far, A (1993) See complete GUIDE.
Vanguard from Alpha (1959) An early Aldiss novel about agents of a World Government who uncover an alien plot to invade Earth. ―Noteworthy . . . [but] flawed . . . [a] pot-boiler . . . opens with a dispirited comic-book sequence . . . all too believable . . . alternates . . . between thoughtful analysis and pointless action . . . more perceptive than most . . . ingenious and reasonably satisfying . . . touches of reality . . . if this author does a novel with his right hand, it will be something worth waiting for . . . almost as brilliant‖ (Damon Knight, F&SF, April – December 1960). *** ―Unfortunately gives his well-drawn characters no problem more challenging than a hit on the head‖ (Frederik Pohl, IF, November 1959). ** ―Mightily little of the Aldiss touch [is] visible in the proceedings‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, May 1960). **
Who Can Replace a Man? (1965) See complete GUIDE.
Stories Ahead (1956) See complete GUIDE. All the World’s Tears (1957) A tale full of grim inevitability about a future world in which love and gentleness do not fail to go unpunished. The verbal exchange between the clever psychodynamician and the logical but literal-minded robots is brilliantly handled. (GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND) (COMIC INFERNO) (MAN IN HIS TIME) (CANOPY OF TIME) Amen and Out (1966) See complete GUIDE.* And the Stagnation of the Heart (1968) An incoherent tale about Europeans who assuage their collective guilt by committing to public service in a poverty-ridden Third World city. (MOMENT OF ECLIPSE) Appearance of Life, An (1976) See complete GUIDE. As for Our Fatal Continuity (1972) See complete GUIDE. Backwater (1977) An expert in the archaic arts pays a visit to Earth in order to interview a neglected writer: ―‗Maybe there’s nothing to life but life . . . in which case, why not suicide? Life and death are just the same, aren’t they . . . I don’t get it.‘‖ (LAST ORDERS) Basis for Negotiation (1962) See complete GUIDE. Blighted Profile (1958) See complete GUIDE.
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But Who Can Replace a Man? (1958) With the passing of man, robots are left to watch over a war-ravaged Earth. The author‘s dark humor and witty dialogue are perfectly honed in this short story which perceptively caricatures humanity and its foibles. Also published as Who Can Replace Man? (1958). (WHO CAN REPLACE A MAN?) (GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND) (MAN IN HIS TIME) (CANOPY OF TIME) Cardiac Arrest (1970) See complete GUIDE. Carrion Country (1958) See complete GUIDE. Circulation of the Blood, The (1966) A tepid drama, at turns thoughtful and melodramatic, about a scientist who returns to a remote research station in the Laccadives, only to discover that 1) his wife is having an incestuous affair with his son, and 2) a cabal of immortals are attempting to suppress the secret of longevity. A sequel was published as And the Stagnation of the Heart (1968). (MOMENT OF ECLIPSE) Comic Inferno (1963) See complete GUIDE. Confluence (1967) See complete GUIDE. Conviction (1956) Humanity goes on trial in the court of the Supreme Galactic Overlords, but opts for treachery over legitimate defense. An amusing tale, but the prosaic ending lessens the impact. (OF SPACE, TIME AND NATHANIEL) Criminal Record (1954) See complete GUIDE. Dark Soul of the Night, The (1976) See complete GUIDE. Day We Embarked for Cytheria, The (1970) An afternoon idyll provides the basis for a pretentious tale unemcumbered by plot. (MOMENT OF ECLIPSE) Difficulties of Involved in Photographing Nix Olympica, The (1986) A gloomy story about two enlisted men on Mars who set out to photograph a giant Martian volcano, but neglect to check their oxygen supplies. (MAN IN HIS TIME) Door Slams in Fourth World (1982) See complete GUIDE. Down the Up Escalation (1970-not SF) See complete GUIDE. Dumb Show (1956) A grim tale about a future war, fought with weapons of sound and gigantism: ―They sprawled into the desert, giant dusty corpses, full of sound and silence.‖ (OF SPACE, TIME AND NATHANIEL) (WHO CAN REPLACE MAN?) ―I think I will recall [it] as vividly ten years from now‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, February 1967). *** Failed Men, The (1956) See complete GUIDE. Full Sun (1967) See complete GUIDE. Game of God, The (1958) Three planetary ecologists attempt to evaluate Kakakaxo‘s potential for human colonization. A tale which
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features believable aliens, an agreeably ambiguous hero, and the relentless inevitability of man. The author at his exotic best. Also published as Segregation (1958-as by Craig Hodges) and Planet of Death (1958-as by Craig Hodges). (AIRS OF EARTH) (STARSWARM) ―[One of] my own favorites . . . relatively conventional‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, June 1964). *** ―The worst . . . a woeful potboiler‖ (Robert Silverberg, Amazing, August 1964). * Game with the Big Heavy Ball, The (1977) See complete GUIDE. Gene-Hive (1958) See complete GUIDE. Gesture of Farewell (1957) The head of a terraforming project makes the ultimate sacrifice. A rich, colorful, darkly intriguing vision of the far future. (NO TIME LIKE TOMORROW) Girl and the Robot with Flowers, The (1965) A minor, autobiographical tale in which the author-hero questions the downbeat nature of his own writing: ―My science fiction novels dealt mainly with dark things . . . perhaps if you started writing up-beat stories, the psyche would be encouraged . . . and start thinking in an upbeat way.‖ Sound advice. (MAN IN HIS TIME) (CANOPY OF TIME) Gods in Flight, The (1984) See complete GUIDE. Hearts and Engines (1960) See complete GUIDE. Heresies of a Huge God (1966) See complete GUIDE. Horsemen (1977) See complete GUIDE. Hothouse (1960) Billions of years in the future, after the Moon has settled into a stationary orbit and the Earth has been overwhelmed by a vast forest of interconnected banyan trees, a few ragtag descendants of man attempt to eke out an existence amid the increasingly hostile environment of an ecology gone wild. A brilliantly creative tale, featuring memorable characters and a deceptively simple prose style. (HOTHOUSE) (LONG AFTERNOON OF EARTH) How To Be a Soldier (1960) See complete GUIDE. ―Minor . . . fairly conventional‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, June 1964). ** Impossible Star, The (1963) A damaged cartographic ship sets down on a planetoid orbiting a sun so massive that light can‘t escape its surface and so disorienting to human senses that men are driven mad by their surroundings. The author sets his protagonists a virtually insurmountable psychological challenge, then sits back to see what happens. (WHO CAN REPLACE A MAN?) In the Arena (1963) A weapons officer from a captured human
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scoutship battles alien monsters on a world dominated by nine-foot sentient grasshoppers. A fast-moving adventure offering strong characters, nicely ironic dialogue, and a colorful setting reminiscent of the original Star Wars movies. Too bad Aldiss hasn‘t written more in the same vein. (COMIC INFERNO) Incentive (1958) A race of advanced Galactics come to realize that mankind‘s questing drive stems from fear of the primordial chaos which it must rise above: the author‘s typical inventiveness is strapped to the back of a literary lemming. (GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND) (CANOPY OF TIME) Indifference (1979) See complete GUIDE. Infestation (1986) See complete GUIDE. International Smile, The (1963) See complete GUIDE. Judas Danced (1958) A clubfooted psychotic murders his twin brother for the third and last time. One of the author‘s worst. (NO TIME LIKE TOMORROW) (CANOPY OF TIME) ―Superior descriptive power . . . [as] fine as any you will have a chance to read today‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, October 1959). ***1/2 Jungle Substitute (1964) See complete GUIDE. Kind of Artistry, A (1962) An Earthman travels to the stars on a heroic mission, then returns home to his petulant mother-wife- mistress, in the process replicating mankind‘s evolutionary decline: ―Man fell like rain over the planets . . . each centre of civilization bred new ways of thought, of feeling, of shape—of life. Only on old Earth itself did man still somewhat resemble the men of pre-stellar days.‖ (WHO CAN REPLACE A MAN?) (AIRS OF EARTH) (STARSWARM) ―A lack of focus and clarity . . . a high-flown failure‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, September 1963). * Last Orders (1976) See complete GUIDE. Legends of Smith’s Burst, The (1959) An imaginative tale about a stranger on the planet Glumpalt who attempts to find passage offworld. Includes the superbly evocative ending: ―Just before entering the air lock I turned to look back at the weeping Chebarbar. Without surprise I noticed that her tears were falling upward toward the tatterdemalion clouds.‖ (STARSWARM) (THE SALIVA TREE) ―You’ll enjoy‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, June 1964). *** ―High-spirited, flamboyantly funny‖ (Robert Silverberg, Amazing, August 1964). *** Let’s Be Frank (1957) See complete GUIDE. Lies! (1986) See complete GUIDE. Man in His Time (1965) An astronaut returns from the first
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exploratory mission to Mars to find himself experiencing events 3.3077 minutes in advance of everybody else. Conceptually superb, but the story remains trapped in its own brooding limbo. (WHO CAN REPLACE A MAN?) (MAN IN HIS TIME) Finalist for 1967 Hugo Award for best short story. Finalist for 1967 Nebula Award for best short story. Man on Bridge (1965) See complete GUIDE. Moment of Eclipse (1969) See complete GUIDE. Moon of Delight (1961) See complete GUIDE. My Country ’Tis Not Only of Thee (1986) The author envisions a Vietnamized England: the south occupied by redneck Americans, the north attempting to hold out against a technologically superior enemy. The political message is heavy-handed, but the action and suspense are good. (MAN IN HIS TIME) New Arrivals, Old Encounters (1977) See complete GUIDE. New Father Christmas, The (1958) See complete GUIDE. Night That All Time Broke Out, The (1967) Miners break into a pocket of ―time gas,‖ causing a cloud of ―past time‖ to spread across the land. Conceptually interesting, but the characters are poorly drawn and the story mired in tedious British slapstick. (DANGEROUS VISIONS) Non-Isotropic (1978) See complete GUIDE. Not For an Age (1957) A middle-aged man lives the same day over and over for the vicarious amusement of 25th century consumers. Funny, thought-provoking, and horrifying. (OF SPACE, TIME AND NATHANIEL) (WHO CAN REPLACE A MAN) (NO TIME LIKE TOMORROW) ―I think I will recall [it] as vividly ten years from now‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, February 1967). *** O Moon of My Delight (1961) See complete GUIDE. O Ishrail! (1957) See complete GUIDE. Old Hundredth (1960) A genetically-enhanced megatherium (giant sloth) wanders across a far future Earth, wistfully pondering the fate of humanity: ―Only this could be said: man had gone, and a great emptiness had fallen over the earth.‖ (WHO CAN REPLACE A MAN?) (AIRS OF EARTH) (STARSWARM) ―Sensitive and moving‖ (Robert Silverberg, Amazing, August 1964). *** ―My favorite . . . a stranger little story there has seldom been‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, March 1962). *** ―Vividly . . . memorable‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, February 1967). *** Old Time’s Sake (1965) See complete GUIDE. One Blink of the Moon (1979) See complete GUIDE.
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Orgy of the Living and the Dying (1970) An adulterous officer living in India takes charge of a UN aid camp, abandons his post for a brief outing in the country, and returns to find the camp taken over by bandits. Heavy going and only marginally SF. (MOMENT OF ECLIPSE) Our Kind of Knowledge (1955) See complete GUIDE. Out of Reach (1957) As Earth teeters on the brink of annihilation, a man receives an urgent dream communiqué from the future. A complex and atmospheric tale. (GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND) Outside (1955) See complete GUIDE. Panel Game (1955) See complete GUIDE. Planet of Death, The (1958) See complete GUIDE. Pogsmith (1955) A tour of an intergalactic zoo leads to a case of mistaken identity. Blackly humorous and entertaining. (SPACE, TIME AND NATHANIEL) Poor Little Warrior! (1958) See complete GUIDE. Psyclops (1956) See complete GUIDE. Randy’s Syndrome (1967) Fetuses rebel against their elders, refusing to emerge from their mothers‘ wombs. Fundamentally inane. (F&SF, April 1967) Romance of the Equator, A (1980) See complete GUIDE. Scarfe’s World (1965) A lively tale about a miniature world in which synthetic proto-humans battle prehistoric dinosaurs. Good stuff in the vein of the author‘s Hothouse series (1960). (Worlds of Tomorrow, March 1965) Secret of a Mighty City (1958) See complete GUIDE. Segregation (1958) See complete GUIDE. Send Her Victorious (1968) A psychiatrist discovers the world is part of a rat-spelling experiment conducted by indifferent super-beings. Reminiscent of Henry Kuttner‘s equally unmemorable Chessboard Planet (1946). (COMIC INFERNO) Shards (1962) See complete GUIDE. Shubshub Race, The (1957) A quirky tale about a hypochondriac king who sets out on a galactic quest to regain his health. (OF SPACE, TIME AND NATHANIEL) Small Stones of Tu Fu, The (1978) A disillusioned God pays a visit to an aging 8th century Chinese poet. Pleasant and upbeat. (NEW ARRIVALS, OLD ENCOUNTERS) ―The most graceful chinoiserie . . . the narrative equivalent of a perfectly turned sonnet‖ (Thomas M. Disch, F&SF, July 1980). ***1/2 Sober Noises of Morning in a Marginal Land (1971) A self-
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consciously literary story about a guilt-ridden man who enrolls in a one-month course in self-prescribed torture. A miserable excuse for a story for which the lowly narrator, number 180, should be severely punished. (MAN IN HIS TIME) Soft Predicament, The (1969) See complete GUIDE. Soldiers Running (1960) See complete GUIDE. Song of the Silencer (1979) A cautionary tale about a futuristic government‘s attempt to build a giant computer against the warnings of ill-informed rebels. (NEW ARRIVALS, OLD ENCOUNTERS) Space for Reflection (1976) See complete GUIDE. Spot of Konfrontation, A (1973-not SF) See complete GUIDE. Super-Toys Last All Summer Long (1969) A robotic boy becomes the emotional surrogate of a childless family. A depressing tale about the consequences of human selfishness. (MAN IN HIS TIME) The film version directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Haley Osment, Jude Law, William Hurt, Ben Kingsley, Robin Williams, and Meryl Streep appeared in 2001 as A. I. Artificial Intelligence. Supercity (1957) See complete GUIDE. Swastika! (1970) See complete GUIDE. T (1956) Representatives of an alien race living in a far-distant galaxy come upon the expanding ―wave front‖ of human civilization and attempt to save their society by exterminating humanity eons in the past. Brilliant in parts, though the ending is a trifle disappointing. (OF SPACE, TIME AND NATHANIEL) (NO TIME LIKE TOMORROW) That Uncomfortable Pause between Life and Art (1970-not SF) See complete GUIDE. There Is a Tide (1956) See complete GUIDE. They Shall Inherit (1958) Future scientists find a way to engineer humans with special ―damper‖ genes removed, thus accelerating growth. The ethics of the process are questioned by a health official who, in a hilarious scene, takes a suck of milk from the extended nipple of a genetically modified camel. A trickily constructed tale which offers a colorful future backdrop, though one laced with the author‘s typical nihilism. (CANOPY OF TIME) Three’s a Cloud (1959) See complete GUIDE. Three Ways (1978) See complete GUIDE. Total Environment (1968) Psychologists study the effects of population pressure on four generations of humans confined to a man-made habitat. Boring and heavy-handed. (Galaxy, February 1968) Finalist for the 1968 Nebula award for best novelette. Finalist for the 1969 Hugo award for novelette.
