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Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini on Astounding Science Fiction in the 1950s

Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini on Astounding Science Fiction in the 1950s

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The End Of Summer Science Fiction of the Fifties-smallWe’ve had some discussion here in the last week on the relative merits of the top science fiction digests of the 1950s.

Bob Silverberg offered his opinion that Galaxy magazine took the lead in the field virtually with its very first issue in October 1950, saying “That first year of Galaxy left us all gasping.” And in his Astounding Science Fiction Testimonial, John Boston generally concurs, saying that 1958 was the last good year under editor John W. Campbell.

Over the weekend, I was surprised to run across an interesting and impassioned defense of Astounding magazine in, of all places, the introduction to The End of Summer: Science Fiction of the Fifties, a 1979 paperback edited by Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini, which collects ten short stories from Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, Alfred Bester, Fritz Leiber, C.M. Kornbluth, and others.

Here’s the complete text of the editors’ Prefatory Note:

Six of the ten stories in this anthology are from John W. Campbell’s Astounding. This preponderance was not a publishing decision — Conde Nast gave us complete editorial decision — but our own.

No 70,000-word anthology devoted to the 1950s can give more than a sketchy representation of that tumultuous and fertile decade in science fiction. Accordingly it was felt that a deliberate bias toward Astounding had purpose and would give this book particular value. Concordance on the decade (which will come under increasing challenge as academia’s tanks roll on and on into our little backwater) overrates the not inconsiderable role of Gold’s Galaxy and the Boucher/McComas Fantasy & Science Fiction while somewhat minimizing Astounding, which is felt to have peaked in the forties.

Not quite so. This book is entered in evidence.

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March 2015 Nightmare Magazine Now on Sale

March 2015 Nightmare Magazine Now on Sale

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Nightmare Magazine March 2015-smallThe March 2015 issue of Nightmare Magazine is now available. Nightmare is an online magazine of horror and dark fantasy, with a broad focus — editor John Joseph Adams promises you’ll find all kinds of horror within, from zombie stories and haunted house tales to visceral psychological horror. Fiction this month is:

Original Stories

“Please, Momma” by Chesya Burke
“An Army of Angels” by Caspian Gray

Reprints

“Featherweight” by Robert Shearman
“The Burned House” by Lynda E. Rucker

In his editorial, John Joseph Adams reports on the astonishing success of his latest crowdfunding initiative, the follow-up to the groundbreaking Women Destroy Science Fiction! anniversary issue of Lightspeed:

Lightspeed’s Queers Destroy Science Fiction! Kickstarter campaign has now concluded and we’re happy to report that it was extremely successful; we asked for $5,000 and got $54,523 in return, which was 1090% of our funding goal. As a result of all that success, we unlocked several stretch goals, including additional special issues Queers Destroy Horror!, which will be published in October as a special issue of Nightmare, and Queers Destroy Fantasy!, which will publish in December as a special issue of Fantasy Magazine.

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An Astounding Science Fiction Testimonial

An Astounding Science Fiction Testimonial

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Astounding Science Fiction February 1958-smallI started reading Astounding with the February 1958 issue. 1958 was the last good year under editor John W. Campbell.

Consider the short fiction:

L. Sprague de Camp’s “Aristotle and the Gun”
Charles V. de Vet and Katherine MacLean’s “Second Game”
Fritz Leiber’s “Try and Change the Past”
Jack Vance’s “The Miracle Workers”
Clifford D. Simak’s “The Big Front Yard”
Rog Phillips’s “The Yellow Pill”
Katherine MacLean’s “Unhuman Sacrifice”
J.F. Bone’s “Triggerman”

(Also Randall Garrett’s “The Queen Bee,” but we won’t think about that right now.)

The serials: two substantial ones by Poul Anderson, “The Man Who Counts” (a/k/a War of the Wing Men) and “We Have Fed Our Sea” (a/k/a The Enemy Stars), Hal Clement’s admirable if clumsy Close to Critical, and another Anderson, very lightweight but appealing to a 10-year-old, “A Bicycle Built for Brew” (The Makeshift Rocket).

