Nostr notes by Joachim Boaz

Interview with Matthew I. Thompson, author of On Life Support: ...

2026-04-02T22:26:43Z

Interview with Matthew I. Thompson, author of On Life Support: Eco-Dystopian Cinema in the Long 1970s (2026): https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2026/04/02/exploration-log-13-interview-with-matthew-i-thompson-author-of-on-life-support-eco-dystopian-cinema-in-the-long-1970s-2026/

#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-04-01T13:19:35Z

Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?176

L, Michael Whelan, 1978; R, Romas Kukalis, 1995
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Chad Oliver (1928-1993) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-30T11:43:03Z

Chad Oliver (1928-1993) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?725

L, Gray Morrow, 1975; R, Richard Powers, 1955
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Dennis Etchison (1943-2019) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-30T11:38:50Z

Dennis Etchison (1943-2019) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1419

L, James Roth, 1964; R, Chesley Bonestell, 1967
#scifi #sciencefiction

Artist Art Sussman (1927-2008) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-30T11:33:40Z

Artist Art Sussman (1927-2008) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?55131

L, 1958; R, 1960
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Alice Eleanor Jones (1916-1981) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-30T11:30:21Z

Alice Eleanor Jones (1916-1981) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?13572

L, Frank Kelly Freas, 1955; R, Frank Kelly Freas, 1955
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Artist Curt Caesar (1906-1974) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-30T11:22:34Z

Artist Curt Caesar (1906-1974) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?112613

L, 1953; R, 1953
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

Okay dude. You're responding to a birthday post about an ...

2026-03-29T13:31:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…k8hr
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Okay dude. You're responding to a birthday post about an Italian SF author -- one would expect the conversation to connect in a meaningful way.

?

2026-03-29T13:29:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…dhpz
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?

Lino Aldani’s “Good Night, Sophie” (1963, trans. 1973) is ...

2026-03-29T13:16:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…frgj
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Lino Aldani’s “Good Night, Sophie” (1963, trans. 1973) is really really really good... if dystopian accounts of future media is your thing. https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/01/22/the-media-landscape-in-science-fiction-short-stories-lino-aldanis-good-night-sophie-1963-trans-1973/

Lino Aldani (1926-2009) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-29T13:15:58Z

Lino Aldani (1926-2009) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?16747

I'd love to see more of his work translated!

L, Catherine Chilin and Stéphane Dumont, 1980; R, Gianni Benvenuti, 1978
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Artist Walt Miller (1928-2015) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-29T13:08:43Z

Artist Walt Miller (1928-2015) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?39031

L, 1951; R, 1950
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Artist Johann Peter Reuter (1949-) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-29T13:03:46Z

Artist Johann Peter Reuter (1949-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?156437

L, 1979; R, 1981
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Suits the book on the left -- my quite old review of The Watch ...

2026-03-28T19:48:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…958e
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Suits the book on the left -- my quite old review of The Watch Below

https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2011/12/10/book-review-the-watch-below-james-white-1966/

Artist George Ziel (1914-1982) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-28T14:10:23Z

Artist George Ziel (1914-1982) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?26714

L, 1966; R, 1958
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #books

A. Bertram Chandler (1912-1984) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-28T14:05:00Z

A. Bertram Chandler (1912-1984) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?72

L, Peter Elson, 1981; R, Richard Hescox, 1979
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Joe Tillotson's interior art for Poul Anderson's "The ...

2026-03-28T03:32:58Z

Joe Tillotson's interior art for Poul Anderson's "The Missionaries" in Other Worlds Science Stories (June and July 1951)
#scifi #sciencefiction #art

RE: https://mastodon.art/@MichaelWhelan/116302086147406428 One of ...

2026-03-27T17:26:22Z

RE: https://mastodon.art/@MichaelWhelan/116302086147406428

One of the earliest reviews on my site! Way back in 2010....

https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2010/12/25/book-review-the-enemy-stars-poul-anderson-1958/

Artist Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2006) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-27T14:53:20Z

Artist Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2006) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1392

L, 1955; R, 1954
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Wul's best known for Oms en série (1957) -- the source ...

2026-03-27T14:48:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…wa0w
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Wul's best known for Oms en série (1957) -- the source material for the surrealist SF movie Fantastic Planet (1973). Little else of his work has been translated into English.

Stefan Wul (1922-2003) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-27T14:48:22Z

Stefan Wul (1922-2003) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?574

L, Jean-Yves Kervévan, 1989; R, Lima de Freitas, 1963
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Artist and author Helmut Wenske (1940-) was born on this day. ...