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Underprivileged, The (1963) See complete GUIDE. Village Swindler, The (1970-not SF) See complete GUIDE. Visiting Amoeba (1957) The downfall of galactic civilization is abetted by man‘s evolutionary successor. Elements of classic space opera—spectacular space battles and supermen bare-handedly taking on galactic empires—are laced with moments of pathos and poignant imagery: ―Tell them again [about the passing of man]. They are brave. Explain to them once more that there are galaxies like grains of sand, each galaxy a cosmic laboratory for the blind experiments of nature . . . tell them—tell them that this laboratory is closing.‖ (GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND) (CANOPY OF TIME) Who Can Replace a Man? (1958) See complete GUIDE. Worm That Flies, The (1970) See complete GUIDE. Working in the Spaceship Yards (1969) A blackly humorous tale about a construction worker on an FTL First Contact vessel, who searches for truth while suffering from self-loathing and suicidal cravings. (MAN IN HIS TIME)
Plays Impossible Puppet Show, The (1974) See complete GUIDE.
Anthologies: Nebula Award Stories 2 (1967-with Harry Harrison) See complete GUIDE. Space Opera (1974) See complete GUIDE.
ALDRIDGE, Ray (1948-) US (?) author, whose SF novels include The Emperor of Everything (1992) and The Orpheus Machine (1992). Acclaimed short fiction: Gate of Faces (1991-finalist for the 1992 Nebula award for best novelette) and The Beauty Addict (1993- finalist for the 1994 Nebula award for best novella).
Novels Pharaoh Contract, The (1991) A slaver agent sent to the world of Pharoah to investigate a recent theft of Consortium property faces execution and resurrection as a slave. The first book in the Emancipator series.
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―Reminds me of an Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars book . . . [only] a zillion times more sophisticated conceptually . . . highly engaging‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, February-May 1992). ***
ALLEN, Henry Wilson (1912-1991) Pseudonym of US author WILL HENRY, who is best known for his western novels, including From Where the Sun Now Stands (1961), McKenna’s Gold (1963), Gates of the Mountain (1963), and Summer of the Gun (1978). Henry is a five time winner of the Golden Spur award. Pseudonyms: Clay Fisher.
Novels Genesis Five (1968) A young hero takes on an evil Chinese geneticist who is attempting to create, for the greater glory of the Supreme People‘s Union, the perfect super-being. ―A rousingly good story . . . with a hero you can believe in . . . this book has everything‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, December 1971). ***1/2
ALLEN, Roger MacBride (1957-) US author, whose roughly twenty ―hard‖ SF novels include Orphan of Creation (1988), The Ring of Charon (1990), and The Shores of Tomorrow (2003).
Novels Farside Cannon, The (1988) See complete GUIDE.
The Shattered Sphere (1994) Humans attempt to come up with a last- ditch strategy for defeating a half-mechanical alien race responsible for stealing the Earth. The second book in the Hunted Earth series. ―He does a marvelous job of screwing up the tension before he produces a solution full of the sense of wonder of the grand old kind‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, Mid-December 1994). ***1/2
Torch of Honor, The (1985) See complete GUIDE.
ALLEN, Steve (1921-2000) US musician, comedian, talk show host, and author, who is credited as one of the originators of the television talk show. Acclaimed short fiction: The Public Hating (1955).
ALDRIDGE—AMIS...... 28
Stories Public Hating, The (1955) A man is convicted of political crimes and transported to a public arena for execution. Original and powerful. ―Frightening‖ (Hans Stefan Santesson, Fantastic Universe, August 1956). ***. ―A pleasant, shallow talent . . . a common sophomoric quality‖ (Algis Budrys, Galaxy, June 1968). *
ALEXANDER, Lloyd (1924-2007) US author, who served as a staff intelligence sergeant during World War II, and whose more than forty books include Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth (1963), The High King (1968-winner of the 1969 Newbery Medal), the Westmark trilogy (1981-1984), The Illyrian Adventure (1986), and The Arkadians (1995).
Novels Illyrian Adventure, The (1986) See complete GUIDE.
Jedera Adventure, The (1989) A teenage girl living in nineteenth century Philadelphia travels with her guardian to an Arabian city in order to return a book borrowed by her deceased father. The fourth book in the Vesper Holly series. JUV ―The best of a good lot . . . far from descending into self- derivative cliché . . . Alexander seems to be taking these stories more seriously with each passing volume . . . the comic figure of Maleesh . . . is a pleasure on every page . . . Alexander seems to have struck the right balance between mysthic grandeur and wry self-mockery‖ (Orson Scott Card, F&SF, July 1990). ***
ALLEN, Woody (1935-) Working name of US Academy Award-winning film director, actor, jazz musician, comedian, playwright, and author ALLEN STEWART KÖNIGSBERG, whose books of speculative interest include Side Effects (1989). Acclaimed short fiction: The Kugelmass Episode (1977).
ALLUM, Tom (-) US (?) author, whose books for young adults include Secret of Shivering Sand (1960) and the Hurricane Harland series (1955-1962).
Novels
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Emperor of Space (1959) A teenager and a group of escaped convicts are shanghaied aboard a spaceship by a determined inventor in order to fill out his crew. The untimely death of the inventor on the maiden voyage, however, forces the youth to become the ship‘s pilot-astrogator. Also published as Boy Beyond the Moon (1960) . JUV ―Although built heavily on . . . fortuitous coincidences, he manages enough suspense and adventure to captivate at least his juvenile audience . . . three and one half stars out of five‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, April 1961). ***
AMIS, Kingsley (1922-1995) UK author, satirist, anthologist, screenwriter, and critic, whose more than forty books include Lucky Jim (1954), The Egyptologists (1965-with Robert Conquest), Girl 20 (1971), Kingsley Amis: Collected Short Stories (1983), and Russian Hide-and-Seek (1987). Amis also wrote New Maps of Hell (1960), a critical study of science fiction. Acclaimed anthologies: Spectrum (1961-with Robert Conquest), Spectrum II (1962-with Robert Conquest), Spectrum IV (1965-with Robert Conquest), and Spectrum V (1966-with Robert Conquest).
Quotes On the nature of SF: ―Science fiction is a form of writing in which . . . excessive introspection or preoccupation with the nuances of individuals is almost always out of place and destructive of the effect‖ (The Robert Sheckley Omnibus).
Novels Alteration, The (1976) In an alternate Britain ruled over by a tyrannical Pope, a ten-year old Oxford choirboy attempts to escape the castrati knife and make his way to the New World. Winner of the 1977 John W. Campbell Memorial award for best science fiction novel. Selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best science fiction novels. Selected by James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock as one of the 100 best fantasy books.
Anti-Death League, The (1966) See complete GUIDE.
Green Man, The (1969) See complete GUIDE.
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Anthologies Spectrum II (1962-with Robert Conquest) See complete GUIDE. Spectrum V (1966) A collection of eight excellent stories, including Paul Ash‘s Big Sword (1958), Richard Ashby‘s Commencement Night (1953), Walter M. Miller, Jr.‘s Crucifixus Etiam (1953), James H. Schmitz‘s Grandpa (1955), Tom Godwin‘s Mother of Invention (1953), Raymond F. Jones‘ Noise Level (1952), F. L. Wallace‘s Student Body (1953), and Theodore L. Thomas‘s The Far Look (1956). ―All good . . . one of the best anthologies of familiar stories that we've had‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, February 1968). ***
ANDERSON, Chester (1932-1991) US author, poet, and editor, whose SF novels include Ten Years to Doomsday (1964-with Michael Kurland) and The Butterfly Kid (1967).
Novels Butterfly Kid, The (1967) Two hippies from Greenwich Village take on aliens who tempt humanity with drugs that convert psychedelic hallucinations into reality. The first book in the Greenwich Village shared-world trilogy. ―Just as slapsticky wacko as I remember it . . . instant nostalgia . . . rife with quaint old expressions . . . comes to an epic climax . . . a thoroughgoing delight‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, December 1980). *** ―A marvelous blend of the hippie and science fiction cultures . . . rather dated now and . . . mainly of historical interest‖ (Charles N. Brown, Asimov’s, March 1978). **1/2 ―Clever, glib, sometimes funny . . . reads like a tourist job, a fast and facile 10-day-wonder, ground out fast . . . over-commercial‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, February 1968). **1/2 Finalist for a Hugo award in 1968 for best novel.
ANDERSON, Kevin J. (1962-) US technical writer, anthologist, and author, whose more than seventy SF books include The Gamearth series (1989-1990), The Saga of Seven Suns series (2002- 2008), Prodigal Son (2005-with Dean R. Koontz), The Last Days of Krypton (2007), and Slan Hunter (2007-with A. E. van Vogt).
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Novels Assemblers of Infinity (1993-with Doug Beason) A scientist is sent to the Moon to investigate an enormous structure erected by alien ―nanocritters.‖ ―A well-realized, very modestly space-going near future . . . the plot is satisfyingly complicated, dramatically and scientifically . . . the character relations are deeper and more subtle . . . more than a well-done hard SF cautionary . . . tale . . . something deeper . . . the novel does deliver an action climax . . . [and] maybe a little extra‖ (Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s, July 1993). ***
Climbing Olympus (1994) See complete GUIDE.
Prevenge (2006) See complete GUIDE.
Resurrection, Inc. (1988) Scientists figure out a way to resurrect the recently deceased by surgically implanting artificial hearts and microprocessor brains in the bodies of the dead. The reanimated corpses become docile slaves of the wealthy, but the expanded labor pool causes a rash of layoffs and riots. ―A clean, straightforward prose; a tad less journalistic than Heinlein, a shade this side of Lucius Shepard . . . there's a very nice final scene . . . the kind of thing that only Richard McKenna used to write . . . beyond question . . . the depiction of decency is artistically powerful‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, November 1988). ***
ANDERSON, Poul (1926-2001) US science fiction author, anthologist, and poet, whose roughly one hundred and thirty books include those in the Flandry series (1951-1985), the Hoka series (1951-1983; with Gordon R. Dickson), the Time Patrol series (1955- 1990), the Polesotechnic L eague series (1956-1982), and the Nicholas Van Rijn series (1958-1977). Acclaimed short fiction: The Double- Dyed Villains (1947), Epilogue (1962), Escape from Orbit (1962), The Fatal Fulfillment (1970-finalist for the 1970 Nebula award for best novella), Gypsy (1950), The Helping Hand (1950), Journey’s End (1957), The Last Monster (1951), The Life of Your Time (1965-nominated for the 1965 Nebula award for best novelette), Lodestar (1973), The Long Remembering (1957), The Longest Voyage (1960-winner of the 1961 Hugo award for best short fiction), The Man Who Came Early (1956), Murphy’s Hall (1971-with Karen Anderson), The Peat Bog (1975), Peek! I See You! (1968), Progress (1962), Sam Hall (1953), The Three Cornered Wheel (1963), Turning Point (1963), The Ways of Love (1979-
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finalist for the 1979 Nebula award for best novelette), Wildcat (1958), and Wings of Victory (1972). Pseudonyms: A. A. Craig, Miachael Karageorge, and Winston P. Sanders.
Critical Overview & Quotes – Though firmly rooted in the hard- sf tradition of the 1950s, the author remains at heart a romantic, speaking with sonorous, Shakespearean prose and conjuring up poetic visions of a universe which, through its harsh but surmountable challenges, always seems to bring out the best in man. At the core of a Poul Anderson story is comradeship, patriotism, God, self-sacrifice, and respect for capitalist traditions. What‘s left, when all else fails, is the refusal to submit.
On the portrait of the hero as a young space explorer: ―Stef was a human being, through and through . . . poor, self-educated, uprooted . . . gentle except when violence was called for—then he was a hellcat, I can tell you. Men and women loved him; he had that kind of personality . . . he knew music and composed some good songs of his own—rowdy but good. They‘re still being sung out on Mars‖ (The Un-man and Other Novellas).
