Reading Around in Old SF Magazines

[Hugh]

This Is the February 1959 edition. The editor at the time was Damon Knight.
I started it with high hopes - stories by Fritz Leiber, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Algis Budrys, Margaret St Clair, not to mention Cordwainer Smith, and, joy of joys, a Richard McKenna that I hadn't read.
However, all that glistens isn't gold, and the reality is relatively mundane. It turns out that other than the two stories I'd already read, the Marion Zimmer Bradley and the Cordwainer Smith, the others are fairly uninteresting, though the Margaret St Clair has potential. Nonetheless, ten stories is good value.

Here's a brief summary of the stories, not plot-spoiling,

(1)"Pipe Dream” by Fritz Leiber (the cover illustration).
We’re in Greenwich Village. Some taciturn Russians have moved in next door, four brothers and a sister. Our narrator finds something tadpole-like in his bathwater that looks like the sister.
Fairly mediocre for Leiber. In stories like this where the author is probably paid by word-count, I often find myself wondering how much of the story is deliberate padding - for instance here the four brothers are described at length, each of course has distinguishing features.

(2)“The Wind People” by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Starholm spaceship has spent eight months on an uninhabited though strangely atmospheric planet and is due to leave, but Dr Helen Murray has given birth prematurely to a boy child. Unfortunately the ship's acceleration in blasting off the planet is enough to kill any small child, so Helen opts to be left behind with her child.
I'd read this before and liked it.

(3) “The Good Work” by Theodore L. Thomas
Jeremiah Winthrop lives in a two-part cubicle on the148th floor with his wife and son. World population is 350 Billion and people only get to see the sun every few months. Jeremiah decides to go to the Ministry of Government Employment to request work.
Pleasant fare with a good twist.

(4) “The Man Who Tasted Ashes” by Algis Budrys
Redfern is driving desperately in a stolen car to make it on time to his arranged pick up by the alien ship. The story cuts backwards and forwards in time and it's clear that he's involved in some kind of devious scheme.
Not the best of Algis.

(5) “Love and Moondogs” by Richard McKenna
Martha Stonery and two of her friends have formed the “United Dames of the Dog” to request the Russians rescue the dog they have landed on the moon.
Surprisingly poor/silly story given that it's Richard McK. No wonder it wasn't anthologised.
It looks as if it's available on Project Gutenberg.

(6) “The Last Days of L.A.” by George H. Smith
The narrator has repetitive dreams of nuclear holocaust amid repeated visits to bars/alcohol consumption.
Dull.

(7) “Virgin Ground” by Rosel George Brown
Forty women have landed on Mars to meet and marry a man (sight unseen), but there are only thirty nine men waiting. The men, all isolated lichen farmers, choose their brides and Annie is left untaken. Annie goes in search of the fortieth despite being warned against him.
Oh dear me, but at least the woman comes out on top.
However, all credit to the author, who died in 1967, age just 41, one of the women pioneers in SF.

(8) “Discipline” by Margaret St Clair
Experienced archaeologist is responsible for excavating the only well-preserved BiYan tomb. Sadly, he is finding his trainee increasingly irritating.
I'm a definite fan of Margaret St Clair/ Idris Seabright and the only thing wrong with this story is it's much too short.

(9) “In the Jag-Whiffing Service” by David R. Bunch
Three pages of nonsense, written from the perspective of Martians, re their passion for visiting earth to engage in jag-whiffing.
I can't be bothered to make sense of it.

(10) “Star of Rebirth” by Bernard Wall
Atlanta (some kind of leader or shaman) has unsuccessfully led his starving tribe in search of food. He has tired of having this responsibility and slips away while the others sleep.
Too short to be much more than an amuse-bouche.

