Qui a dit que Noël n’est pas le 9 octobre, alors que je viens de recevoir tout ça dans ma boîte aux lettres?

#AlastairReynolds #AudreyPleynet #RobertSilverberg #PAL #LeBelial

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XXV

• A selection of read volumes from my shelves

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read next month? Here’s the July installment of this column.

One of my favorite forms of SF scholarship is careful identification of a intellectual genealogy–tracing what an author read and engaged in dialogue with. Authors are readers. They also can’t escape references and textual traces of what they’ve consumed (or, of course, engagement with the world in which they lived).

I’ve read two interesting examples recently. The first, Carol McGuirk’s “J. G. Ballard and American Science Fiction” in Science Fiction Studies, vol. 49 (2022), is the perfect example of this type of scholarship. She traces Ballard’s engagement with SF, his earliest stories, and the various parallels an interactions between his work and American SF that he read (Galaxy Magazine, Theodore Sturgeon, Fritz Leiber, Robert Heinlein, Frederik Pohl, C. M. Kornbluth, Ray Bradbury, Judith Merril, Federic Brown, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, etc.). She argues that Ballard engaged in “retelling with a twist” (476). She writes that “early Ballard stories rework prior sf in moods ranging from measured homage to barbed repose to parodic photo-bomb” (483).

The second example is David Seed’s John Wyndham (2025). I did not realize that Wyndham’s works so systematically engaged with the SF ideas of H. G. Wells. Not only did Wyndham’s criticism frequently cover Wells’ SF, but his stories were littered with Wells reference, reformulations, etc. Seed indicates references to a vast range of both school reading and also personal favorite authors.

Both works reveal an author as a reader. Fascinating stuff!

Before we get to the photograph above and the curated birthdays, let me know what pre-1985 SF you’re currently reading or planning to read! 

The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)

1. Ursula K. Le Guin’s City of Illusions (1967). I cannot say I remember much about this one! I read it in my late teens. I premise, aliens who do not execute but purge the mind of memories, sounds intriguing.
2. Robert Silverberg’s A Time of Changes (1971). While most of the Silverberg I’ve read I’ve also reviewed on the site, I listened to this one as an audiobook. Not my absolute favorite of his but characteristically smooth and though-provoking despite its flaws.
3. David R. Bunch’s Moderan (1971). One of the fantastically oddball authors in SF landscape. This collection is not to be missed! Unfortunately, never managed to write a review.
4. Mordecai Roshwald’s Level 7 (1959). I thoroughly enjoyed this dissection of the psychological state of the cold war warrior, in this instance an inhabitant of a underground military facility. A gem of the 50s!

What am I writing about?

Despite the stress that comes with teaching at the beginning of the semester, I wrote a lot in August. I reviewed Jack Dann’s fantastic collection of New Wave nightmares Timetipping (1980); resurrected my SF in translation series with Rachel S. Cordasco with our reviews of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966); and continued my series on pessimistic takes on space travel with John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (1934).

What am I reading?

I recently finished Ryan C. McIlhenny’s wonderful intellectual biography American Socialist: Laurence Gronlund and the Power Behind Revolution (2025). Gronlund’s The Cooperative Commonwealth (1884) is responsible for popularizing Karl Marx’s ideas in the United States, with his own distinctly Christian twist. Edward Bellamy’s utopian SF novel Looking Backward: 2000–1887 (1888) fictionalized many of Gronlund’s ideas.

As for history of science fiction, I finished David Seed’s John Wyndham (2025). I wanted to feature it in my interview series but I haven’t heard back from the author. Alas!

A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks [names link to The Internet Speculative Fiction Database for bibliographical info]

August 16th: The influential editor and occasional author Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967). Shockingly considering my focus on post-WWII fiction, I’ve featured a few stories and authors from his magazines recently. See my review of John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934) and my interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr. about his book on Gernsback’s first “find”: Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer.

August 17th: Rachel Pollack (1945-2023). I’ve only reviewed Alqua Dreams (1987). I’ve been meaning to feature her first three published SF short fictions in my ongoing series.

August 18th: Brian W. Aldiss (1925-2017). Another Joachim Boaz favorite. Check out my review of Hothouse (variant title: The Long Afternoon of Earth) (1962) if you haven’t already.

August 19th: Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991). Creator of Star Trek.