Then the bottom dropped out. The only short fiction in 1959 on a level with the 1958 items cited were Ralph Williams’ “Cat and Mouse,” Chad Oliver’s “Transfusion,” A. Bertram Chandler’s “Familiar Pattern” (undeservedly obscure), and Theodore L. Thomas’s “Day of Succession” — and that’s being generous.

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Clarkesworld 102 Now on Sale

Clarkesworld 102 Now on Sale

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Clarkesworld 102-smallThe latest issue of Clarkesworld, one of the most acclaimed fiction mags on the market, went on sale last week. Issue 102 contains seven short stories:

Slowly Builds An Empire, by Naim Kabir
Cassandra by Ken Liu
The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild (Part 2) by Catherynne M. Valente
All Original Brightness by Mike Buckley
Coming of the Light by Chen Qiufan
The Clear Blue Seas of Luna by Gregory Benford
The Book Seller by Lavie Tidhar

Non-fiction includes “Dark Angels: Insects in the Films of Guillermo del Toro,” by Orrin Grey, “Another Word: A Shed of One’s Own,” by Chuck Wendig, interviews with Randy Henderson and Silvia Morena-Garcia, and Chen Qiufan, and an editorial, “Reader’s Poll Winners, Nebulas, and Forever,” by Neil Clarke. This issue’s podcast is “Slowly Builds An Empire,” by Naim Kabir, read by Kate Baker.

Clarkesworld is a three-time winner of the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. In 2013 Clarkesworld received more Hugo nominations for short fiction than all the leading print magazines (Asimov’s, Analog, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction) combined, and last November the magazine was awarded a World Fantasy Award.

We last covered Clarkesworld with Issue 101. Clarkesworld 102 was edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace, and published by Wyrm Publishing. The contents are available for free online; individual issues can be purchased for $3.99, and monthly subscriptions are $2.99/month. A 6-month sub is $17.94, and the annual price is $35.88. Learn more and order individual issues at the magazine’s website.

This issue’s cover, “Keter,” is by Peter Mohrbacher. See the complete issue here.

See all of our recent magazine coverage here.

Robert Silverberg on the First Year of Galaxy Science Fiction

Robert Silverberg on the First Year of Galaxy Science Fiction

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The First Issue of Galazy Magazine-smallGalaxy magazine was founded in 1950; its legendary first editor was H.L. Gold. At the time Astounding Science Fiction, under John W. Campbell, was the leading SF magazine, publishing such writers as Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Clifford D. Simak, and H. Beam Piper. Within a single year, Gold wrestled the mantle of leadership away from Campbell, making Galaxy the top magazine in the industry. In his first two years Gold published some of the most memorable SF of the century, including Ray Bradbury’s “The Fireman” (later expanded as Fahrenheit 451), Robert A. Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters, and Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man.

Author Robert Silverberg (who credits the first issue of Galaxy with saving him from becoming a smoker) offers his own comments on the effect Galaxy had on the field, saying:

It is impossible to overestimate the impact that Galaxy had on us in its first twelve or fifteen issues. There had never been such a succession of brilliant stories in an s-f magazine, not even in the Campbell Astounding of 1941, which had plenty of future classics but also a high percentage of pulp filler.

That first year of Galaxy left us all gasping, and I still look at those early issues with reverence and awe. It was as if Campbell’s whole stable had been holding in its best work, which Gold now was able to set free. Alas, by 1954 much of the magic was gone, and from 1955 on Galaxy was a good magazine indeed but no longer, well, astounding.

Rich Horton has been reviewing individual issues of Galaxy (and other vintage science fiction digest magazines) for us for the past few years. And Matthew Wuertz has taken on the ambitious project of reading and reviewing the Gold issues of Galaxy for Black Gate, starting with issue 1, dated October, 1950. His most recent review was the July 1952 issue, containing stories by John Wyndham and Richard Matheson, and the second installment of Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth’s serial novel The Space Merchants.