(11) No, No, Not Rogov” by Cordwainer Smith
“Rogov was worth more to the Soviet armed forces than any two air armies, more than three motorized divisions. His brain was a weapon, a weapon for Soviet power”.
An eerie creepiness alongside a heartfelt longing for transcendent beauty.
I have a soft spot for anything by Cordwainer - I've read all his SF and would like to get hold of his non-fiction, particularly his US army intelligence manual, but last time I looked these were unobtainable or ridiculously expensive.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

(3) “The Good Work” by Theodore L. Thomas
Jeremiah Winthrop lives in a two-part cubicle on the148th floor with his wife and son. World population is 350 Billion and people only get to see the sun every few months. Jeremiah decides to go to the Ministry of Government Employment to request work.
Pleasant fare with a good twist.

Sounds like a precursor to Silverberg's The World Inside.

 

[Orcadian]

View attachment 123214

I really enjoy your brief reviews, which give enough of a flavour to know whether this might be for me. (For me, reviews longer than ~5 lines are TLDR!)

 

[Bick]

Yes, nice review, thanks Hugh! The Theodore Thomas does sound good.

 

[Hugh]

Sounds like a precursor to Silverberg's The World Inside.

I haven't read that Silverberg, but from the wikipedia synopsis there are some similarities. Of course the Theodore Thomas story is just ten pages long...

 

[Hugh]

This is the UK edition of IF, Volume 1, Number 2, December 1953. It seems to be almost a repeat of the USA edition of May 1953, other than omitting the letters page. A pity - I enjoy these old letters' pages. My copy is missing the front and back covers. The editor is billed as James L. Quinn who actually owned the magazine but was between editors at the time so was filling in.

I hadn’t read any of these stories before, and other than Arthur C. Clarke had read little or none of the authors. The stories are pretty run of the mill early 1950s, and while it’s easy to pick holes in them, overall I found the issue a pleasant undemanding read.
While the stories are obviously dated, they have some twists and minor surprises that give them some interest. Curiously, the standout story for me was just three pages long by an author who seems to have had only the one published SF story: “Say ‘Hello’ For Me” by Frank W. Coggins. No big deal, but there’s something rather sweet about it.

Below are brief non-plotspoiling descriptions of the stories. I have another two issues of IF in my pile - as I've found the first two easy pleasant reading, I’ll be moving on to the other two next.

“Jupiter Five” by Arthur C. Clarke (This story gets the cover illustration.)
Bill and Jack are graduate students selected to accompany Professor Forster to the Moons of Jupiter in search of remains of the long dead “Culture X”, a race of beings believed to have originated from outside the solar system.
A tad young adultish, but neither Bill nor Jack say “Gee Whizz” or “Jeepers Creepers” and it still has interest….

“The Huddlers” by William Campbell Gault
“The things built mounds and lived one above the other. Apartments they called them. What monstrosities they were.” Alien visitor investigates the USA and, as tends to happen in such stories, the first person he meets is a wealthy heiress and they fall in love.
While the title is Simak-influenced, the similarity stops there.

“Derelict” by Alan E. Nourse
We’re on the Saturn Satellite Space Station . A great ship is detected, seemingly from outside the solar system and therefore it may be powered by an interstellar drive. This would be of great interest to the repressive military government. The crew are at loggerheads with each other as to how to play this.

“She Knew He Was Coming” by Kris Neville
A brothel on Mars that caters only for Earthmen despite their “pale skins and ugly eyes and hairy bodies”. Mary is waiting for her Earthman, the one who’s going to buy her out from Madame Bestris who is omnipresent. She’s made him a cake and is so looking forward to seeing him.
A brothel is an unusual setting for 50s SF, maybe any SF. Dated, but still has something.

“Pipe of Peace” by James McKimmey, Jr
Henry tells his wife that he and all other farmers have decided to stop work in order to resist the increasing mechanization that threatens their way of life. He sits down to smoke his pipe in peace. Just four pages long.
Creates a pleasant rural vibe initially but....

“The Kenzie Report” by Mark Clifton
An eccentric genius in the research lab has an obsession with communication with ants.
The 1950s wacky scientist story in the issue.

“Field Trip” by Gene Hunter
Two time travellers from different centuries accidentally meet on a train. Being time travellers, none of the passengers can see them. Just three pages long.
Nothing more than a space-filler.

