Category Archives: birthday

The Cunning of Robert Bloch

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First, Happy Easter to those who celebrate.

Today is April 5, which is the birthday of Robert Bloch (1917-1994). Bloch needs no introduction around these parts. Bloch will forever be known as the man who wrote Psycho. But his work encompassed so much more.

He was a member of the Lovecraft circle while he was still a teenager and much of his early work was pastiche. He would dabble in Mythos fiction off and on for most of his career. But Bloch was too talented a writer to lock himself into one genre.

He wrote science fiction humorous fantasy, and crime stories.

Today’s featured book is one of the latter, although the cover implies the book is supernatural horror.

It’s not, although there are ceertainly some horrific aspects to the book. Continue reading →

Weinbaum and Gallun

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One of hte most popular science fiction writers of the Pre-Campbell era was born today, April 4. I’m talking about Stanley G. Weinbaum (1902-1935).

Weinbaum’s career was short, not even two years before he died of cancer.

But in those two years he left an indelible mark on science fiction. During a time when aliens tended to fall intot he Bug eyed Monster trope more often than not, and when it was common for characters to consist of a scientist (mad  or otherwise) , his beautiful daughter, and the square jawed hero who exists to protect and serve as what passed for a love interest to the beautiful daughter, Weinbaum broke the mold. Continue reading →

Thinking of Anne McCaffery

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Today, April 1, marks the centennial of of the birth of Anne McCaffery (1926-2011).

I’ve been thinking about her books lately. More on that below.

I first became aware of Anne McCaffery when I was either in sixth grade or going into seventh grade. I had just started reading adult science fiction, mostlly whata I found at Wladenbooks at the mall or the flea market. I’d pretty much burned through what little science fiction was in the elementary school library.

What caught my eye was a book entiitled Dinosaur Planet. A whole planet with dinsoaurs? I’m in. Continue reading →

Tennessee Williams

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Just a short post today, which is March 26. It’s the birthday of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983). The playwright’s first story was “The Vengeance of Nitocris” in the August 1926 issue of  Weird Tales.

It has been reprinted many times. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database lists over two dozen appearances since ti first appeared in The Unique Magazine, although some of those are different editions of the same volume, such as book club editions.

I’ve been buried under lawn work and grading exams today, so I haven’t had a chance to reread it. I read it years ago, and I don’t recall enough about the story to talk about it.

The August 1928 issue of Weird Tales had a number of well-known authors in its Table of Contents. In addition to the Solomon Kane story by Robert E. Howard featured on the cover, the issue also included stories by Frank Belknap Long, Everil Worrell, Edmund Hamilton, Donald Wandrei, and Robert W. Chambers.

Not bad company for your first published short story.

History as Inspiration

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Today, March 23, is the birthday of H. Beam Piper (1904-1964).  Piper was one of the first writers to try to write a future history.

And he drew on real hsitory to do it.

Heinlein’s, Asimov’s, Niven’s, and Anderson’s future histories are better known these days. But I would argue that Piper’s work can h old its own when compared to theirs.

Piper has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the few prominent writers of science fiction and fantasy to commit suicide. Others include Robert E. Howard and James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon).

But let’s not dwell on that. I want to focus briefly on how Piper used history as an inspriation. Continue reading →

Harry Harrison

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Today is March 12, the birthday of Harry Harrison (1925-2012). Harrison was once a big name in the field, but he has like so many faded into obscurity.

Harrison is best remembered for his Stainless Steel Rat series, but he wrote much more than that. Many of his works were satires of popular tropes, often tropes of space opera.

But Harrison also wrote series stories at both short and novel lengths. “The Streets of Ashkelon” is probably his best known sderious story, although it’s not really to my taste.

His novel Make Room! Make Room!, about overpopulation, was the inspiration of the film Soylent Green.

It’s been years since I read much Harrison. I read the first two volumes of his To the Stars trilogy last year, but I’ve not worked the third volume into my schedule yet.

Harrison wrote solid science fiction, and it would be nice if someone woul d bring his works back into print.

William F. Nolan and the Short Story

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Today is March 6, and it is the birthday of William F. Nolan (1928 – 2021). Nolan is probably best remembered by most readers as the coauthor (with George Clayton Johnnson) of Logan’s Run and several sequels.

Those are books worth rediscovering.

But Nolan did most of his work at short lengths. He was a mamber of what became known as the California School (among other names), a loose and informal group of fantasy writers who included (at various times) Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Jerry Sohl, Rod Serling, George Clayton Johnson, Charles E. Fritch, Ray Russell, Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, and Chad Oliver. (Chad was doing gradfuate work in California, but he soon moved to Texas but stayed in contact with the group.) Continue reading →

A Touch of Sturgeon

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Today is February 26. It is the birthday of Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985). The title of this post is a play on the title of his 1958 collection, A Touch of Strange.

Sturgeon was primarily a short story writer. He began publshing short fiction in 1939. He quickly began selling to the two major markets of the day, Unkown and Astounding. In later years he suffered from writer’s block, and his produc tivity dropped off after his first couple of decades, although he never completely stopped writing. His complete chort fiction was collected in thirteen volumes.

I personally prefer his early stories, but that’s partly because those were in print and available when I first started reading science fiction and fantasy.

Sturgeon only wrote a handful of novels, and not all of them were fantasy or science fiction. Some of Your Blood is a nonsupernatural horror story. The Player on the Other Side is an Ellery Queen novel.

Sturgeon was noted for the humanity fo his characters. Unlike other writers who tended to write characters who were flat and interchangeable, such as Isaac Asimov, Sturgeon’s characters had warmth and depth. He also tended to focus on characters who didn’t always fit into society.

Some of my personal favorites are “It”, “Shottle Bop”, and “Cargo” as well as Some of Your Blood.

What are your favorite Sturgeon stories?

Edgar Pangborn’s “Good Neighbors”

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Edgar Pangborn

Today is February 25, and that is the birthday of Edgar Pangborn (1909-1976). Pangborn was critically acclaimed during his lifetime, but he has faded into obscurity. Theodore Sturgeon was an admirer.

Pangborn was never prolific. He wrote only a handful of novels and a few dozen short stories. The most widely recognized novels are Davy and A Mirror for Observers.

I haven’t read Davy. I did read A Mirror for Observers back in college. I enjoyed the first half of it, then had an outpatient procedure. I finished hte book, but the rest of it was fuzzy due to still being under the influence of general anesthetic.

For his birthday, I read “The Good Neiighbors”. It was originally published in the June 1960 issue of Galaxy. It is available in the Edgar Pangborn Megapack. Continue reading →