• Karel Thole’s cover for the 1971 edition of D. G. Compton’s Farewell, Earth’s Bliss (1966)

August 19th: D. G. Compton (1930-2023) crafted a fascinating range of SF novels — I recommend The Unsleeping Eye (variant title: The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe) (1973), Synthajoy (1968), and Farewell, Earth’s Bliss (1966) in particular. In 2021 he rightly won the Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award.

August 19th: Artist H. W. Wesso (1894-1948) was one of the iconic Astounding Stories artists.

• H. R. Van Dongen’s canvas for the 1979 edition of Jack Vance’s City of the Chasch (1968)

August 20th: Artist H. R. Van Dongen (1920-2010).

August 20th: Arthur Porges (1915-2006). I know little about his work. Seems to be prolific in the short form.

August 20th: Greg Bear (1951-2022). In my more expansive SF-reading days, I consumed Bear’s Darwin’s Radio (1999), Blood Music (1985), and Eon (1985).

August 20th: H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). If his work tickles your fancy, definitely check out Bobby D.’s wonderful website Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein. I’ve only read a few stories here and there.

August 21st: Anthony Boucher (1911-1968).

August 21st: Miriam Allen deFord (1888-1975). Check out my review of her collection Xenogenesis (1969).

• Ron Walotsky’s cover for the 1989 edition of Brian Aldiss’ Non-Stop (variant title: Starship) (1958)

August 21st: Artist Ron Walotsky (1943-2002)

August 21st: Lucius Shepard (1943-2014). I gapping whole in my SF knowledge… Sometimes I feel a bit intimidated by an author. And I think Shepard is that guy at the moment.

August 22nd: Ray Bradbury (1920-2012). Very much an author of my childhood — I remember road trips listening to audiobooks of The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951). I’ve covered a handful of his stories on the site: “Almost the End of the World” (1957), “The Highway” (1950), “The Pedestrian” (1951). and “The Strawberry Window” (1955).

• Ron Turner’s cover for John Russell Fearn’s Deadline to Pluto (1951)

August 22nd: Ron Turner (1922-1998). Sometimes I think his garish pulp covers are the only view of 50s SF some people have…

August 24th: James Tiptree, Jr. (1915-1987). A favorite of mine. I’ve covered the following: “A Momentary Taste of Being” (1975), “A Source of Innocent Merriment” (1980), “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” (1973), “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” (1976), and “Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death” (1973).

August 24th: Editor Bea Mahaffey (1928-1987).

August 24th: Orson Scott Card (1951-). Another author of my youth… I attended high school in a community with a substantial Mormon population. I was lent copies of Card novels by the dozen. Didn’t realize the connection at the time! In a group of “classic” authors that I have little desire to return to.

August 25th: Jeffrey A. Carver (1949-). I haven’t read any of his work. Let me know if there’s anything of his worth acquiring. Maybe Panglor (1980)?

August 26th: Gerald Kersh (1911-1968). I’ve only read “Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953).

August 26th: Otto Binder (1911-1974). Published SF with his brother Earl (1904-1966) under the name “Eando” Binder. After 1934, Otto continued using the pen name without his brother.

August 26th: C. S. Forester (1899-1966), best known for his Horatio Hornblower sequence, also wrote a few science fiction stories!

August 27th: T. L. Sherred (1915-1985)

August 27th: Artist Frank Kelly Freas (1922-2005). I can’t say I’m the biggest Freas fan. Never cared for the fuzzy airbrush feel (with a few exceptions).

August 27th: Edward Bryant (1945-2017).

August 28th: Jack Vance (1916-2013).

• Burckhard Labowski and Regine Schulz’s cover for the 1983 German edition of Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic (1972)

August 28th: Arkady Strugatsky (1925-1991).

August 28th: Vonda N. McIntyre (1948-2019). A favorite of mine — check out my review of her Hugo-winning Dreamsnake (1968) if you’re new to her work.

August 28th: Barbara Hambly (1951-).

August 29th: Don Wilcox (1905-2000). Wrote an important early generation ship story: “The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years” (1940).

August 29th: Thomas N. Scortia (1926-1986)

August 20th: Judith Moffett (1942-). Anyone read her fiction?

