How did you like this, Delta? It's a terrific title at least.
(I'm reading an Ellison book presently, as it happens, though this post-dates the book I'm reading).
Reading Around in Old SF Magazines
- Thread starter Bick
- Start date
(I'm reading an Ellison book presently, as it happens, though this post-dates the book I'm reading).
2DaveWixon
Shocked and Appalled!
I just found this thread (2020 was a really bad year for me!), and Extollager's comment (which was in response to BigBadBob's story about the survivors of a collector, who boasted of having burned his magazine collection..., and was reminded of a somewhat opposite story, that I heard back in the seventies -- the story I heard was that someone refurbishing an old, wooden garage in Minneapolis removed some wall paneling -- to find a bunch of ancient pulp mags (I never heard exactly how many...) that were apparently laid in between the studs to provide insulation in Minnesota winters...
2DaveWixon
Shocked and Appalled!
I cannot answer your question, but I hope you'll forgive me if I mention something of which your question reminded me: Years ago, Galaxy purchased a new Clifford Simak novel, Destiny Doll. Galaxy was starting a new publication, to be called Worlds of Fantasy, which was to be edited by Lester del Rey; and they bought Destiny Doll with the intention of running it as a three-part serial. But Lester, early on, realized that the new magazine was not going to survive more than a couple of issues, which would not be long enough to get all three segments into print; and he asked Cliff to condense the novel in order to get it into a single issue...
As Cliff would later report it, he hated to do that. He said he spent a lot of time trying to decide whether he should just pull the story away from Lester, which would require him to repay the advance...
He finally decided to agree to Lester's request, he said, because he was in a situation where he needed the money.
Later, Cliff would admit to being chagrined when the cut version of the story was nominated for a Nebula...
I will add that this may shed some light on any diminution in the number of serials: it may be a reflection of the fragility of the science fiction magazine as an entity. The history of the early sf mags is filled with stories of mags dying on very short notice (and sometimes struggling to come back).
Analog August 1978
I Put My Blue Genes On by Orson Scott Card
The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge by Harlan Ellison.
I found both of these short stories a little on the grim side, but for different reasons.
I Put My Blue Genes On by Orson Scott Card
The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge by Harlan Ellison.
I found both of these short stories a little on the grim side, but for different reasons.
In I Put My Blue Genes On, a mission from three colonies established centuries earlier returns to Earth. They find that the entire surface of the Earth is covered by a biological mass that has killed all other life...except for a single location in Utah. Landing, they find the last holdout in the great war against the Commies. A biological warfare facility. However, not only have the inhabitants been continuously releasing newer and deadlier agents in their ongoing war (they are unaware that the Soviets have long since perished), they have also heavily modified their own bodies to the point that their "descendants" are blobs of biological material.
The mission leaves Earth, noting that no human life was found. We learn at the end of the story that the mission took place some time previously, and that now two of the colonies are engaged in a nuclear war. The narrator states that "if anything survives the war, it sure as hell won't look like anything we call human now". Similar to what they had found on Earth.
It appears that humanity refuses to learn from the past, and is thus ready to commit the same deadly errors in the future.
The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge turns out not to be a man, but the accumulated emotional gestalt of humanity that occasionally discharges its wrath through the weakest link, whatever human whose rage at that moment is that potent. In this case, Fred Tolliver, the innocent victim of builder cowboy William Weisel. (And if anyone has watched those TV shows on bad builders, you get the picture). Weisel, of course, won't reimburse Tolliver or fix up the botched reno ... and suffers the consequences. His life is destroyed as the "gestalt" takes revenge.
Sadly, poor Tolliver, a musician with poor health and much diminished resources (and now with a damaged home) in turn becomes the victim of revenge. He was supposed to repair a violin for Evelyn Hand and was overdue in getting it done (due to all of his problems with Weisel). Now Hand has missed a recital and, full of fire and fury, seeks vengeance. Tolliver realizes that his life is being destroyed and that there is little he can do about it.
The story balances Weisel getting his just deserts (Ellison even has Weisel as a former Nazi concentration guard) with the disquieting counterpoint that innocent people (in this case Tolliver) can fall victim to forces beyond their control.
The mission leaves Earth, noting that no human life was found. We learn at the end of the story that the mission took place some time previously, and that now two of the colonies are engaged in a nuclear war. The narrator states that "if anything survives the war, it sure as hell won't look like anything we call human now". Similar to what they had found on Earth.
It appears that humanity refuses to learn from the past, and is thus ready to commit the same deadly errors in the future.
The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge turns out not to be a man, but the accumulated emotional gestalt of humanity that occasionally discharges its wrath through the weakest link, whatever human whose rage at that moment is that potent. In this case, Fred Tolliver, the innocent victim of builder cowboy William Weisel. (And if anyone has watched those TV shows on bad builders, you get the picture). Weisel, of course, won't reimburse Tolliver or fix up the botched reno ... and suffers the consequences. His life is destroyed as the "gestalt" takes revenge.
Sadly, poor Tolliver, a musician with poor health and much diminished resources (and now with a damaged home) in turn becomes the victim of revenge. He was supposed to repair a violin for Evelyn Hand and was overdue in getting it done (due to all of his problems with Weisel). Now Hand has missed a recital and, full of fire and fury, seeks vengeance. Tolliver realizes that his life is being destroyed and that there is little he can do about it.
The story balances Weisel getting his just deserts (Ellison even has Weisel as a former Nazi concentration guard) with the disquieting counterpoint that innocent people (in this case Tolliver) can fall victim to forces beyond their control.
September 1978
A new serial starts this month: Stardance II by Spider and Jeanne Robinson. This is the sequel to their award-winning story Stardance.
There are also two novelettes:
Banzai by Dean Ing. A plague has swept human life from Earth, and only the crew of a space station is left alive in the entire solar system. They discover something odd on the small Pacific island of Guam, and a small expedition lands to investigate. Discussed below.
Starswarmer by Gregory Benford. This story appeared in the June issue of Analog and apparently was cut in half by mistake and only the first half published as a short story. On an alien world, Qath'jutt'kkal'thon is part of a project to remove the core energy from a planet. After the accidental death of a close friend, Qath has doubts about her race's purpose in life.
The short story is Stalking the Time Lines by Kevin O'Donnell, jr.
The Science Fact is Skyquakes, Earthlights and E.M. Fields. The articles discusses a proposed link between various atmospheric phenomena and possible electromagnetic fields caused by rock masses moving during earthquakes.
A new article appears this month: State of the Art. This is to be an occasional feature looking at the state of science fiction. This initial article is The Morasses of Academe Revisited and discusses the scholarship of science fiction.
The introduction to his new feature declares that it has been a long-standing policy to not publish articles about science fiction itself (ideas, writers, techniques, etc.) in Analog. <A statement that really surprised me. I know that Analog could not compete with Locus but, still, if it limited itself to hard SF, why not?> But it goes on to say that, due to popular demand, Analog will now occasionally run this feature.
Unfortunately, if they are all like this first one, by Lloyd Biggle jr, it won't last long. Biggle looks at a couple of scholarly articles on SF and goes on and on and on about one that criticizes linguistics in SF stories. I didn't finish the article.
Issue Notes
There is an ad for Black Hole Disposal Units made by Nothingness Unlimited. "For bathroom, kitchen, everywhere!" Get yours today!...Spider Robinson takes the wheel of The Reference Library in this issue, and has high marks for The Persistence of Vision by John Varley, Study War No More edited by Joe Haldeman, and The Genesis Machine by James P. Hogan. The March short story To Keep and Bear Arms sure fired up the letter writers in this issue. And one writer praises Janet Aulisio's drawing in The Broken Dome (and I agree).
A new serial starts this month: Stardance II by Spider and Jeanne Robinson. This is the sequel to their award-winning story Stardance.
There are also two novelettes:
Banzai by Dean Ing. A plague has swept human life from Earth, and only the crew of a space station is left alive in the entire solar system. They discover something odd on the small Pacific island of Guam, and a small expedition lands to investigate. Discussed below.
Starswarmer by Gregory Benford. This story appeared in the June issue of Analog and apparently was cut in half by mistake and only the first half published as a short story. On an alien world, Qath'jutt'kkal'thon is part of a project to remove the core energy from a planet. After the accidental death of a close friend, Qath has doubts about her race's purpose in life.
A virus has killed every single human and anthropoid in the entire solar system, except for a thousand or so people on Grissom Base. Odd infrared readings appear to indicate someone ... or something ... has survived on Guam. Grissom sends a shuttle to land on Guam, carrying pilot Huaser, medic Evans and linguist Moi. Unfortunately the shuttle crash lands on the airstrip and a sizable amount of their supplies are destroyed. All three must stay in their suits as the virus is still active.
Carrying on with the mission, Hauser and Evans fly a stealth plane that was on the military base. Going over the area where the readings detected activity, they sow a large number of active sensors and spy cameras in the area. Back at the base, Moi manages to cross-thread a pipe and causes the loss of most of their oxygen. Now they only have nine days of food and ten days of air. They travel in the direction of the readings, and arrive at a golf course. They take over a hut, and use one of the fairways as a landing strip.
Next day their sensors do indeed find a survivor, an older Japanese man living the life of a primitive in the middle of the jungle. Sure that he is a hideout from world war two, they track him to his cave. That evening the man heads out to the bay. Hauser is in the spy plane, and Evans is trying to follow using an electric golf cart which gets stuck. Moi is sent out from their base camp to try and spot what the man is doing. Unfortunately, just after she reaches the cliff edge, she slips and falls down right in front of the man (breaking the IR scope in the process). However, instead of fleeing, the man bows down to Moi. In their brief conversation (Moi speaks Japanese), the man, Shigeo, calls Moi a goddess. He then disappears into the jungle.
The following day Moi goes to the man's cave. During a short, somewhat puzzling conversation in which Moi pretends to be a goddess, they learn that Shigeo is apparently over four hundred years old. And that he fell ill recently when he was away from his cave for several days. Moi then tranquilizes Shigeo. Evans arrives and does a biopsy on Shigeo while Moi into his cave and takes samples of his food.
That night, Evans takes a big risk. He stops using their oxygen and goes on filtered air, much to Hauser's anger. Evans wants to stretch their oxygen supply as well as test the filters. Next morning, Hauser goes on a recon flight. As he comes in to land, Evans has an accident with a cart and is left stunned in the middle of the fairway. Hauser tries to abort the landing, but crashes the plane and is killed. Then Evans falls sick with the plague; the air filters did not work.
Shigeo had contact with Portuguese Catholic priests and had adopted some of their beliefs. In their conversation at the cave, he had said that he had wanted to see a Catholic priest. Now, in an effort to get Shigeo to possibly help Evans, Moi dresses Evans up as a priest, and brings Shigeo to him, explaining to Shigeo that he can get absolution but the priest is ill and also needs Shigeo's help. Although Evans grants Shigeo's wish, the herbs do not appear to work. Moi gives an injection to Evans to help with the pain, but gets the needles mixed up and instead gives him a fatal dose. Just before he dies, Evans takes Moi's hand "Ego te absolvo," he said. "He's gone now." The gentlest of squeezes. "I know. That was for you, love." And dies.