“Circle of Flight” by Richard E. Stockham
Thorus and Aria are the last surviving leaders of the opposition but are surrounded and about to be overrun by ruthless government forces. Fortunately each of them has their own carefully planned escape route involving such remarkable scientific innovation that either one will result in ultimate victory…. But each of them is determined their own way is right. Of course while they’re debating this, the police break in and hold them at gunpoint….
Humdrum

“Say ‘Hello’ For Me” by Frank W. Coggins
Professor Pettibone has been stranded on Mars for twenty years. Every day he polishes the hull of his wrecked spaceship with dried Martian moss, confident that its reflecting glitter will act as a beacon for his rescue.
Only three pages long, and seems to be the author’s only published SF story, but there’s something I really like about it.. Seems to be available on Project Gutenberg.

“The Contest” by Gavin Hyde
Cyl has reached the final of the Thought-Transmission Annual contest in which one mind seeks to dominate another. He is concerned though that his preparation has necessitated minimal conversation with his wife.
Very average story

 

[Extollager]

View attachment 123418

This is the UK edition of IF, Volume 1, Number 2, December 1953. It seems to be almost a repeat of the USA edition of May 1953, other than omitting the letters page. A pity - I enjoy these old letters' pages. My copy is missing the front and back covers. The editor is billed as James L. Quinn who actually owned the magazine but was between editors at the time so was filling in.

I hadn’t read any of these stories before, and other than Arthur C. Clarke had read little or none of the authors. The stories are pretty run of the mill early 1950s, and while it’s easy to pick holes in them, overall I found the issue a pleasant undemanding read.
While the stories are obviously dated, they have some twists and minor surprises that give them some interest. Curiously, the standout story for me was just three pages long by an author who seems to have had only the one published SF story: “Say ‘Hello’ For Me” by Frank W. Coggins. No big deal, but there’s something rather sweet about it.

Below are brief non-plotspoiling descriptions of the stories. I have another two issues of IF in my pile - as I've found the first two easy pleasant reading, I’ll be moving on to the other two next.

“Jupiter Five” by Arthur C. Clarke (This story gets the cover illustration.)
Bill and Jack are graduate students selected to accompany Professor Forster to the Moons of Jupiter in search of remains of the long dead “Culture X”, a race of beings believed to have originated from outside the solar system.
A tad young adultish, but neither Bill nor Jack say “Gee Whizz” or “Jeepers Creepers” and it still has interest….

“The Huddlers” by William Campbell Gault
“The things built mounds and lived one above the other. Apartments they called them. What monstrosities they were.” Alien visitor investigates the USA and, as tends to happen in such stories, the first person he meets is a wealthy heiress and they fall in love.
While the title is Simak-influenced, the similarity stops there.

“Derelict” by Alan E. Nourse
We’re on the Saturn Satellite Space Station . A great ship is detected, seemingly from outside the solar system and therefore it may be powered by an interstellar drive. This would be of great interest to the repressive military government. The crew are at loggerheads with each other as to how to play this.

“She Knew He Was Coming” by Kris Neville
A brothel on Mars that caters only for Earthmen despite their “pale skins and ugly eyes and hairy bodies”. Mary is waiting for her Earthman, the one who’s going to buy her out from Madame Bestris who is omnipresent. She’s made him a cake and is so looking forward to seeing him.
A brothel is an unusual setting for 50s SF, maybe any SF. Dated, but still has something.

“Pipe of Peace” by James McKimmey, Jr
Henry tells his wife that he and all other farmers have decided to stop work in order to resist the increasing mechanization that threatens their way of life. He sits down to smoke his pipe in peace. Just four pages long.
Creates a pleasant rural vibe initially but....

“The Kenzie Report” by Mark Clifton
An eccentric genius in the research lab has an obsession with communication with ants.
The 1950s wacky scientist story in the issue.

“Field Trip” by Gene Hunter
Two time travellers from different centuries accidentally meet on a train. Being time travellers, none of the passengers can see them. Just three pages long.
Nothing more than a space-filler.