For book reviews consult the INDEX

For cover art posts consult the INDEX

For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX

#1950s #1960s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #DavidRBunch #JohnWyndham #MordecaiRoshwald #paperbacks #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #technology #UrsulaKLeGuin

"Kurtz gave an impression of instability - not quite a fallen angel but certainly a falling one, Lucifer on his way down"

#LunchtimeReading : continuing Bob Siverberg's Hearts of Darkness infused Downward to the Earth.

#books #livres #ScienceFiction #AmReading #RobertSilverberg #DownwardToTheEarth #Bookstodon

#LunchtimeReading : going old school with Bob Siverberg's Downward to the Earth, the July pick for the #Edinburgh SF Book Group.

Read so much Silverberg in my teens & twenties, but it's been ages since I last read him, rather enjoying it, like meeting an old friend.

#books #livres #AmReading #RobertSilverberg #ScienceFiction #bookstodon

I just remembered where I learned about the Conclave, the black smoke, the white smoke, and all that... This story that I read when I was 12. [SPOILER] An AI becomes the next Pope.

https://bcmystery.com/good-news-from-the-vatican-nebula-award-winner-by-robert-silverberg-epub-kindle-pdf/

#Conclave #RobertSilverberg #Pope #Biography #Books #HalfHeartedFanatic

When I was reading today's news regarding death of the Pope, and his potential successors it reminded me of 1971 Nebula award winner story 'Good News from the Vatican' by Robert Silverberg. The one where Robot is elected as a new Pope :)

#pope #PopeFrancis #Vatican #scifi #Silverberg #robertSilverberg #shortstory #bookcover

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Purchases No. CCCXLII (Robert Silverberg, C. L. Moore, Henry Kuttner, Peter Tate, and Thomas Burnett Swann)

Which books/covers/authors intrigue you? Which have you read? Disliked? Enjoyed?

1. Tom O’Bedlam, Robert Silverberg (1985)

• Jim Burns’ cover for the 1986 edition

From the back cover: “MESSIAH OR MADMAN? It is 2103 and Tom O’Bedlam, madman, prophet, and visionary, wanders through California, dwelling place of the last humans on a continent decimated by radioactive dust. Tom, caught up in a living vision of distant worlds ruled by godlike beings, is the herald of a new age, a herald no one wants to hear until others too begin to dream of salvation beyond the stars. Yet while many dream, only tom has the power to make the wondrous visions real, to give people the ultimate escape they desire. Across the universe they must go… if Tom is humanity’s last hope–and not its final destroyer.”

Initial Thoughts: Just rounding out my pre-1985 Silverberg collection as he’s a favorite of mine!

2. Line to Tomorrow, C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner (as Lewis Padgett) (1954)

• Mitchell Hooks’ cover for the 1st edition

Inside description: “The world of Lewis Padgett-a world where anything can happen and usually does–where the unreal is made real–the improbably made possible.

Where ordinary people do extraordinary things–where a man can own a radio that washes dishes, father a superman, or eavesdrop on a telephone conversation between people who haven’t been born.

It’s a weird, wild, but strangely real world. Once you enter it, you won’t want to leave.”

Contents: “Line to Tomorrow” (1945), “A Gnome There Was” (1950), “What You Need” (1945), “Private Eye” (1949), “The Twonky” (1942), “Compliments of the Author” (1942), “When the Bough Breaks” (1944).

Initial Thoughts: Ever since I read their collection Clash by Night and Other Stories (1980) (and the joys of the 1946 shocker “Vintage Season”) I’ve been eager to track down more of their co-written fiction. Despite my dislike of “When the Bough Breaks” (1944)…

3. How Are the Mighty Fallen, Thomas Burnett Swann (1974)

• George Barr’s cover for the 1974 edition

Back Cover: “Cyclops and sirens, halfmen and godlings… That of which myths are made and that from which worship arises–these are the materials Thomas Burnett Swann weaves together in the fantasy-historical tapestry of this new novel, which he considers to be his most important work to date.

For the author of Green Phoenix and The Forest of Forever now tells of a queen of ancient Judea who was more than human, of her son who became legend, of their cyclopean nemesis whose name became synonymous with colossus, and of loves and loyalties and combats fixed forever in the foundations of human society.

The ever-growing audience that Thomas Burnett Swann has gathered for his unique novels will find How Are the Mighty Fallen a new fantasy fiction experience.”

Initial Thoughts: I still have yet to read any of his work. I saw reference to his brand of fantasy crop up in a few articles about sexuality in SF — he seemed very open to integrating gay characters.

