Analog Science Fiction

[Lord Captain Woden]

Firstly I apoligise for my prolific thread making.

I made this thread because while at my local used book shop yesterday I noticed a large number of these Analog books and my question is, are any of these worth picking up? Their literally stacked on top of each other on a shelf.

Cheers.

 

[dask]

Firstly I apoligise for my prolific thread making.

I made this thread because while at my local used book shop yesterday I noticed a large number of these Analog books and my question is, are any of these worth picking up? Their literally stacked on top of each other on a shelf.

Cheers.

Books or magazines? Analog put out some Ace Paperbacks in the 70s if I remember correctly. Read a few and thought they were pretty good. Also read Analog for several years in the mid 70s and quite a few back issues and never had a problem that I can recall. I'd say go for it. You've got decades of quality and prestige backing them up.

 

[Alex The G and T]

Probably, if you enjoy Science in your Science Fiction.
I've been a subscriber since the mid 80's.

They can run a bit hit and miss; but there are few isssues which don't have, at least, a couple of good stories.

If you pick through them, you should see some familiar authors on the covers. It's the oldest extant SF mag still publishing. Many classics first appeared in ANALOG, or Astounding, as it was once named.

If the piles are in any sort of chronological order; you may also find serialized novels. (in 2, 3 or 4 consecutive issues.)

 

[J-Sun]

Sometimes magazines are also called "books" but usually only by editors or people in the trade. But assuming they are Analog magazines, in terms of reading value, you should definitely pick them up. In terms of monetary value, they have surprisingly little. Depending on how cheap they are, you might be able to make some kind of money off them but, at most used store prices, especially if not in bulk, you almost certainly couldn't. No one can say what the future might hold, though. But only the Astounding-era issues are really valuable or complete runs of long periods (and even those are surprisingly economical on a certain scale).

Anyway, long story short - for reading, almost certainly get them; for economic investment, probably not, especially if you're not thinking really long-term.

 

[AE35Unit]

I have Analog 2, a orange paperback from the 70s with stories by (to me) unknown authors.

 

[dask]

An antique store in town has some rather beat up Astoundings from the 40s and 50s for around five bucks a piece. Not too bad if you just want a specific issue or two. One has the first appearance of "With Folded Hands." Might have picked it up if it had something else in the toc I really had to have. If a person wanted all of them he could always make an offer of a dollar or two each. I did that about two years ago when I scarfed up a bunch of old sf mags, Astoundings, Galaxies, Amazings, etc.

 

[neopeius]

Firstly I apoligise for my prolific thread making.

I made this thread because while at my local used book shop yesterday I noticed a large number of these Analog books and my question is, are any of these worth picking up? Their literally stacked on top of each other on a shelf.

Cheers.

Analog magazine, especially under Ben Bova's stewardship, was quite good. Spider Robinson's stuff appeared in there, as did a lot of Niven's work.

 

[clovis-man]

And it was where Dune first appeared.

 

[Bick]

Yes and the next two sequels in the series, so his success with Dune didn't incite Herbert to give little old Analog a miss. It's a shame really great books are not serialised there anymore it seems.

 

[J-Sun]

Yes and the next two sequels in the series, so his success with Dune didn't incite Herbert to give little old Analog a miss. It's a shame really great books are not serialised there anymore it seems.

Not saying it's Dune or anything but Analog is currently serializing Karl Schroeder's Lockstep (reviewed here) and, while things can certainly change, it seems great so far. Joe Haldeman's Nebula-winning Camouflage (2004), as well as Marsbound (2008), were serialized there. I don't think much of what little I've read of Robert J. Sawyer, but he's a big time author and serializes almost everything he writes there. So there's still noteworthy stuff.

That said, while I enjoy serials a part of me can't help but wonder that, since these aren't the days any more when SF novels couldn't find book publishers, but are rather the days when short fiction is distinctly second-fiddle to novels, if we really need serials in magazines any more and couldn't use the space better for short fiction.

But they are such a nifty and traditional part of the mags that I can't really argue either way.

 

[clovis-man]

That said, while I enjoy serials a part of me can't help but wonder that, since these aren't the days any more when SF novels couldn't find book publishers, but are rather the days when short fiction is distinctly second-fiddle to novels, if we really need serials in magazines any more and couldn't use the space better for short fiction.

I have to admit to being one of those who buys novels as they are published instead of subscribing to priodicals such as Analog or The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. For short stories I will pick up one of Gardner Dozois' yearly publications. But I do miss the serials. Perhaps they may still serve in that a subscriber will need to maintain the subscription to catch all the chapters.

But they are also available via Kindle at very modest cost. Maybe that's the way to go.