2026-03-27T14:41:04Z

Artist and author Helmut Wenske (1940-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?148771

L, 1973; R, 1973
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

John R. Pierce (1910-2002) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-27T14:34:33Z

John R. Pierce (1910-2002) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?460

L, William Timmins, 1944; R, Chesley Bonestell, 1952
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

In Alan E. Nourse's "Marley's Chain" (1951), a ...

2026-03-27T03:07:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…53ku
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In Alan E. Nourse's "Marley's Chain" (1951), a man must confront his own problematic past in a new America rebuilding from the wreckage of the old.

In Edward W. Ludwig's "The Rocket Man" (1951), a ...

2026-03-27T03:07:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…7egu
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In Edward W. Ludwig's "The Rocket Man" (1951), a young white child yearns to lead an expedition to Mars. He finds fellowship with other outcasts, including an African American boy who also dreams of space.

Two lesser-known 50s science fiction stories on race in America: ...

2026-03-27T02:13:10Z

Two lesser-known 50s science fiction stories on race in America: Alan E. Nourse’s “Marley’s Chain” (1952) and Edward W. Ludwig’s “The Rocket Man” (1951) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2026/03/26/short-fiction-review-alan-e-nourses-marleys-chain-1952-and-edward-w-ludwigs-the-rocket-man-1951/

#scifi #sciencefiction

Luan Meatheringham's interior art for Bernard Malamud's ...

2026-03-26T16:24:46Z

Luan Meatheringham's interior art for Bernard Malamud's "Angel Levine" (1955) in Gamma #3, ed. Charles E. Fritch (1964)
#art #fantasy

Edward Bellamy (1850-1898) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-26T12:05:02Z

Edward Bellamy (1850-1898) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1963

L, uncredited, 1988; R, uncredited, 1897

David J. Lake (1929-2016) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-26T11:54:32Z

David J. Lake (1929-2016) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2937

L, George Barr, 1977; R, Ken Kelly, 1984
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Angus Wells (1943-2006) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-26T11:49:54Z

Angus Wells (1943-2006) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?282

L, Luis Royo, 1987; R, Larry Elmore, 1990
#fantasy #scifi #sciencefiction #books

K. W. Jeter (1950-) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2026-03-26T11:43:40Z

K. W. Jeter (1950-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?592

L, Barclay Shaw, 1985; R, J. K. Potter, 1987
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #fantasy

Artist Milton Luros (1911-1999) was born on this day. ...

2025-12-26T13:14:46Z

Artist Milton Luros (1911-1999) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?27518

L, 1952; R, 1952
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Fritz Leiber (1910-1992) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-12-24T19:16:07Z

Fritz Leiber (1910-1992) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?38

L, Hoot von Zitzewitz, 1967; R, Richard Powers, 1962
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

About my site: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/about/

2025-11-29T18:54:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…74m2
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About my site: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/about/

And I'm a historian who studies SF. Most of what I read is ...

2025-11-29T18:54:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…0mnm
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And I'm a historian who studies SF. Most of what I read is history. As you could probably tell from the post that you are responding to... current writing project about a science fiction novel written in the aftermath of the Populist/Republican fusion in the 1890s in North Carolina.

I mean, each wrote quite a bit... you could be a bit more ...

2025-11-29T18:32:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…qclq
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I mean, each wrote quite a bit... you could be a bit more precise! :)

I've reviewed a range of PKD and Farmer stories and novels on my site.

Most recent PKD: “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/03/09/book-review-star-science-fiction-stories-no-3-ed-frederik-pohl-1955/

Most recent Farmer: “The Lovers” (1952) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/08/07/short-story-review-philip-jose-farmers-the-lovers-1952/

quoting
note1jhd…ahjq

##

Book Review: Star Science Fiction Stories No. 3, ed. Frederik Pohl (1955)
https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/03/09/book-review-star-science-fiction-stories-no-3-ed-frederik-pohl-1955/star-science-fiction-stories-no-3/" data-orig-file=" " data-orig-size="1227,2101" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="star science fiction stories no. 3" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file=" " data-large-file=" " loading="lazy" width="598" height="1023" src=" " alt="" data-id="34444" class="wp-image-34444 has-shadow-none" srcset=" 598w, 1196w, 88w, 175w, 768w" sizes="(max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px">
Richard Powers’ cover for the 1955 edition

3.5/5 (collated rating: Good)

Ballantine Books’ illustrious science fictional program started with a bang–*Star Science Fiction Stories. *According to Mike Ashley’s *Transformations: The Story of Science-Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970 *Frederik Pohl’s anthology series of original (mostly) stories was “intended as both a showcase of Ballantine’s authors and a lure to new writers.” Paying better rates than magazines, the *Star* series foreshadowed the explosion of original anthologies that would provide a sustained challenge to the eminence held in the 50s by the magazine.