4. The Thinking Seat, Peter Tate (magazine 1966, novelized 1967)

• John Faragasso’s cover for the 1969 edition

From the back cover: “It is only 1973. Yet the beautiful California coast has undergone a tragic metamorphosis. Progress has arrived in the form of a large desalinization plant transforming the majestic tides into fresh water units, the rugged coastline into lush, green Edens. Most people accept the change as a necessity for survival.

Then a man named Simeon and a devoted girl disciple arrived in the coastal town of Playa 9. Simeon begins to preach against man’s subjugation of nature. Soon he becomes the prophet of a counter-culture group called the Budkins. Most of the other citizens regard him as a harmless nut… except the powerful group of men who all themselves Co-Ordinated Interest Association. For them Simeon represents an encroching [sic] menace that must be stopped.”

Initial Thoughts: Tate is a New Wave author whom I have only recently had my eyes on. I am all for SF that engages (in positive or negative ways) with the Counterculture so I hope to get to this one this year. For the Galactic Journey‘s take–here.

For book reviews consult the INDEX

For cover art posts consult the INDEX

For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX

#1950s #1960s #1980s #bookReviews #CLMoore #HenryKuttner #PeterTate #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #ThomasBurnettSwann

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XX

• A selection of read volumes from my shelves

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s the January installment of this column (sorry I missed a month).

Before John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910-1971) attempted to raise the “standards and thinking in magazine SF,” David Lasser (1902-1996) attempted his own brief (1929-1933) program to improve science fiction as managing editor of Hugo Gernsback’s Science Wonder Stories, Wonder Stories, and Wonder Stories Quarterly. According to Mike Ashley’s The Time Machine: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazine from the Beginning to 1950 (2000), Lasser is a “much neglected revolutionary in science fiction” and through his efforts the genre “started to mature” (66).

Ashley highlights Lasser’s letter of instruction mailed to his regular contributors on the 11th of May, 1931, in which he “exhorted them to bring some realism to their fiction” (72). He also outlawed common tropes like the giant insect story and space opera (73). He emphasized the need to focus on characters that “should really be human” — not everything needs to be a “world-sweeping epic” (73). Stories in this vein, according to Ashley, include Clifford D. Simak’s religiously themed “The Voice in the Void” (1932), P. Schuyler Miller and Walter Dennis’ “The Red Spot on Jupiter” (1931) and “The Duel on the Asteroid” (1974), which featured a grim realism and character development (74).

Lasser also seems like a fascinating individual. He wrote the The Conquest of Space (1931), the first “non-fiction English-language book to deal with spaceflight,” was a member Socialist Party, and was elected head of the Workers Alliance of America (a merger of the Socialist Unemployed Leagues and the Communist Unemployment Councils). He also was banned from federal employment by name in legislation passed by the U.S. Congress due to his political connections. President Jimmy Carter sent him a personal letter of apology when he was finally officially cleared as a subversive in 1980!

The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)

1. Poul Anderson’s The People of the Wind (1973). I mysteriously adored this one back in 2010… Sometimes my oldest reviews befuddle. I praised Anderson’s refusal to create “monumentally homogeneous societies” yet despaired at its moments of silly and dull battle sequences.
2. Doris Piserchia’s A Billion Days of Earth (1976). The best of Piserchia’s novels I’ve read so far. She was an original voice.
3. Philip José Farmer’s Night of Light (1966)– a fix-up of “Night of Light” (1957). I remember enjoying this Father Carmody tale despite my inability to write a review. As many know, it influenced Jimi Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze” (1967).
4. Robert Silverberg’s collection Needle in a Timestack (1966) contains one of my favorite early Silverberg tales–“The Pain Peddles” (1963).

What am I writing about?

Since my last installment, I’ve posted a review of Star Science Fiction Stories No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955) which contained three standout stories: Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), and Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955). I did not know Williamson was capable of such things. In addition, I posted short reviews of two middling (but interesting) novels: Margot Bennett’s The Long Way Back (1954) and Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964).

I compiled a rare Adventures in Science Fiction art post in order to commemorate Rodger B. MacGowan’s passing. Few know his early science-fictional work in Vertex magazine.

Continuing my general interest in science fiction on themes of sexuality and identity, I surveyed an account of the first gay and lesbian-themed SF panel at a Worldcon.

What am I reading?