After a typhoon blows across the island, Moi finds Shigeo far from his cave, in an old Catholic church, praying. She believes that, having received absolution, Shigeo is thinking of suicide. Knowing that she only has a few days of oxygen left, Moi takes a big risk. She tells Shigeo that she wants to become his wife. Living with him is her only hope of survival. Shigeo accepts, Moi removes her survival suit, and the two of them return to the cave. Both of them fall ill, but recover. Moi thinks the radio still works on the shuttle, and the story ends with her wondering what effect her discoveries will have on her, Shigeo and the people on Grissom.
I'm not sure what the state of knowledge was in 1978 on viruses, but according to all that I have read, they can't stay active for more than a few months. As the story takes place over a year after the plague killed everyone, there would be no need for oxygen and a major plot point no longer works. Plus, I'm not sure what the point was in having Shigeo being over four hundred years old, nor about the idea that the cave gave him long-lasting life. So in spite of having a klutz as a protagonist (a nice change from all of the super-competent characters that seem to inhabit SF), the story fails, at least for me.
Carrying on with the mission, Hauser and Evans fly a stealth plane that was on the military base. Going over the area where the readings detected activity, they sow a large number of active sensors and spy cameras in the area. Back at the base, Moi manages to cross-thread a pipe and causes the loss of most of their oxygen. Now they only have nine days of food and ten days of air. They travel in the direction of the readings, and arrive at a golf course. They take over a hut, and use one of the fairways as a landing strip.
Next day their sensors do indeed find a survivor, an older Japanese man living the life of a primitive in the middle of the jungle. Sure that he is a hideout from world war two, they track him to his cave. That evening the man heads out to the bay. Hauser is in the spy plane, and Evans is trying to follow using an electric golf cart which gets stuck. Moi is sent out from their base camp to try and spot what the man is doing. Unfortunately, just after she reaches the cliff edge, she slips and falls down right in front of the man (breaking the IR scope in the process). However, instead of fleeing, the man bows down to Moi. In their brief conversation (Moi speaks Japanese), the man, Shigeo, calls Moi a goddess. He then disappears into the jungle.
The following day Moi goes to the man's cave. During a short, somewhat puzzling conversation in which Moi pretends to be a goddess, they learn that Shigeo is apparently over four hundred years old. And that he fell ill recently when he was away from his cave for several days. Moi then tranquilizes Shigeo. Evans arrives and does a biopsy on Shigeo while Moi into his cave and takes samples of his food.
That night, Evans takes a big risk. He stops using their oxygen and goes on filtered air, much to Hauser's anger. Evans wants to stretch their oxygen supply as well as test the filters. Next morning, Hauser goes on a recon flight. As he comes in to land, Evans has an accident with a cart and is left stunned in the middle of the fairway. Hauser tries to abort the landing, but crashes the plane and is killed. Then Evans falls sick with the plague; the air filters did not work.
Shigeo had contact with Portuguese Catholic priests and had adopted some of their beliefs. In their conversation at the cave, he had said that he had wanted to see a Catholic priest. Now, in an effort to get Shigeo to possibly help Evans, Moi dresses Evans up as a priest, and brings Shigeo to him, explaining to Shigeo that he can get absolution but the priest is ill and also needs Shigeo's help. Although Evans grants Shigeo's wish, the herbs do not appear to work. Moi gives an injection to Evans to help with the pain, but gets the needles mixed up and instead gives him a fatal dose. Just before he dies, Evans takes Moi's hand "Ego te absolvo," he said. "He's gone now." The gentlest of squeezes. "I know. That was for you, love." And dies.
After a typhoon blows across the island, Moi finds Shigeo far from his cave, in an old Catholic church, praying. She believes that, having received absolution, Shigeo is thinking of suicide. Knowing that she only has a few days of oxygen left, Moi takes a big risk. She tells Shigeo that she wants to become his wife. Living with him is her only hope of survival. Shigeo accepts, Moi removes her survival suit, and the two of them return to the cave. Both of them fall ill, but recover. Moi thinks the radio still works on the shuttle, and the story ends with her wondering what effect her discoveries will have on her, Shigeo and the people on Grissom.
I'm not sure what the state of knowledge was in 1978 on viruses, but according to all that I have read, they can't stay active for more than a few months. As the story takes place over a year after the plague killed everyone, there would be no need for oxygen and a major plot point no longer works. Plus, I'm not sure what the point was in having Shigeo being over four hundred years old, nor about the idea that the cave gave him long-lasting life. So in spite of having a klutz as a protagonist (a nice change from all of the super-competent characters that seem to inhabit SF), the story fails, at least for me.
The short story is Stalking the Time Lines by Kevin O'Donnell, jr.
The Science Fact is Skyquakes, Earthlights and E.M. Fields. The articles discusses a proposed link between various atmospheric phenomena and possible electromagnetic fields caused by rock masses moving during earthquakes.
A new article appears this month: State of the Art. This is to be an occasional feature looking at the state of science fiction. This initial article is The Morasses of Academe Revisited and discusses the scholarship of science fiction.
The introduction to his new feature declares that it has been a long-standing policy to not publish articles about science fiction itself (ideas, writers, techniques, etc.) in Analog. <A statement that really surprised me. I know that Analog could not compete with Locus but, still, if it limited itself to hard SF, why not?> But it goes on to say that, due to popular demand, Analog will now occasionally run this feature.
Unfortunately, if they are all like this first one, by Lloyd Biggle jr, it won't last long. Biggle looks at a couple of scholarly articles on SF and goes on and on and on about one that criticizes linguistics in SF stories. I didn't finish the article.
Issue Notes
There is an ad for Black Hole Disposal Units made by Nothingness Unlimited. "For bathroom, kitchen, everywhere!" Get yours today!...Spider Robinson takes the wheel of The Reference Library in this issue, and has high marks for The Persistence of Vision by John Varley, Study War No More edited by Joe Haldeman, and The Genesis Machine by James P. Hogan. The March short story To Keep and Bear Arms sure fired up the letter writers in this issue. And one writer praises Janet Aulisio's drawing in The Broken Dome (and I agree).
October 1978
The serial Stardance II by Spider and Jeanne Robinson continues this month with part two.
The two novelettes are:
The Wind from a Burning Woman by Greg Bear. A rebel's grand-daughter takes over an abandoned asteroid complex and sends it on a collision course with Earth. She demands that the government release all of the classified information on the asteroid ... which has a dark secret ... or else she will let the asteroid impact Earth. Discussed below.
Swanilda's Song by Frederik Pohl. A fading opera star is sent to the planet Medea to help interpret the singing language of one of the two sentient species. Deceived by a fake signal, she and the crew land in the middle of a faction of genetically-altered aliens ... who have sinister plans for both Medea and Earth.
The short stories are Art Thou Mathematics by Charles Mobbs, Lifeloop by Orson Scott Card, Varieties of Technological Experience by Barry Malzberg, and Lost and Found by Phyllis Eisenstein.
Lifeloop is an uncanny foreshadowing of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and similar reality shows.
Science Fact is An Idea for Energy. It looks at solar power satellites. Coincidently, this article popped up in my inbox this week:
Caltech Space Based Solar Power Cubesat Demo Flying December 2021 | NextBigFuture.com
One thing that I have noticed is how many of these Science Fact articles of 1978 propose technologies that are still nowhere close to being field-ready. Over forty years later.
Issue Notes
Swanilda's Song is the first of several stories in Analog based on a world Harlan Ellison proposed in a 1975 workshop. Other authors completed the creative development of Medea. Apparently these stories were all then compiled in an anthology: Medea: Harlan's World... Biolog is on Frederik Pohl...Edmund Scientific has an ad for their free 164-page catalog. I had a look at the history of this company on Wikipedia. It's still around although the focus has changed over a couple of corporate restructurings...speaking of magazines of the past, Starlog has an ad in this issue. Like The Space Gamer, there is an internet archive of all the issues...Rounding off the magazine ads is Heavy Metal...Thomas Easton pops up in this month's The Reference Library. He reviews a non-fiction book In His Image: The Cloning of a Man by David Rorvik....all of the letters in Brass Tacks discuss the April letter about personal computers. One writer states that personal computers are not the model railroads of the future, but rather the automobile of the future, "as far as social impact is concerned". Interesting to read the various applications of computers that the letter writers propose ... many of which, unlike the above-mentioned Science Fact articles, are now reality.
The serial Stardance II by Spider and Jeanne Robinson continues this month with part two.
The two novelettes are:
The Wind from a Burning Woman by Greg Bear. A rebel's grand-daughter takes over an abandoned asteroid complex and sends it on a collision course with Earth. She demands that the government release all of the classified information on the asteroid ... which has a dark secret ... or else she will let the asteroid impact Earth. Discussed below.
Swanilda's Song by Frederik Pohl. A fading opera star is sent to the planet Medea to help interpret the singing language of one of the two sentient species. Deceived by a fake signal, she and the crew land in the middle of a faction of genetically-altered aliens ... who have sinister plans for both Medea and Earth.
In the future, human society is divided into two classes: the rulers (Naderites) and the scientists & technicians (Geshels). Although the Moon is inhabited by a human faction with a certain amount of independence from Earth, there are no other colonies. The asteroid Psyche had been created as an interstellar vessel and moved into Moon orbit. It was then abandoned after a plague broke out, killing all of the station's inhabitants. After that, Earth government withdrew all of its resources back to Earth.
Giani Turco has discovered that the colonists had been killed by psychotropic drugs released into the station's atmosphere. She secretly travels to Psyche and takes over the abandoned base. Abandoned but still operational. Firing its jets, she sets Psyche on an impact course to Earth, then broadcasts her demands. First, she will speak only to Farmer Kollert, advisor to the North American Hexamon, and the man responsible for the Psyche sabotage . Once in touch with him, she states that the world government must release all of the classified information on the asteroid project, including how it sabotaged the station. Or else she will let the asteroid impact Earth.
This is also a personal vendetta for Turco. Her grandfather was one of the designers of the station, and died on-board. The Hexamon had portrayed the crew as having been driven mad by the lack of gravity and by space sickness, and that her grandfather had become a crazed rebel. Her father had been discredited and driven to suicide.
Kollert stalls, and the Hegemon comes up with a plan. A ship is launched with a bomb to intercept Psyche. It will first activate powerful explosive charges that were originally left in Psyche to make propulsion chambers, charges that can now be used to nudge Psyche away from Earth intercept. If these charges are not enough, the ship has a very large bomb that can be detonated to finish the job. This "plan B" would be a suicide mission for the ship's pilot, William Porter.
Negotiations with the Hegemon go nowhere. Porter tries to reason with Turco, without any success either. The clock ticks down. Turco realizes that the Earth authorities are not going to back down. She decides to go outside to watch the stars for awhile ... and can't get back into the control station. The power to the hatch has failed. She is locked outside. Meanwhile on Earth, news of the asteroid has leaked out. There are riots. Kollert and all of those involved in the Psyche plot are to be purged. Having no other choice, Porter activates the charges. They are not enough to push Psyche out of an impact course.
The explosions opened the hatch and Turco manages to get back to the control room. Porter puts his ship into the main crater, where the drive motors are located, and detonates his cargo. The blast shifts Psyche enough that it just grazes Earth's atmosphere. Psyche begins to break up as it leaves the Earth behind. Turco wants to hear her father tell her that she is absolved. Instead she hears him say "You've destroyed everything we worked for - a fine architect of Pyrrhic victories". A chunk of debris then obliterates the control room.