I’ve selected the third volume of the six-volume series.1 It contains an illustrative cross-section of 50s science fiction. Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), and Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955) are not to be missed.

Recommended.

Brief Plot Summaries/Analysis

**“It’s Such a Beautiful Day” (1955)**, Isaac Asimov, 3.5/5 (Good): The anthology starts off with an effective Isaac Asimov satire of the suburban experience. The creation of suburbia in the 1950s (and subsequent mass white flight) generated increased commutes between home and urban work. The home became a bunker to protect the American family from any threat (fallout shelters, a community away from diversity and interaction with “the other,” etc.).2

Asimov speculates that new, almost instantaneous, transportation portals will isolate the family completely from the external world. A minor glitch in the transportation system instills a change in the young Richard Hanshaw, Jr. He isn’t as willing to trust the portal — and decides to trek to school *by foot*. His teacher calls mother in shock and suggests psychological treatment. An intriguing, and gentle, satire on American conceptions of normalcy, the new-fangled post-War emergence of psychology as a therapeutic practice, and the suburban experience.3

**“The Strawberry Window” (1955)**, Ray Bradbury, 3/5 (Average): The story follows a family on Mars. The father, Will, spends his day constructing the settlement town. He’s possessed by the dream of Mars and humanity’s conquest of the stars: “It’s not just us come to Mars, it’s the race, the whole darn human race, depending on how we make out in our lifetime. This thing is so big I want to laugh, I’m so scared stiff of it” (31). His long-suffering wife Carrie yearns for the small sounds and big memories that anchor her to Earth. And so Will comes up with a compromise, an expensive compromise.

Ultimately, this is beautiful polish to a banal, almost jingoistic, defense of humanity’s supposed destiny to expand and conquer: “There’s nothing better than Man with a capital M in my book” (32). I am far more interested in the more subversive and quietly critical moments of Bradbury’s other Mars stories. This one is simplistic propaganda of conquest. Despite the enjoyable thematic core (the effects of leaving Earth) and polished telling, I’d classify “The Strawberry Window” amongst his most disappointing and forced. For superior Bradbury that I’ve covered, check out [“The Highway” (1950)](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2023/06/15/short-story-reviews-ray-bradburys-the-highway-1950-and-leslie-a-croutchs-the-day-the-bomb-fell-1950/#comment-59704 ) and [“The Pedestrian” (1951)](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/01/28/future-media-short-story-review-ray-bradburys-the-pedestrian-1951/ ).

**“The Deep Range” (1955)**, Arthur C. Clarke, 3/5 (Average): One of the reasons I feel a special attraction to 50s SF is its interest in the working-class experience of the future. Of course, for the reader of the present futuristic trappings suggest a certain glorification of what would be a new form of the mundane daily grind. The heroic blue-collar stories in James Gunn’s fix-up [*Station in Space* (1958)](https://sciencefictionruminations.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/book-review-station-in-space-james-gunn-1958/ ) come to mind. In Clarke’s “The Deep Range” humanity farms the seas. Instead of terrestrial herds of sheep or cows, shepherds in submersibles with dolphin assistants protect herds of meat-yielding whales from predatory sharks.

An effective slice-of-working class experience set in an evocative locale. It’s an immersive little story that draws on Clarke’s own interest in scuba diving and underwater adventure. Regardless, I remain uninterested in returning to Clarke’s work in anything more than an anthologized tale here and there.

**“Alien” (1955)**, Lester del Rey, 3/5 (Average): Due to an comically improbable collision at sea, Larry Cross and his alcoholic crewmate Al Simmonds find themselves stranded on an island with an alien which “could swim out of a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea” (51). Al Simmonds is injured and Cross must keep the man alive and figure out the alien’s intentions. A classic SF problem story in which man must figure out a modus operandi in a bizarre new scenario. It’s polished. It’s solid. It’s predictable.