Makes secret/sad noises. I’m fighting exhaustion on all fronts. I’m struggling to complete projects or stay focused. The only way I get through these spells is to refuse to make plans. This is all for fun! That said, my history reading continues to focus on the working-class experience. See Tobias Higbie’s fascinating book in the previous photo.

A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks

March 3rd: Artist Ric Binkley (1921-1968)

March 5th: Author Mike Resnick (1942-2020).

March 5th: Artist Attila Hejja (1955-2007). The master of the blues!

March 6th: Author William F. Nolan (1928-2021). Best known for Logan’s Run (1967).

March 7th: Author Leonard Daventry (1915-1987). Wrote A Man of Double Deed (1965)–which I described as a “dark and grungy tale of polyamory, telepathy, and apocalyptical violence.”

• Tadanoi Yokoo’s cover for the 1979 edition

March 7th: Kobo Abe (1924-1993). Secret Rendezvous (1977, trans. 1979) is one of my favorite SF novels of the 70s. And it received a thematically and visually perfect cover by Tadanoi Yokoo (above).

March 7th: Author Elizabeth Moon (1945-).

March 7th: Author and editor Stanley Schmidt (1944-).

March 9th: Author William F. Temple (1914-1989). Another prolific magazine author whom I’ve not read…

March 9th: Author Manly Banister (1914-1986).

March 9th: Author Pat Murphy (1955-). She left a lovely comment on my review of The Shadow Hunter (1982) recently. I need to fast track my post on her first three published short stories.

• Carlos Ochagavia’s cover for the 1979 edition of John Morressy’s Frostworld and Dreamfire (1977)

March 10th: Artist Carlos Ochagavia (1913-2006). I’ve featured his work here.

March 11th: Author F. M. Busby (1921-2005). Despite missteps like Cage a Man (1973), Busby was capable of some effective introspection — notable “If This is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy” (1974).

March 11th: Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001).

March 12th: Author Harry Harrison (1925-2012). 2025 if finally the year I get to Make Room! Make Room! (1966). Say it with me!

• Diane and Leo Dillon’s cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971)

March 13th: Artist Diane Dillon (1933-). One half of the illustrious art partnership of the 60s/70s/80s! Diane created fantastic cover art with her husband Leo. I’m particularly partial to their cover for Suzette Haden Elgin’s Furthest (1971) (above).

March 13th: Author William F. Wu (1951-). With his short stories of the late 70s, Wu is one of the earlier Asian-American SF authors. I need to read his work.

March 14th: Author Mildred Clingerman (1918-1997). Another hole in my SF knowledge… I own her collection A Cupful of Space (1961).

March 16th: Artist Chris Foss (1946-). As I say every year as the fans circle… He’s iconic. He spawned a lot of clones. People love him. He’s not for me.

March 16th: Author P. C. Hodgell (1951-). God Stalk (1982) is supposed to be bizarre.

March 16th: Artist James Warhola (1955-). Best known for his cover for the 1st edition of Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984).

March 17th: James Morrow (1947-).

March 17th: William Gibson (1948-). Very much an author of my youth — I devoured Neuromancer (1984), Virtual Light (1993), Idoru (1996), All Tomorrow’s Parties (1999), Count Zero (1986), the stories in Burning Chrome (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). I haven’t returned to his work in almost two decades.

For book reviews consult the INDEX

For cover art posts consult the INDEX

For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX

#1950s #1960s #1970s #avantGarde #bookReviews #books #dorisPiserchia #fantasy #fiction #paperbacks #PhilipJoséFarmer #poulAnderson #RobertSilverberg #sciFi #scienceFiction #technology

Please BOOST!
SPECIAL COLLECTORS EDITION of Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30986258090
or see the full collection here:
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#Literature
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#books
#bookstodon
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#RobertSilverberg
#RichardDErlich

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Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg is a haunting sci-fi novel about a telepath whose powers are fading. Unlike typical telepath stories, it explores the burden of mind-reading rather than the adventure. Though nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, it didn't win—but remains a cult classic of psychological sci-fi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_Inside
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AT WINTER'S END (1988)
Acrylic on Watercolor Board - 32" x 20"

What could I possibly say about an author who has earned 5 Nebula Awards and has been recognized as a Grand Master of the genre? I have yet to read a Robert Silverberg novel that I didn't like. I have the highest respect for him. 1/3