On the limits of human knowledge: See complete GUIDE.
On space travel: See complete GUIDE.
On Fermi’s paradox: ―Perhaps it was impractical or impossible for flesh and blood [to cross the gulf of the stars]. Under conservative assumptions . . . robots would spread from end to end of the galaxy in about a million years. That was the merest eyeblink of cosmic time. Had no race anywhere even that much of a head start? All it would take was one‖ (The Boat of a Million Years).
On guarding our liberty: See complete GUIDE.
On the right stuff: ―Force is the basis of law‖ (The Un-man and other Novellas).
On the meaning of life: See complete GUIDE.
On acquiescence: See complete GUIDE.
On the human condition, part 1: ―God made us the way He wanted us to be. There‘s nothing shameful about any part of His handiwork‖ (Tau
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Zero).
On the value of information: See complete GUIDE.
On the worth of a man: ―Sheer intelligence counts for less than personality, strength of character, or the simple ability to make decisions and stick by them‖ (Brain Wave).
On the human condition, part 2: See complete GUIDE.
On the human mind: See complete GUIDE.
On handling women: ―Treat ‗em rough and tell ‗em nothing, and they‘ll come running. These modern women aren‘t as emancipated as they think‖ (The Un-man and Other Novellas).
On the secret of a successful marriage: See complete GUIDE.
On discrimination: ―Any conspicuous minority which offers competition to the majority is going to be disliked‖ (Ghetto).
On the Martian bias against humans: See complete GUIDE.
On the purpose of life: ―A man isn‘t really alive till he has something bigger than himself and his own little happiness, for which he‘d gladly die‖ (A Wilderness of Stars, Ghetto).
On swift sorrow: See complete GUIDE.
Novels and Collections After Doomsday (1963) Two spaceships return to Earth, only to find man‘s ancestral home blasted into ruins. The stunned crew decides to track down those responsible for the genocidal annihilation of humanity. ―[Gives] his readers more than their money’s worth . . . a formal mystery, with the clues fairly presented, cunningly camouflaged, and suitably ambiguous . . . the scale is cosmic‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, August 1962). *** ―Cheats a lot . . . but that’s okay . . . not necessarily viable, but at least capable of exhibiting a few reflexes . . . and often enough, genuine life‖ (Algis Budrys, Galaxy, December 1970). **1/2
Agent of the Terran Empire (1965) See complete GUIDE.
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Avatar (1978) See complete GUIDE.
Beyond the Beyond (1969) See complete GUIDE.
Boat of a Million Years, The (1989) A few rare genetic immortals are born throughout history, but only the smart ones manage to keep a low profile and survive, their problems compounded by loneliness and isolation. The author‘s Shakespearean prose is less heavy-handed than usual, the nostalgic journey through history entertaining, and the story culminates in a wonder-inspiring Tau-P-type voyage to the opposite end of the galaxy. On the other hand, the book goes on too long and tends to repeat itself. ―An astonishing display of virtuosity . . . don’t miss‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, July 1990). ***1/2 Finalist for the 1990 Hugo award for best novel.
Brain Wave (1953) The solar system enters a region of space free of an inhibiting electromagnetic field, thereby boosting the intelligence of all living creatures on Earth by a factor of three. A wonder-filled story of outstanding conceptual originality. ―Wholly satisfactory . . . worked out in wonderfully logical detail‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, March 1955 – October 1958). ***1/2 ―Exceptional‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, August 1960). ***1/2 ―A brilliant idea that somehow doesn’t quite come off‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, March 1955). **1/2
Broken Sword, The (1954) See complete GUIDE.
Byworlder, The (1971) An alien star voyager arrives on Earth in the middle of the 21st century, but after three years has yet to make contact with humanity. One man knows why. ―Trust Poul Anderson to make it good‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, January 1973). *** Finalist for the 1971 Nebula award for best novel.
Circus of Hells (1970) See complete GUIDE.
Conan the Rebel (1980) Conan travels to the land of Stygia and, with the help of a band of pirates and a beautiful woman, challenges the rule of the Reptile God. ―A dandy Conan novel . . . no transcendence, but mucho good fun‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, November 1980). ***
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Corridors of Time, The (1965) A modern man travels back in time to become a key player in a titanic struggle between the Wardens, the Rangers, and the hero‘s ruthless patroness. ―Head-and-shoulders above the average story . . . but it somehow isn’t up to Poul Anderson’s own standards‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, May 1966). **1/2 ―[Fails to] introduce an element of speculation or fresh invention‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, February 1966). **
Day of Their Return, The (1974) See complete GUIDE.
Earth Book of Stormgate, The (1978) See complete GUIDE.
Earthman, Go Home! (1960) Agent Dominic Flandry lands on a remote colony world, whose inhabitants are being held hostage by an organization monopolizing access to the chemicals needed for day-to- day survival. The third book in the Flandry series. ―Unabashed space-adventure . . . very minor but adequately active adventure‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, June 1961). **
Earthman’s Burden (1960-with Gordon R. Dickson) A collection of seven droll stories about a race of cuddly, teddy-bearish aliens from the planet Toka, who display an obsessive tendency to mimic stereotypical elements of Earth culture. The formula works well in the opening tale, but wears thin in the succeeding episodes. Includes The Sheriff of Canyon Gulch (1951) and The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound (1953). ―You aren't apt to find a more gleeful book of s.f.‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, April 1958). *** ―All the subtlety of Laurel and Hardy, but they have enough variety, and they have been hitched together deftly‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, April 1958). **1/2 ―Good, light reading . . . predictably chaotic and usually pretty funny . . . three cheers‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, March 1980). **1/2 ―Range from hilarious to cute‖ (Theodore Sturgeon, Venture Science Fiction, January 1958). **1/2 ―Reasonably amusing . . . under one cover and in company with minor works . . . the cumulative effect is less rewarding . . . leaves a characteristic taste if overindulged‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, May 1958). ** ―Overcute writing . . . pretty funny‖ (Damon Knight, Infinity, March 1958). **
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Enemy Stars, The (1958) See complete GUIDE.
Ensign Flandry (1966) See complete GUIDE.
Fire Time (1975) See complete GUIDE.
Genesis (2000) Two immortal human-AI hybrids investigate the isolated supermind that rules over a far-future Earth, and which is planning to assist humanity in its decision to commit racial suicide when the sun‘s energy runs out. Winner of the 2001 John W. Campbell Memorial award for best science fiction novel.
Guardians of Time (1961) See complete GUIDE.
Harvest the Fire (1995) An angst-ridden poet, searching for purpose in a high-tech world of the future, is caught up in a scheme to steal a shipment of antimatter for the Proserpina space colony. The hero‘s moral dilemma culminates satisfyingly in the last fifty pages, but the stiffness of the characters prevents the story from being completely believable. The third book in the Harvest of Stars series.
Harvest of Stars (1993) See complete GUIDE.
High Crusade, The (1960) Aliens land in Fourteenth Century England and subjugate the nearby hamlets, but are challenged by a band of stout-hearted knights armed with battle axes and broadswords. The lively characters and abundant humor make this one of Anderson‘s more entertaining tales. ―A can’t-be-put-down enthraller . . . five stars out of five‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, August 1961). **** ―An astonishing tour-de-force‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, January 1963). ***1/2 ―Makes his story seem--if not likely--at least possible . . . it is good space opera . . . a colorful and active and somehow believable adventure yarn . . . though the characters are all rather flat and conventional‖ (Avram Davidson, F&SF, December 1962). **1/2 ―A wildly improbable adventure . . . will not be remembered much a generation from now‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, June 1961). ** Miller, Analog, June 1961). **
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Hoka! (1963-with Gordon R. Dickson) See complete GUIDE.
Homeward and Beyond (1975) A collection of nine stories, including The Long Remembering (1957), The Pirate (1968), and The Peat Bog (1975). ―An intricacy of language, a subtlety of development, a positive love of the spells that words can weave, and an astonishingly great grasp of words . . . I recommend it‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, January 1976). ***1/2 ―A thoroughly meaty book, dripping with juices and delicately marbled . . . some of the best stories I've read in this or any year . . . a couple are distinctly minor . . . don't miss this collection‖ (Spider Robinson, Galaxy, October 1975) ***1/2
Horn of Time, The (1968) See complete GUIDE.
Hrolf Kraki’s Saga (1973) A multi-generational saga based on Norse mythology about Viking warriors who pledge themselves in service to King Hrolf Kraki. The book is constructed as a series of eight episodes which chronicle the brief flourishing of a golden age in medieval Denmark. ―Dozens of thumbs are pointing upward . . . one of the most enjoyable books I've read in years . . . stunning . . . I was captivated‖ (Spider Robinson, Analog, February 1978). ***1/2
Inheritors of Earth (1974) See complete GUIDE.
Let the Spacemen Beware! (1963) The crew of an ―astrographical‖ ship arrives on the long-isolated world of Gwydion in order to set up a refueling base at the edge of an emergent galactic empire. In the process, they become entangled in a struggle between two opposing cultures. Also published as The Night Face (1978). This isn’t one of his very best yarns, but it’s a good one‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, January 1964). ***
Long Way Home, The (1955) See complete GUIDE.
Makeshift Rocket (1962) See complete GUIDE.
Man Who Counts, The (1958) See complete GUIDE.
Mayday Orbit (1961) See complete GUIDE.
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Merman’s Children, The (1979) An heroic fantasy tale about the destruction of an underwater merman city off the coast of Denmark during the Middle Ages and the retreat of Faery before the advancing front of Christianity. ―Excuse me for dancing in the streets and rejoicing‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, October 1979). ***1/2 ―A genuinely moving story against the rich and well-wrought backdrop . . . may be Anderson's best novel, and undoubtedly his best fantasy‖ (Michael Bishop, F&SF, June 1980). ***1/2
Midsummer Tempest, A (1974) Shakespeare decides to become an historian instead of a playwright, Cromwell is in the process of losing the English Civil war, and elves are attempting to halt the advance of European industrialization. A sequel to Three Hearts and Three Lions (1953). ―Fresh and original‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, June 1984). *** ―Lovely fantasy . . . a lovely conceit . . . [not] science fiction . . . [but] as a fantasy I can recommend it with pleasure‖ (Lester Del Rey, IF, August 1974). *** ―Of thinner quality by far than the cake . . . [but a] rattling good adventure yarn‖ (Avram Davidson, F&SF, November 1974). **1/2 Finalist for the 1975 Nebula award for best novel. Finalist for the 1975 World Fantasy award for best novel.
Mirkheim (1977) See complete GUIDE.
Night Face, The (1978) See complete GUIDE.
Night Face and Other Stories, The (1978) A collection of four stories, including Starfog (1967), The Sharing of Flesh (1968), and the short novel, The Night Face (1963). ―Outstanding‖ (Charles N. Brown, Asimov’s, November 1978). ***1/2
No World of Their Own (1955) See complete GUIDE.
Operation Chaos (1971) A werewolf and his wife invade Hell in order to rescue their daughter, who‘s been kidnapped by a master demon. ―In the last half of the book everything comes to a focus‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, December 1971). *** ―The first part of the book is lovely indeed . . . the novel itself goes to hell‖ (Lester Del Rey, IF, December 1971). **1/2 ―Contains a great deal of humor . . . [and] quite a lot of genuine
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emotion‖ (James Blish, F&SF, December 1971). **1/2
Orbit Unlimited (1961) See complete GUIDE.
Orion Shall Rise (1983) See complete GUIDE.
People of the Wind, The (1973) Colonists on the world of Avalon join forces with indigenous, birdlike sentients to repulse the might of the Terran Empire. ―Melodrama and clever plotting where we should have had something deeper . . . a very good book—but unfortunately, no more‖ (Lester Del Rey, IF, December 1973). **1/2 Finalist for the 1973 Hugo award for best novel. Finalist for the 1973 Nebula award for best novel.
Planet of No Return (1956) See complete GUIDE.
Queen of Air and Darkness and Other Stories, The (1973) See complete GUIDE.
Rebel Worlds, The (1969) Dominic Flandry is the Terran Empire‘s last defense against a fleet of barbarian ships lying in wait at the edge of the galaxy. The seventh book in the Flandry series. ―One of the best of the Flandry stories . . . digs deep into questions of values‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, April 1970). ***
Satan’s World (1969) See complete GUIDE.
Saturn Game (1981) The crew of an exploratory ship bound for Iapetus are caught up in a virtual-reality game which distracts them from their real mission. A lackluster story, despite the eye-popping scenery. Winner of the 1981 Nebula Award for best novella. Winner of the 1982 Hugo Award for best novella.
Seven Conquests (1969) See complete GUIDE.
Shield (1963) See complete GUIDE.
Shield of Time, The (1990) Agent Manse Everard attempts to heal long- term temporal damage incurred by quantum fluctuations during Earth‘s Middle Ages. The tenth book in the Time Patrol series. ―A great excuse for a romp through history . . . a fun read‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, February 1991). ***
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Snows of Ganymede, The (1958) See complete GUIDE.
Star Fox, The (1965) See complete GUIDE.
Star Ways (1956) The disappearance of five Nomad ships alerts roving Space Gypsies to a mysterious threat from the stars. One of the author‘s more colorful and believable tales, with unexpected plot twists and a vivid depiction of a far-flung interstellar civilization. ―Good space opera . . . approaches the excellence of S. Fowler Wright . . . highly recommended‖ (Murray King, Future, Winter 1956). ***1/2 ―Well worth your thirty-five cents . . . beautifully done . . . enjoyable from first to last . . . fast-moving and convincing‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, July 1957-58). *** ―Interesting, but way below the author’s highest potential‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, April 1957). **1/2
Stars Are Also Fire, The (1994) See complete GUIDE.