**“Foster, You’re Dead” (1955)**, Philip K. Dick, 5/5 (Masterpiece): Mike Foster spends his school days practicing survival skills–digging, making knives, weaving baskets–in case of a nuclear attack. The kids snicker at him as he walks past. They don’t own a fallout shelter at home. His father refuses to pay into the NATS (National Security fund). If a bomb hit, Mike wouldn’t even be granted access to the school shelter. He’s possessed by a deep, perpetual, encompassing trauma.4 His walk home is nightmarish. Mechanical newspaper machines shout excitedly about “war, death, amazing new weapons” (67). The public shelter beckons with its neon lights but he has no money in his pocket for entry. And the store with the new shelter model mocks with its advertisements: “a powered heating and refrigeration system” and “self-servicing air-purification network” with “three decontamination stages for food and water” (68). Reluctant to yet again confront his father about their lack of shelter, he gazes at the new model and talks to the salesmen. He imagines that every evening he’d sleep in its encapsulating embrace, womb-like.

One of the absolute best fallout shelter themed SF stories I’ve ever read. It’s a fascinating collision of crisp prose, commentary on the arms race, and an evisceration of the complicity of commercialism in Cold War terror. Joins William Tenn’s [“Generation of Noah” (1951)](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2023/03/04/short-story-reviews-william-tenns-generation-of-noah-1951-and-eastward-ho-1958/ ), Daniel Galouye’s [*Dark Universe* (1961)](https://sciencefictionruminations.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/book-review-dark-universe-daniel-f-galouye-1961/ ), Modecai Roshwald’s [*Level 7* ](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2013/01/05/book-review-level-7-mordecai-roshwald-1959/ )(1959), and Fritz Leiber’s [“The Moon Is Green”](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/12/29/short-story-reviews-fritz-leibers-the-moon-is-green-1952-and-sonya-dormans-go-go-go-said-the-bird-1967/ ) (1952) amongst the best on the theme.

**“Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953)**, Gerald Kersh, 3.5/5 (Good): In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries surgical diagrams called [“Wound Men”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_Man ) crop up in medical miscellanies in Europe. These illustrations–the human form hacked, slashed, smashed, cut, pierced, bloated–served as an annotated table of contents to guide the reader through various injuries and diseases. Kersh imagines a literary version of himself returning to New York City from WWII interacting with a fantastical manifestation of a Wound Man on board the Cunard White Star liner *Queen Mary*. Corporal Cuckoo, the “Wound Man” in question, regals the narrator (Kersh) with the history of his scarred and mutilated form that mysteriously heals from every injury.

The reader becomes immersed in a historical military narrative that begins in the early 16th century. There’s a bizarre sense of horror and fantastical displacement. Like some crushed and deformed specimen, Cuckoo becomes an encyclopedic, and culminative, glimpse of humanity’s relentless obsession with death and violence.

Interesting and memorable. I’ll keep on the lookout for more of Kersh’s SFF.

**“Dance of the Dead” (1955)**, Richard Matheson, 4/5 (Good): My third favorite story in the anthology transplants the standard narrative of a young adult straying from the path set out by parents and small town community onto a break-neck road trip in a drug and alcohol drenched near-future. Len, Bud, Barbara, and Peggy race their car towards St. Louis. Bud tries to get Barb to take snuggle–“act of promiscuous love-play; usage evolved during W.W. III” (114)–and take drugs: “Have a jab, Bab” (115). In the kaleidoscope of the new and relentless peer pressure the lessons her mother taught her slowly erode. All her inhibitions come crashing down when the quartet see the transcendent nightmare that is the titular dance of the dead.

Manifesting the SPEED of the car, Matheson’s prose resonates with pulse and hum, snippets of song and signage, slang and youthful lust: “At a hundred miles an hour let me DREAM my DREAMS!” (115). It’s frantic. It’s *zappy*. It’s vibrant. Recommended for fans of the more linguistically experimental (and bleak) of 50s visions.

**“Any More at Home Like You?” (1955)**, Chad Oliver, 2.75/5 (Below Average): Dangerously close to joke story territory (what I classify stories that rely on a silly last page twist designed to generate a chuckle), Oliver re-imagines the classic flying saucer story. A young “man” named Keith crashes his advanced spacecraft in the swanky Bel-Air neighborhood of LA. He seems friendly. Friendly residents take him in. He meets with politicians. He gives a canned speech at the UN. But what’s the secret behind his sudden appearance? Does he really represent a massive Galactic Civilization as he claims? When the pieces all fit together, there’s a gentle sense to it all mixed in with a little, rather silly, “snip” at humanity’s claims to galactic centrality.

If you’re new to Oliver, I recommend tracking downs his two generation ship short stories–[“Stardust” (1952)](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2021/07/24/generation-spaceship-short-story-review-chad-olivers-stardust-1952/ ) and [“The Wind Blows Free” (1957)](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2019/11/18/generation-spaceship-short-story-review-chad-olivers-the-wind-blows-free-1957/ ). This one was not for me.