A story that plays on the conflict between idealism and realism., and the darkness that can touch both. The Psyche project was sabotaged due to political concerns about the Moon. Particle drivers were to be built to propel Psyche out into interstellar space ... drivers that could also be converted to weapons, trained on Earth. Kill the Psyche project (and literally eliminate its supporters), and then no need for the drivers. Turco is a mix of naiveté and idealism, willing to commit mass murder in her cause. Porter is the voice of balance, for example, telling Turco that even if the Earth government releases all of the information, they will simply deny it afterwards, saying that it was manufactured under pressure. Turco doesn't listen. In the end, the decision is taken out of her hands when she is locked outside.
The title is taken from the poem "Postcards to Athena" by Michael Bishop.
Giani Turco has discovered that the colonists had been killed by psychotropic drugs released into the station's atmosphere. She secretly travels to Psyche and takes over the abandoned base. Abandoned but still operational. Firing its jets, she sets Psyche on an impact course to Earth, then broadcasts her demands. First, she will speak only to Farmer Kollert, advisor to the North American Hexamon, and the man responsible for the Psyche sabotage . Once in touch with him, she states that the world government must release all of the classified information on the asteroid project, including how it sabotaged the station. Or else she will let the asteroid impact Earth.
This is also a personal vendetta for Turco. Her grandfather was one of the designers of the station, and died on-board. The Hexamon had portrayed the crew as having been driven mad by the lack of gravity and by space sickness, and that her grandfather had become a crazed rebel. Her father had been discredited and driven to suicide.
Kollert stalls, and the Hegemon comes up with a plan. A ship is launched with a bomb to intercept Psyche. It will first activate powerful explosive charges that were originally left in Psyche to make propulsion chambers, charges that can now be used to nudge Psyche away from Earth intercept. If these charges are not enough, the ship has a very large bomb that can be detonated to finish the job. This "plan B" would be a suicide mission for the ship's pilot, William Porter.
Negotiations with the Hegemon go nowhere. Porter tries to reason with Turco, without any success either. The clock ticks down. Turco realizes that the Earth authorities are not going to back down. She decides to go outside to watch the stars for awhile ... and can't get back into the control station. The power to the hatch has failed. She is locked outside. Meanwhile on Earth, news of the asteroid has leaked out. There are riots. Kollert and all of those involved in the Psyche plot are to be purged. Having no other choice, Porter activates the charges. They are not enough to push Psyche out of an impact course.
The explosions opened the hatch and Turco manages to get back to the control room. Porter puts his ship into the main crater, where the drive motors are located, and detonates his cargo. The blast shifts Psyche enough that it just grazes Earth's atmosphere. Psyche begins to break up as it leaves the Earth behind. Turco wants to hear her father tell her that she is absolved. Instead she hears him say "You've destroyed everything we worked for - a fine architect of Pyrrhic victories". A chunk of debris then obliterates the control room.
A story that plays on the conflict between idealism and realism., and the darkness that can touch both. The Psyche project was sabotaged due to political concerns about the Moon. Particle drivers were to be built to propel Psyche out into interstellar space ... drivers that could also be converted to weapons, trained on Earth. Kill the Psyche project (and literally eliminate its supporters), and then no need for the drivers. Turco is a mix of naiveté and idealism, willing to commit mass murder in her cause. Porter is the voice of balance, for example, telling Turco that even if the Earth government releases all of the information, they will simply deny it afterwards, saying that it was manufactured under pressure. Turco doesn't listen. In the end, the decision is taken out of her hands when she is locked outside.
The title is taken from the poem "Postcards to Athena" by Michael Bishop.
The short stories are Art Thou Mathematics by Charles Mobbs, Lifeloop by Orson Scott Card, Varieties of Technological Experience by Barry Malzberg, and Lost and Found by Phyllis Eisenstein.
Lifeloop is an uncanny foreshadowing of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and similar reality shows.
Science Fact is An Idea for Energy. It looks at solar power satellites. Coincidently, this article popped up in my inbox this week:
Caltech Space Based Solar Power Cubesat Demo Flying December 2021 | NextBigFuture.com
One thing that I have noticed is how many of these Science Fact articles of 1978 propose technologies that are still nowhere close to being field-ready. Over forty years later.
Issue Notes
Swanilda's Song is the first of several stories in Analog based on a world Harlan Ellison proposed in a 1975 workshop. Other authors completed the creative development of Medea. Apparently these stories were all then compiled in an anthology: Medea: Harlan's World... Biolog is on Frederik Pohl...Edmund Scientific has an ad for their free 164-page catalog. I had a look at the history of this company on Wikipedia. It's still around although the focus has changed over a couple of corporate restructurings...speaking of magazines of the past, Starlog has an ad in this issue. Like The Space Gamer, there is an internet archive of all the issues...Rounding off the magazine ads is Heavy Metal...Thomas Easton pops up in this month's The Reference Library. He reviews a non-fiction book In His Image: The Cloning of a Man by David Rorvik....all of the letters in Brass Tacks discuss the April letter about personal computers. One writer states that personal computers are not the model railroads of the future, but rather the automobile of the future, "as far as social impact is concerned". Interesting to read the various applications of computers that the letter writers propose ... many of which, unlike the above-mentioned Science Fact articles, are now reality.
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November 1978
The serial Stardance II by Spider and Jeanne Robinson concludes this month with part three.
The three novelettes are:
Hunter's Moon by Poul Anderson. Based on Harlan Ellison's world of Medea. Researchers are studying the two sentient species living on a remote island using embedded mental links, trying to understand the source of the conflict between them.
Endgame by D.C. Poyer. WW3 is dragging on, years after the start of the conflagration. The USN schooner San Francisco is trying to salvage nuclear bombs from the sea, as is a Soviet submarine...which has the last torpedo in their navy. Discussed below.
Killing Children by Orson Scott Card. Teenager Link Danol is in a mental institution on the planet Pampas. Incarcerated after killing his girlfriend, his mental stability is turned off and on by the presence or absence of his mother...who is the owner and de facto ruler of Pampas.
The three short stories are Accord by Lord St. Davids, Maximum Security by Tom Sullivan and The Plague by Michael C. Kohn.
This month's Science Fact is This Space for Rent by Joe Haldeman. Discusses renting space on the space shuttle and contains a list of the various experiments that will be going on orbit on it. They all look quite interesting. I wonder if their results were ever published?
Issue Notes
The editorial has the blockbuster announcement that Ben Bova is leaving Analog and introduces his successor, Stan Schmidt...Biolog is on Poul Anderson...Lester Del Rey is back this month with The Reference Library. He writes about the 'thrill of expectancy' when you open a new mag or a new book, and wonders if the blurbs on book covers are a guide to that 'thrill'. He then gives two examples of blurbs that promise thrill but don't deliver (Journey by Marta Randall and To Keep the Ship by Bertram Chandler).
The serial Stardance II by Spider and Jeanne Robinson concludes this month with part three.
The three novelettes are:
Hunter's Moon by Poul Anderson. Based on Harlan Ellison's world of Medea. Researchers are studying the two sentient species living on a remote island using embedded mental links, trying to understand the source of the conflict between them.
Endgame by D.C. Poyer. WW3 is dragging on, years after the start of the conflagration. The USN schooner San Francisco is trying to salvage nuclear bombs from the sea, as is a Soviet submarine...which has the last torpedo in their navy. Discussed below.
Killing Children by Orson Scott Card. Teenager Link Danol is in a mental institution on the planet Pampas. Incarcerated after killing his girlfriend, his mental stability is turned off and on by the presence or absence of his mother...who is the owner and de facto ruler of Pampas.
World War Three has been raging for eight years. Even though all industry has long since been smashed, the war continues as both combatants drop down the ladder of technology. The USN schooner San Francisco would be at home in the Napoleonic navy, with only her salvaged weaponry as a reminder of what once was.
The San Francisco had been shadowing one of the last Soviet submarines along the coast of the Black Sea, when it is diverted to the location of a crashed French mirage jet that was carrying nuclear bombs. Her orders are to recover the weapons.
When the schooner turns and heads away, it gives the sub the opportunity it needs to surface for much needed air. However her captain knows exactly why the San Francisco broke off and where it is going. He too has his orders. And although his sub is being held together with 'bailing wire and duct tape', it does have the last torpedo in the Soviet navy.
While the San Francisco has one of the last depth charges.
Captain Friesen of the San Francisco has been serving in the navy since the initial nuclear exchange. His family died in the attack and he was only spared as he was on a fishing trip. Friesen is consumed by bitterness and as far as he is concerned, the war can continue until humanity is back in the eolithic. The heart of his Soviet counterpart, Captain Getsayev, is also filled with hatred. His family survived the first nuclear strike, but died a year later in a plague caused by biological weapons. Getsayev thinks only of revenge.
Friesen has a hole cut in the bottom of the hull with a precious sheet of plexiglass installed as a view port. Slowly the schooner crisscrosses the target area. Nearby, the sub keeps a close watch, letting the schooner find the plane for them, and waiting for the right moment to attack. Three days later, the San Francisco locates the plane, and begins salvage operations. Not wanting to sink the ship on top of the plane, Getsayev moves the sub closer then sends divers out to cut the ropes.
Although they succeed in sabotaging the salvage, the sub is spotted and the San Francisco opens fire on the periscope. It also moves away from the plane, giving Getsayev the opportunity to fire their one torpedo. As the intercom system has failed years ago, he has to yell his command down the length of the sub, through the open hatchways. The torpedo is launched, heads straight at the San Francisco and ... passes harmlessly under it. When Getsayev learns the young weapons tech had followed the book and armed the torpedo for magnetic detonation ... on a wooden ship ... he goes into a fury and punches the teenager. The young man falls back against the ballast control panel and blows the tanks. The sub surfaces.
In the ensuing battle, the San Francisco rams the sub, quickly sinking it due to the open hatches. There is only one survivor: the old first mate Pyatnitsky is pulled from the water. However the San Francisco also suffers casualties, with both Friesen and the first officer dead, leaving the schooner in the hands of the seventeen year old ensign John Masaryk.
Masaryk had been asking himself for a long time how long the war would go on. And the answer had always been dependent on the actions of someone else. Until now. He has the ship pass back over the crashed bomber and orders the depth charge dropped, destroying the plane.
A story that reminds us that 1978 was in the middle of the Cold War, with growing nuclear arsenals on both sides.
As the world war drags on, not everyone keeps their hate stoked like Friesen and Getsayev. Friesen knows that the younger members of his crew, like Masaryk, don't have the same determination to finish the enemy off, something that worries him. And the old hands on the Soviet sub, like Pyatnitsky, don't share the hatred of their captain for the Americans. Indeed, one wonders why the high commands on both sides continue this senseless war, as neither can now really do anything to the other. And yet, as we have seen so often in wars, they take on a life of their own.
The San Francisco had been shadowing one of the last Soviet submarines along the coast of the Black Sea, when it is diverted to the location of a crashed French mirage jet that was carrying nuclear bombs. Her orders are to recover the weapons.
When the schooner turns and heads away, it gives the sub the opportunity it needs to surface for much needed air. However her captain knows exactly why the San Francisco broke off and where it is going. He too has his orders. And although his sub is being held together with 'bailing wire and duct tape', it does have the last torpedo in the Soviet navy.
While the San Francisco has one of the last depth charges.
