Theodore Sturgeon

[Al Jackson]

Surprising here not to see Ted Sturgeon's name in the author's 'list'.
When I was first in university in 1960 had an English teacher who belittled science fiction.
Asked him to read Sturgeon's novel More Than Human. I got a copy for him.
He told me he was quite surprised, Sturgeon reminded him of Faulkner!
Steven King wrote his obituary in F&SF and said that Sturgeon was the writer's writer.
King loved Sturgeon, I am guessing they met. Sturgeon was a friend of Kurt Vonnegut , so much so that Vonnegut used him as his 'science fiction' author in some novels, he was Kilgore Trout.
Sturgeon was , without a doubt, science fiction's best short story writer. Microcosmic God (1941), "Killdozer!" (November, 1944) and "Thunder and Roses" (November 1947) were among more than a dozen remarkable short stories he wrote in the 1940s.
His novel More Than Human is 2nd on my list of best SF novels of all time (right after The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin).
He had only 6 novels (outside of some movie novelizations he wrote). The Dreaming Jewels is another extraordinary work.
Sturgeon was a consummate writer, if he had of been writing mainstream fiction he would be remembered as one of the best of the mid 20th century.
Sturgeon also wrote some great fantasy, he is unjustly unknown in modern times.

 

[BAYLOR]

I think he did a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea novelization.

 

[BAYLOR]

By Novels by him ive read More than Human , The Dreaming Jewels

Short stories ive read by him, Killdozer( which was made int oa very mediocre telefilm back in the 1970's) The Man Who Lost the Sea, The Golden Helix, It I have the anthology Not without Sorcery which ive yet to read . He also wrote the classic Star Trek episode Amok Time .

 

[Vince W]

Amok Time may possibly be my favourite episode of Star Trek. Certainly in the top two.

 

[Al Jackson]

I think he did a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea novelization.

Too bad Irwin Allen didn't do the novel! It was better than the movie!

 

[Randy M.]

Some of Your Blood, is on most every list of great horror novels I've come across, even though there's no supernatural element. Not as shocking now as when first published, it's well-written and engaging all the same.

"Bianca's Hands" and "The Professor's Teddy Bear" are terrific horror stories, as in a different way were "It" and "Killdozer"; also, "Bright Segment" was chosen by David Hartwell for his massive anthology and overview of horror, The Dark Descent. Sturgeon was one of the older writers to contribute a story to Dark Forces, a cornerstone horror anthology from Kirby McCauley; "Vengeance Is" is one of the first genre stories I'm aware of to address the AIDS epidemic, even if obliquely. (Given publication was 1980, it's possible that Sturgeon had heard of it ahead of the majority of us, or was perhaps a bit prescient, aware of how disease works and extrapolated from there.)


Randy M.

 

[Hugh]

My introduction to him was Saucer of Loneliness. I'd never read anything so touching. I was hooked.

Spoiler Alert:
A Saucer of Loneliness - Wikipedia

 

[BAYLOR]

I got interested in Surgeons after reading Harlan Ellison anthology Angry Candy.

 

[BAYLOR]

Too bad Irwin Allen didn't do the novel! It was better than the movie!

Writing was not Irwin Allen's strong point.

 

[Al Jackson]

Writing was not Irwin Allen's strong point.

Best I can tell , the only good thing Allen ever did was to produce The Poseidon Adventure.
Harland Ellison called working on Allen's TV show Voyage to the bottom of the Toilet!

 

[BAYLOR]

Best I can tell , the only good thing Allen ever did was to produce The Poseidon Adventure.
Harland Ellison called working on Allen's TV show Voyage to the bottom of the Toilet!

Harlan Ellison wrote a script for Voyage called Mealtime. Irwin Allen ruined it and turned it into The Price of Doom. The story has the Corwainer Bird name in the writers credit.

 

[Al Jackson]

Some of Your Blood, is on most every list of great horror novels I've come across, even though there's no supernatural element. Not as shocking now as when first published, it's well-written and engaging all the same.

