Monthly Archives: August 2026

John Varley

August 9, today as I write this, is the birhtday of John Varley (1947-2025). We lost him last December.

Varley was never really prolific, but over the course of about half a century, he wrote quite a bit of groundbreaking science fiction. His series about the Eight Worlds and about Anna-Louise Bach are favorites. (BTW, Varley has gone ofn record saying the two series are separate, although they have a lot of similarities.)

I first became aware of Varley when someone left a copy of the January 1979 issue of Analog in my homeroom class. The teacher let me have it. It contained the first installment of the serialized version of Titan.It was more than a few years before I got my hands on the complete novel.

In the author profile, Varley said his two favorite science fiction writers were Robert Heinlein and Frank Herbert. That made an impression on seventh grade me. I looked for books by those two authors.

If I can fit it, I’ll try to read one of the Anna-Louise bach stories later tonight.

Reflecting on Simak

Today is August 3, the birthday of Clifford D.Simak (1904-1988). Simak primarily wrote science fiction, but he also wrote a few fantasy novels.

Simak was called the patoralist of science fiction. His books and stories were often set in a rural or small town setting, frequently in his native Wisconsin. His favorite themes involved robots and time travel. While Simak could do dark when he wanted to, the majority of his stories were positive and optimistic. His characters tended to be common sense salt of the Earth people.

It’s been a few years since the last time I read any Simak. That’s partly because I’ve read more mysteries and thrillers in the last few years than science fiction or fantasy. I should try to read more Simak. His optimnism and likeable characters are a nice, refreshing change from some of the antiheroes and dark endings in so much of today’s fiction.

Palmer, Cartier, and Gemmell

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Today is the first day of August. It is the birthday of Ray Palmer (1910-1977), Edd Cartier (1914-2008),an d David Gemmell (1948-2006). Here’s a brief look at each.

First, Ray Palmer. Palmer saw a meteor fall. It was a piece of a white dwarf star. Palmer was able to use the material to change his size and his mass. He donned a suit to tights, called himself the Atom, Joined the Justice League, and, oh, wait. That’s the wrong Ray Palmer. Continue reading →