Captain Friesen of the San Francisco has been serving in the navy since the initial nuclear exchange. His family died in the attack and he was only spared as he was on a fishing trip. Friesen is consumed by bitterness and as far as he is concerned, the war can continue until humanity is back in the eolithic. The heart of his Soviet counterpart, Captain Getsayev, is also filled with hatred. His family survived the first nuclear strike, but died a year later in a plague caused by biological weapons. Getsayev thinks only of revenge.
Friesen has a hole cut in the bottom of the hull with a precious sheet of plexiglass installed as a view port. Slowly the schooner crisscrosses the target area. Nearby, the sub keeps a close watch, letting the schooner find the plane for them, and waiting for the right moment to attack. Three days later, the San Francisco locates the plane, and begins salvage operations. Not wanting to sink the ship on top of the plane, Getsayev moves the sub closer then sends divers out to cut the ropes.
Although they succeed in sabotaging the salvage, the sub is spotted and the San Francisco opens fire on the periscope. It also moves away from the plane, giving Getsayev the opportunity to fire their one torpedo. As the intercom system has failed years ago, he has to yell his command down the length of the sub, through the open hatchways. The torpedo is launched, heads straight at the San Francisco and ... passes harmlessly under it. When Getsayev learns the young weapons tech had followed the book and armed the torpedo for magnetic detonation ... on a wooden ship ... he goes into a fury and punches the teenager. The young man falls back against the ballast control panel and blows the tanks. The sub surfaces.
In the ensuing battle, the San Francisco rams the sub, quickly sinking it due to the open hatches. There is only one survivor: the old first mate Pyatnitsky is pulled from the water. However the San Francisco also suffers casualties, with both Friesen and the first officer dead, leaving the schooner in the hands of the seventeen year old ensign John Masaryk.
Masaryk had been asking himself for a long time how long the war would go on. And the answer had always been dependent on the actions of someone else. Until now. He has the ship pass back over the crashed bomber and orders the depth charge dropped, destroying the plane.
A story that reminds us that 1978 was in the middle of the Cold War, with growing nuclear arsenals on both sides.
As the world war drags on, not everyone keeps their hate stoked like Friesen and Getsayev. Friesen knows that the younger members of his crew, like Masaryk, don't have the same determination to finish the enemy off, something that worries him. And the old hands on the Soviet sub, like Pyatnitsky, don't share the hatred of their captain for the Americans. Indeed, one wonders why the high commands on both sides continue this senseless war, as neither can now really do anything to the other. And yet, as we have seen so often in wars, they take on a life of their own.
The three short stories are Accord by Lord St. Davids, Maximum Security by Tom Sullivan and The Plague by Michael C. Kohn.
This month's Science Fact is This Space for Rent by Joe Haldeman. Discusses renting space on the space shuttle and contains a list of the various experiments that will be going on orbit on it. They all look quite interesting. I wonder if their results were ever published?
Issue Notes
The editorial has the blockbuster announcement that Ben Bova is leaving Analog and introduces his successor, Stan Schmidt...Biolog is on Poul Anderson...Lester Del Rey is back this month with The Reference Library. He writes about the 'thrill of expectancy' when you open a new mag or a new book, and wonders if the blurbs on book covers are a guide to that 'thrill'. He then gives two examples of blurbs that promise thrill but don't deliver (Journey by Marta Randall and To Keep the Ship by Bertram Chandler).
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December 1978
The novelettes in this issue are:
Brother to Gods by Jack Williamson. Third story after Brother to Demons (August) and Kinsman to Lizards (July). With the help of the goddess Zhondra Zhey, the premen flee to safety to a planet in another universe. But treachery within the premen puts all of them in danger, and threatens the birth of the ultiman.
Fireship by Joan D. Vinge. Ethan Ring is both man and AI. Blackmailed by his past, Ring is forced to work for three revolutionary agents involved in a struggle on Earth for freedom. Their enemy? Khorram Kabir, the richest man in the solar system and who is now hiding somewhere on Mars. Ring must gain access to Kabir's computer network ... or else. Discussed below.
The short stories are In The Doghouse by Orson Scott Card & Jay Parry, and Come to the Party by Frank Hebert & F.M. Busby
Science Fact is Salute to Salyut by James Oberg. The article looks at the Salyut space station program and the various supporting missions.
State of the Art is Science Fiction is Too Gloomy. John Gribbin explains that common worries about over-population, energy & resource shortages, etc. are overrated as dangers and need not feature so much in contemporary SF.
Issue Notes
Omni has a two page ad announcing its launch - "the first magazine to combine science fiction with science fact". Ben Bova of course left Analog to edit Omni from 1978 to 1982. Omni ran until 1997...Bova himself has an ad in Analog for his writers handbook Notes to a Science Fiction Writer. Anybody here ever read this?...Biolog is on Frank Herbert...Spider Robinson edits this month's The Reference Library and discusses literary criticism (Robinson has apparently been "criticized" for his subjective criticism)...Then in Brass Tacks we actually have a couple letters commenting on stories (for a change).
The novelettes in this issue are:
Brother to Gods by Jack Williamson. Third story after Brother to Demons (August) and Kinsman to Lizards (July). With the help of the goddess Zhondra Zhey, the premen flee to safety to a planet in another universe. But treachery within the premen puts all of them in danger, and threatens the birth of the ultiman.
Fireship by Joan D. Vinge. Ethan Ring is both man and AI. Blackmailed by his past, Ring is forced to work for three revolutionary agents involved in a struggle on Earth for freedom. Their enemy? Khorram Kabir, the richest man in the solar system and who is now hiding somewhere on Mars. Ring must gain access to Kabir's computer network ... or else. Discussed below.
Ethan Ring is a man created inadvertently by a secret military program. Formed by a human volunteer, Michael Yarrow, and a revolutionary AI, ETHANAC, the sum of Ring's two personalities is far greater than either on its own. Facing execution, Ring interfaces with the main US security program to escape the high-security research base. He ends up on Mars under a new identity, working as an IT tech, with an arrest warrant waiting for him if he ever returns to Earth.
Enjoying his time in the local casino where his skills make him a lot of money, Ring has been tracked down by three agents of a mercenary company hired to free a nation from the totalitarian control of Khorram Kabir, the richest man in the solar system. And probably the most ruthless.
The agents are looking for a way to interface with Kabir's computer network, and blackmail Ring into cooperating with them. Kabir is somewhere on Mars, and the agents suspect that the casino is a front for his business center. The casino staff, in the pay of Kabir, quickly figure out their plans. Threatened by the ominous casino manager, Salad, Ring is coerced into laying a trap for his three 'employers'.
However one of the three agents is the lovely Hana Takhashi and Ring has fallen in love with her. He incites a riot in the casino and all of them are put in jail, out of Salad's clutches ... for the moment.
Ring was able to interface with the computer network in the casino and learned that Kabir is not there. But there is a place on Mars where he gets courier deliveries. A monastery near the Martian south pole. Posing as a tourist looking to retreat from the world for a week, Ring enters the monastery. Late one evening, a mysterious visitor arrives on a helicopter. Although Mars is in the process of terraforming, the thinness of the atmosphere means that only the rich can afford such a means of transport. Perhaps Kabir has arrived? Ring sneaks out to poke around.
He sees a small group leave the church, which is off limits to visitors. Ring takes a chance and sneaks inside. He finds a computer terminal, and quickly links his AI to a port. Ring thinks he has gotten into the system but falls into a security trap ... and then hears a voice. Khorram Kabir has succeeded in turning his mind into computerized intelligence. And suddenly the sinister Salad* shows up, with gun in hand and shoots Ring in the knee.
Kabir, though, orders Salad to not touch Ring. Ring throws himself on Kabir's mercy. Surprisingly, Kabir is fascinated by Ring. The two can share their thoughts, and Ring realizes that Kabir is just a lonely old man. Kabir, in turn, feels Ring's sympathy and offers Ring a deal: access to his network if Ring visits once a month. Ring accepts. Kabir orders Salad to get Ring to hospital. However, with a malicious smile Salad tells Ring he'll have to make his own way to the helicopter as Kabir had told him not to touch him.
Fortunately, help arrives in the form of the three agents. Hanna had given a keepsake to Ring, a bracelet that was actually a tracking device. They bundle Ring into a second helicopter and whisk him to hospital. The story ends with Ring and Hana together, but Ring wonders what Kabir has in mind for him.
* Couldn't resist this phrase.
Ring is a bit of a mercenary himself. He would have sold out the three agents to Salad had he not already fallen in love with Hana. It's not quite clear to me why the ruthless businessman Kabir would still grant Ring and the agents access to his computer network; sparing Ring's life would have been enough I think. And if three mercenary agents could track Ring down, why not US security agents? Anyway a couple of small quibbles in a story that was a nice read.
The fireship of the title refers to the old naval warfare practice of setting a ship on fire and sending it into the enemy's fleet.
Enjoying his time in the local casino where his skills make him a lot of money, Ring has been tracked down by three agents of a mercenary company hired to free a nation from the totalitarian control of Khorram Kabir, the richest man in the solar system. And probably the most ruthless.
The agents are looking for a way to interface with Kabir's computer network, and blackmail Ring into cooperating with them. Kabir is somewhere on Mars, and the agents suspect that the casino is a front for his business center. The casino staff, in the pay of Kabir, quickly figure out their plans. Threatened by the ominous casino manager, Salad, Ring is coerced into laying a trap for his three 'employers'.
However one of the three agents is the lovely Hana Takhashi and Ring has fallen in love with her. He incites a riot in the casino and all of them are put in jail, out of Salad's clutches ... for the moment.
Ring was able to interface with the computer network in the casino and learned that Kabir is not there. But there is a place on Mars where he gets courier deliveries. A monastery near the Martian south pole. Posing as a tourist looking to retreat from the world for a week, Ring enters the monastery. Late one evening, a mysterious visitor arrives on a helicopter. Although Mars is in the process of terraforming, the thinness of the atmosphere means that only the rich can afford such a means of transport. Perhaps Kabir has arrived? Ring sneaks out to poke around.
He sees a small group leave the church, which is off limits to visitors. Ring takes a chance and sneaks inside. He finds a computer terminal, and quickly links his AI to a port. Ring thinks he has gotten into the system but falls into a security trap ... and then hears a voice. Khorram Kabir has succeeded in turning his mind into computerized intelligence. And suddenly the sinister Salad* shows up, with gun in hand and shoots Ring in the knee.
Kabir, though, orders Salad to not touch Ring. Ring throws himself on Kabir's mercy. Surprisingly, Kabir is fascinated by Ring. The two can share their thoughts, and Ring realizes that Kabir is just a lonely old man. Kabir, in turn, feels Ring's sympathy and offers Ring a deal: access to his network if Ring visits once a month. Ring accepts. Kabir orders Salad to get Ring to hospital. However, with a malicious smile Salad tells Ring he'll have to make his own way to the helicopter as Kabir had told him not to touch him.
Fortunately, help arrives in the form of the three agents. Hanna had given a keepsake to Ring, a bracelet that was actually a tracking device. They bundle Ring into a second helicopter and whisk him to hospital. The story ends with Ring and Hana together, but Ring wonders what Kabir has in mind for him.
* Couldn't resist this phrase.
Ring is a bit of a mercenary himself. He would have sold out the three agents to Salad had he not already fallen in love with Hana. It's not quite clear to me why the ruthless businessman Kabir would still grant Ring and the agents access to his computer network; sparing Ring's life would have been enough I think. And if three mercenary agents could track Ring down, why not US security agents? Anyway a couple of small quibbles in a story that was a nice read.