**“The Devil on Salvation Bluff” (1955)**, Jack Vance, 3.25/5 (Above Average): As my last Vance review came in 2021–*[The Languages of Pao](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2021/12/05/short-book-reviews-jack-vances-the-languages-of-pao-1958-john-shirleys-transmaniacon-1979-and-kit-reeds-fort-privilege-1985/ ) *(1958), I looked forward to this anthology as a way to return to his fiction. “The Devil on Salvation Bluff” imagines a religious colony (everyone calls each other “Brother” or “Sister”) on a planet named Glory without clear scientific or societal patterns. If anything, disorder, irregularity, and chaos *is *the pattern. Regardless, the community attempts to impose an almost monastic order on their lives. The colonists brings with them a massive clock, build communities in precise patterns, and carve up the landscape with linear canals and irrigation.

In classic missionary fashion, the colonists attempt to impose their religion and regularity on the humanoid inhabitants of Glory, nicknamed Flits, that spend their days indulging in their passions, seemingly random rituals, and goat herding. Using salt as a bribe, they momentarily convince the Flits to settle in a new village created by the colonists. After Brother Raymond and Sister Mary kidnap the chief of the Flits to identify the psychosis they think might underline their impulsive, random, and occasionally destructive actions, the true psychological *truth *of the planet emerges. Vance suggests that dogmatic religion must *shift *and change to adapt to the moment.

Fits in with an intriguing cluster of often brilliant 50s stories exploring the clash of Earth religion and the SFnal new–Ray Bradbury’s “The Man” (1949), Arthur C. Clarke’s [“The Star” (1955)](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2021/01/26/book-review-infinity-one-ed-robert-hoskins-1970-poul-anderson-anne-mccaffrey-gene-wolfe-robert-silverberg-miriam-allen-deford-et-al/ ), James Blish’s *A Case of Conscience *(novella 1953, novelized 1958), Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s *A Canticle for Leibowitz* (stories 1955-1957, novelized 1959), etc.

Somewhat recommended.

**“Guinevere for Everybody” (1955),** Jack Williamson, 4.5/5 (Very Good): An artificially created Guinevere stands “chained” in a “vending machine” tempting sleepy passengers in an airport with her plaintive calls (169). “You like me, huh?” she asks strangers as they pass (170). “Won’t you by me?” she cajoles (170). The implication is clear. The reason for her sudden appearance in train stations, and others of her model, far less so. Chimberley represents General Cybernetics, a company building “managerial computers” to replace human workers (171). Chimberley attempts the origins of “THE VITAL APPLIANCE!” with her all too human sex appeal, and disturbing tendency to spout advertisements for other products (170). He, little more than a cypher manifesting the displacement of the mechanical age, feels drawn to her as “his best friends were digital computers” (171). He discerns that she is a recent product created, produced, and distributed by one of these vast managerial computers. Giddy with excitement he sees her as “something human management would never have had the brains or the vision to accomplish” (172). He purchases her from the vending machine and sets off to find the producing facility. But a line has been crossed, and another.

This story bothered me (in a good way) far more than it should. Williamson integrates little comments about how the mechanical (think AI unleashed on the US government) ignores the human experience. And how Chimberley, alone, adrift, insular, feels fulfilled by a programmed device that is but a fragment of a capitalistic assault on the consumer. This disturbed satirical gem took me by surprise. I will be on the lookout for more 50s Williamson short stories.

**Notes**
Eight if we count the one-volume Star Science Fiction Magazine (1958) and Star Short Novels (1954). ↩︎
There is a ton of scholarship on both of these ideas that I have referenced in various reviews in the past. Here is a short list! Elaine Tyler May’s Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (1988, rev. 2017); Thomas Bishop’s Every Home a Fortress: Cold War Fatherhood and the Family Fallout Shelter (2020); Laura McEnaney’s Civil Defense Begins at Home: Militarization Meets Everyday Life in the Fifties (2000); and Robert A. Beauregard’s When America Became Suburban (2006). ↩︎
For “normalcy” see Anna G. Creadick’s Perfectly Average: The Pursuit of Normality in Postwar America (2010); For the growth of psychology as medical practice in the post-War moment see Ellen Herman’s The Romance of American Psychology: Political Culture in the Age of Experts (1995). ↩︎
I am reminded of studies of childhood trauma conducted on the students ohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abo_Elementary_School">f Abo Elementary, New Mexico, a school built underground as a fallout shelter. ↩︎

For cover art posts consult the [INDEX](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/egregious-science-fiction-cover-art/ )

For book reviews consult the [INDEX](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/science-fiction-book-reviews-by-author/ )

For TV and film reviews consult the [INDEX](https://sciencefictionruminations.com/films-reviewed-by-director-2/ )

#1950s #arthurCClarke #avantGarde #bookReview #bookReviews2 #books #chadOliver #fiction #frederikPohl #geraldKesh #isaacAsimov #jackVance #jackWilliamson #lesterDelRey #philipKDick #rayBradbury #richardMatheson #sciFi #scienceFiction #writing

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Mini-rumination ...