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #sff #illustration #robertsilverberg

Please BOOST!
SPECIAL SIGNED FIRST COLLECTORS EDITION of The Mountains of Majipoor by Robert Silverberg
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30986256092
or see the full collection here:
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The Mountains of Majipoor by Robert Silverberg, (1995) is part of his vast Majipoor series, blending sci-fi and fantasy. It follows Prince Harpirias, sent to negotiate with mysterious mountain-dwelling barbarians. The novel explores themes of diplomacy, cultural conflict, and personal growth, adding depth to Silverberg’s richly imagined universe
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/252973.The_Mountains_of_Majipoor
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Robert Silverberg - Le chemin de l'espace.

Un roman de science-fiction exemplaire...

https://www.actusf.com/detail-d-un-article/robert-silverberg-le-chemin-de-lespace

#sciencefiction #RobertSilverberg

Reçu ce matin
#robertsilverberg
#galaxies #sciencefiction #sf #alainlebussy @PierreGévart #pierregévart

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XIX

• A selection of read volumes from my shelves

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read this month? Here’s the December installment of this column.

Lost texts, and the act of reconstructing the fragments, fascinates. The questions pile up. Would the contents reveal a pattern in an author’s work? Intriguing personal details? A startling modus operandi? At the 11th World Science Fiction Convention (Philcon 2), Philadelphia (September 1953), Philip José Farmer gave a speech titled “SF and the Kinsey Report.” Considering Farmer’s recent publication of “The Lovers” (1952), this is not surprising. Alfred Kinsey, the famous sexologist and founder of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction on Indiana University’s campus, published his controversial Sexual Behavior in the Human Male in 1948. Sexual Behavior in the Human Female appeared in 1953. Like many of Farmer’s earliest speeches, he did not keep copies.

Deeply intrigued by what the speech might have contained, Sanstone and I (on Bluesky) managed to piece together a few general responses from fanzines and magazine con reports.

1) In the December 1953 issue of the fanzine Nite Cry, Earl Kemp wrote: “Then it came. Sex reared it’s [sic] wonderfully compatible head. SF AND THE KINSEY REPORT, a very interesting report on the works of the good Dr.’s Kinsey, Pomeroy, etc. delivered by Phillip Farmer [sic]. Very well handled tark, regardless of the absence of SF, by a very sincere individual. He was somewhat embarrassed, at the conclusion of his talk, as were most of the delegates, when some fan, after securing the floor mike, praised the speech a little too highly for comfort.”

2) In the November 1953 issue of the UK magazine Authentic Science Fiction, the editor H. J. Campbell briefly states: “among other first-rate and informative speakers was Philip Jose Farmer on ‘SF and the Kinsey Report,’ a serious and thoughtful study which was well appreciated by the audience.”

3) Robert A. Madle’s report in the March 1954 issue of Future Science Fiction wrote: “[Farmer’s] talk, ]SF and the Kinsey Report,] was quite unusual — to say the least! Farmer, in addition to indicating that he was one of Kinsey’s’ statistics, delved into a subject which isn’t the ordinary Sunday morning, pre-breakfast fare.” I’d love to know what Farmer meant by “he was one of Kinsey’s statistics.”

4) Milt Rothman’s Philcon II Reminiscence recalls: “Among scheduled talks were “The Future of Love,” by Irvin Heyne, and “SF and the Kinsey Report,” by Philip José Farmer, author of “The Lovers.” At that time heterosexuality was just coming out of the closet.” No other details are provided.

5) Dave Kyle’s article in Mimosa on Sex in Fandom describes the speech, along with many other tangents, as follows: “Maybe sf fans invented the 1960s in the 1950s. (Although I must say that, whatever the excesses, the only drug prevalent to a minor extent was alcohol.) By 1953, women were now a fixture in the sf firmament. Bea, Katherine MacLean, and the two Evelyns had a panel at Philcon II and there were talks on “The Future of Love” by Irvin Heyne and “SF and the Kinsey Report” by Philip José Farmer. Phil Farmer really broke the sex barrier in sf, and Kate MacLean was an unabashed advocate of “free love” and took explicit photos with Charlie Dye.”

If you know of more references, let me know if the comments.

And let me know what pre-1985 science fiction you’ve been reading!