The fireship of the title refers to the old naval warfare practice of setting a ship on fire and sending it into the enemy's fleet.
The short stories are In The Doghouse by Orson Scott Card & Jay Parry, and Come to the Party by Frank Hebert & F.M. Busby
Science Fact is Salute to Salyut by James Oberg. The article looks at the Salyut space station program and the various supporting missions.
State of the Art is Science Fiction is Too Gloomy. John Gribbin explains that common worries about over-population, energy & resource shortages, etc. are overrated as dangers and need not feature so much in contemporary SF.
Issue Notes
Omni has a two page ad announcing its launch - "the first magazine to combine science fiction with science fact". Ben Bova of course left Analog to edit Omni from 1978 to 1982. Omni ran until 1997...Bova himself has an ad in Analog for his writers handbook Notes to a Science Fiction Writer. Anybody here ever read this?...Biolog is on Frank Herbert...Spider Robinson edits this month's The Reference Library and discusses literary criticism (Robinson has apparently been "criticized" for his subjective criticism)...Then in Brass Tacks we actually have a couple letters commenting on stories (for a change).
dask
dark and stormy knight
I have the Bova handbook but never got around to reading it. Flipped through it a couple times.
He got that wrong then didn't he!
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Concluding Comments: Analog 1978
An impressive list of SF writers had fiction in Analog 1978: McIntyre, Vinge, Martin, Card (7 stories!), O'Donnell, Williamson, Modesitt jr, Schmidt, Kingsbury, Budrys, Sheffield, Benford, Ellison, Robinson, Bear, Pohl, Malzberg, Anderson and Herbert. Gosh, I'm only a casual SF fan but even I recognized all of those names!
I liked Joan Vinge's stories. Looking at her entry in Wikipedia, it doesn't look like she wrote a lot of SF ... too bad. The Outcasts of Heaven Belt was the 1978 highlight for me. A hard SF story that doesn't try to answer all of the questions, and leaves the reader wondering what the future holds for both the inhabitants of Heaven Belt and the nearby colonies. And I'm ok with that. These types of stories are why I read Analog.
Card's October story Lifeloop was an eerie prediction of twenty-first century reality tv. Those Analog readers had no idea that the future would bring Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
There was a nice variety of stories in 1978, more so than in 1988.
I found the special feature in the February edition was thought-provoking. The Next Century of Science Fiction, written by Jack Williamson. I'll quote what I wrote then: "A short autobiography of Williamson, followed by his thoughts on the future of SF. He writes something interesting: "Here is one of my central concerns about the future of science fiction. The expansion of knowledge tends to erase "the sense of wonder."" He had previously mentioned how the increased knowledge of Venus and Mars had affected the types of stories written about them, and how "the growth of knowledge had pushed science fiction off the Earth and out of the solar system" ". Well, maybe not quite that far. But I wonder, for example, what impact the exoplanet surveys will have on SF (especially the "harder" SF stories) when they show that habitable planets are going to be few and far between. Perhaps very far between."
Lester Del Rey and Spider Robinson did a good job with The Reference Library. Both had longer introductions discussing some aspect of SF ... and both at various times lamented how difficult it was to find those SF gems out there. I wonder what they would think today.
The letters in Brass Tacks, as in 1988, spent more time discussing the editorials than the stories. Although the one letter in April moaning about PCs was comical, as were Bova's opinions on Star Wars.
I really wanted to like State of the Art but, sheesh, they have to pick better themes for those articles. I hope they improved in 1979.
Interesting to see the various ads for books, games and magazines, most of which are long gone. I'm gonna have to drag out my copy of Star Force for old times' sake and get a game in.
Yeah, it looks like Analog in 1978 was thriving. Bova did a good job as editor. I would have subscribed to it back then.
Now I that I've looked at both 1978 & 1988, I wonder what Analog in the middle 1990's looked like...
PS, if anyone has the readers awards list for 1978, I would be very curious to read it.
An impressive list of SF writers had fiction in Analog 1978: McIntyre, Vinge, Martin, Card (7 stories!), O'Donnell, Williamson, Modesitt jr, Schmidt, Kingsbury, Budrys, Sheffield, Benford, Ellison, Robinson, Bear, Pohl, Malzberg, Anderson and Herbert. Gosh, I'm only a casual SF fan but even I recognized all of those names!
I liked Joan Vinge's stories. Looking at her entry in Wikipedia, it doesn't look like she wrote a lot of SF ... too bad. The Outcasts of Heaven Belt was the 1978 highlight for me. A hard SF story that doesn't try to answer all of the questions, and leaves the reader wondering what the future holds for both the inhabitants of Heaven Belt and the nearby colonies. And I'm ok with that. These types of stories are why I read Analog.
Card's October story Lifeloop was an eerie prediction of twenty-first century reality tv. Those Analog readers had no idea that the future would bring Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
There was a nice variety of stories in 1978, more so than in 1988.
I found the special feature in the February edition was thought-provoking. The Next Century of Science Fiction, written by Jack Williamson. I'll quote what I wrote then: "A short autobiography of Williamson, followed by his thoughts on the future of SF. He writes something interesting: "Here is one of my central concerns about the future of science fiction. The expansion of knowledge tends to erase "the sense of wonder."" He had previously mentioned how the increased knowledge of Venus and Mars had affected the types of stories written about them, and how "the growth of knowledge had pushed science fiction off the Earth and out of the solar system" ". Well, maybe not quite that far. But I wonder, for example, what impact the exoplanet surveys will have on SF (especially the "harder" SF stories) when they show that habitable planets are going to be few and far between. Perhaps very far between."
Lester Del Rey and Spider Robinson did a good job with The Reference Library. Both had longer introductions discussing some aspect of SF ... and both at various times lamented how difficult it was to find those SF gems out there. I wonder what they would think today.
The letters in Brass Tacks, as in 1988, spent more time discussing the editorials than the stories. Although the one letter in April moaning about PCs was comical, as were Bova's opinions on Star Wars.
I really wanted to like State of the Art but, sheesh, they have to pick better themes for those articles. I hope they improved in 1979.
Interesting to see the various ads for books, games and magazines, most of which are long gone. I'm gonna have to drag out my copy of Star Force for old times' sake and get a game in.
Yeah, it looks like Analog in 1978 was thriving. Bova did a good job as editor. I would have subscribed to it back then.
Now I that I've looked at both 1978 & 1988, I wonder what Analog in the middle 1990's looked like...
PS, if anyone has the readers awards list for 1978, I would be very curious to read it.
Analog Awards for 1978
Best Serial Novel or Novella
1 Stardance II - Jeanne Robinson and Spider Robinson
2 The Outcasts of Heaven Belt - Joan D. Vinge
Best Novelette
1 Fireship - Joan D. Vinge
2 Mikal's Songbird - Orson Scott Card
3 Starships in Whose Future? - Sam Nicholson
4 Hunter's Moon - Poul Anderson
5 To Bring in the Steel - Donald Kingsbury
Best Short Story
1 Lifeloop - Orson Scott Card
2 The Great Gray Dolphin - Ben Schumacher
3 Fixed Price War - Charles Sheffield
4 View from a Height - Joan D. Vinge
5 The Man Who Was Heavily into Revenge - Harlan Ellison
Best Fact Article
1 This Space for Rent - Joe Haldeman
2 Salute to Salyut - James Oberg
3 The Disposal of Nuclear Waste in Space: Will It Ever Be Feasible? - Michael McCollum
Victoria Silverwolf
Vegetarian Werewolf
Interesting. Looks like it was really Joan Vinge's year.
Analog Awards Notes
Thank you, Bick, for posting the Analog Awards for 1978. Interesting. I'm fine with the short story selections. I have found that there was (and still is) quite a variety in both the themes and the quality of writing within the short stories of Analog. With certain ones I wonder what the heck is that doing here. But others match up with the Analog "vision" and there is always the odd one that is very well done.
I will confess to being somewhat picky with short stories. Although I made an effort to read them all in both 1978 and 1988, normally if it's clear within a page or two that it is not a theme/plot/context that grabs my interest, I skip the rest and move on.
My real interest is in the series/novellas/novelettes. As I have noted several times during my reviews for 1978, I really liked Outcasts of Heaven Belt by Joan Vinge and would have put it first. I could describe the Jack Williamson novelette trilogy as another "series" as the three novelettes followed one another. However, although the back story of the original genetic experimentation was intriguing, the main plot and story context did not work for me.
Looking at the list for the novelette category, I'm ok with four out of the five. I would have put The Wind from a Burning Woman by Greg Bear ahead of the Poul Anderson story.
Finally, I'll give a nod to the two Snake the Healer stories by Vonda McIntyre, and to the Haviland Tuf story by George Martin. Both authors have created interesting protagonists and although I don't think that either are "hard SF" by any means, they were all good reads.
Thank you, Bick, for posting the Analog Awards for 1978. Interesting. I'm fine with the short story selections. I have found that there was (and still is) quite a variety in both the themes and the quality of writing within the short stories of Analog. With certain ones I wonder what the heck is that doing here. But others match up with the Analog "vision" and there is always the odd one that is very well done.
I will confess to being somewhat picky with short stories. Although I made an effort to read them all in both 1978 and 1988, normally if it's clear within a page or two that it is not a theme/plot/context that grabs my interest, I skip the rest and move on.
My real interest is in the series/novellas/novelettes. As I have noted several times during my reviews for 1978, I really liked Outcasts of Heaven Belt by Joan Vinge and would have put it first. I could describe the Jack Williamson novelette trilogy as another "series" as the three novelettes followed one another. However, although the back story of the original genetic experimentation was intriguing, the main plot and story context did not work for me.
Looking at the list for the novelette category, I'm ok with four out of the five. I would have put The Wind from a Burning Woman by Greg Bear ahead of the Poul Anderson story.
Finally, I'll give a nod to the two Snake the Healer stories by Vonda McIntyre, and to the Haviland Tuf story by George Martin. Both authors have created interesting protagonists and although I don't think that either are "hard SF" by any means, they were all good reads.
I've started a read through of Astounding Science Fiction from 1958. I have all the issues from this year and will read through them all, albeit possibly rather slowly, in between other novels and SF collections. I've read the January 1958 issue, so we'll start at the beginning:
Astounding Science Fiction, January 1958
Pauline Ashwell - Unwillingly to School
This novelette was a finalist for the 1959 Hugo Award, and was the first SF publication by Ashwell, who went on the publish in Astounding/Analog Science Fiction right up until the year 2000. It was interesting to read Ashwell's first SF publication - it's written in the vernacular of a no-nonsense 'country girl' who helps her dad on his farm on a world dedicated mostly to mining. She has an innate ability to engineer behaviour in the rowdy miners and is encouraged to go to Earth (rather against her will) to attend college and study Cultural Engineering. The story gets more interesting in the latter section where Ashwell explores whether humans actually have any free-will. It seems that, like most of us, the girl might not have free-will, but she does appear to have free-won't. It wasn't a bad story, though the use of vernacular language become slightly tiring after 40 pages.
Frank Herbert - Cease Fire
This short story was included in Damon Knight's 1962 anthology A Century of Science Fiction. Concerning a chemist who's stuck in a future war (manning a forward observation post in the arctic), he has an idea for developing a bomb that could be triggered remotely through clever chemistry. The imagery in the arctic is very good and the story is well written. It's interesting to see how reminiscent (or not) this is of Dune which Herbert published 7 years later. It's not very similar in tone or language in fact, displaying less mature writing, though its not at all bad.