March/April Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction now on Sale

March/April Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction now on Sale

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The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March April 2015-smallGordon van Gelder, who has been editing The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since June 1997 when he took over from Kristine Kathryn Rusch, steps down this issue. As we announced in January, he is being replaced by C.C. Finlay, author of  “The Nursemaid’s Suitor” in Black Gate 8. In his Publisher’s Note this issue, Gordon had this to say:

AFTER eighteen years of reading submissions, my eyes need a break. I’ve hired C. C. Finlay as the new editor of F&SF, effective with this issue.

When I first started editing the magazine back in 1997, I likened the role of editor to that of managing a baseball team. That analogy still works well for me. I think I’ve had a lot of good seasons, but now it’s time to move to the back office and let someone else kick dirt on the umpire when he gets a call wrong.

You got a good sample of our new editor’s skills in our July/August issue last year, and you can see more of his taste in action in this issue. I think you’ll like what you see.

I’ll take this moment to thank all you readers and artists who have put your trust in me. I’ve done my best to bring you the best magazine I can, and I’ll continue to do so as publisher. To that end, I’m very happy to have Charlie replacing me.

Mr. Finlay begins his first issue as regular editor with a diverse range of fiction — including two Black Gate regulars, Jonathan L. Howard (author of the Kyth the Taker stories, “The Shuttered Temple” and “The Beautiful Corridor”), and Brian Dolton (“What Chains Bind Us”), both of whom I’m very pleased to see in F&SF. There’s also fiction from Bao Shu, Alice Sola Kim, Paul M. Berger, Jay O’Connell, Kat Howard, and many others.

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Uncanny Magazine Issue 3 Now on Sale

Uncanny Magazine Issue 3 Now on Sale

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Uncanny Magazine 3-smallThe third issue of Uncanny Magazine is now on sale, with a cover that caused me to do a bit of a double take. I’m not entirely sure if it depicts a plucky adventuress assisting a monster in distress, a strange sexual romp in a pastoral field, or something else entirely. The artist is Carrie Ann Baade, and the title of the work (Unspeakable #2) doesn’t help. Click on the image at left for a bigger version, and make up your own mind.

Whatever the case, the new issue has a stellar line up, with all-new short fiction by Sofia Samatar, Rosamund Hodge, Emily Devenport, a classic reprint by Ellen Klages, and more. Here’s the complete fiction contents:

“The Lamps Thereof Are Fire and Flames,” by Rosamund Hodge
“Translatio Corporis,” by Kat Howard
‘Ivory Darts, Golden Arrows,” by Maria Dahvana Headley
“Those,” by Sofia Samatar
“When the Circus Lights Down,” by Sarah Pinsker
“Dr. Polingyouma’s Machine,” by Emily Devenport
“In the House of the Seven Librarians,” by Ellen Klages
“You Are Two Point Three Meters from Your Destination,” by Fran Wilde

Nonfiction this issues is by Ytasha L. Womack, Stephanie Zvan, Amal El–Mohtar, and L.M. Myles. There are also poems by Jennifer Crow, M Sereno, and our very own C.S.E. Cooney, and interviews with Sofia Samatar, C.S.E. Cooney, and Ellen Klages.

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Weirdbook Relaunches

Weirdbook Relaunches

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Weirdbook 22-smallW. Paul Ganley’s Weirdbook, one of the all-time great weird fiction magazines, will be relaunched this year by David A. Riley and Black Gate blogger Douglas Draa‎.

Weirdbook, a large-sized magazine with excellent production values, produced thirty annual issues between 1968 and 1997, publishing fiction by Stephen King, Joseph Payne Brennan, H. Warner Munn, Robert E. Howard, Tim Powers, Darrell Schweitzer, Basil Wells, Charles R. Saunders, Michael Bishop, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Ramsey Campbell, Delia Sherman, and countless others. The magazine was also famous for its gorgeous interior artwork by Gene Day, Victoria Poyser, J. K. Potter, Allen Koszowski, Stephen E. Fabian, and many others.