“Circle of Flight” by Richard E. Stockham
Thorus and Aria are the last surviving leaders of the opposition but are surrounded and about to be overrun by ruthless government forces. Fortunately each of them has their own carefully planned escape route involving such remarkable scientific innovation that either one will result in ultimate victory…. But each of them is determined their own way is right. Of course while they’re debating this, the police break in and hold them at gunpoint….
Humdrum

“Say ‘Hello’ For Me” by Frank W. Coggins
Professor Pettibone has been stranded on Mars for twenty years. Every day he polishes the hull of his wrecked spaceship with dried Martian moss, confident that its reflecting glitter will act as a beacon for his rescue.
Only three pages long, and seems to be the author’s only published SF story, but there’s something I really like about it.. Seems to be available on Project Gutenberg.

“The Contest” by Gavin Hyde
Cyl has reached the final of the Thought-Transmission Annual contest in which one mind seeks to dominate another. He is concerned though that his preparation has necessitated minimal conversation with his wife.
Very average story

I would have to look it up, but I believe it was Arthur C. Clarke who gave C. S. Lewis a copy of this very issue. Lewis wrote Clarke a letter of comment. I'll have to look it up, but my recollection is that Lewis wasn't much impressed; that he didn't find much of what it was that he craved when he craved science fiction.

 

[Hugh]

I would have to look it up, but I believe it was Arthur C. Clarke who gave C. S. Lewis a copy of this very issue. Lewis wrote Clarke a letter of comment. I'll have to look it up, but my recollection is that Lewis wasn't much impressed; that he didn't find much of what it was that he craved when he craved science fiction.

If it was this issue (which would be amazing) it's easy to see why Lewis was unimpressed.

 

[beccabear67]

I had the May 1953 If, and it could be that the cover art was the most memorable thing along with the name "Professor Pettibone". I think it was in a bit of a transition phase in terms of content, toward SF. It had started out more in line with F&SF, Imagination or Fantastic; about half or more fantasy content.

 

[Extollager]

If it was this issue (which would be amazing) it's easy to see why Lewis was unimpressed.

Here we go. CSL writes to Arthur C. Clarke 20 Jan. 1954. CSL read that issue of If on the train, and feels "how well it illustrates what is to me a bad tendency in modern S-F. Your Jupiter 5 is good: but -- forgive me -- even there, what a pity that the lost reptilian culture (a glorious idea) which is what you really want to tell us about and we really want to hear about is almost thrust into a corner by the little drama about a theft and a hoax. Similarly in M. Clifton's The Kenzie Report the really interesting thing, & well worth the whole story, is the ants. Why, in heaven's name, shd. [it] be pushed out of the centre and the centre taken up by an unutterably banal little laboratory intrigue?"

Lewis continues, "With K. Neville's She knew he was coming we touch rock-bottom. The old theme of the sentimentalized brothel and the whore-with-a-heart-of-Gold is mawkish anyway, but tolerable; but what, in heaven's name, is the point of locating it on Mars? Surely in a work of art all the material should be used. If a theme is introduced into a symphony, something must be made of that theme, ....What's the excuse for locating one's story on Mars unless 'Martianity' is through and through used?"

Lewis adds, "Stockham's Circle of Flight, tho' not at all well executed, is the real thing: i.e. the thing he professes to be doing is the thing he is really doing. And there, for once, the love interest is relevant."

He doesn't comment on the rest. In his next letter to Clarke, Lewis says Fantasy and Science Fiction "is by miles the best" (sf magazine, I take it.) "Some of the most serious satire of our age appears in it. What is called 'serious' literature now -- Dylan Thomas & Pound and all that -- is really the most frivolous."

 

[Hugh]

Ever so many thanks for posting that. It's wonderful to find I've unknowingly just read the same issue, and very interesting to read Lewis's comments.
Re some of the most serious satire of our age...
I do think some of the SF of the fifties expressed ideas, socially and politically, that would not have been acceptable in the mainstream.