Murray Leinster - Short History of World War Three
Leinster had been publishing SF for 40 years by this time, and would publish for another decade yet. This story is told in a rather comic style. American forces intercept Russian military maneuvers, and ask if they can help, and offer them drinks, and so-forth. This rather undermines the Russian plans for World War III, which the American's have actually started early, in a war waged like none before it. It's quite entertaining, but not one of Leinster's best by any margin.
Randall Garrett & Robert Silverberg - All the King's Horses
Published under the collaborative name "Robert Randall", this was the top-rated story in the January '58 issue, as judged by Astounding readers, according to 'AnLab'. This was actually one of a series of Nidorian tales by Garrett and Silverberg. In this novelette, the Earthmen have left Nidor, but the old ways have been lost. A new political leader of the Nidorian's, who blackmailed his way to power, proposes that the old sacred temple is rebuilt. However, he finds that once a way of life has gone, there's nothing he can do to reverse the change (as suggested by the stories title; "could put humpty back together again"). This is indeed the best story in this issue - Silverberg's touch is readily apparent in the aliens, a certain sensuousness to their descriptions, and in the language and tenor of the piece. Drawing thoughtful comparison's with changes in the world of today, and the inevitability of change, this is a superior SF tale, and it's also the best written story here.
Stanley Mullen - Guppy
Mullen wrote a few dozen short stories between 1947 and 1959, and by reputation they were pretty 'pulpy' fare. This is not great, and employs a sort of pulp-fiction hyperbole that stands out in poor comparison to the tale by Garret and Silverberg that precedes it. The story concerns an artificial brain grown in a vat, that has been nicknamed 'Guppy".
Overall thoughts
This was not a bad issue, though maybe not a great one. If it came out today, it would be a very strong issue of Analog (numerous household names appear in the one issue) but the standard was undoubtedly higher in the late '50's. The Ashwell was interesting to read, as it was her first published story, but the style dragged it down slightly in my opinion. The Herbert was entertaining enough but didn't ultimately maintain its strong and evocative beginning. The best story was the 'Robert Randall' novelette, and I'd agree with the AnLab vote. The editorial by Campbell lamented the loss of the race into space, 'won' by the Soviets, and he's critical of American assumptions of technological superiority, which he dissects in a post-mortem on 'Project Vanguard'. The book reviews by P. Schuyler Miller are intriguing - Jack Vance's Big Planet was highly recommended, as was Judith Merril's yearly anthology. Philip K. Dick's Eye in the Sky received a more lukewarm response, and Farmer's Green Odyssey didn't impress Miller at all.
Astounding Science Fiction, January 1958
Pauline Ashwell - Unwillingly to School
This novelette was a finalist for the 1959 Hugo Award, and was the first SF publication by Ashwell, who went on the publish in Astounding/Analog Science Fiction right up until the year 2000. It was interesting to read Ashwell's first SF publication - it's written in the vernacular of a no-nonsense 'country girl' who helps her dad on his farm on a world dedicated mostly to mining. She has an innate ability to engineer behaviour in the rowdy miners and is encouraged to go to Earth (rather against her will) to attend college and study Cultural Engineering. The story gets more interesting in the latter section where Ashwell explores whether humans actually have any free-will. It seems that, like most of us, the girl might not have free-will, but she does appear to have free-won't. It wasn't a bad story, though the use of vernacular language become slightly tiring after 40 pages.
Frank Herbert - Cease Fire
This short story was included in Damon Knight's 1962 anthology A Century of Science Fiction. Concerning a chemist who's stuck in a future war (manning a forward observation post in the arctic), he has an idea for developing a bomb that could be triggered remotely through clever chemistry. The imagery in the arctic is very good and the story is well written. It's interesting to see how reminiscent (or not) this is of Dune which Herbert published 7 years later. It's not very similar in tone or language in fact, displaying less mature writing, though its not at all bad.
Murray Leinster - Short History of World War Three
Leinster had been publishing SF for 40 years by this time, and would publish for another decade yet. This story is told in a rather comic style. American forces intercept Russian military maneuvers, and ask if they can help, and offer them drinks, and so-forth. This rather undermines the Russian plans for World War III, which the American's have actually started early, in a war waged like none before it. It's quite entertaining, but not one of Leinster's best by any margin.
Randall Garrett & Robert Silverberg - All the King's Horses
Published under the collaborative name "Robert Randall", this was the top-rated story in the January '58 issue, as judged by Astounding readers, according to 'AnLab'. This was actually one of a series of Nidorian tales by Garrett and Silverberg. In this novelette, the Earthmen have left Nidor, but the old ways have been lost. A new political leader of the Nidorian's, who blackmailed his way to power, proposes that the old sacred temple is rebuilt. However, he finds that once a way of life has gone, there's nothing he can do to reverse the change (as suggested by the stories title; "could put humpty back together again"). This is indeed the best story in this issue - Silverberg's touch is readily apparent in the aliens, a certain sensuousness to their descriptions, and in the language and tenor of the piece. Drawing thoughtful comparison's with changes in the world of today, and the inevitability of change, this is a superior SF tale, and it's also the best written story here.
Stanley Mullen - Guppy
Mullen wrote a few dozen short stories between 1947 and 1959, and by reputation they were pretty 'pulpy' fare. This is not great, and employs a sort of pulp-fiction hyperbole that stands out in poor comparison to the tale by Garret and Silverberg that precedes it. The story concerns an artificial brain grown in a vat, that has been nicknamed 'Guppy".
Overall thoughts
This was not a bad issue, though maybe not a great one. If it came out today, it would be a very strong issue of Analog (numerous household names appear in the one issue) but the standard was undoubtedly higher in the late '50's. The Ashwell was interesting to read, as it was her first published story, but the style dragged it down slightly in my opinion. The Herbert was entertaining enough but didn't ultimately maintain its strong and evocative beginning. The best story was the 'Robert Randall' novelette, and I'd agree with the AnLab vote. The editorial by Campbell lamented the loss of the race into space, 'won' by the Soviets, and he's critical of American assumptions of technological superiority, which he dissects in a post-mortem on 'Project Vanguard'. The book reviews by P. Schuyler Miller are intriguing - Jack Vance's Big Planet was highly recommended, as was Judith Merril's yearly anthology. Philip K. Dick's Eye in the Sky received a more lukewarm response, and Farmer's Green Odyssey didn't impress Miller at all.
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Having read the year 1978 under the editorship of Ben Bova, and 1988 under Stan Schmidt, I decided to jump ahead to 1996. I've been slowly working my way through that year's issues ("slowly" as I don't read as much in summer as in winter). I was curious to see how Analog evolved, and how true it stayed to its vision: "Astounding/Analog has long been renowned as the bastion of "hard" SF, meaning SF that takes its science seriously."1
As previously, I read all of the novellas, novelettes and serials. However, I was a little more picky with the short stories and if the plot/setting/characters didn't appeal to me, I skipped it and moved on. Nor did I read the science fact articles or editorials.
1 Reference Library, May 1988
So here goes with January 1996
As this is a double issue, there are six novelettes:
A Pillar of Stars by Night (Alexis Glynn Latner). Earth is in the middle of an environmental crisis. One terraforming starship has left Earth for a distant star, and a second is almost ready. A young ecologist struggles to decide whether to stay or to leave. However politics and public perceptions have changed and pressure is increasing to stop the launch.
Martian Valkrye (G. David Nordley). The race is on to be the first to land on Mars. A fully equipped UN-led expedition competes with a small Norwegian spaceship launched on a shoestring budget. Who will step on Mars first?
Alexandrian Librarians (Stephen L. Burns). Historical Preservation Operations seeks out alien artifacts and ruins, to protect and to preserve them. While killing time at a recruitment fair, a captain recalls his first voyage and finding out what his job really involves.
Last Stop on the Green Line (Daniel Hatch). A courier is charged with delivering an alien device to Earth. Learning that it grants the user instantaneous travel, Harry is no longer sure he wants his unscrupulous boss to get her hands on it.
Resurrection (Bud Sparhawk). While working on a scientific mission on an alien world, the team´s botanist who also has trained as a Jesuit priest converts one of the aliens. Discovering that his convert is to be killed and eaten by its superiors (so its knowledge will be passed on), the botanist must chose which calling he will follow.
Nursery Sam (Ben Bova). The owner of a failing honeymoon hotel on a space station finds a new use for his facility.
Here are the short stories:
L.A. in L.A. by Barry B. Longyear. Werewolves in L.A.
Motivational Engineers by Bill Johnson. An alien "trade mission" tricks humans into thinking that the traders have a FTL space drive.
A Monster's Tale by Jeffery D. Koolstra. A researcher finds the legendary giant sea serpent.
Teddy by Rob Schilson. A man travels back in time to spend time with the dog of his childhood.
Dinoshift by J Brian Clarke. Scientists create an alternate timeline by displacing the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs.
Some familiar names from 1988 still writing for Analog but also several with whom I am not familiar. Alexis Glynn Latner is the feature of this month's Biolog. And I see that David Nordley is tied for third on Bick's 1990's list in his excellent thread Author analysis from Astounding/Analog through the decades. Any comments on either of these two authors? Are the stories of either worth looking into in the tradition of Analog/Astounding?
I'll jump into spoiler mode to jot down a few of my thoughts on these stories:
Science Fact is a series of articles on population growth.
The Alternate View is on cosmic rays and gamma bursts.
So what has changed since 1988 and what is different? For starters, the gaming column is gone along with almost all of the advertising for SF novels. The SF Book Club is still here along with a couple of book ads, (Isaac Asimov's Magic & Fantasy Collection and a Mystery Anthology). There's a handful of other ads: a shower head...roadside flashlight...Mastercard...Compuserve...etc. and on the back page, Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles Adventure Game (the ad says it is similar to Myst).
And that's basically it. Jeepers. Can't be more than a dozen ads.
Tom Easton is still writing The Reference Library, but with no introduction or discussion at the beginning of his column. None of the novels reviewed really grabbed my attention although most are written by well-known SF authors (Niven & Pournelle, Card, Kerr, LeGuin). And as in 1988, Brass Tacks mostly has letters on the editorials and fact articles.
I counted about 8 different artists, of varying talent, in this issue. Some of the stories still have a second illustration. Disappointed to see that Janet Aulisio did not have anything in this issue...looks like she's not drawing for Analog any more by this date. Too bad as I liked her work.
As previously, I read all of the novellas, novelettes and serials. However, I was a little more picky with the short stories and if the plot/setting/characters didn't appeal to me, I skipped it and moved on. Nor did I read the science fact articles or editorials.
1 Reference Library, May 1988
So here goes with January 1996
As this is a double issue, there are six novelettes:
A Pillar of Stars by Night (Alexis Glynn Latner). Earth is in the middle of an environmental crisis. One terraforming starship has left Earth for a distant star, and a second is almost ready. A young ecologist struggles to decide whether to stay or to leave. However politics and public perceptions have changed and pressure is increasing to stop the launch.
Martian Valkrye (G. David Nordley). The race is on to be the first to land on Mars. A fully equipped UN-led expedition competes with a small Norwegian spaceship launched on a shoestring budget. Who will step on Mars first?
