Sense of Wonder vous souhaite une bonne année en relisant Tous à Zanzibar de John Brunner (Prix Hugo 1969) !

https://buff.ly/VzuczgT

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Rocznice i urodziny:
»Mija 30 od śmierci Johna Brunnera«

26 sierpnia 1995 roku w wieku 61 lat zmarł brytyjski pisarz science fiction John Brunner.

https://www.fahrenheit.net.pl/rocznice-urodziny/mija-30-od-smierci-johna-brunnera/

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Died this Day:

John Kilian Houston Brunner (24 September 1934 – 25 August 1995) was a British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1969 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel and the BSFA Award the same year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brunner_(author)

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What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XXIII

• A selection of read volumes from my shelves

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading or planning to read next month? Here’s the May installment of this column.

In my interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr. about his book Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miles (Miroslav) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025), an interesting methodological question jumped out to me: what is the role of more ephemeral publications outside of Hugo Gernsback in the early history of genre? A bit of context: Miles J. Breuer also wrote in Czech. He published stories in Czech-language publications aimed at the immigrant community far earlier than their re-written versions appeared in Gernsback’s Amazing. In addition, he published in various medical journals (that occasionally ran SF) and university publications. As Olša points out in the interview, it obviously depends on the questions asked by the historian — and these publications had small audiences that make it hard to ascertain “influence” or “inspiration” for later authors. Food for thought.

Before we get to the photograph above and the curated birthdays, let me know what pre-1985 SF you’re currently reading or planning to read! 

The Photograph (with links to reviews and brief thoughts)

What am I writing about?

I posted a wonderful interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr. about his brand-new book, Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miles (Miroslav) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025). In the book, he covers the life and career of Miles (Miroslav) J. Breuer (1889-1945), the first SF author to regularly write original stories for Hugo Gernsback’s Amazing. Breuer’s career also provides a fascinating window into the literary and cultural world of immigrants in late 19th and early 20th century America. Check it out if you haven’t already!

My big news of the summer: the start of my Galaxy Science Fiction magazine read-through (volumes under H. L. Gold’s editorial byeline). I should have another post up in the series later this week. I also wrote short reviews of two novels: The Company of Glory (1974, novelized 1975) and Harold Mead’s Mary’s Country (1957).

What am I reading?

As always, I’ll keep my current SF reads under wraps (less pressure) and focus on the history. As readers should know, I’ve develop a rabid obsession with various forms of leftist radicalism in the United States. I’ve engaged in a book-buying binge of volumes that intersect with theater. McAvoy’s volumes, so far, is absolutely transfixing.. She explores the emergence of labor/union-oriented colleges across the United States and their drama programs between the two world wars. Fascinating!

A Curated List of SF Birthdays from the Last Two Weeks [names link to The Internet Speculative Fiction Database for bibliographical info]

June 15th: J. F. Bone (1916-2006).

June 15th: Artist Neal Adams (1941-2022). Best known for his Tarzan covers.

• Map of the world of Redwall

June 15th: Brian Jacques (1939-2011). Yes, not science fiction…. but… I owe so much to Brian Jacques. His Redwall series single-handedly made be obsessed with reading. I read the first 12 or so volumes multiple times — and the first 5 at least six times each. I remember vividly the night my mother started reading Redwall (1986) to my sister and I. After my sister drived off to sleep, I snuck down from the bunkbed, turned on my personal light, and read the rest of the novel that night.

June 17th: Wallace Wood (1927-1981).

June 17th: John Hersey (1914-1993). Best known for his non-fiction work Hiroshima (1946), Hersey also wrote three SFF volumes. I read and enjoyed his overpopulation themed novel My Petition for More Space (1974). I acquired his satire of the National Defense Education Act (1968) novel The Child Buyer (1960).

June 17th: Garen Drussaï (1916-2009). She wrote five science fiction stories in the mid-50s, including her “consumer hell” story “Woman’s Work” (1956) that I must finally get around to reading.

June 17th: Dean Ing (1931-2020).

June 17th: Tim and Steve Quay (1947-) (The Brothers Quay). Before their brilliant short films, they created covers!

• Jody A. Lee’s cover for the 1st edition of Jo Clayton’s Changer’s Moon (1985)

June 18th: Artist Jody A. Lee (1958-).

June 18th: Roger Ebert (1942-2013). Ebert, a famous film-reviewer, also published two science fiction short stories in 1972.

June 19th: Mark Adlard (1932-). I reviewed the first volume–Interface (1971)–in his Tcity trilogy back in 2015.

June 19th: Brian Ball (1932-2020). A slick pulp-SF author, if that is your thing. I reviewed Singularity Station (1973) in 2013.

• Peter Goodfellow’s cover for the 1977 edition

June 19th: Salman Rushdie (1947-). I have my eyes on his first SF novel Grimus (1975) (above).

June 20th: Pamela Zoline (1941-). I love the rightly celebrated “The Heat Death of the Universe” (1967) and wish she wrote more than the handful of short stories (and an unpublished novel that I would love to find).

June 21st: Cleve Cartmill (1908-1964). Best known for the controversy over “Deadline” (1944) “which described an atomic bomb a year before one was ever dropped, which the government attempted to suppress.”

June 21st: David J. Skal (1952-2024)

• Lima de Freitas’ cover for the 1967 edition of vol. 1 of Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1965)

June 22nd: Lima de Freitas (1927-1998). One of my top 5 science fiction artists — I love his line work.

• Wayne Barlow’s cover for the 1988 edition of Wild Seed (1980)

June 22nd: Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006). I’ve reviewed Dawn (1987) and Mind of My Mind (1977). My favorite remains Kindred (1979).

June 23rd: Michael Shaara (1928-1988).

June 23rd: Artist Paul Orban (1896-1974).

June 23rd: Artist Alan Craddock (1956-).

June 25th: George Orwell (1903-1950). He has to go on the list!

June 25th: Charles Sheffield (1935-2002). His SF isn’t to my taste — more “hard” SF with lots of scientific details and background. I attempted to review Sight of Proteus (1978).

• Michael Flanagan’s cover for the 1st edition of John Maddox Roberts’ The Strayed Sheep of Charun (1977)

June 25th: John Maddox Roberts (1947-2024).

June 26th: Artist Milton Glaser (1929-2020).

• Tibor Csernus’ Modellers (1963)

June 27th: Artist Tibor Csernus (1927-2007). Another one of my favorite SF artists — mostly for French editions. The Hungarian is the master of texture and integrating surreal experimentation in combination with more representative SF art.

June 28th: Another wonderful cover artists for French presses: Philippe Druillet (1944-).

June 28th: Robert Asprin (1946-2008).

June 29th: Brian Herbert (1947-).

For book reviews consult the INDEX

For cover art posts consult the INDEX

For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX

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