The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)

1. I often think back to John Shirley’s fascinating City Come A-Walkin’ (1980). While I struggled to get behind the barebones plot, the vibrancy of the world, the positive take on urban subculture, and the sense and feel of the descriptions made it a heady brew. Inspired by a commenter, I procured a copy of Richard Sennett’s The Uses of Disorder: personal Identity and City Life (1970).
2. Katherine MacLean’s Nebula-nominated Missing Man (1975) ranks high on my shortlist of unknown masterpieces. She won the Nebula for the novella “The Missing Man” (1971), that later became the first part of the novel.
3. World’s Best Science Fiction: 1967, ed. Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (1967) contains a large number of gems–PKD’s “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” (1966), Bob Shaw’s “Light of Other Days” (1966), Roger Zelazny’s “The Keys of December” (1966), R. A. Lafferty’s “Nine Hundred Grandmothers” (1966), and Michael Moorcock’s “Behold the Man” (1966).
4. Robert Silverberg’s Downward to the Earth (1970) is one of his best novels.

What am I writing about?

On January 1st, I posted a review of Future Power, ed. Jack Dann and Darner Dozois (1976) — it contained many of my best 20 short stories read in 2024. If you missed it, definitely check out my Best Reads of 2024 post. I also posted reviews of Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959) and James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972) recently for my series on subversive takes on “space agencies, astronauts, and the culture which produced them.”

As for future projects, I find I’m more likely to complete them if I keep the specifics under wraps. As always, I have grand plans and limited time due to my exhausting profession.

What am I reading?

As Barry N. Malzberg recently passed away, I thought I read a few of his novels that I’ve missed. I reviewed Malzberg last in 2021. Hopefully, more novel reviewed will be posted in 2025 than previous, often sparse, novel-reading years.

I also plan on reading De Witt Douglas Kilgore’s monograph above.

A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks

January 11th: Jerome Bixby (1923-1998)

January 11th: Terry Goodkind (1948-2020). As a teenager, I was obsessed with bloated fantasy sequences (Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, Stephen Donaldson, etc.). I thought Goodkind would be the perfect addition to my addiction. I tried at least three times to tackle Wizard’s First Rule (1994), the first book in the Sword of Truth Universe, but never got more than a 100 pages in.

January 12th: Jack London (1876-1916). I must confess, I’m utterly ignorant of his SF works like The Iron Heel (1907). My father read The Call of the Wild (1903) to me as a kid.

January 13th: Jody Scott (1923-2007). I should feature her in my first three published stories by female SF authors I should know about. Her noel Passing for Human (1977) judges me from the shelf.

January 13th: Ron Goulart (1933-2022). I have not been impressed with his brand of satire. See my review of After Things Fell Apart (1970).

January 14th: Kenneth Bulmer (1921-2005).

• Frank Kelly Freas’ cover for the 1974 edition of Joseph Green’s Conscience Interplanetary (1972)

January 14th: Joseph Green (1931-). He must rank amongst the oldest SF authors still alive… I have not read any of his work.

January 15th: Robert Silverberg (1935-). An absolute favorite of mine! I’ve reviewed 46 of his short stories and twelve of his novels. I’ve also read but never reviewed A Time of Changes (1971), the stories in Capricorn Games (1976), and Tower of Glass (1970). The Man in the Maze (1969) and The Second Trip (serialized: 1971) might be his most underrated novels.

January 16th: Christine Brooke-Rose (1923-2012) is an author of experimental SF-adjacent works (and a YA SF volume or two). I acquired one of the latter Xorandor (1986), a few months ago. I’d love a copy of her early novel Out (1964)–SF Encyclopedia’s description: a SF novel “set after World War Three in a Post-Holocaust Afro-Eurasia where the colour barrier has been reversed, ostensibly for medical reasons, as only the ‘Colourless’ seem to be fatally afflicted by a form of radiation poisoning.”

January 17th: Paul O. Williams (1935-2009).

January 18th: Arno Schmidt (1914-1979). I tried to read The Egghead Republic: A Short Novel from the Horse Latitudes (1957, trans. 1979) at one point.

January 18th: Artist Eddie Jones (1935-1999). A British artist who contributed an immense number of covers for German SF presses.

January 18th: Clare Winger Harris (1891-1968). I acquired her collection (published after she had stopped writing), Away from Here and Now (1947), a while back. To the best of my knowledge it’s the first collection by a female SF author who appeared in genre magazines ever published.