Strangers from Earth (1961) See complete GUIDE.
Tau Zero (1967) A routine voyage to the star Beta Virginis turns into a hundred billion-light year jaunt across the universe. The author effectively portrays the loneliness of the beleaguered crew of the Leonora Christine as they go where no man has gone before: ―Again acceleration thundered through the ship. ‘There, you heard.’ His eyes were white-rimmed, as if with fear. ‘We passed through another galaxy.‘‖ A haunting, harrowing, and at times wondrous tale of interstellar exploration, made only slightly less effective by the occasional stiffness of the characters. ―The ultimate ‘hard science fiction’ novel . . . many moments of genuine emotion . . . as well as a few facile tear-jerking [ones] . . . a monument to what a born novelist . . . can do‖ (James Blish, F&SF, March 1971). ***1/2 ―Not as convincing as some [by the author], but real enough . . . I don’t think the book will be very popular now, but I have an idea people will remember it‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, January 1971). **1/2 Selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best science fiction novels.
Tales of the Flying Mountains (1970) See complete GUIDE.
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There Will Be Time (1972) See complete GUIDE.
Three Hearts and Three Lions (1953) A Danish freedom fighter during the German occupation of Europe finds himself transported to an alternate Europe in which the magical forces of Faerie still exist. ―Fresh and original . . . [one of the] jewels of the genre . . . among the best‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, June 1984). ***1/2 ―A joyous blend of medieval romance and twentieth century pragmatism‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, October 1961). ***1/2 ―Four stars out of five‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, February 1962). *** ―Quite a lot of fun . . . almost seems like parody of an epic‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, February 1962). **1/2 Selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best modern fantasy novels. Selected by James Cawthorn and Michael Moorcock as one of the 100 best fantasy books.
Time and Stars (1964) See complete GUIDE.
Trader to the Stars (1964) See complete GUIDE.
Trouble Twisters, The (1966) A collection of three Polesotechnic novelettes. Includes The Three-Cornered Wheel (1963) and A Sun Invisible (1966). ―A grand sequence of adventures . . . a gimmick story of the best kind‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, November 1966). *** ―Even in froth, he is so damn good‖ (Algis Budrys, Galaxy, February 1967). **1/2
Twilight World (1961) See complete GUIDE.
Un-Man and Other Novellas, The (1962) A collection of three unremarkable novelettes, of which the best is Margin of Profit (1956), a story in the Polesotechnic series. ―Every word . . . is enjoyable . . . plenty of action, plenty of color‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, September 1962). ***
Vault of the Ages (1952) A group of young tribesmen attempt to penetrate a five hundred-year old vault containing priceless pre-war technological secrets, but end up battling an army of barbarian invaders. A swift-moving tale which unfortunately suffers from overly stiff
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characters and the hero‘s too-quick conversion from polytheistic faith to belief in one god. JUV ―A fine Haggardesque romantic melodrama . . . you should not miss it‖ (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, January 1953). *** ―Grim and thrilling . . . [but leans] too heavily on carnage and catastrophe‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, March 1953). **1/2
Virgin Planet (1959) A solitary human male lands on a planet inhabited solely by women. After three hundred years without urinals or monster truck madness, the locals are in for a few surprises. ―Sex broadly and well handled . . . a joyous frolic‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, November 1959 - September 1960). *** ―Has succeeded in lifting his story above the commonplace . . . for an evening’s pleasure and a delightful spoof‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, July 1959). *** ―A joyous frolic on a world of women with only one man . . . three stars out of five‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, December 1959 – February 1962). **1/2
War of the Wing-Men (1958) See complete GUIDE.
War of Two Worlds (1970) See complete GUIDE.
We Claim These Stars! (1959) Captain Dominic Flandry suffers the jibes of his nemesis, the Merseian agent Acharaych, and obeys his commander‘s request to investigate reports of an alien fleet amassing in a distant galactic sector. For the most part routine space opera. However, the ending offers a poignant moment as Flandry and his too- provincial girlfriend accept the reality of the fundamental incompatibility of their backgrounds and reluctantly part company. The first book in the Flandry series. ―They’re all worth re-reading . . . give me Flandry and you can have Retief‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, February 1966). ***
Stories Butch (1954) See complete GUIDE. Call Me Joe (1957) Scientists on a space station orbiting Jupiter create advanced high-G life forms and use them to populate the planet‘s surface. Meanwhile, a wheelchair-bound man lives vicariously through a shared telepathic link with a Jovian ―settler.‖ A thoughtfully written story, though the rather stiff prose gets in the way. (DARK BETWEEN THE STARS)
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―Excellent . . . extraordinarily good‖ (Lester Del Rey, IF, March February 1974). ***1/2 ―One of my favorites‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, December 1958). *** ―A fresh look . . . top honors‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, November 1958). *** ―A first rate novelette‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, August 1958). *** Case of the Martian Crown Jewels, The (1958) See complete GUIDE. Cold Victory (1957) A captain in the Unionist space force uses reverse logic to trick his brother, an agent for the Humanist dictatorship, into a premature attack. The story displays the author‘s typically methodical writing and predilection for characters enamored with war. (SEVEN CONQUESTS) (COLD VICTORY) Don Jones (1957-with Gordon M. Dickson) Alien teddy-bears from the planet Toka visit Earth and become infatuated with Italian opera. A tale bereft of originality or cleverness. (EARTHMAN‘S BURDEN) ―Seems tasteless and labored‖ (Damon Knight, Infinity, March 1958). * Eutopia (1967) See complete GUIDE. Ghetto (1954) See complete GUIDE. Goat Song (1972) An ex-spaceman beseeches the Dark Queen to resurrect his beloved mate, but fails her test of loyalty. Rebuffed, he becomes a fanatical prophet bent on challenging the Dark Queen‘s rule and restoring the principle of self-determination—only the story itself is nowhere near as clear as this. Laden with archaic language and self-indulgent prose, this would-be Shakespearean drama is a bore. (HOMEWARD AND BEYOND) ―So damn good [it] had me babbling aloud as I read [it]‖ (Spider Robinson, Galaxy, October 1975). ***1/2 Winner of the 1973 Hugo winner for best novelette. Winner of the 1972 Nebula award for best novelette. Heroes are Made (1951) See complete GUIDE. Honorable Enemies (1951) See complete GUIDE. Hunter’s Moon (1978) A husband-wife exobiologist team deal with marital woes and internecine war on the alien-inhabited world of Medea. Stilted prose and a routine story leave little to get excited about. Part of Harlan Ellison‘s shared-world Medea series. (SPACE FOLK) Winner of the 1979 Hugo award for best novelette. Journey’s End (1957) See complete GUIDE. Joy in Mudville (1955-with Gordon R. Dickson) See complete
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GUIDE. Kyrie (1968) A scientific mission to view a supernova up close and personal runs afoul of a jet of high-energy plasma which damages the starship‘s main generators. Survival unexpectedly turns upon the self-sacrifice of a telepathic alien entity. A grim tale that ends on a sentimental note. (BEST OF POUL ANDERSON) Finalist for the 1968 Nebula award for best short story. Last Monster, The (1951) The last of a race of alien trolls endures loneliness and persecution by Earthmen but commits an unselfish act of bravery. Sparely written and affecting. Also published as Terminal Quest (1951). (ALIGHT IN THE VOID) Life Cycle (1957) See complete GUIDE. Live Coward, The (1956) See complete GUIDE. Longest Voyage, The (1960) A slowly-developed tale set on an alien world about a captain who stops to provision his ship, the Golden Leaper, on an island of primitives, and in the process uncovers evidence of a prior starship landing. The author builds his world with painstaking care, but the impact of the tale stems from the hero‘s wrenching moral dilemma. (BOOK OF POUL ANDERSON) (BEST OF POUL ANDERSON) ―Classic‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, July 1994). ***1/2 Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for best short story. Margin of Profit (1956) See complete GUIDE. Marque and Reprisal (1965) Aliens launch an unprovoked attack on a human-populated world, but politicians back on Earth sue for peace. Infuriated by their spinelessness, an ex-captain takes matters into his own hands and outfits his ship as a privateer. The story features a suspenseful premise and an energetic narrative that is likely to warm the hearts of many a confirmed libertarian. (THE STAR FOX) Finalist for the 1966 Hugo award for best short fiction. Martian Crown Jewels, The (1957) See complete GUIDE. No Truce with Kings (1963) See complete GUIDE. Queen of Air and Darkness, The (1971) See complete GUIDE. Sharing of the Flesh, The (1968) In the aftermath of a galactic interregnum, a team of scientists make contact with a group of nonbelligerent natives, who unexpectedly assault and devour one of the scientists. The author fashions a suspenseful but chilling drama of human-alien confrontation. (THE LONG NIGHT) ―Memorable‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, February 1972). *** Finalist for the Nebula award in 1968 for best novelette. Winner of the 1969 Hugo Award for best novelette. Sheriff of Canyon Gulch (1951-with Gordon M. Dickson) A
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naval officer marooned on a planet five hundred light years from Earth encounters a race of chubby, golden-haired Hokas with a propensity for imitating archaic Earth customs. A light-hearted adventure that spoofs the conventions of the old west: wry, good- natured fun, ah reckon. (EARTHMAN‘S BURDEN) (BOOK OF POUL ANDERSON) ―Side-splittingly funny‖ (Spider Robinson, Galaxy, January 1976). *** ―Gentle fun, like all in the series‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, November 1974). **1/2 Star Plunderer, The (1952) See complete GUIDE. Un-man (1953) See complete GUIDE. Wolfram (1975) An erudite tale of an obscure Prussian court librarian who discovers a new mineral. Reasonably witty, but short on drama. (HOMEWARD AND BEYOND) ―Excellent whimsy . . . verisimilitude . . . simply delightful‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, January 1976). ***
ANDERSON, William C. (1920-2003) Working name of US author WILLIAM CHARLES ANDERSON, who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Space Branch, and whose books include Penelope (1963), The Valley of the Gods (1963-as by Andy Anderson), and The Gooney Bird (1968). Pseudonyms: Andy Anderson.
Novels Adam M-1 (1964) See complete GUIDE.
Pandemonium on the Potomac (1966) See complete GUIDE.
Penelope (1963) A dedicated scientist manages to communicate with a porpoise, teaches it to speak, and introduces his protege to high society. The first book in the Penelope series. ―A free-wheeling, rollicking, sometimes bawdy farce in the Thorne Smith manner . . . you're unlikely to have had such uninhibited yet wholesome fun since Thorne Smith died . . . close to Thorne Smith . . . and meatier . . . an unrelieved howl of hilarity‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, October 1963 – June 1965 – April 1966). *** ―Supposed to be a funny book about a dolphin . . . it seems, anyway, to be a book about a dolphin‖ (Avram Davidson, F&SF, November 1963). **
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ANDREWS, Allen (1913-1985) UK author, newspaper writer, film critic, and former RAF sergeant during WWII, whose books include Proud Fortress (1958), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965-with Bill Richardson) and The Pig Plantagenet (1980).
Novels Castle Crespin (1982) See complete GUIDE.
Pig Plantagenet, The (1980) A family of 13th century boars living in medieval France fall victim to the threats of a local Lord and set out in search of a new home. The first book in the Pig Plantagenet series. ―Run, do not walk, do not quibble . . . I am saving these two books for my grand-children; I am saving them for myself‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, February 1985). ***1/2
ANTHONY, Patricia (1947-) US author, whose SF books include Cradle of Splendor (1996), Eating Memories (1997), and Flanders (1998).
Novels Brother Termite (1993) See complete GUIDE.
Cold Allies (1993) In a near-future suffering the effects of global warming, the united Arabian countries strike north in a massive two- pronged attack, invading Europe through Spain and the Ukraine.
―An enormously capable first novel . . . so fluidly readable that I went through the whole thing in one sitting . . . a finely-written, well-imagined book . . . occasional lapses of military discipline . . . four stars out of five‖ (Darrell Schweitzer, Aboriginal, Spring 1993). ***
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Conscience of the Beagle (1993) See complete GUIDE.
Happy Policeman (1994) In the aftermath of nuclear war and alien invasion, a small Texas community is rocked by the death of the town‘s Mary Kay representative. It turns out the adulterous wife of the police chief is one of the key murder suspects. ―One of the strengths of Anthony's work is her ability to blend thoughtful sf with well-played scenes of human feeling . . . her characters . . . are complex without being intellectual . . . moving, surreal, funny, and inspirational . . . it may not have the pure narrative drive of a near-future thriller . . . but it is her most deeply affecting and emotionally resonant book so far‖ (Robert K. J. Killheffer, F&SF, May 1995). *** ―A nicely varied mix of suspects . . . thoughtful, strange, witty, and more than a little arbitrary . . . her characters are delightfully quirky, and her tale is a pleasure . . . but the situation is so much a writer's device that I found it impossible to suspend my disbelief more than intermittently . . . has more to do with the effect of a writer's attitude . . . than with . . . real people's attitude in the real world‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, February 1995). **1/2
Stories For No Reason (1990) A man invades an ant nest by projecting his mind into a mini-robot. A well-written tale with good characters, but the ending is disappointingly downbeat. (Asimov’s, September 1990)
ANTHONY, Piers (1934-) US teacher (born in England) and author, whose more than one hundred science fiction and fantasy novels include the Cluster series (1977-1982), the Tarot series (1979- 1980), the Apprentice Adept series (1980-1990), the Xanth series (1981- 2006), the Incarnations of Immortality series (1983-1990), and the Bio of a Space Tyrant series (1983-1986). Anthony has also written several erotic fantasy novels, including Pornucopia (1989), about a man seduced by a beautiful succubus; as well as an SF thriller, Prostho Plus (1967), about a dentist from Earth who finds fame and prestige among the stars. Acclaimed short fiction: Getting Through University (1968- finalist for the 1969 Hugo award for best novelette), In the Barn (1972), and Quinquepedalian (1963).