"Bianca's Hands" and "The Professor's Teddy Bear" are terrific horror stories, as in a different way were "It" and "Killdozer"; also, "Bright Segment" was chosen by David Hartwell for his massive anthology and overview of horror, The Dark Descent. Sturgeon was one of the older writers to contribute a story to Dark Forces, a cornerstone horror anthology from Kirby McCauley; "Vengeance Is" is one of the first genre stories I'm aware of to address the AIDS epidemic, even if obliquely. (Given publication was 1980, it's possible that Sturgeon had heard of it ahead of the majority of us, or was perhaps a bit prescient, aware of how disease works and extrapolated from there.)


Randy M.

I should have mentioned that Sturgeon was also a great fantasy writer. He wrote for the magazine Unknown which published unique fantasy and horror.

 

[BAYLOR]

I should have mentioned that Sturgeon was also a great fantasy writer. He wrote for the magazine Unknown which published unique fantasy and horror.

I have an anthology by him which I have not read titled Not without Sorcery by Balantine book . I presume this contains his fantasy stories.

 

[BAYLOR]

Amok Time may possibly be my favourite episode of Star Trek. Certainly in the top two.

There was another story that hwas working but never finished The Joy Machine which was later the basis for the James Gun Star Trek novel of the same name.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I'm waiting to get a book from a series Ted Sturgeon wrote that explored the expansion of humans throughout the universe. The character traveled through space by appearing in other characters minds on other planets.

Because of the massive expansion over a great deal of time, there was a variance in how adept people were, for lack of a better world. Apparently there was some regression, while other places had made advances. Fast forward to today when there are a lot more people on the planet. Instead of visualizing what would happen as people expanded their activities away from Earth over time, once could just compare that to today's expansion of people across the Earth.

Even with all the advancements, we have never had so much information at our disposal and yet never has so much information been misused, misapplied or distorted. The electronic media has crept into people's heads, almost like it was a builtin conduit for others to get inside other's heads. We can create, control, and publish our own gossip, which pushes real news off the screen.

Instead of a person appearing within another person's head, big companies are inadvertently directing movements of workers and people as if the instructions were coming from within people's own heads to start with.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I just found out the book I am waiting for is Kirlian Quest by Piers Anthony. I guess that's what happens when you try to read Prey by Michael Crichton and Lest Darkness Fall by Sprague de Camp at the same time before failing to sleep.

 

[BAYLOR]

Surprising here not to see Ted Sturgeon's name in the author's 'list'.
When I was first in university in 1960 had an English teacher who belittled science fiction.
Asked him to read Sturgeon's novel More Than Human. I got a copy for him.
He told me he was quite surprised, Sturgeon reminded him of Faulkner!
Steven King wrote his obituary in F&SF and said that Sturgeon was the writer's writer.
King loved Sturgeon, I am guessing they met. Sturgeon was a friend of Kurt Vonnegut , so much so that Vonnegut used him as his 'science fiction' author in some novels, he was Kilgore Trout.
Sturgeon was , without a doubt, science fiction's best short story writer. Microcosmic God (1941), "Killdozer!" (November, 1944) and "Thunder and Roses" (November 1947) were among more than a dozen remarkable short stories he wrote in the 1940s.
His novel More Than Human is 2nd on my list of best SF novels of all time (right after The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin).
He had only 6 novels (outside of some movie novelizations he wrote). The Dreaming Jewels is another extraordinary work.
Sturgeon was a consummate writer, if he had of been writing mainstream fiction he would be remembered as one of the best of the mid 20th century.
Sturgeon also wrote some great fantasy, he is unjustly unknown in modern times.

View attachment 46589

Cool artwork, Ive seen that somewhere. I can't seem to place it though .

 

[Al Jackson]

Cool artwork, Ive seen that somewhere. I can't seem to place it though .

It is from the author tribute issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
(Wish they still did these , they missed some authors.) (Art by Ed Emshwiller)

 

[BigBadBob141]

If anyone is interested, there is a 13 volume collection of all his short stories.
Can't remember who publishes it, but I think they all available on Amazon.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I liked "Yesterday Was Monday" and "The Bones"; the latter can be found in Unknown.