2025-11-29T16:57:45Z

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Mini-rumination on the allure of historical SF conventions

Join the discussion: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/11/29/what-pre-1985-science-fiction-are-you-reading-update-no-xxvii/

#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007) was born on this day. ...

2025-11-29T13:55:18Z

Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2923

L, Antony Maitland, 1963; R, uncredited, 1965
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was born on this day. ...

2025-11-15T13:16:41Z

William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?163

L, Frank Utpatel, 1947; R, Ed Emshwiller, 1962
#scifi #fantasy #books #sciencefiction

Mick van Houten's cover art detail for the 1st edition of Ian ...

2025-10-12T21:37:58Z

Mick van Houten's cover art detail for the 1st edition of Ian Watson's The Book of the River (1985)

#scifi #sciencefiction #art

H. G. Wells (1866-1946) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-21T21:49:33Z

H. G. Wells (1866-1946) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?65

L, Richard Powers, 1957; R, David Bergen, 1976
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

A. A. Attanasio (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-20T13:50:33Z

A. A. Attanasio (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?108

L, Pamela Lee, 1986; R, Mark Harrison, 1993
#scifi #sciencefiction #fantasy #books

James P. Blaylock (1950-) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-20T13:47:14Z

James P. Blaylock (1950-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?177

L, Darrell K. Sweet, 1982; R, James Warhola, 1986
#scifi #sciencefiction #fantasy #books

Martin Caidin (1927-1997) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-14T12:45:10Z

Martin Caidin (1927-1997) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?342

L, Richard Clifton-Dey, 1976; R, Sanford Kossin, 1970
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Theodora Du Bois (1890-1986) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-14T12:38:54Z

Theodora Du Bois (1890-1986) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?149939

L, uncredited, 1930; R, Ron Embleton, 1953
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #fantasy

Artist Rowena Morrill (1944-2021) was born on this day. ...

2025-09-14T12:31:11Z

Artist Rowena Morrill (1944-2021) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?21339

L, 1979; R, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #art

Romanian SF artist Rallé (1949-) was born on this day. ...

2025-09-06T12:47:21Z

Romanian SF artist Rallé (1949-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?26756
#art #artist #scifi #sciencefiction

L, 1987; R, 1988

W. Macfarlane (1918-1999) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-06T12:38:32Z

W. Macfarlane (1918-1999) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1846

L, Don Sibley, 1952; R, Mike Hinge, 1971
#scifi #sciencefiction

Mick Farren (1943-2013) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-03T10:55:44Z

Mick Farren (1943-2013) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?208

L, Peter Jones, 1977; R, Chris Welch, 1978
#scifi #sciencefiction #music #books

Cherry Wilder (1930-2002) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-09-03T10:47:37Z

Cherry Wilder (1930-2002) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?546

L, Stephen Hickman, 1985; R, Carl Lundgren, 1982
#scifi #sciencefiction #fantasy #books

Orson Scott Card (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-08-24T11:41:38Z

Orson Scott Card (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?15

L, John Harris, 1985; R, Chris Moore, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Short Fiction Review: John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” ...

2025-08-10T01:46:29Z

Short Fiction Review: John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/08/09/short-fiction-review-john-wyndhams-the-man-from-beyond-variant-title-the-man-from-earth-1934/
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

New science fiction purchase! Japanese SF in translation. #scifi ...

2025-08-04T22:11:01Z

New science fiction purchase! Japanese SF in translation. #scifi #sciencefiction #books #Japan

R. R. Winterbotham (1904-1971) was born on this day. ...

2025-08-01T11:20:18Z

R. R. Winterbotham (1904-1971) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1197

L, Ralph Brillhart, 1962; R, Ed Emshwiller, 1964
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Editor, author, and perpetrator of the "Shaver Mystery" ...