Alexandrian Librarians (Stephen L. Burns). Historical Preservation Operations seeks out alien artifacts and ruins, to protect and to preserve them. While killing time at a recruitment fair, a captain recalls his first voyage and finding out what his job really involves.
Last Stop on the Green Line (Daniel Hatch). A courier is charged with delivering an alien device to Earth. Learning that it grants the user instantaneous travel, Harry is no longer sure he wants his unscrupulous boss to get her hands on it.
Resurrection (Bud Sparhawk). While working on a scientific mission on an alien world, the team´s botanist who also has trained as a Jesuit priest converts one of the aliens. Discovering that his convert is to be killed and eaten by its superiors (so its knowledge will be passed on), the botanist must chose which calling he will follow.
Nursery Sam (Ben Bova). The owner of a failing honeymoon hotel on a space station finds a new use for his facility.
Here are the short stories:
L.A. in L.A. by Barry B. Longyear. Werewolves in L.A.
Motivational Engineers by Bill Johnson. An alien "trade mission" tricks humans into thinking that the traders have a FTL space drive.
A Monster's Tale by Jeffery D. Koolstra. A researcher finds the legendary giant sea serpent.
Teddy by Rob Schilson. A man travels back in time to spend time with the dog of his childhood.
Dinoshift by J Brian Clarke. Scientists create an alternate timeline by displacing the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs.
Some familiar names from 1988 still writing for Analog but also several with whom I am not familiar. Alexis Glynn Latner is the feature of this month's Biolog. And I see that David Nordley is tied for third on Bick's 1990's list in his excellent thread Author analysis from Astounding/Analog through the decades. Any comments on either of these two authors? Are the stories of either worth looking into in the tradition of Analog/Astounding?
I'll jump into spoiler mode to jot down a few of my thoughts on these stories:
As is normal with Stan Schmidt at the helm of Analog, there are always a couple of stories that have me scratching my head wondering what the heck is that doing in Analog. In this case, L.A. in L.A. and A Monster's Tale.
Motivational Engineers reminded me of a similar idea explored in Noise Level (12/52) reprinted in the March/April 2020 edition: knowing that something is possible makes it easier to come up with the plumbing to make it work.
As much as I loved our dear dogs that are no longer with us, I don't think I would go back and see them even if I could (premise of Teddy). I think that would be too difficult saying goodbye again.
A couple of comments on two of the novellas:
A Pillar of Stars by Night touches on the political point of view that space exploration is far too expensive, with no lasting benefits to humanity, and that it would be far better to spend the money here on Earth (in the story this leads the authorities to attempt to stop the starship). That coupled with the environmental degradation of the planet makes this story an interesting if somewhat worrying read. All too easy to see this becoming reality.
Martian Valkrye relates the story from the viewpoint of the UN mission leader, years after the debacle of their expedition. Yes, indeed, the upstart Norwegian ship with a female pilot lands first, much to the chagrin of the UN crew. And making matters worse, she also rescues the survivors of the crashed UN lander. Decades later the commander is still haunted by their failure to be first, and by the doubts he still has about his values and his ideas, doubts raised by the success of the Norwegians.
All in all, not a bad issue. Nothing really outstanding but a few entertaining stories. Certainly better than one or two of the upcoming issues...
Motivational Engineers reminded me of a similar idea explored in Noise Level (12/52) reprinted in the March/April 2020 edition: knowing that something is possible makes it easier to come up with the plumbing to make it work.
As much as I loved our dear dogs that are no longer with us, I don't think I would go back and see them even if I could (premise of Teddy). I think that would be too difficult saying goodbye again.
A couple of comments on two of the novellas:
A Pillar of Stars by Night touches on the political point of view that space exploration is far too expensive, with no lasting benefits to humanity, and that it would be far better to spend the money here on Earth (in the story this leads the authorities to attempt to stop the starship). That coupled with the environmental degradation of the planet makes this story an interesting if somewhat worrying read. All too easy to see this becoming reality.
Martian Valkrye relates the story from the viewpoint of the UN mission leader, years after the debacle of their expedition. Yes, indeed, the upstart Norwegian ship with a female pilot lands first, much to the chagrin of the UN crew. And making matters worse, she also rescues the survivors of the crashed UN lander. Decades later the commander is still haunted by their failure to be first, and by the doubts he still has about his values and his ideas, doubts raised by the success of the Norwegians.
All in all, not a bad issue. Nothing really outstanding but a few entertaining stories. Certainly better than one or two of the upcoming issues...
Science Fact is a series of articles on population growth.
The Alternate View is on cosmic rays and gamma bursts.
So what has changed since 1988 and what is different? For starters, the gaming column is gone along with almost all of the advertising for SF novels. The SF Book Club is still here along with a couple of book ads, (Isaac Asimov's Magic & Fantasy Collection and a Mystery Anthology). There's a handful of other ads: a shower head...roadside flashlight...Mastercard...Compuserve...etc. and on the back page, Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles Adventure Game (the ad says it is similar to Myst).
And that's basically it. Jeepers. Can't be more than a dozen ads.
Tom Easton is still writing The Reference Library, but with no introduction or discussion at the beginning of his column. None of the novels reviewed really grabbed my attention although most are written by well-known SF authors (Niven & Pournelle, Card, Kerr, LeGuin). And as in 1988, Brass Tacks mostly has letters on the editorials and fact articles.
I counted about 8 different artists, of varying talent, in this issue. Some of the stories still have a second illustration. Disappointed to see that Janet Aulisio did not have anything in this issue...looks like she's not drawing for Analog any more by this date. Too bad as I liked her work.
Excellent review, thanks DeltaV. The Bova, Sparhawk and Nordley would have caught my attention. I think I've mainly enjoyed what Nordley I've read. I'm not really familiar with Latner, so cannot comment on him.
I've also been slowly reading through some old Astounding issues - see January Review from 1958, above. Here's my thoughts on Feb 1958, which I forgot to submit here earlier.
Astounding Science Fiction, February 1958
Poul Anderson - The Man Who Counts (Part 1 of 3)
This serial, featuring Anderson's galactic trader Nicholas Van Rijn, was subsequently published as a novel under several different titles including War of the Wing-Men (1958), The Man Who Counts (1978) and The Earth Book of Stormgate 2 (1980, UK) . It has also been collected in omnibus editions of Van Rijn stories (e.g. Baen's The Van Rijn Method). In the story, Nicholas Van Rijn crashes in the sea on Diomedes, a planet that is twice the diameter of Earth, but with half the density, as it almost completely lacks elements beyond calcium in the periodic table. Van Rijn's group are rescued from their sinking craft by some of the native sentient beings - winged mammals with bodies rather like otters. A complication is that the humans cannot eat anything local and they must survive on their human food rations before they run out, and in this limited time, must find a way back to a human colony on the other side of the giant planet. The lack of metals and therefore technology, the biology of the flying aliens, and the character of Van Rijn, all make this an entertaining and interesting read. The serial continued in the March issue and concluded in the April issue, but I read the installments consecutively, so comments in the subsequent issues will be minimal. Overall, this was a satisfying early short novel from Anderson.
Eric Frank Russell - Brute Farce
Voted February '58 top story by readers, according to 'An Lab', and deservedly so, I would say. It's a little gem of a story, told in Russell's off-hand wry comedic style. A bowler-hat wearing 'fixer' attends to a long-running and exasperating war between two belligerent alien races, by thinking outside the square. It's well-written, engaging and entertaining, with something to say about the merits of unconventional thinking.
L. Sprague de Camp - Aristotle and the Gun
This novelette from de Camp has been heavily anthologised over the years (by Dozois, Asimov, Dann, etc.). This is a time-travel tale in which, unusually, the time traveler specifically wants to alter the time line to improve scientific progress. The protagonist travels back to ancient Macedonia, to meet up with Aristotle, who was tutoring Alexander at the time. It's a lot of fun, and also seems to be quite well researched, with regard to the classical world. A hit, from de Camp.
Robert Silverberg - No Way Out
In Silverberg's short story, overpopulation of Earth is the concern, with the Secretary General of the UN trying to convince representatives of the Mars, Calisto and Venus colonies of taking more immigrants, to relieve the pressure on Earth. I always find it interesting when I see stories of overpopulation from such a long time ago, as it clearly is a problem now, but I'm not sure how many, outside of SF writers, recognised the problem back then. Silverberg always writes well and engagingly, even in his earlier, more pulpy work, and this was an enjoyable read.
Christopher Anvil - Achilles' Heel
This issue finished with a fairly pedestrian story about a war with aliens, who work best as a collective, and as a result therefore have a vulnerability that humanity can exploit. It's a fairly well-worn trope in SF, and while it was written in a fairly engaging way, and was perfectly readable, it wasn't a great story, lacking novelty or fresh ideas.
Overall thoughts
This was an excellent issue of Astounding. Anderson's serial had a bright start, and the stories by Russell, de Camp and Silverberg were all rather good. The cover art appealed too - with an illustration for Anderson's serial, by H. R. Van Dongen, showing Nicholas van Rijn in his 'War with the Wing Men'. All-in-all, better than the January issue - in fact it was a cracker.
I've also been slowly reading through some old Astounding issues - see January Review from 1958, above. Here's my thoughts on Feb 1958, which I forgot to submit here earlier.
Astounding Science Fiction, February 1958
Poul Anderson - The Man Who Counts (Part 1 of 3)
This serial, featuring Anderson's galactic trader Nicholas Van Rijn, was subsequently published as a novel under several different titles including War of the Wing-Men (1958), The Man Who Counts (1978) and The Earth Book of Stormgate 2 (1980, UK) . It has also been collected in omnibus editions of Van Rijn stories (e.g. Baen's The Van Rijn Method). In the story, Nicholas Van Rijn crashes in the sea on Diomedes, a planet that is twice the diameter of Earth, but with half the density, as it almost completely lacks elements beyond calcium in the periodic table. Van Rijn's group are rescued from their sinking craft by some of the native sentient beings - winged mammals with bodies rather like otters. A complication is that the humans cannot eat anything local and they must survive on their human food rations before they run out, and in this limited time, must find a way back to a human colony on the other side of the giant planet. The lack of metals and therefore technology, the biology of the flying aliens, and the character of Van Rijn, all make this an entertaining and interesting read. The serial continued in the March issue and concluded in the April issue, but I read the installments consecutively, so comments in the subsequent issues will be minimal. Overall, this was a satisfying early short novel from Anderson.
Eric Frank Russell - Brute Farce
Voted February '58 top story by readers, according to 'An Lab', and deservedly so, I would say. It's a little gem of a story, told in Russell's off-hand wry comedic style. A bowler-hat wearing 'fixer' attends to a long-running and exasperating war between two belligerent alien races, by thinking outside the square. It's well-written, engaging and entertaining, with something to say about the merits of unconventional thinking.
L. Sprague de Camp - Aristotle and the Gun
This novelette from de Camp has been heavily anthologised over the years (by Dozois, Asimov, Dann, etc.). This is a time-travel tale in which, unusually, the time traveler specifically wants to alter the time line to improve scientific progress. The protagonist travels back to ancient Macedonia, to meet up with Aristotle, who was tutoring Alexander at the time. It's a lot of fun, and also seems to be quite well researched, with regard to the classical world. A hit, from de Camp.
