The Worlds of Clifford Simak by Clifford D. Simak
A recent perusal of Clifford D. Simak’s wonderful collection All the Traps of Earth (from 1962) served to remind this reader of how very excellent the beloved Wisconsin-born novelist could be with the shorter form, and I resolved to read more of his stories in the near future. Thus, when I spotted a rather beat-up copy of his collection The Worlds of Clifford Simak (no middle initial here,
May 13th, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Clifford D. Simak | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Haunted Stars by Edmond Hamilton
At the tail end of my review of Edmond Hamilton’s The Star of Life (1947), I mentioned that this was the finest novel that I’d read by the Ohio-born author so far, and added that I now looked forward to reading Hamilton’s The Haunted Stars, which seems to enjoy an even greater reputation. Take, for example, these two sources that I have always trusted: The Science Fiction Encyclopedia,
March 29th, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 5 | Edmond Hamilton | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Corpus Earthling by Louis Charbonneau
As revealed in David J. Schow and Jeffrey Frentzen’s essential reference book The Outer Limits: The Official Companion (1986), that TV series’ producer and co-creator, Joseph Stefano, was laboring with some pretty serious concerns before the airing of Season 1’s ninth episode, “Corpus Earthling.” To quote from the book: “’When “Corpus Earthling” was finished and the music added, I sat there wishing I could say don’t air this,’ said Joseph Stefano. ‘I had never thought it could be that scary,
May 12th, 2023. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Louis Charbonneau | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Atlantic Abomination by John Brunner
In his 1953 novel The Kraken Wakes, English author John Wyndham gave his readers a tale concerning aliens who land on Earth and proceed to terrorize the planet from their bases on the ocean floor. But this, of course, was not the last time that a British writer would regale his readers with a story about malevolent space visitors living beneath the seas. Thus, in John Brunner’s novel of seven years later,
March 6th, 2023. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | John Brunner | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Night of the Long Knives by Fritz Leiber
Murder, as you must know by now, I can understand and sympathize with deeply. But war? No.
After a nuclear holocaust, America is unrecognizable. There are a few cities left on the coasts, but most of America is now the Deathlands, where radioactive dust hazes the skies and radiation-scarred survivors try to stay alive another day. Besides devastating the land, the catastrophe has somehow warped the minds of the few remaining citizens of the Deathlands;
November 30th, 2017. Kat Hooper and Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Fritz Leiber | Audio, Horror, Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Trouble with Lichen by John Wyndham
Published in 1960, John Wyndham’s Trouble with Lichen tells the story of Diana Brackley, a revolutionary, a feminist, and a scientist.
Diana is considered odd because although she is attractive, she does not want to marry. Instead, she is dedicated to her career in the lab, and it is there that she makes her amazing discovery: a type of lichen that slows the aging process. Diana decides to use the lichen to empower women,
May 9th, 2017. Ryan Skardal and Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | John Wyndham | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Dr. Futurity by Philip K. Dick
As I mentioned in my review of Philip K. Dick’s 1960 novel Vulcan’s Hammer, by 1959, the future Hugo winner was feeling decidedly disenchanted with science fiction in general, despite having had published some 85 short stories and half a dozen novels in that genre. The author, it seems, was still pinning his hopes on becoming a more “respectable,” mainstream writer, and had indeed already completed nine such novels: Return to Lilliput,
February 2nd, 2017. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Philip K. Dick | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
Vulcan’s Hammer by Philip K. Dick
According to Philip K. Dick authority Lawrence Sutin, in his well-researched biography Divine Invasions, by 1959, although Dick had already had some 85 short stories as well as half a dozen novels published, his interest in creating more sci-fi had reached a low point. The future Hugo winner was at this point hoping to become more of a mainstream author, having by this time already written nine such novels, none of which had been published … yet.
January 20th, 2017. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Philip K. Dick | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
Peter S. Beagle is a well-known author of many fantasy novels, including the classic The Last Unicorn. However, I don’t often hear mention of his debut novel, A Fine and Private Place (1960), written when he was only 19 years old. Given his age it’s a phenomenal achievement — the prose is polished, filled with pathos and humor, and the characters’ relationships are deftly described. And yet I couldn’t get into the story at all,
September 28th, 2016. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 3 | Peter S. Beagle | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
In his wonderful breakdown of the genre in The Strategies of Fantasy, Brian Atterbery devotes an entire chapter to the sub-genre of science fantasy, stating that of the “works that mingle the rhetoric of science fiction with that of fantasy, nearly all can be classed as either humorous or mythological.” Though citing a scene from A Princess of Mars wherein love develops between a human male and an egg-laying Martian,
August 18th, 2016. Jesse Hudson | Poul Anderson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Don't know how to answer that, Andrew; I've only read the long. But when it comes to REH, more is…
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