 

[Orcadian]

I do think some of the SF of the fifties expressed ideas, socially and politically, that would not have been acceptable in the mainstream.

In my view, that is the purpose of most serious science fiction: * to address difficult, transgressive and taboo subjects in a context that many will find more acceptable. It disappoints me hugely to see science fiction regarded as a genre beneath consideration. And some science fiction is just for fun. But the best is literature.

* I exclude fantasy here.

 

[Hugh]

This is the UK edition, Vol 1 No 6, of the USA Jan 1954 issue minus a short story by Mack Reynolds “Off Course” and a review of Arthur C. Clarke’s “Childhood’s End”. The editor at this time is the owner James L. Quinn

In terms of quality of story, it’s totally unremarkable or worse - it’s easy to see why I haven’t encountered any of these stories in anthologies. However, it’s a pleasant enough read as some sort of perspective on the times, and it’s been a while since I dipped into these old pulps. Plus the owner hasn’t stinted on the illustrations – each story has at least one full page picture geared to the text. The editorial is a rather woolly riff on how our language is always evolving, and, presumably, this is intended to link to two of the stories in which new hipster language is a significant part of the plot.

Here are the stories, with brief, non-plotspoiling introductions.....

“Malice in Wonderland” by Evan Hunter
“She snapped open the lid, selected a silver vial, and asked, “Sure you won’t try a mixed fix? Grand kicks, father.””
Society is made up of two polarised groupings, the Vikes and the Rees. The Vikes live hedonistically, use hipster language, inject morphine and other addictive drugs, dress flamboyantly and naked from the waist up (particular attention is given to repeated detailed descriptions of women’s breasts. I suspect the writer was instructed to include one such description every two or three pages), while the Rees are traditionally conventional. Vikes is derived from vicarious while Rees is derived from reality.
All somewhat ridiculous, the more so as this is the 50 page novella of the issue.
I’d never read anything by Evan Hunter, but I find that he was a prolific author published under many pseudonyms, the most well known of which is Ed McBain (the 87th Precinct series of novels). This story was expanded to book length and published as “Tomorrow’s World” by Hunt Collins, then as “Tomorrow and Tomorrow” first by Hunt Collins, then finally by Ed McBain.

“Letter of the Law” by Alan E. Nourse
Small-time intergalactic hustler Hary Zeckler has been imprisoned on the newly opened planet Altair for pulling a scam. His situation is perilous as the Altairians are pathological liars. Death looks inevitable.

“Navy Day” by Harry Harrison
General Wingrove addresses Congress requesting that “the archaic branch of the armed forces known as the U.S. Navy” be abolished.
Silly

“A Word for Freedom” by James E. Gunn
Pulp publisher Ben Gregg and radical writer John Bryson chew over the bullying censorship of the times, and what can and cannot be published.
Another story in which wacky hip language features.
I suspect Senator Joseph Mc Carthy looms in the background.

“Double Take” By Richard Wilson
Paul Asher, 27, men’s furnishings buyer, is driving a girl at speed directly at the frontier barrier. He doesn’t know that he’s actually a secret agent with a top secret package strapped to his back.
Disappointing - Wilson can write better than this

“Anachron” by Damon Knight
Two reclusive and extremely wealthy brothers live in isolation on the isle of Ischia, one a collector of art, the other a scientist. The scientist brother accidentally stumbles on an aspect of time travel.
This is actually quite well thought out, though dated.

 

[Hugh]

This is the UK edition of the USA issue IF of April 1954, Vol 1, No.9.
The main difference is that it's missing the short story “Probability” by Louis Trimble
It contains short stories by Philip K. Dick, Robert Sheckley, Winston Marks, Walter Miller,Jr., Gene L. Henderson. and Morton Klass.