Quotes
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On telltale sexual signals: ―Her breasts lifted and quivered invitingly‖ (Pornucopia, 1989).
Novels Castle Roogna (1979) See complete GUIDE.
Chthon (1967) A man, whose life is inextricably intertwined with a woman called ―the minionette,‖ attempts to escape from a vast underground prison. ―Ambitious, not entirely successful . . . minor details annoy me no end‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, July 1968). ** Average rating of five out of five stars on Amazon.com based on 8 reviewers. Finalist for the 1967 Nebula award for best novel. Finalist for the 1968 Hugo award for best novel.
Macroscope (1969) See complete GUIDE.
Orn (1971) Scientists fleeing a repressive government find refuge on a planet whose flora and fauna mimic Earth‘s Paleocene. ―One of the best men-and-dinosaurs yarn we have had . . . more believable than any I can recall‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, June 1972). ***1/2 ―Gripping and effective . . . the most enjoyable book by Anthony I’ve yet read‖ (Lester Del Rey, IF, June 1972). ***
Pretender (1979-with Frances Hall) See complete GUIDE.
Rings of Ice (1974) A sordid disaster novel about a man-made rainstorm of Biblical proportions in which the stupid and the gross inherit the Earth. The ship-of-fools story line is transformed into the Winnebago-of-fools potboiler as three less-than-ordinary guys and three more-than-skanky girls reach high ground and attempt to distract themselves from the deluge by having sex. The main characters include a spineless playboy, a transvestite with a heart of gold, a neurotic meteorologist terrified of being raped, a 14-year old who would like to be raped, and a diabetic who proposes her dead body be used to augment the team‘s waning food supply. Scientifically improbable, goofy, crude, perverted, and randomly violent—the fun just never lets up. Favorite quote: ―She saw a discoloration on his teeth and knew that he too had been puking. She reached out to catch his hand, touched by this first sign of genuine weakness in him. She brought it to her lips for a wet kiss. Then they both leaned over the [dead] body . . . and kissed each
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other on the lips . . . it was unutterably sweet.‖
Ring, The (1968-with Robert E. Margroff) See complete GUIDE.
Sos the Rope (1968) See complete GUIDE.
Xanth novels (1977-2006) A popular fantasy series about a world ruled by magic and bad puns. ―I enjoyed the first one or two of [his] Xanth novels, but then they began to strike me as increasingly silly‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, August 1993). **
Stories Hurdle (1972) See complete GUIDE. Quinquepedalian (1963) A tale about three men and a monster on an alien planet. A classic hard-SF story with an intriguing premise and a satisfying message. (ANTHONOLOGY)
ANVIL, Christopher (1922-) Pseudonym of US author HARRY C. CROSBY, JR., whose books include The Day the Machines Stopped (1964), Strangers in Paradise (1969), The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun (1980), and Interstellar Patrol (2003). Acclaimed short fiction: Duel to the Death (1965), The Dukes of Desire (1967), The King’s Legions (1967), Mind Partner (1960), Pandora’s Planet (1956), The Royal Road (1968), Stranglehold (1966), The Toughest Opponent (1962), and Trap (1969).
Novels Pandora’s Planet (1956; 1972) Earth surrenders to the alien Centrans, who unwisely import the worst elements of human culture—loan sharks, planned obsolescence, fads, and religious cults—to their home world. The first book in the Pandora’s Planet series. ―A hilarious treatment . . . its only fault is that it goes on for too long‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, May 1962). **1/2 ―Doesn’t have the energy or luridness that can make s.f. stereotypes minimally interesting . . . isn’t even new‖ (Joanna Russ, F&SF, February 1973). *
APOSTOLIDES, Alex (1924-) US (?) author, who published seven stories in SF magazines during the 1950s, all but one with Mark Clifton. Acclaimed short fiction: What Thin Partitions (1953- with Mark Clifton).
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APPEL, Benjamin (1907-1977) US author, noted for his mainstream fiction, whose sole SF novel is The Funhouse (1959).
Novels Funhouse, The (1959) See complete GUIDE.
APPEL, Allen (1946-) US author of the Balfour time travel series, whose novels include Time After Time (1985), Till the End of Time (1990), and In Time of War (2003).
Quotes On the unspoken truth about race in America: ―Colored people don‘t like white people‖ (Twice Upon a Time).
Novels Twice Upon a Time (1988) Historian David Balfour travels back in time to the site of the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, makes the acquaintance of several emancipated slaves, then hightails it to Montana in time to witness the Battle of Little Bighorn. This borderline SF novel has several problems, including the abundance of liberal, feel-good platitudes and the characters‘ habit of talking too much and in too modernistic a voice for the 1800s: ―Most of the work here is in the service area,‖ exclaims one educated black man. The story does contain some effective elements, such as the curmudgeonly character of Mark Twain and the hero‘s unorthodox mode of time travel, but the rewarding parts come too rarely to make for a satisfying read. The second book in the Alex Balfour series.
APPLETON, Victor II Pseudonym used by US author HARRIET STRATEMEYER ADAMS (1892-1982) and others for the Tom Swift series (1933-1977), the Nancy Drew series (as by Carolyn Keene), and the Hardy Boys series (as by Franklin W. Dixon). Alternate names used: Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon.
Novels Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship (1954) Tom Swift and his friend Bud set out to explore the mysteries of outer space. The third book in the Tom Swift series. ―A most misguided venture . . . well below juvenile TV and comic book average in crudity of prose, construction, character and
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ideas‖ (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, June 1954). *
ARCH, E. L. (1922-1998) Pseudonym of US author and research biologist RACHEL COSGROVE PAYES, whose SF books include Planet of Death (1964), The First Immortals (1965), The Double- Minded Man (1966) and The Man with Three Eyes (1967).
Novels Bridge to Yesterday (1963) A man awakens in a collapsed mine after twenty-five years in suspended animation, then teams up with a young woman in an effort to locate a reporter lost in the jungles of Ganymede. ―An original chase story . . . has an interesting beginning but winds up in a maze of loose ends‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, January 1964). **
Deathstones, The (1964) See complete GUIDE.
ARLEN, Michael (1895-1956) UK-Armenian author, playwright, and scriptwriter DIKRAN KOUYOUMDJIAN, who was a British Civil Defense officer during WWII and whose books include These Charming People (1923), Ghost Stories (1927), and Hell! Said the Duchess: A Bed-Time Story (1934).
Novels Man’s Mortality (1933) See complete GUIDE.
ARMSTRONG, Michael (1956-) US science fiction author, whose books include After the Zap (1987) and The Hidden War (1994).
Novels Aqviq: The Whale (1990) In the process of excavating a native American cultural site in Alaska, an anthropologist survives the opening salvos of a thermonuclear war, but runs into a tribe of modern-day Eskimos who ironically find her detailed knowledge of traditional Eskimo ways a key to survival. ―The best book I have read this month . . . the best because, even though the basic theme—survival after nuclear holocaust— is old enough to show signs of wear, Armstrong has managed to renew the shine by finding a new setting and new problems . . .
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also handles his characters well . . . and he writes nice too . . . I have given this one a Nebula recommendation‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, October 1990). ***1/2
ARNASON, Eleanor (1942-) US science fiction author, whose novels include The Sword Smith (1978) and Daughter of the Bear King (1987). Acclaimed short fiction: The Dog’s Story (1996-finalist for the 1997 Nebula award for best novelette), Knapsack Poems (2002- finalist for the 2003 Nebula award for best short story), The Potter of Bones (2002-finalist for the 2003 Nebula award for best novella), Stellar Harvest (1999-finalist for the 2000 Hugo award for best novelette) and The Warlord of Saturn’s Moon (1975-finalist for the 1975 Nebula award for best novelette).
Novels Ring of Swords (1993) Humanity makes first contact with a race of warlike aliens known as the Hwarath. ―Space fiction of the first rank . . . in contention as one of the best science fiction novels of the year . . . a delight‖ (Orson Scott Card, F&SF, December 1993). ***1/2 ―The result is so immensely satisfying that I will not be a bit surprised to see ‘Ring of Swords’ on the next round of award ballots‖ (Thomas Easton, Analog, Mid-December 1993). ***1/2 ―An excellent piece of . . . anthropological science fiction . . . the perfect mix of viewpoints‖ (Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s, November 1994). *** ―Far-reaching SF . . . social SF at its best . . . a ‘must read‘‖ (Peter Heck, Asimov’s, March 1995). ***
To the Resurrection Station (1986) See complete GUIDE.
Woman of the Iron People, A (1991) A trained field anthropologist and seven colleagues set down on a world whose sentient natives are at a pre-industrial level of advancement. ―Rather slow-moving at first . . . readers who persist will be amply rewarded . . . a well-crafted . . . work of genuine intellectual merit‖ (Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s, April 1992). *** Winner of the 1991 James Tiptree, Jr. award for best speculative fiction novel on gender themes.
ARNOLD, Edwin L. (1857-1935) UK poet and author, whose speculative works include The Story of Ulla and Other
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Tales (1895).
Novels Gulliver of Mars (1905) A Navy man journeys to Mars on a flying carpet and undergoes many exotic adventures of a type later made famous by Edgar Rice Burroughs. ―Deserves a place alongside the master . . . just as stilted, dull and unconsciously funny as ERB himself‖ (Ron Goulart, F&SF, December 1964). *
ASARO, Catherine (1955-) US dancer, ballet teacher, editor, anthologist, and author, whose roughly twenty novels include the Skolian Empire series (1995-2008), The Veiled Web (1999), and The Phoenix Code (2000). Acclaimed short fiction: Aurora in Four Voices (1998-finalist for the 1998 Nebula and 1999 Hugo awards for best novella), A Roll of the Dice (2000-finalist for the 2001 Nebula and Hugo awards for best novella), and Walk in Silence (2003-finalist for the 2004 Nebula and Hugo awards for best novella).
Novels Last Hawk, The (1997) See complete GUIDE.
Quantum Rose, The (2000) Betrothed to the provincial governor of a remote, undeveloped world, the noble born heroine is rescued by a mysterious stranger with whom she falls in love. Her hopes of a happy, uneventful life are put on hold, however, when her former fiancé kidnaps her. Winner of the 2001 Nebula award for best novel.
ASH, Constance (1950-) US (?) author and anthologist, whose novels include The Horsegirl (1988) and The Stallion Queen (1992). Acclaimed short fiction: Flower Kiss (1998-finalist for the 1999 Nebula award for best short story).
ASH, Paul Pseudonym of author Pauline Ashwell.
ASHBY, Richard (-) US (?) author and critic, whose works of speculative interest include Act of God (1951; 1971) and roughly ten published stories. Alternate names used: Dick Ashby.
Stories
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Commencement Night (1953) A technician breaches protocol by contacting a group of children growing up free of societal influence. A surprisingly credible tale of human transcendence. (Astounding, August 1953) Master Race (1951) Alien invaders connive to exterminate the human race, but run afoul of a boy and his dog. Readable and entertaining, but not particularly original. (Imagination, September 1951)
ASHWELL, Pauline (1928-) Pseudonym of author PAULINE WHITBY, whose novels include The Man Who Stayed Behind (1993-as by Paul Ash) and Project Farcry (1995). Acclaimed short fiction: Big Sword (1958), The Lost Kafoozalum (1960-finalist for the 1961 Hugo award for best short fiction), Man Opening a Door (1991-as by Paul Ash; finalist for the 1991Nebula award for best novella), and Unwillingly to School (1958-finalist for the 1961 Hugo award for best short fiction). Pseudonyms: Paul Ash and Paul Ashwell.
Novels Project Farcry (1995) See complete GUIDE.
Unwillingly to Earth (1992) A young woman from a backwater planet travels to Earth to study cultural engineering, then applies her knowledge to other worlds. ―Highly diverting . . . detailed and interesting . . . the hectic style of her prose is a masterpiece of comic characterization‖ (Baird Searles, Asimov’s, December 1992). ***1/2 ―Lacks the continuity and development of a true novel‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, December 1992). ** The short story Unwilling to School (1958) was a finalist for the 1961 Hugo award for best short fiction.
Stories Big Sword (1958-as by Paul Ash) A young member of a deep- space exploration team makes first contact with an insectile native whose species is teetering on the verge of extinction. A satisfying example of anthropological SF, which offers well drawn characters and a suspenseful premise. Revised and expanded as Farcry (1995).