2025-08-01T11:16:43Z

Editor, author, and perpetrator of the "Shaver Mystery" hoax Raymond A. Palmer (1910-1977) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1839

L, Robert Gibson Jones, 1945; R, Harold W. McCauley, 1951
#scifi #sciencefiction #magazines

Alan Yates (1923-1985) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-08-01T11:10:46Z

Alan Yates (1923-1985) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?69421

L, Alex Ebel, 1978; R, uncredited, 1952
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Gail Kimberly (1927-2011) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-08-01T11:06:10Z

Gail Kimberly (1927-2011) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1753

L, Jack Faragasso, 1975; R, Vincent Di Fate, 1975
#scifi #sciencefiction

Arsen Darnay (1936-) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-07-31T11:16:30Z

Arsen Darnay (1936-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1222

L, Boris Vallejo, 1976; R, uncredited, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Sydney J. Van Scyoc (1939-2023) was born on this day. ...

2025-07-27T13:03:12Z

Sydney J. Van Scyoc (1939-2023) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1457

L, David Heffernan, 1982; R, Virgil Finlay, 1962
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Italian SF author Ugo Malaguti (1945-2021) was born on this day. ...

2025-07-21T17:16:08Z

Italian SF author Ugo Malaguti (1945-2021) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?125949

L, Luigi Garonzi, 1965; R, Allison (aka Mariella Anderlini), 1970

#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Artist Rodney Matthews (1945-) was born on this day. ...

2025-07-06T13:54:09Z

Artist Rodney Matthews (1945-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?26162

L, 1977; R, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #fantasy #art #artist

Artist Rick Sternbach (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2025-07-06T13:49:18Z

Artist Rick Sternbach (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?9710

L, 1983; R, 1976
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #art

Artist Howard V. Brown (1878-1945) was born on this day. ...

2025-07-05T14:49:05Z

Artist Howard V. Brown (1878-1945) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1211

L, 1934; R, 1934
#scifi #sciencefiction #coverart #art #artist

Alex Schomburg's interior art for Sharon Webb "Hitch on ...

2025-03-30T17:29:14Z

Alex Schomburg's interior art for Sharon Webb "Hitch on the Bull Run" in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (June 1979)
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

Writing with cat. #cats #caturday #catsofmastodon ...

2025-02-22T19:22:07Z

Writing with cat. #cats #caturday #catsofmastodon

Georgi Penchev's cover art detail for the 1979 Bulgarian ...

2025-01-05T15:26:51Z

Georgi Penchev's cover art detail for the 1979 Bulgarian edition of Lyuben Dilov's generation ship novel The Path of Icarus (Пътят на Икар) (1974)

Remains untranslated.
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist

"The sense of wonder, my friends, was never in the stories, ...

2024-11-24T20:05:57Z

"The sense of wonder, my friends, was never in the stories, but only in ourselves. It is we, tired and jaded from having read so much, who have lost the sense of wonder" -- Clifford D. Simak, Worldcon speech, 1971.

He's directly critiquing doom and gloom authors of "classic SF" bemoaning the New Wave.
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2024-10-21T16:31:34Z

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?37

L, Joseph Lombardero, 1973; R, Alex Ebel, 1974
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Milton Lesser's "Do It Yourself" (1957), one of only ...

2024-10-14T00:02:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…xzq4
_________________________

Milton Lesser's "Do It Yourself" (1957), one of only a handful unabashedly positive accounts on unions in the 50s, imagines a post-apocalyptic future in which the American individualist ethos reigns supreme. While banned and publicly ridiculed, a union secretly sends out agents to facilitate the rebuilding project. #scifi #sciencefiction #magazines #stories

Philip K. Dick’s “Stand-By” (1963) satirizes unions and the ...

2024-10-14T00:01:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…tmk5
_________________________

Philip K. Dick’s “Stand-By” (1963) satirizes unions and the media in a post-scarcity world but tentatively suggests conflict between both might lead to the overthrow of a ruling computer and the eventual reemergence of democracy.
#scifi #sciencefiction #magazines #stories

Three SF short stories on organized labor in the future! Philip ...

2024-10-13T18:58:07Z

Three SF short stories on organized labor in the future! Philip K. Dick’s “Stand-By” (variant title: “Top Stand-By Job”) (1963), Milton Lesser’s “Do It Yourself” (1957), and H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire’s “Hunter Patrol” (1959)

https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/10/13/short-story-reviews-phillip-k-dicks-stand-by-variant-title-top-stand-by-job-1963-milton-lessers-do-it-yourself-1957-and-h-beam-piper-and-john-j-mcguires-hunter-patrol/
#scifi #sciencefiction #magazines #stories

Artist Richard Corben (1940-2020) was born on this day. ...