Douglas Draa, a prolific blogger and the former Online Editor for Weird Tales, is the Managing Editor and Fiction editor; Riley has signed on as Senior Editor and Publisher. When I asked Doug for additional details he shared this with us:

We’ll closely, but not slavishly, follow the original format. Content wise we hope to have a strong mix of weird, horror, weird-sf, dark fantasy, swords & sorcery, and everything in between. The accent will be on strong story telling that the reader will enjoy. The eclectic mix of style and sub-genres that the original was famous will be our “leitfaden.” Paul is on board as Editor Emeritus with “kill-switch” powers to keep us on the straight and narrow.

Our goal is to bring the reader high quality genre fiction original in the Weirdbook tradition. The key word will be entertainment. Critics be damned.

On a personal note, W. Paul Ganley and Weirdbook were a big influence on me, and a major inspiration for Black Gate. I was consciously following in Paul’s footsteps when I launched BG 15 years ago, and I’m very excited to see his magazine return. For more details, see Doug’s announcement here, and the magazines’s new website here.

Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1952: A Retro-Review

Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1952: A Retro-Review

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Galaxy Science Fiction July 1952-smallSporting a robot miner on the cover (art by Jack Coggins), Galaxy’s July, 1952 issue invites readers inside. And it doesn’t disappoint!

“Star, Bright” by Mark Clifton — A single father observes that his four-year-old daughter, Star, has an impressive intelligence level. He doesn’t understand exactly how high it is until she begins to use telepathy.

The story has an interesting premise, but I’m not sure I liked where the story went. It seemed a bit too far-fetched at points.

“Wailing Wall” by Roger Dee — The crew of the Marco Four interacts with the colony on Sadr III. The Sadrians had been under the control of an alien race known as the Hymenops, which could explain their odd behavior. Since the crew’s landing, over a hundred people in the world’s only village have died as a result of murder or suicide.

I think the story would have been better without the initial flash-forward. Otherwise, it was a good read. Roger Dee is a pseudonym for Roger D. Aycock. The crew of the Marco Four return in “Pet Farm” (published in the February, 1954 issue of Galaxy) and “Control Group” (in the January, 1960 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories).

“Origin of Galactic Slang” by Edward Wellen (illustrated by David Stone) — This is a compilation of fictional anecdotes around “galactic” terms and phrases.

I’m not sure if this qualifies as a story, but I found it amusing. It’s listed in the table of contents as a “Non-Fact Article”. Wellen wrote eight such “Origins of Galactic X” articles.

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Interzone #256 Now on Sale

Interzone #256 Now on Sale

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Interzone-256-smallBlack Static 44 is now on sale here in the US, and I thought it was long past time to take a look at its sister magazine Interzone, also published by TTA Press in the UK.

Interzone was founded in 1982 by a UK collective of fans that included author and critic John Clute, Take Back Plenty author Colin Greenland, Malcolm Edwards, who became the SF editor at Victor Gollancz and creator of the highly respected SF Masterworks line, and David Pringle. David Pringle eventually became the sole editor, remaining at the helm for an incredible 193 issues, until he stepped down in 2004. Since then it’s been owned by TTA Press, publishers of Black Static and Crimewave, with Andy Cox as editor.

Interzone contains chiefly science fiction but, like Asimov’s SF here in the states, does publish the occasional fantasy piece. Issue #256 is cover-dated January/February, and contains the following stories:

“Nostalgia” by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
“An Advanced Guide to Successful Price-Fixing in Extraterrestrial Betting Markets” by T.R. Napper
“The Ferry Man” by Pandora Hope
“Tribute” by Christen Gholson
“Fish on Friday” by Neil Williamson

The cover this issue (titled Berenice) is by artist Martin Hanford, who has been commissioned to do all the 2015 covers. Click the cover for a bigger version. If the style looks familiar, you probably saw Hanford’s art just yesterday in our New Treasures piece on Swords of Steel.

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