ASIMOV, Isaac (1920-1992) US author, anthologist, publisher, essayist, and all-round Renaissance man, whose works
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include the Positronic Robot series (1950-1985), the Foundation series (1951-1993), The Death Dealers (1958), the Black Widowers series (1974-1990), the Norby Chronicles (1983-1991; with Janet Asimov), and Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain (1987). Acclaimed short fiction: Bicentennial Man, The (1976-winner of the 1976 Nebula and 1977 Hugo award for best novelette), The Billiard Ball (1967), Blind Alley (1945), C- Chute (1951), The Dead Past (1956), Each an Explorer (1956), Eyes Do More Than See (1965), The Feeling of Power (1957), The Foundation of S.F. Success (1954), I’m in Marsport Without Hilda (1957), It’s Such a Beautiful Day (1954), The Key (1966), Last Question, The (1956), Lest We Remember (1982), Male Strikebreaker (1957), Mother Earth (1949), No Connection (1948), Not Final! (1941), One Night of Song (1982), Pâté de Foie Gras (1956), The Red Queen’s Race (1949), Robbie (1940), Robot Dreams (1986-finalist for the 1986 Nebula and 1987 Hugo award for best short story), Runaround (1942), Satisfaction Guaranteed (1951), Silly Asses (1957), Spell My Name with an S (1958), Sucker Bait (1954), Take a Match (1972), The Talking Stone (1955), 2430 A. D. (1970), — That Thou Art Mindful of Him! (1974 – Finalist for the 1974 Hugo award for best novelette), Trends (1939), The Ugly Little Boy (1958), The Ultimate Crime (1976), Victory Unintentional (1942), and What Is This Thing Called Love? (1961). Pseudonyms: Paul French, George E. Dale, H. B. Ogden, and Dr. ―A.‖
Critical Overview & Quotes – Isaac Asimov‘s popular tales are the embodiment of rationality—humorous, upbeat, confident, realistic, logical—espousing the power of mind over the universe, championing the cause of enlightenment over superstition. In the author‘s intellectually stimulating fiction, the universe is always rational, its rules orderly and knowable, its challenges frustrating but surmountable. Man‘s rightful playground is space, time, and the human mind, and if at times the natural order seems threatened by chaos and the forces of ignorance, through calm analysis of a perilous situation the Asimovian hero will almost always prevail.
On the evils of science: ―There are always people who think that if some new discovery with frightful implications is suppressed, all will be well‖ (Fantastic Voyage).
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On class distinctions: ―There are no important men, any more than there are important individual bacteria‖ (Breeds There a Man).
On the differences between men and animals: See complete GUIDE.
On sex: ―Budding is the holiest, most private function in the world‖ (Nightfall Two).
On telepathic communication: See complete GUIDE.
On freedom from tyranny: See complete GUIDE.
On the uncertainty of human existence: See complete GUIDE.
On sex in science fiction: ―I just don‘t like it in my novels. Everyone else puts it in and, frankly, I think that readers find its absence in my novels refreshing‖ (Gold).
On the pitfalls of old age: See complete GUIDE.
On religion: ―Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived‖ (Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters).
On making decisions: ―Never let your sense of morals keep you from doing what is right‖ (Foundation’s Edge).
On nonconformity: See complete GUIDE.
On the rights of robots: ―There is no right to deny freedom to any object with a mind advanced enough to grasp the concept‖ (The Bicentennial Man)
On the wisdom of the Orient: See complete GUIDE.
On punishment of criminals: See complete GUIDE.
On the importance of humor: ―If you can‘t force amusement out of [life], you might as well cut your throat‖ (The Stars, Like Dust).
On the feminine mind: See complete GUIDE.
On the tropisms of young antibodies: ―The antibodies were all about
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them, but making chiefly for Cora. For her they had already been sensitized . . . they hesitated over the uneven three-dimensional curve of her breasts as though they had not figured that out‖ (Fantastic Voyage).
On popular support for environmental safety: ―It is a mistake . . . to suppose that the public wants the environment protected or their lives saved and that they will be grateful to any idealist who will fight for such ends. What the public wants is their own individual comfort‖ (The Gods Themselves).
On the wrong way to resolve an SF story: See complete GUIDE.
Novels and Collections Asimov’s Mysteries (1968) See complete GUIDE.
Best of Isaac Asimov, The (1973) A collection of eleven stories, later published in two volumes. Standouts include C-Chute (1951), The last Question (1956), The Dead Past (1956), and The Billiard Ball (1967). ―100% rating on the Spidermeter‖ (Spider Robinson, Galaxy, September 1976). ***1/2
Buy Jupiter, and Other Stories (1958) See complete GUIDE.
Caves of Steel, The (1954) See complete GUIDE.
Currents of Space, The (1952) An excellent, wonder-filled story about a mysterious ―psycho-probed‖ man who wakes up a brain- damaged idiot. Attempting to recover his lost identity, he sets out on a quest that takes him from the lower class slums of Floria to a fabulous floating city ruled over by a powerful colonial elite. The evocative title, intriguing background details and underlying mystery evoke a thrilling sense of wonder. One of the author‘s best novels and a fascinating prequel to the Foundation series. ―First-rate entertainment . . . adroitly plotted . . . an intricate and constantly surprising spy-suspense story . . . the most enjoyable of Isaac Asimov’s interplanetary novels‖ (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, April 1953 – April 1954). ***1/2 ―Swift action, poised suspense, and first-class characterization‖ (H. J. Campbell, Authentic, March 1953). ***1/2 ―A good yarn . . . a couple laps ahead of Heinlein‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, May 1953). *** ―A minor episode . . . one of Asimov’s lesser efforts‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, May 1953). **1/2
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―[Asimov’s] first two novels are so alike in plot . . . as to become indistinguishable‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, October 1961). **
David Starr: Space Ranger (1952-as by Paul French) An epidemic of food poisoning threatens Earth‘s food supply on Mars. As the crisis worsens, the youngest member of the Council of Science travels to the Red Planet and undertakes his own investigation. The first book in the Lucky Star series. ―Gripping . . . a thrilling ride . . . a good juvenile‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, April 1953). *** ―Fast moving space opera, [with] no particular regard for scientific plausibility‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, November 1954). **1/2
Early Asimov, The (1972) See complete GUIDE.
Earth is Room Enough (1957) See complete GUIDE.
End of Eternity, The (1955) A superbly inventive tale about a scientific elite whose purpose is the preservation of a carefully regulated future spanning nearly 100,000 centuries. Mankind‘s persistent efforts to break out of stasis and reach for the stars are squelched by the Time Technicians who apply mathematically-computed Minimum Necessary Changes (MNCs) as a means of nudging history away from the trajectory of maximum probability. A brilliant Technician from the 95th century, however, begins to question his profession and falls in love with a woman from the 482nd. The author‘s well-drawn characters and surprising plot twists are a perfect counterpart to the story‘s speculative framework whose smallest details are vividly imagined: ―Harlan stood at the shelves devoted to the novels of Eric Linkollew, usually described as the outstanding writer of the 575th . . . he counted fifteen different ‘Complete Works’ collections, each, undoubtedly, taken out of a different Reality.‖ ―A tour de force . . . truly fascinating‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, February 1956). ***1/2 ―His most complex tale so far . . . holds suspense on every page . . . interest in every word‖ (Villiers Gerson, Amazing, November 1955). ***1/2 ―An excellent job . . . an unusual scientific idea, but I’m afraid it . . . will confuse the neophyte . . . the mechanism gets in the way of the story‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, February 1956 – September 1958). *** ―So vast and complex that it will delight the old line specialist as
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completely as it will confound the average reader‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, January 1956). *** ―A curious patchwork, containing some monumentally good ideas and some startlingly uneven writing‖ (Damon Knight, Original Science Fiction, March 1956). **1/2 Selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best science fiction novels.
Fantastic Voyage (1966) See complete GUIDE.
Foundation (1951) See complete GUIDE.
Foundation and Earth (1986) After the collapse of the Empire of Trantor, Golan Trevize of the Foundation sets out to locate Earth, the legendary home of mankind. The fifth book in the Foundation series. ―A vital, idea-rich story‖ (Orson Scott Card, F&SF, September 1988). *** ―A neat tale, deftly knitting together the threads of the other books . . . [but] for all its length . . . thin . . . tediously padded with endless argument and reflection . . . talky‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, May 1987). **
Foundation and Empire (1952) Progressing faithfully along lines predicted by psychohistorian Hari Seldon, the Foundation faces remnants of the First Empire reunited under the leadership of the last great general of Trantor, then confronts an unexpected challenge in the person of a wild mutant known as the Mule. Asimov‘s novel brilliantly translates history (i.e. the fall of the Roman empire) into galaxy-spanning speculative fiction. The second book in the original Foundation trilogy. ―A remarkable epic . . . stands up magnificently‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, January 1953). ***1/2 ―A whopping new concept . . . one of science fiction’s few really memorable characters, The Mule‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, January 1964). ***1/2 ―Sweeping . . . fascinating . . . [but] the Asimov humor . . . is sadly missing . . . the ‘secret’ of the Mule is telegraphed‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, April 1953). **1/2 ―[The reader] will find no new concepts in [it] save the utterly incomprehensible ones contained in the author’s own personal science of ‘psycho-history‘‖ (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, January 1953). *
Foundation’s Edge (1982) See complete GUIDE.
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Gods Themselves, The (1972) See complete GUIDE.
I, Robot (1950) A collection of nine linked stories recounting various hurdles in the development of ―positronic‖ robots. The author does a good job of creating a believable future history, but the logic of some of the later tales is strained. Standouts include Robbie (1940), Runaround (1942), and Evidence (1946). The first book in the Positronic Robot series. ―Continuously fascinating . . . nine of his best robot stories . . . a first-rate talent for humanizing‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, April 1951). ***1/2 ―Can be thoroughly recommended . . . for humor, for warm characters, for most of the values of plain good writing‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, September 1951). ***1/2 ―A very welcome sight . . . certainly . . . deserve[s] the label . . . ‘classic‘‖ (S. E. Coltts, Amazing, November 1963). ***1/2 ―A textbook demonstration of how to write stimulating science fiction‖ (Robert Silverberg, Amazing, March 1965). *** ―Fairly well integrated . . . much of the prose and characterization is reminiscent of the corniest space operas . . . but each story contains a truly striking gimmick . . . and a few . . . must stand among the best robot stories ever written‖ (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, June 1951). *** The film version directed by Alex Proyas and starring Will Smith was released in 2004.
Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury (1956-as by Paul French) David Starr and Bigman Jones attempt to find out who is responsible for sabotaging the reclamation of Earth‘s deserts and polar ice caps. The fourth book in the Lucky Starr series. ―As fast moving as its predecessors . . . plenty of interesting facts‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, September 1956). *** ―Straightforward interplanetary whodunit . . . neatly plotted . . . and blending action and deduction skillfully enough‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, February 1957). **1/2 ―Zest, speed, and plenty of excitement . . . [but] illustrates how easy it is for publishers to forget that quite a number of teen- agers have passed the Superman stage‖ (Hans Stefan Santesson, Fantastic Universe, August 1956). **1/2 ―Not up to the last ‘Starr’ book, and by no means in the Heinlein- Norton class‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, October 1956). **
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Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter (1957-as by Paul French) See complete GUIDE.
Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus (1954-as by Paul French) Lucky Starr, the youngest member of a crime-fighting organization known as the Council of Science, travels to Venus to investigate the cause of a series of deadly undersea mishaps. The backstory is colorfully detailed but the one-dimensional characters and formulaic plot fail to rise above the mediocre. The third book in the Lucky Starr series. ―Colorful and exciting . . . a real thriller‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, February 1955). *** ―Recommended . . . best of this series . . . a sound detective story‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, February 1955). *** ―A yarn that’s pushing right up into the Heinlein class‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, August 1955). ***
Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids (1953-as by Paul French) See complete GUIDE.
Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn (1958-as by Paul French) See complete GUIDE.
Martian Way and Other Science Fiction Stories, The (1955) A collection of four novelettes, none of them particularly remarkable. The best is Sucker Bait (1954), about a nerdish young man with a remarkable gift of memory. ―Some of the best science fiction . . . no awards here, but it’s all good . . . some of the best middle-of-the-road science fiction we have‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, December 1955). *** ―Four science fiction adventures at the top of Asimov’s best‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, October 1955). *** ―[One of] the best s.f. short story collections of 1955‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, March 1956). *** ―Reveals his Achilles' heel‖ (Villiers Gerson, Amazing, November 1955). **
Naked Sun, The (1957) Elijah Bailey is called on to solve the murder of a prominent fetologist. Leaving Earth for the planet Solaria, he is forced to interact with Spacers who have a pathological dread of physical contact. The author returns to his favorite themes of robotics and the mathematics of sociological prediction, but it‘s the hero‘s romantic tribulations which command center stage. With its humorous tone, tightly-drawn characters, believable off-world setting, and suspenseful
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story, the sequel manages to easily outstrip its predecessor. The second book in the Elijah Bailey / R. Daneel Olivaw series. ―Right up there with his best . . . one of the real classics . . . second only to ‘Caves of Steel‘ . . . way ahead of the ‘Foundation’ series‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, August 1957 – September 1958 – March 1965). ***1/2 ―Superb . . . a first-class science-fiction story that has few peers‖ (Robert Silverberg, Amazing, March 1965). ***1/2 ―Top-notch Asimov . . . a humanity rare in s-f‖ (Villiers Gerson, Amazing, July 1957). ***1/2 ―One of the few captivating heroines I’ve ever encountered in s.f . . . well above any new adult entries‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, April 1957). *** ―An interesting exercise in scientific detection‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, August 1957). ***
Nemesis (1989) See complete GUIDE.
Nightfall (1941; 1990-with Robert Silverberg) See complete GUIDE.
Nightfall and Other Stories (1969) See complete GUIDE.
Nine Tomorrows: Tales of the Near Future (1959) A collection of nine SF stories. Standouts include The Last Question (1956), I’m in Marsport without Hilda (1957), Spell My Name with an S (1958), and The Ugly Little Boy (1959). ―A high level of excellence . . . four-and-a-half stars out of five‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, October 1959). ***1/2 ―The best Asimov . . . since ‘Caves of Steel‘‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, October 1959). *** ―A few [stories] fight for life . . . we regret the others, and we deplore Mr. Asimov’s prologue and epilogue‖ (Alfred Bester, F&SF, November 1960). **
Pebble in the Sky (1950) The author‘s first published novel is one of his best. A middle-aged, twentieth century man is accidentally displaced into a distant future in which man has spread across the galaxy, but his earthly origin has long been forgotten. A colorful and fast- moving space opera which offers a wondrous vision of the future. ―Excellent . . . his suspense [is] almost unbearable . . . his handling of the theme of group prejudice is masterful . . . highly recommended‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, August 1950). ***1/2
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―A novel for which I hold an indelible fondness and vast respect‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, June 1986). ***1/2 ―Still my favorite . . . a first-rate story‖ (Lester Del Rey, IF, April 1972). *** ―Not up to his highest standards‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, November 1957). **1/2
Prelude to Foundation (1988) See complete GUIDE.