2024-10-01T12:24:21Z

Artist Richard Corben (1940-2020) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?6193

L, 1975; R, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #art #artist

Artist Oliviero Berni (1935-) was born on this day. List of ...

2024-09-30T10:45:42Z

Artist Oliviero Berni (1935-) was born on this day. List of covers: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?37870

L, 1980; R, 1980
#art #artist #books #sciencefiction #scifi

Why wouldn't Bradbury count? I've recently returned to ...

2024-09-29T17:46:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…f3g6
_________________________

Why wouldn't Bradbury count? I've recently returned to some of his stories for the first time since I was a kid.

“The Highway” (1950) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2023/06/15/short-story-reviews-ray-bradburys-the-highway-1950-and-leslie-a-croutchs-the-day-the-bomb-fell-1950/

“Almost the End of the World” (1957) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/10/10/future-media-short-story-review-ray-bradburys-almost-the-end-of-the-world-1957/

“The Pedestrian” (1951) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2022/01/28/future-media-short-story-review-ray-bradburys-the-pedestrian-1951/

There's a review of The Werewolf Principle on my site. Nice! ...

2024-09-29T17:44:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…y8ls
_________________________

There's a review of The Werewolf Principle on my site.

Nice! I don't think, due to the date, Dann counts as New Wave. The movement certainly petered out by mid-70s..

Thinking historically, and writing religiously, about science ...

2024-09-29T03:06:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…t4zm
_________________________

Thinking historically, and writing religiously, about science fiction is also my entertainment :)

I'm a historian by training (PhD) and trade (teacher). I ...

2024-09-29T02:58:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…4czl
_________________________

I'm a historian by training (PhD) and trade (teacher). I definitely approach the genre less as a fan of all SF and more as a scholar of science fiction between 1945-1985. Hence my site's focus.

Here's a recent article I wrote about about Clifford D. Simak and Organized Labor: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/09/13/exploration-log-5-we-must-start-over-again-and-find-some-other-way-of-life-the-role-of-organized-labor-in-the-1940s-and-50s-science-fiction-of-clifford-d-simak/

And I lay out what interests me about the period here: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/about/

And a good place to start for more recent reviews and projects: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/01/01/my-2023-in-review-best-sf-novels-best-sf-short-fiction-and-bonus-categories/

Not pre-1985 or science fiction ;) Jest aside, I talk a bit about ...

2024-09-29T02:40:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…ym0g
_________________________

Not pre-1985 or science fiction ;) Jest aside, I talk a bit about my teenage obsession with fantasy (mostly post-1985) in the post. I would have loved it then for sure.

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

2024-09-29T02:27:45Z

What pre-1985 science fiction are you reading? + Update No. XVI https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/09/28/what-pre-1985-science-fiction-are-you-reading-update-no-xvi/
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist #books

Artist Rowena Morrill (1944-2021) was born on this day. List of ...

2024-09-14T18:04:35Z

Artist Rowena Morrill (1944-2021) was born on this day. List of covers: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?21339

L, 1983; R, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #art #artist #books

Two SF stories with queer narrators look back at the failure of ...

2024-09-09T01:38:10Z

Two SF stories with queer narrators look back at the failure of the New Left -- Lisa Tuttle’s Nebula-nominated “Stone Circle” (1976) and Grania Davis’ “New-Way-Groovers Stew” (1976)

https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/09/08/short-story-reviews-lisa-tuttles-the-stone-circle-1976-and-grania-davis-new-way-groovers-stew-1976/

#scifi #sciencefiction #books

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2024-08-20T17:06:41Z

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?165

L, A. R. Tilburne, 1947; R, Dick Bruna, 1968
#scifi #sciencefiction #horror #weirdfiction #fantasy #books

Short Story Reviews: Clifford D. Simak’s “City” (1944), ...

2024-08-19T00:50:00Z

Short Story Reviews: Clifford D. Simak’s “City” (1944), “Ogre” (1944), and “Spaceship in a Flask” (1941) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/08/18/short-story-reviews-clifford-d-simaks-city-1944-ogre-1944-and-spaceship-in-a-flask-1941/
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

what?

2024-07-31T13:06:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…mee0
_________________________

what?

Arsen Darnay (1936-) was born on this day. Bibliography: ...

2024-07-31T11:01:37Z

Arsen Darnay (1936-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1222

L, Boris Vallejo, 1976; R, Don Maitz, 1981
#scifi #sciencefiction #Books