January 19th: Margot Bennett (1912-1980). I finished Bennett’s The Long Way Back (1954) recently. Stay tuned for my thoughts.

January 19th: George MacBeth (1932-1992).

• Victor Kalin’s cover for the 1st edition of Theodore Sturgeon’s Venus Plus X (1960)

January 19th: Artist Victor Kalin (1919-1991).

January 20th: Author Nancy Kress (1948-). Another one of my favorites! “Talp Hunt” (1982) is a killer of a short story. I also reviewed her first three published short stories–“The Earth Dwellers” (1976), “A Delicate Shape of Kipney” (1978), and “And Whether Pigs Have Wings” (1979).

January 21st: Peter Phillips (1920-2012). I’ve promised myself I’d get to his fiction for years. I’m looking at you “Dreams Are Sacred” (1948)!

January 21st: Judith Merril (1923-1997). My most recent Merril review: Survival Ship and Other Stories (1974).

January 21st: Gina Berriault (1926-1999). Author of one intriguing SF novel of fallout shelters and paranoia–The Descent (1960).

January 21st: Charles Eric Maine (1921-1981).

January 22nd: Robert E. Howard (1906-1936).

January 22nd: Katherine MacLean (1925-2019). As mentioned above, her Nebula-nominated novel Missing Missing Man (1975) is one of the great unknown SF noels.

• Ray Feibush’s cover for the 1974 UK edition of George Zebrowski’s The Omega Point (1972)

January 22nd: Artist Ray Feibush (1948-1998).

January 23rd: Helen M. Urban (1915-2003). Another author I should feature in my series on the first three published short stories by female authors I want to learn more about.

January 23rd: Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1923-1996). A favorite of mine! If you’re new to his non-A Canticle for Leibowitz stories, check out “Death of a Spaceman” (variant title: “Memento Homo”) (1954).

January 23rd: Artists Tim Hildebrandt (1939-2006) and Greg Hildebrandt (1939-2024).

January 24th: C. L. Moore (1911-1987). I recently enjoyed her collection of co-written stories (with her husband Henry Kuttner) Clash by Night and Other Stories (1980).

January 24th: Gary K. Wolf (1941-). Killerbowl (1979) is almost a 70s SF classic.

January 24th: David Gerrold (1944-). I thoroughly enjoyed Moonstar Odyssey (1977).

• Douglas Chaffee’s cover art detail for the October 1968 issue of Galaxy Magazine

January 24th: Artist Douglas Chaffee (1936-2011).

January 24th: René Barjavel (1911-1985).

January 25th: Pauline Ashwell (1926-2015). Best known for her early short story Hugo-nominated “Unwillingly to School” (1958). I’ve reviewed Nebula-nominated “The Wings of a Bat” (1966).

For book reviews consult the INDEX

For cover art posts consult the INDEX

For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX

#1950s #1960s #1970s #39 #bookReview #bookReviews #books #fiction #JamesWhite #JohnShirley #KatherineMacLean #paperbacks #PhilipJoséFarmer #philipKDick #RobertSilverberg #RogerZelazny #sciFi #scienceFiction

HOT SKY AT MIDNIGHT (1994)
Acrylic - 30" x 40"

Sometimes in the preliminary stages of an illustration I'll hit upon concepts that I find compelling but for whatever reason don't get the opportunity to explore. 1/4

#sciencefiction #scifi #scifiart #illustration #robertsilverberg

Rocznice:
»90 urodziny Roberta Silverberga«

Amerykański pisarz i redaktor Robert Silverberg przyszedł na świat 15 stycznia 1935 roku w Nowym Jorku.

https://www.fahrenheit.net.pl/aktualnosci/rocznice/90-urodziny-roberta-silverberga/

#Fahrenheit_zin #RobertSilverberg #GorgonPlanet #RevoltonAplhaC #pisarz #Fanmag

The genesis of #RobertSilverberg's exoplanet #Majipoor.
#Bookstodon
https://wp.me/sezD85-majip

Citation du soir :

« Son royaume était considérable. La totalité de la Terre en fait, de pôle à pôle, de méridien en méridien. Le monde entier, pour ce qu'il valait. Et il ne valait pas grand-chose. »

Robert Silverberg, Les déportés du Cambrien (Hawksbill station)

#citation #sciencefiction #RobertSilverberg