Rebellious Stars, The (1954) See complete GUIDE.
Rest of the Robots, The (1964) Eight fairly routine stories, which explore the implications of the author‘s ―Three Laws of Robotics.‖ Standouts include Victory Unintentional (1942) and Satisfaction Guaranteed (1951). ―A fine book of entertainment . . . I heartily recommend it‖ (Algis Budrys, Galaxy, June 1965). *** ―Worth the price‖ (Judith Merril, F&SF, March 1965). *** ―Most of these [stories] are pretty minor jobs‖ (Robert Silverberg, Amazing, March 1965). **
Robot Dreams (1986) A wide-ranging, retrospective collection of twenty-one stories. Standouts include The Last Question (1956), Male Strikebreaker (1957), The Feeling of Power (1958), Spell My Name with an S (1958), The Ugly Little Boy (1959), Eyes Do More Than See (1965), and The Billiard Ball (1967). ―Asimov shows . . . that he is indeed a master of the short form . . . remarkably deft in the classic mode‖ (Thomas Easton, Analog, August 1987). ***1/2
Robots and Empire (1985) See complete GUIDE.
Robots of Dawn (1983) Succumbing to the lure of revisionism, the author forges a link between the Lije Baley robot series and the Foundation universe. The story opens with the reassignment of detective Baley to a case involving both the Spacer Worlds and the emergence of Earth from its neurotic isolationism. When a ―humaniform‖ robot turns up ―dead‖ on the main Spacer world, the only option is for Lije Bailey once again to brave the vast reaches of interstellar space. The last few chapters are particularly memorable, but the long-winded build- up tests the reader‘s patience. The third book in the Elijah Bailey / R. Daneel Olivaw series. ―Among his best‖ (Janice M. Eisen, Aboriginal, Fall 1992). ***
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Finalist for the 1984 Hugo award for best novel.
Second Foundation (1952) See complete GUIDE.
Stars Like, Dust, The (1951) The young heir to a feudal kingdom prepares to return home after completing his education on Old Earth. Word of his father‘s assassination, however, causes an abrupt change of plans. The novel is both less clever and more melodramatic than others of the same period, but it has its moments. Particularly satisfying is the space-going background and evocative title. ―Ever-superb‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, June 1955). ***1/2 ―A smoothly purring space opera‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, January 1952). *** ―[Readers] will enjoy owning and re-reading . . . welcome‖ (Alfred Bester, F&SF, October 1961). *** ―His characterizations are the weak spot . . . unidimensional . . . proves to be engrossing . . . only because of . . . suspense‖ (Villiers Gerson, Astounding, July 1951). **1/2 ―So bad it almost succeeds in being funny . . . resembles nothing so much as a Buck Rogers-type cartoon strip . . . the characters are straight from the Sunday supplement‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, October 1961). *
Through a Glass, Clearly (1967) See complete GUIDE.
Winds of Change (1986) A collection of twenty-one stories. Standouts include Lest We Remember (1982) and One Night of Song (1982). ―A handful of shaggy dog stories . . . a fine book to read . . . while waiting for your roommate to finish brushing his or her teeth‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, October 1983). **1/2
Stories About Nothing (1977) See complete GUIDE. All the Troubles of the World (1958) A super-computer (Multivac) accumulates a vast amount of data on the inhabitants of Earth, enabling it to predict and forestall future crimes. (NINE TOMORROWS) Anniversary (1959) See complete GUIDE. Author’s Ordeal, The (1957) See complete GUIDE. Belief (1953) A tall tale about dreaming and levitation, which touches on a few interesting philosophical points, but is otherwise unmemorable. (THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY) (WINDS OF
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CHANGE) Belief (1953; 1980) See complete GUIDE. Benefactor of Humanity (1958) See complete GUIDE. Bicentennial Man, The (1976) A subtle, moving story about a robot who achieves sentience and whose greatest desire is to live like ordinary men. (BICENTENNIAL MAN) ―Excellent . . . breathtaking . . . brilliant‖ (Paul Walker, Galaxy, November 1978). ***1/2 ―A long, moving robot story . . . as good a novelette as he’s written in a long time‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, June 1976). *** ―One of the best stories . . . Asimov has written in years‖ (Spider Robinson, Galaxy, May 1977). *** Winner of the 1976 Nebula award for best novelette. Winner of the 1977 Hugo award for best novelette. Filmed in 1997 with Robin Williams in the title role. Billiard Ball, The (1967) See complete GUIDE. Blank! (1957) See complete GUIDE. Breeds There a Man? (1951) A tale which explores the possibility that humans are the equivalent of bacteria in a Petri dish—a dish belonging to monstrously aloof aliens. The author borrows on a common paranoid theme of the 1950s and in the process reveals an underlying skepticism towards religion. (THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY) (NIGHTFALL ONE) (ROBOT DREAMS) Button, Button (1953) See complete GUIDE. Buy Jupiter! (1958) See complete GUIDE. Catch That Rabbit (1944) The troubleshooting team of Powell and Donovan investigate a faulty mining robot which only malfunctions when no one‘s watching. The logic becomes strained when the designers fail to understand the workings of their own device: ―There isn’t a roboticist back at United States Robots that knows what a positronic field is or how it works.‖ One suspects the designers are not alone. (I, ROBOT) Christmas Without Rodney (1988) See complete GUIDE. C-Chute (1951) A superior ship-of-fools story, about the passengers of a spaceship boarded by aliens. The only false note is the overly cute closing sentence. (THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY) (NIGHTFALL ONE) ―A star item‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, March 1954). *** Darwinian Pool Room (1950) See complete GUIDE. Day of the Hunters (1950) See complete GUIDE. Dead Past, The (1956) A young twenty-second century scientist breaks with his peers in order to pursue a radical new idea. A brilliant story, which touches on several interesting concepts,
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including the transformation of society by loss of privacy: ―There isn’t one advance at any time in history that mankind hasn’t had the ingenuity to pervert.‖ (EARTH IS ROOM ENOUGH) ―An ingenious rework of the antique theme of the time reviewing gadget‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, June 1958). *** Death of a Foy (1980) See complete GUIDE. Death of a Honey-Blonde (1956) See complete GUIDE. Deep, The (1952) Tiny aliens escape a dying planet and attempt to create a new life for themselves on a deserted Pacific atoll. Their peaceful existence is threatened by an upcoming nuclear test. (THE MARTIAN WAY) ―Left me cold‖ (Villiers Gerson, Amazing, November 1955). ** Does a Bee Care? (1957) See complete GUIDE. Dreaming is a Private Thing (1955) See complete GUIDE. Dreamworld (1955) A boy refuses to give up his fantasies in spite of his aunt‘s haranguing. So punningly bad it‘s amusing. (F&SF, November 1955) Dust of Death, The (1957) See complete GUIDE. Dying Night, The (1956) See complete GUIDE. Each an Explorer (1956) Two explorers investigate an uncharted globular cluster and become accomplices to a crude act of interplanetary coitus. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES) ―Excellent‖ (Hans Stefan Santesson, Fantastic Universe, November 1957). *** Escape! (1945) See complete GUIDE. Everest (1953) See complete GUIDE. Evidence (1946) A mayoral campaign heats up when one of the candidates accuses the other of being inhuman. Storytelling skill underscores a powerful message. (I, ROBOT) ―A relatively minor episode‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, August 1966). ** Evitable Conflict, The (1950) See complete GUIDE. Exile to Hell (1968) See complete GUIDE. Eyes Do More Than See (1965) See complete GUIDE. Fable of the Three Princes, The (1987) See complete GUIDE. Fair Exchange? (1978) A Gilbert & Sullivan enthusiast travels into the past in order to recover a lost musical. (WINDS OF CHANGE) Fault-Intolerant (1990) See complete GUIDE. Feeling of Power, The (1957) A man reinvents computational techniques for adding, subtracting, and multiplying, then uses his new-found knowledge to affect the outcome of an interstellar war. (NINE TOMORROWS) (ROBOT DREAMS) ―A wonderful tongue-in-cheek job‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy,
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February 1963). *** First Law (1956) See complete GUIDE. Flies (1953) A chemist attracts flies and incites them to pagan worship. The author crafts his story around a rather obvious pun. (NIGHTFALL TWO) For the Birds (1980) A lightweight tale about a fashion designer who helps solve a nagging problem in zero gravity aerodynamics. The title says it all. (WINDS OF CHANGE) Found! (1978) See complete GUIDE. Foundation of S.F. Success, The (1954) See complete GUIDE. Founding Father (1965) A spaceship belonging to a team of galactic explorers crashes on a planet shrouded in clouds of deadly ammonia. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES) Finalist for the 1965 Nebula award for best short story. Franchise (1955) See complete GUIDE. Fun They Had, The (1957) See complete GUIDE. Galley Slave (1957) A robophobic professor attempts to discredit a proof-reading android. The characters make this one interesting. (REST OF THE ROBOTS) ―The story is utterly logical, utterly natural . . . and leaves me . . . cool‖ (Avram Davidson, F&SF, July 1963). **1/2 Gentle Vultures, The (1957) See complete GUIDE. Gimmicks Three (1956) See complete GUIDE. Gold (1991) A successful director fashions a ―compu-drama‖ based on a story by a famous science fiction writer. Asimov deals frankly with sex and death, but the story falls flat. (GOLD) Winner of the 1992 Hugo award for best novelette. Good Taste (1976) See complete GUIDE. Greatest Asset, The (1971) See complete GUIDE. Green Patches (1950) An alien organism with the ability to absorb all forms of life hitches a ride on a spaceship returning to Earth. The suspenseful buildup is undercut by an unremarkable ending. Originally published as Misbegotten Missionary (1950). (NIGHTFALL ONE) ―Develops it with skill . . . [but] disappoints me‖ (Damon Knight, Future Science Fiction, March 1954). ** Hell-Fire (1956) See complete GUIDE. Heredity (1941) See complete GUIDE. Hostess (1951) An implausible mystery-thriller about an alien who moves in with a married couple in order to study a deadly mind parasite. (NIGHTFALL ONE) (ROBOT DREAMS) How It Happened (1978) See complete GUIDE. Ideals Die Hard (1951) See complete GUIDE.
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Ideas Die Hard (1957) Two astronauts circling the Moon in a closet- sized spaceship battle claustrophobia and paranoia. The author plucks an angstful page from Philip K. Dick, but fails to conceal his plot twists and turns. (WINDS OF CHANGE) Ignition Point (1981) See complete GUIDE. I’m in Marsport Without Hilda (1957) A galactic agent on a three- day layover to Mars forgoes a visit to his girl friend in order to help nab a drug smuggler. Slick and entertaining. (NINE TOMORROWS) (ASIMOV‘S MYSTERIES) Immortal Bard, The (1953) See complete GUIDE. “In a Good Cause—” (1951) A confirmed pacifist attempts to draw Earth‘s colonies into a common galactic Federation. The protagonist‘s political naiveté, unfortunately, undercuts the suspense. Also published as Ideals Die Hard (1951). (NIGHTFALL TWO) ―Well-done, but . . . primitive‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, March 1952). **1/2 ―Not a fresh idea‖ (Damon Knight, Science Fiction Adventures, February 1953). ** Insert Knob A in Hole B (1957) A minor vignette about a space station badly in need of replacement parts. (NIGHTFALL TWO) It Is Coming (1979) See complete GUIDE. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (1954) An upbeat tale which fascinatingly extrapolates the tendency for human beings to spend more and more of their time indoors. (THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY) (NIGHTFALL TWO) ―The best‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, May 1955). *** Jokester (1956) See complete GUIDE. Key, The (1966) See complete GUIDE. Key Item (1968) An advanced computer (Multivac) fails to function unless addressed with a magic word. Should appeal to first graders. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES) Kid Stuff (1953) See complete GUIDE. Last Answer, The (1979) See complete GUIDE. Last Question, The (1956) Multivac considers the penultimate question of whether the entropic decline of the universe can be halted. A superior and transcendent story. (NINE TOMORROWS) (ROBOT DREAMS) Last Shuttle, The (1981) See complete GUIDE. Last Trump, The (1955) See complete GUIDE. Lenny (1957) A roboticist (Dr. Susan Calvin) probes a brain-damaged robot and discovers the child she‘s never given birth to. (REST OF THE ROBOTS) Lest We Remember (1982) See complete GUIDE.