Robert Silverberg - No Way Out
In Silverberg's short story, overpopulation of Earth is the concern, with the Secretary General of the UN trying to convince representatives of the Mars, Calisto and Venus colonies of taking more immigrants, to relieve the pressure on Earth. I always find it interesting when I see stories of overpopulation from such a long time ago, as it clearly is a problem now, but I'm not sure how many, outside of SF writers, recognised the problem back then. Silverberg always writes well and engagingly, even in his earlier, more pulpy work, and this was an enjoyable read.
Christopher Anvil - Achilles' Heel
This issue finished with a fairly pedestrian story about a war with aliens, who work best as a collective, and as a result therefore have a vulnerability that humanity can exploit. It's a fairly well-worn trope in SF, and while it was written in a fairly engaging way, and was perfectly readable, it wasn't a great story, lacking novelty or fresh ideas.
Overall thoughts
This was an excellent issue of Astounding. Anderson's serial had a bright start, and the stories by Russell, de Camp and Silverberg were all rather good. The cover art appealed too - with an illustration for Anderson's serial, by H. R. Van Dongen, showing Nicholas van Rijn in his 'War with the Wing Men'. All-in-all, better than the January issue - in fact it was a cracker.
After reading Bick's comments on The Man Who Counts, I had to go and dig this story out of storage and re-read it (I have a copy of the Baen The Van Rijn Method collection of stories).
The 1950's are way before my time so I can only imagine the impact that stories like this had on SF readers during those years. Plots and settings that now seem 'old hat' were fresh and exciting. And of course the world building is very well done ... how many writers in those days could 'build a planet' like Anderson? (in this edition there is an afterward by Anderson explaining his thought process on this). I enjoyed re-reading it.
By the way, Bick, I think you are a fan of the artist Kelly Freas, yes? In the Analog story Nursery Sam (typical of the 'lighter' SF stories that Analog occasionally has), Freas did the illustrations.
The 1950's are way before my time so I can only imagine the impact that stories like this had on SF readers during those years. Plots and settings that now seem 'old hat' were fresh and exciting. And of course the world building is very well done ... how many writers in those days could 'build a planet' like Anderson? (in this edition there is an afterward by Anderson explaining his thought process on this). I enjoyed re-reading it.
By the way, Bick, I think you are a fan of the artist Kelly Freas, yes? In the Analog story Nursery Sam (typical of the 'lighter' SF stories that Analog occasionally has), Freas did the illustrations.
February 1996
A four-part serial starts this month: Higher Education by Charles Sheffield & Jerry Pournelle. Youths expelled from the failing US school system are recruited by Vanguard Mining to work out in the Belt. The first part follows Rick Luban and his classmates as they go through the first level of testing.
The novelettes are:
Un-Birthday Boy by James White. A young boy just does not fit in with his family. Why is he so strange and clumsy?
Human Lives Saved by Mark Rich. A research institute has created an artificial life form ... a rabbit. Yet a father and a son must first build themselves before they can now build intelligent life.
Marsh Mallow by Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff. A research outpost on a far planet tries to determine if any of the local species are sentient.
The short stories are:
When There's a Will, There's a Way by Grey Rollins. A car AI and a woman fall in love.
Living it is the Best Revenge by Ian Randal Strock. Thugs relive their crimes through the eyes and thoughts of their victims, and of all those affected by the crime.
An Ever-Reddening Glow by David Brin. In the far future, humans are informed that their star drive is causing the universe to expand.
Some of the stories in this issue strayed from what I'm looking for in SF. Human Lives Saved has a couple of interesting ideas but I didn't find a lot in the other stories to really capture my interest. I'll comment on the serial after the last installment.
Science Fact is on SETI.
The Alternate View is on the art/science of technology predictions.
Issue Notes
Issue Price = $2.95 US...There is a small obituary for Roger Zelazny who passed away in 1995...Biolog is on author Ian Randal Strock...Some interesting numbers in the circulation statement: total press run = 92,600; total subscriptions = 61,000; return from news agents = 19,400 (ouch!). There is a letter in Brass Tacks that actually discusses the stories (for a change); the writer (from Cornwall) shares her concerns that too much of the fiction appearing in Analog is 'unimaginative and preachy, with clichéd characters (...) and a lot of writers fall into the habit of setting up Bad People with Obviously Wrong Ideas, the better to knock them down.' Interesting observations. I'll have to see what the rest of 1996 has in store.
A four-part serial starts this month: Higher Education by Charles Sheffield & Jerry Pournelle. Youths expelled from the failing US school system are recruited by Vanguard Mining to work out in the Belt. The first part follows Rick Luban and his classmates as they go through the first level of testing.
The novelettes are:
Un-Birthday Boy by James White. A young boy just does not fit in with his family. Why is he so strange and clumsy?
Human Lives Saved by Mark Rich. A research institute has created an artificial life form ... a rabbit. Yet a father and a son must first build themselves before they can now build intelligent life.
Marsh Mallow by Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff. A research outpost on a far planet tries to determine if any of the local species are sentient.
The short stories are:
When There's a Will, There's a Way by Grey Rollins. A car AI and a woman fall in love.
Living it is the Best Revenge by Ian Randal Strock. Thugs relive their crimes through the eyes and thoughts of their victims, and of all those affected by the crime.
An Ever-Reddening Glow by David Brin. In the far future, humans are informed that their star drive is causing the universe to expand.
Some of the stories in this issue strayed from what I'm looking for in SF. Human Lives Saved has a couple of interesting ideas but I didn't find a lot in the other stories to really capture my interest. I'll comment on the serial after the last installment.
Science Fact is on SETI.
The Alternate View is on the art/science of technology predictions.
Issue Notes
Issue Price = $2.95 US...There is a small obituary for Roger Zelazny who passed away in 1995...Biolog is on author Ian Randal Strock...Some interesting numbers in the circulation statement: total press run = 92,600; total subscriptions = 61,000; return from news agents = 19,400 (ouch!). There is a letter in Brass Tacks that actually discusses the stories (for a change); the writer (from Cornwall) shares her concerns that too much of the fiction appearing in Analog is 'unimaginative and preachy, with clichéd characters (...) and a lot of writers fall into the habit of setting up Bad People with Obviously Wrong Ideas, the better to knock them down.' Interesting observations. I'll have to see what the rest of 1996 has in store.
Astounding Science Fiction, March 1958
Dean McLaughlin - The Man on the Bottom
In this tale of a future Earth, many mining operations take place under deep-sea domes. When war breaks out, these domes are extremely vulnerable to nuclear attack. The only way to survive would be to not be in the war at all. In some ways this is a rather pedestrian tale, except that ultimately it has an interesting point to make, which is that the belligerents in wars are countries, not organisations or companies, and why should non-combatant civilians choose or agree to take part? So, it's philosophically interesting, by the end, and has something to say. McLaughlin (b. 1931) was interesting for having had work published in Astounding/Analog over seven decades, starting in the 1950's, and though never prolific he had the top voted novella in Analog in 1981, 1991 and 2008!
Randell Garrett - Penal Servitude
Highly prolific, Garrett was the most published author in Astounding in the 1950's, with 29 stories. This was okay, and quite entertaining. A group of political schemers plan to reinstall a past tyrant to power, while an undercover double-agent works against them to stymie their scheme. I quite liked some aspects of it, and it's quite immersive, but lacks the quality and depth of the following story.
Charles de Vet & Katherine MacLean - Second Game
An-Lab results for this issue of Astounding very clearly placed this story first, with all the other stories scoring very similarly to each other but well behind. Having read the issue can only agree. De Vet and MacLean wrote a super novelette in Second Game. A spy (and master chess player) visits the world of the technologically advanced alien race the 'Veldians'. Almost entirely like humans, the Veldians were intent on war and aggression against the human 'Thousand Worlds' alliance. But the game-playing spy has a plan to avoid bloodshed and win the seemingly unwinnable conflict. This is very well written, and clearly a notch above the standard quality of pulp SF. Parallels with humanities problems abound and the dialogue between the key characters is intelligent and engaging. Highly recommended.
Fritz Leiber - Try and Change the Past
This was short but entertaining, outlining how a 'snake' soldier in the Change War discovered how hard it was to change his own past, due to the law of 'conservation of reality'. It's quite nicely done, the main character is a bit of a heel and it's one of those classic time travel tales that tend to stick in the memory.
Poul Anderson - The Man Who Counts (Part 2 of 3)
Anderson's serial continued in this issue. This instalment didn't perhaps have quite the same interest of the previous month's opener, but it was still entertaining, and was shaping up for an interesting conclusion in April.
Overall Thoughts
This was a good issue. The editorial wasn't all that engrossing (Campbell was still smarting about the poor performance of America in putting up a satellite relative to the Russians), and the book reviews didn't comment on books I was that interested in. But the stories were good, and it was a decent issue. Perhaps not quite as consistent as February, but probably better than January, and the long novelette by Charles de Vet & Katherine MacLean was really good.
Dean McLaughlin - The Man on the Bottom
In this tale of a future Earth, many mining operations take place under deep-sea domes. When war breaks out, these domes are extremely vulnerable to nuclear attack. The only way to survive would be to not be in the war at all. In some ways this is a rather pedestrian tale, except that ultimately it has an interesting point to make, which is that the belligerents in wars are countries, not organisations or companies, and why should non-combatant civilians choose or agree to take part? So, it's philosophically interesting, by the end, and has something to say. McLaughlin (b. 1931) was interesting for having had work published in Astounding/Analog over seven decades, starting in the 1950's, and though never prolific he had the top voted novella in Analog in 1981, 1991 and 2008!
Randell Garrett - Penal Servitude
Highly prolific, Garrett was the most published author in Astounding in the 1950's, with 29 stories. This was okay, and quite entertaining. A group of political schemers plan to reinstall a past tyrant to power, while an undercover double-agent works against them to stymie their scheme. I quite liked some aspects of it, and it's quite immersive, but lacks the quality and depth of the following story.
Charles de Vet & Katherine MacLean - Second Game
An-Lab results for this issue of Astounding very clearly placed this story first, with all the other stories scoring very similarly to each other but well behind. Having read the issue can only agree. De Vet and MacLean wrote a super novelette in Second Game. A spy (and master chess player) visits the world of the technologically advanced alien race the 'Veldians'. Almost entirely like humans, the Veldians were intent on war and aggression against the human 'Thousand Worlds' alliance. But the game-playing spy has a plan to avoid bloodshed and win the seemingly unwinnable conflict. This is very well written, and clearly a notch above the standard quality of pulp SF. Parallels with humanities problems abound and the dialogue between the key characters is intelligent and engaging. Highly recommended.
Fritz Leiber - Try and Change the Past
This was short but entertaining, outlining how a 'snake' soldier in the Change War discovered how hard it was to change his own past, due to the law of 'conservation of reality'. It's quite nicely done, the main character is a bit of a heel and it's one of those classic time travel tales that tend to stick in the memory.
Poul Anderson - The Man Who Counts (Part 2 of 3)
Anderson's serial continued in this issue. This instalment didn't perhaps have quite the same interest of the previous month's opener, but it was still entertaining, and was shaping up for an interesting conclusion in April.
Overall Thoughts
This was a good issue. The editorial wasn't all that engrossing (Campbell was still smarting about the poor performance of America in putting up a satellite relative to the Russians), and the book reviews didn't comment on books I was that interested in. But the stories were good, and it was a decent issue. Perhaps not quite as consistent as February, but probably better than January, and the long novelette by Charles de Vet & Katherine MacLean was really good.
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Reading Around in Astounding's Jan. 1953 Basic Science Fiction Library
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