This is the last of my four issues of IF and, for me, by far the best. The reason for this enthusiasm is “The Golden Man” by Philip K. Dick, which is new to me, and very much a cut above usual pulp fare. Although I've read a number of his novels, I've read only a few of the short stories. “Carrier” by Robert Sheckley is not one of his best, but is a fair, if dated, read.
Of the other authors, I was interested to find that Morton Klass wrote a number of SF short stories before making a name for himself as an American anthropologist - known for his studies of caste and kinship in India, and also of the culture/religion of those of Indian (Asian) descent in the Caribbean.
I'm familiar with Walter Miller Jr through A Canticle for Leibowitz among others, but I wasn't aware that he suffered (almost certainly) from PTSD due to having been tail gunner on more than 50 bombing missions during WWII. The bombing of the monastery of Monte Cassino (a controversial strategic decision) was particularly traumatic for him. This may well be why he lived his later years as a recluse. I wasn't aware either that a follow-up to Canticle was published after his death, Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman.

Here are brief scene-setting non plot-spoiling descriptions of the stories..

“The Golden Man” by Philip K. Dick
A strange emotion stirred her drawn features, a momentary glow. “He’s incredibly beautiful. A god. A god come down to earth.”
The DCA’s worldwide mission is to track down and euthanise any mutants. They’ve identified eighty seven types of deviants so far, real mutants that could reproduce themselves, not mere freaks.
Great story despite being 1954. Qualifies for its own wikipedia page, and was loosely adapted into the 2007 film Next starring Nicholas Cage in the lead role.

“Carrier” by Robert Sheckley
Edward Ecks wakes up to find that his clothes won’t obey his mental command to come to him – “the closet door remained stubbornly shut, and not a garment stirred”. He’s worried that this may be a sign that he has “The Disease”. Elsewhere, “The Sleeper” remains asleep, as he has been for over thirty years now.

"Breeder Reaction" by Winston Marks
The senior advertising executive of a large cosmetic firm is tricked by the owner’s niece into marketing an Afterbath Dusting Powder that contains “atummion”, a supposedly harmless by-product from the Atomic Energy Commission, without testing it thoroughly first.

“Way of a Rebel” by Walter Miller Jr
First lines: “Lieutenant Mitch Laskell surfaced his one-man submarine fifty miles off the Florida coast where he had been patrolling in search of enemy subs”.
Obviously, the ambivalence of the lead character may be linked to the author's war experience.

“All in the Mind” by Gene L. Henderson
Mel Carlson and his colleague Neil are secretly researching the unused potential of the human brain in a laboratory hidden deep within an old mine tunnel, but they now really need a human brain to take their experiments further. Mel regains consciousness only to find that Neil has killed him in order to use his brain.

“The Last Conqueror” by Morton Klass
Halvor the Omnipotent was born into a time when humanity was fulfilled and at ease with itself. Unfortunately for Halvor his one interest was in world conquest and domination, so this meant he didn’t fit in.

 

[dask]

Never knew about the Canticle sequel, or have just forgotten about it. (Not unheard of.)

 

[Hugh]

Never knew about the Canticle sequel, or have just forgotten about it. (Not unheard of.)

I ordered it earlier today. Seems it was finished by a friend (at his request), but much of it had already been written and there were notes / plans for the rest.

 

[hitmouse]

“The Golden Man” by Philip K. Dick
A strange emotion stirred her drawn features, a momentary glow. “He’s incredibly beautiful. A god. A god come down to earth.”
The DCA’s worldwide mission is to track down and euthanise any mutants. They’ve identified eighty seven types of deviants so far, real mutants that could reproduce themselves, not mere freaks.
Great story despite being 1954. Qualifies for its own wikipedia page, and was loosely adapted into the 2007 film Next starring Nicholas Cage in the lead role.

I have this in a chunky PKD short story collection of the same name. It must be 25 years since I read it. I cannot recall many specifics, but I remember thinking this was an exceptional selection. PKD was a good SS writer.

 

[Hugh]

I have this in a chunky PKD short story collection of the same name. It must be 25 years since I read it. I cannot recall many specifics, but I remember thinking this was an exceptional selection. PKD was a good SS writer.

Thanks- looks good value - now ordered.