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Let’s Get Together (1956) See complete GUIDE. Let’s Not (1954) A pointed tale about the aftermath of nuclear war. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES) Liar! (1941) See complete GUIDE. Light Verse (1973) See complete GUIDE. Little Lost Robot (1947) A lifelike robot goes AWOL, prompting a full-scale ―manhunt.‖ (I, ROBOT) (ROBOT DREAMS) Living Space (1956) See complete GUIDE. Loint of Paw, A (1957) See complete GUIDE. Machine That Won the War, The (1961) An ironic, heavy-handed tale about humanity‘s over-reliance on giant computers to win a war against aliens. (NIGHTFALL TWO) (ROBOT DREAMS) Male Strikebreaker (1957) See complete GUIDE. Marooned off Vesta (1938) See complete GUIDE. Martian Way, The (1952) Martian ―scavengers‖ locate a source of H2O in the rings of Saturn and consider ways of hauling it back to Mars, thereby putting an end to Earth‘s stranglehold over its space colonies. A slow-moving story with too much talk and not enough suspense. (THE MARTIAN WAY) (ROBOT DREAMS) ―Intensely human‖ (Damon Knight, Original, March 1956). ***1/2 ―Memorable‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, June 1986). *** ―Deft narration . . . sympathetic handling of character . . . adroit plot twists . . . the interest, the warm . . . we have come to expect of him‖ (Villiers Gerson, Amazing, November 1955). *** ―Very logical . . . a couple of nice gimmicks‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, December 1955). *** Message, The (1955) See complete GUIDE. Mirror-Image (1972) See complete GUIDE. Misbegotten Missionary (1950) See complete GUIDE. Monkey’s Fingers, The (1952) A hard-nosed editor and an arrogant author spar over the salability of an original manuscript. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES) Mother Earth (1949) Earthmen goad Outer Worlders into a premature war. An entertaining though somewhat convoluted tale of galactic intrigue in the mode of the author‘s Foundation series. (THE EARLY ASIMOV) ―Particularly distinguished‖ (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, June 1951). ***1/2 ―As good, and maybe better, than some of his other stories that have been reprinted over and over‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, July 1973). *** ―Rate[s] equally high‖ (Groff Conklin, Galaxy, April 1951). *** My Son, the Physicist (1962) See complete GUIDE.
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Nightfall (1941) See complete GUIDE. “Nobody Here But—” (1953) See complete GUIDE. Nothing for Nothing (1979) An alien first contact team is impressed by Earth‘s native art. (WINDS OF CHANGE) Obituary (1959) See complete GUIDE. One Night of Song (1982) A witty tale about a jilted lover who takes revenge upon his former sweetheart. (WINDS OF CHANGE) Pâté de Foie Gras (1956) The author unveils his theory that the famed ―golden goose‖ was powered by a nuclear fusion reactor. A clever, laugh-out-loud story that offers a new take on the famed Grimm brothers fable. (ASIMOV‘S MYSTERIES) ―Fine individual divertissement‖ (Algis Budrys, Galaxy, July 1968). *** Pause, The (1954) See complete GUIDE. Perfect Fit, A (1981) See complete GUIDE. Playboy and the Slime God (1961) See complete GUIDE. Profession (1957) An anxious eighteen-year gets a poor grade on a galaxy-wide aptitude test and prepares for a life among the feeble- minded. Suspenseful, but a tad elitist. (NINE TOMORROWS) ―Excellence‖ (Floyd C. Gale, Galaxy, October 1959). *** ―The best of the nine stories‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, October 1959). *** Proper Study, The (1968) See complete GUIDE. Rain, Rain, Go Away (1959) See complete GUIDE. Reason (1941) Two scientists attempt to dissuade a pious robot from worshiping a solar energy converter. The author takes a mild poke at religion. (I, ROBOT) ―Must stand among the best robot stories ever written‖ (Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas, F&SF, June 1951). ***1/2 Risk (1955) See complete GUIDE. Robbie (1940) See complete GUIDE. Robot AL-76 Goes Astray (1941) A confused robot constructs a disintegration machine out of ordinary household components. (REST OF THE ROBOTS) Robot Dreams (1986) A young roboticist introduces a new fractal design into the positronic circuits of a test robot, causing the latter to dream of toiling metal slaves. (ROBOT DREAMS) Finalist for the 1987 Hugo award for best short story. Finalist for the 1986 Nebula award for best short story. Runaround (1942) See complete GUIDE. Sally (1953) See complete GUIDE. Satisfaction Guaranteed (1951) See complete GUIDE. Segregationist (1967) A senator with a failing heart must choose
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between a metal or plastic replacement valve. The satisfying ending lifts up an otherwise routine story. (NIGHTFALL TWO) ―Beautifully tricky‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, September 1969). *** Shah Guido G (1951) See complete GUIDE. Silly Asses (1957) A cautionary tale about the stupidity of nuclear war, but this one strikes home. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES) Singing Bell (1955) See complete GUIDE. Smile of the Chipper (1988) See complete GUIDE. Smile That Loses, The (1982) See complete GUIDE. Someday (1956) A dated but moving tale about an outmoded story-computer. (EARTH IS ROOM ENOUGH) ―Nice little commentaries on mechanized education‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, April 1958). *** Spell My Name with an S (1958) An intriguing tale about a nuclear physicist who tests the principle of historical determinism: ―Given enough data and a computer capable of a sufficient number of operations in unit time, the future is predictable, at least in terms of probabilities.‖ (NINE TOMORROWS) (ROBOT DREAMS) Star Light (1962) See complete GUIDE. Statue for Father, A (1959) See complete GUIDE. Stranger in Paradise (1974) A minor tale about two estranged brothers who join forces to build a computer capable of operating on the surface of Mercury. (BICENTENNIAL MAN) Strikebreaker (1957) See complete GUIDE. Sucker Bait (1954) A young Mnemonic-in-training sets out to find out the cause of a deadly tragedy on another world, but first must deal with the skepticism of his shipmates. (THE MARTIAN WAY) ―The mystery got too strong a hand over the gimmick‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, December 1955). ** ―Infantile‖ (Villiers Gerson, Amazing, November 1955). * Sure Thing (1977) A vignette with a bad pun at its heart. (WINDS OF CHANGE) Take a Match (1972) An agreeable tale about a ship ―marooned‖ in deep space following a routine hyperspace jump. A sixty-year old science teacher attempts to save the day. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES) Talking Stone, The (1955) See complete GUIDE. Thiotimoline to the Stars (1973) See complete GUIDE. 2430 A. D. (1970) One man stands in the way of humanity‘s quest for perfection. A heartfelt dystopian tale. (BUY JUPITER AND OTHER STORIES)
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Too Bad! (1989) See complete GUIDE. To Tell At a Glance (1983) See complete GUIDE. Ugly Little Boy, The (1958) A touching story about a young boy from the past who is befriended by his modern-day teacher. The potentially mawkish theme is overcome by the story‘s powerful ending. (NINE TOMORROWS) (ROBOT DREAMS) ―I have always cherished this particular story since I first read it . . . it has a poignancy which most of his others, for all their cleverness, lack‖ (S. E. Cotts, Amazing, January 1964). ***1/2 ―Classic‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, November 1985). ***1/2 ―Has outdone himself‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, December 1963). *** ―A very good story‖ (Lester Del Rey, IF, April 1973). *** Unto the Fourth Generation (1959) See complete GUIDE. Up-to-Date Sorcerer, The (1958) See complete GUIDE. Victory Unintentional (1942) See complete GUIDE. ―Telegraphs its punch line‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, July 1954). ** Watery Place, The (1956) Venusians run afoul of a stiff-necked sheriff in the backwater town of Twin Gulch. (EARTH IS ROOM ENOUGH) What If— (1952) See complete GUIDE. What Is This Thing Called Love? (1961) An amusing spoof about aliens who investigate the mating habits of New Yorkers. (NIGHTFALL TWO) What’s In a Name? (1956) See complete GUIDE. Winds of Change (1982) See complete GUIDE. Youth (1952) The crew of a crashed alien spaceship fall into the hands of some business-savvy youths. An entertaining tale, up until the sadly predictable ending. (THE MARTIAN WAY) ―Spoiled . . . by the author's visualization of the youngsters . . . whining, wheedling . . . protagonists‖ (Villiers Gerson, Amazing, November 1955). *
Anthologies Hugo Winners, Volume 1, The (1962) See complete GUIDE. Hugo Winners, Volume 2, The (1971) See complete GUIDE. Tomorrow’s Children, 18 Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1966) A superior collection, including standouts such as Fritz Leiber‘s A Pail of Air (1951), Damon Knight‘s Cabin Boy (1951), Robert Sheckley‘s The Accountant (1954), and Ray Bradbury‘s All Summer in a Day (1954). ―One of the best ‘theme’ anthologies we’ve had in some time . . .
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eighteen excellent science fiction stories‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Analog, November 1967). ***1/2
ASPRIN, Robert (1946-) Working name of US author ROBERT LYNN ASPRIN, whose roughly fifty fantasy and science fiction books include the Myth Adventures series (1978-2006), the Thieves’ World series (1979-1989), and the Phule’s Company series (1990-2006).
Novels Bug Wars, The (1979) A caste of warrior lizard-men battle hordes of sentient Wasps, Leapers, and Ants for control of the galaxy. Throughout, Asprin employs a dry wit, as, for example, when his fighters emerge from hibernation: ―We were not being awakened for relaxation and food replacement. We were being awakened to hunt. We were preparing for combat.‖ And later, following a successful mission: ―I realized suddenly that these questions bore no more importance to me . . . I was a Tzen and a Warrior, and I had been efficient in the performance of my duty to the Empire. I went to sleep.‖ A fast-moving tale that works both as military-SF and social commentary. ―More worth reading than first impressions may suggest‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, December 1979). *** Average rating of five out of five stars on Amazon.com based on 13 reviewers.
Cold Cash War, The (1977) See complete GUIDE.
Myth Adventures series (1978-2006) See complete GUIDE.
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ATKINS, John (1916-) UK writer, whose fantasy works include The Diary of William Carpenter (1943) and A Land Fit for ‘Eros (1957-with J. B. Pick).
Novels Tomorrow Revealed (1955) A fictional future history purportedly written by a man living several millennia in the future, who constructs his version of the past based on works of such noted ―historians‖ as H. G. Wells, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, and C. S. Lewis. ―A pure tour de force‖ (P. Schuyler Miller, Astounding, June 1957). ***1/2 ―Four dollars . . . is an awful lot for a thin and protracted jape which seems more suited to some unusually literate and witty fanzine‖ (Anthony Boucher, F&SF, March 1957). **
ATTANASIO, A. A. (1951-) Working name of US author ALFRED ANGELO ATTANASIO, whose more than twenty fantasy and SF novels include Kingdom of the Grail (1992), The Moon’s Wife: A History (1993), The Dragon and the Unicorn (1994-finalist for the 1995 British Fantasy award for best novel), and The Conjure Book (2007). Acclaimed short fiction: Second Wish (1980). Pseudonyms: Adam Lee.
Quotes On the purpose of higher education: ―But what‘s college for a woman? Just a place to meet a man‖ (In Other Worlds).
Novels Arc of the Dream (1886) A source of unimaginable metaphysical power enhances the lives of several all-too-imperfect humans. The third book of the Radix Tetrad. ―Forthright good humor . . . believable and winning human characters . . . the novel succeeds whichever way you take it‖ (Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s, July 1987). *** ―Attanasio falters . . . the execution has severe problems . . . mumbo-jumbo . . . excessive floridity of the prose . . . will make you wish you had spent your money on something else‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, April 1987). *
Hunting the Ghost Dancer (1991) See complete GUIDE.
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In Other Worlds (1985) A Manhattan bartender spontaneously combusts and wakes up 130 billion years later in a non-Newtonian world encapsulated within a massive black hole. After making friends with a giant, five-dimensional jellyfish and putting the make on an immortal super-babe, the hero returns to Earth to save humanity. The author indulges in solipsistic linguistic virtuosity and van Vogtian onslaughts of creativity, yet despite the shovelfuls of metaphysical crap, the hero‘s triumph comes as no great surprise. The second book of the Radix Tetrad. ―He does not let us down . . . weird and wonderful‖ (Tom Easton, Analog, November 1986). *** ―Got a bit out of hand . . . became too much . . . for credibility‖ (Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s, July 1987). **
Last Legends of Earth, The (1989) See complete GUIDE.
Radix (1981) See complete GUIDE.
Solis (1994) After a thousand years in suspended animation, a man from the twenty-first century is awakened by a group of sex workers who want to exploit him for carnal purposes. Kidnapped by the ―Friends of the Non-Abelian Gauge‖ and forced to operate a deep-space mining factory, he escapes to Mars and flees across a desert wasteland to the legendary city of Solis. ―Delivers yet another thrilling tale . . . wonder-provoking marvels . . . verbal fluidity and . . . powers of invention . . . deft deployment of arcane words . . . provoking delight and awe‖ (Paul di Filippo, Asimov’s, June 1995). ***1/2
Wyvern (1988) A historical novel about a boy born in 17th century Borneo to a Malaysian mother and Dutch father. After serving as a witchdoctor‘s slave, he‘s kidnapped by pirates and makes his way to pre- Revolutionary War America. ―It takes hold of one . . . hits you where you live . . . even if you decide afterward that, no, you didn’t really, well, believe the universe‖ (Algis Budrys, F&SF, January 1989). *** Average rating of five out of five stars on Amazon.com based on 19 reviewers.
ATWOOD, Margaret (1939-) Canadian author, poet, screenwriter, and literary critic, whose books include Life Before Man (1979), Interlunar (1984), and The Penelopiad (2005).
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Novels Handmaid’s Tale, The (1985) A dystopian novel about a woman living in a grim anti-feminist world in which women are treated as virtual breeding machines. ―Science fiction . . . of high order . . . renovate[s] an old science fictional notion‖ (Norman Spinrad, Asimov’s, July 1987). *** ―Preachiness . . . undisguised social criticism‖ (Robert K. J. Killheffer, F&SF, February 1995). ** Finalist for the 1986 Nebula award for best novel. Winner of the 1987 Arthur C. Clarke award for best novel.
AUSTIN, A. J. (1951-) US author, whose speculative works include To Save the Sun (1992-with Ben Bova), To Fear the Light (1994- with Ben Bova), and roughly ten published stories.
AVERY, Richard Pseudonym of author EDMUND COOPER.
AYLESWORTH, John (1938-) US-Canadian author, whose sole SF novel is Fee, Fei, Fo, Fum (1963).
Novels Fee, Fei, Fo, Fum (1963) See complete GUIDE.
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