Returning to Niven’s Known Space

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In a recent post, I mentioned That I was listening to the audio books of the Fleet of Worlds sereis by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner. I’ve got about an hour left in the third book, Destoryer of Worlds.  It relies heavily on the events in Protector.

I’ve read that one twice, once in high school and most recently, seven years ago. While I remember a lot of it, some of the details have faded.

Next week is fall break at the university, so I won’t be going down but three days. I’ll listen to some ghost stories or something and take a break from the series before listening to the fourth and fifth audiobooks. In the meantime, I’m going to reread most of the Known Space stories that take place before the events in the audiobooks.

t has been good to remember why I fell in love with Niven’s universe as a teenager. I mioght post some thoughts here as I read along. I’m probably not going to reread the Gil “the Arm” Hamilton stories just yet since they haven’t really played a role in the audiobooks. I will reread them, though. I love a blend of science fiction and mystery when done well, and the Hamilton stories are well done.

Further Issues With Contracts

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This is a followup post to the one I wrote a few months ago about about pulling a story that had been accepted at Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

To recap: I had submitted a story to Hitchcock’s. After about sixteen months (!), I got an email saying the story had been accepted. Contract attached.

I read the contract, which was a rights-grab, and promptly withdrew the story. I’m not the only one who has had a similar reaction. Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Scott Edleman, just to name two I know about.

Well, the artists aren’t being treated any better. There’s an article at Locus Online about the contracts the artists are being offered. It contains several lengthy quotes, so I’m just going to link to it rather than quote from it. The artisits quoted (John Picacio and Donato Giancola) explain their perspectives better than I could ever summarize.

In short, things aren’t getting any better, and the attempted rights grabs continue.

Piserchia, Edmondson, and the Stellar Anthologies

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Today is October 11. It is the birthday of Doris Piserchia (1928-2021) and G. C. Edmondson (1922-1995). We’ll also take a look at the Stellar series of anthologies, with a focus on a story by Edmondson. Continue reading →

It’s Beginning to Feel Like Fall

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For those of you who don’t live in Texas, let me explain what the title of this post means.

The daily high temperature will usually be in the nineties rather than triple digits.

Although things have been a bit cooler this last week because of some cold fronts and rain last weekend. This next week, we’re back int he nineties.

Classes are going well. I’ll be ruining some people’s day giving exams the first psrt of the week. Then I’ll be ruining my weekend grading next weekend.

On the writing front, I’ve maintained my streak (one hundred words per day, minimum) althaough some days I’ve barely hit the minimum. I’m writing a science fiction novelette right now that should be wrapped up sometime in the next week.

I’ve been listening to the audiobooks of Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner’s fleet of worlds series driving back and forth to work. I’ve completed the first two. Some of the second book retells some of the Beowulf Schaeffer stories from a different character’s point of view. I’ve read all of those, of course, more than once, but it’s been years. I”m rereading those in the evening to refresh my memory.

Niven has always been one of my favorite writers, one I will reread regularly. There aren’t many I wouls say that about.

Another is the Commonwealth stories of Alan Dean Foster, although I still have a few to catch up on. I’ve been listening to some of those on audiobook as well.

That’s about all for now. What’s up with ya’ll?

More Than Just Dune

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Today is October 8. It is the birthday of Frank Herbert (1920-1986). He was only sixty-five years. We lost him way too soon.

He will always be remembered as the author of Dune and its sequels.  Dune, if not the sequels, is one of the must-reads of science fiction. I’ve read it twice and plan to listen to the audiobook later this year or early next year.

But Herbert wrote much more than just the Dune books.

Those works are in danger of fading into obscurity.

There is the Pandora Sequence which starts with Destination Void. (Herbert rewrote this one to update the science.)

There’s Under Pressure. And Whipping Star.  The Dosadi Experiment. The Santaroga Barrier.

These are all solid science fiction works. There is also a massive collection of Herbert’s short fiction.

If your only experience with Frank Herbert has been Dune, you’ve missed some good sicence fiction.

What non-Dune works by Herbert have you read?

 

A Look at Neither Beg Nor Yield, Part 1

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So Jason M. Waltz has been asking me to reivew Neither Beg Nor Yield for, well, a long time. When he first asked, I wasn’t reviewing current works because I didn’t want to create a conflict of interest for myself by givng a less than positive review to an editor I might want to submit to.

I’ve since modified that policy.

I had dipped into this anthology, but I hadn’t read it straight through. So I decided to read it from the front cover to the back.

Neither Beg Nor Yeild is a hefty anthology devoted to “sowrd and sorcery with attitude”. Given the time contraints I have on my reading, I decided to break up the reivew into four parts. (There are twenty stories here, so four reviews covering five stories is what I’m going to do.) If I waited until I fiinished the book, I would have forgotten half the stories. I’m just going to give a brief description of the stories rather than plot details.

So here is the first of four reviews covering the first five tales in the book. The other reviews will be posted over the next mumblety-mumble months as I work the reading into my shcedule. Continue reading →

St. John and Wollheim

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Just a quick post to acknowledge two birthdays today (October 1). J. Allen St. John (1872-1957) and Donal A. Wollheim (1914-1990).

I’ll start with Wollheim. A member of the famed Futurians, Wollheim had his greatest impact as an editor, first at Ace Books and later under his own imprint, DAW. Those yellow spined paperbacks were a sure sign of pulpy goodness. Wollheim also edited the Avon Fantasy Reader, which kept the works of many fo the pulp fantasy authors in front of readers, not the least of which was Robert E. Howard.

J. Allen St. John was an artist who didi many of the classic covers for Weird Tales that weren’t done by Margaret Brundage. Some of his more noted covers illustrated tales from Otis Adelbert Kline and Jack Williamson. Here are some samples of his work.

Hiding with Wilmar H. Shiras

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See related image detail. Wilmar Shiras (September 23, 1908 — December 23, 1990), American writer ...Today, September 23, is the birthday of Wilmar H. Shiras (1908-1990). She wasn’t prolific, but what she lacked in quantity, she made up for in quality.

Her first published story was “In Hiding” in the November 1948 issue of Astounding. It concerned a mutant child who was much more intelligent that other children who was trying to hide his abilities.

Two sequels followed. All three stories were incorporated into the novel Children of the Atom. That’s the Science Fiction Book Club edition on the left.

This was the, for lack of a better term, golden age of nuclear mutation stories. The late forties and early fifties saw a number of stories about the harmful effects of nuclear radiation on humanity. Rumor, never confirmed, was that this book was, at least partially, the inspiration for the X-Men.

I read this in high school and could identify with the isolation the main character in “In Hiding” felt. I’m not sure how I would relate to it now. The book’s reputation has faded in the decades since it was written. It was still well known back in the year [REDACTED] when I read it. The world has moved on. Mutatns aren’t one of the things we fear as a culture. At at least they aren’t high on the list.

Have any of you read it?

 

H. G. Wells

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Today is September 25. It is the birthday of Herbert George Wells (1866-1946).

Wells should need no introduction to anyone reading this blog. War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and The Invisible Man are familiar to almsot everyone, even if they haven’t actually read those books.

Wells wrote a lot more than that, though. He wrote a number of short stories.  His two best-kmown short stories are probably “The Country of the Blind” and “The Red Room”.

His influence on t he field fo science fiction cannot be overstated.

But does anyone really red him anymore? Or is he one of those authors, like some of the ones taught in English classes, that people are familiar with but don’t really read unless they are forced to.

Personally, Wells is someone I would like to read more of. (Too manyt books, too little timem.)