Book Review: Creatures from Beyond

Book Review: Creatures from Beyond edited by Terry Carr This 1975 speculative fiction anthology has the theme of monsters from outside human experience.  The question of what lies in the outer darkness has haunted humanity since we developed imaginations.  These nine stories look at the possibilities, from implacable enemies, to beings a lot like us… Continue reading Book Review: Creatures from Beyond

Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition

Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition edited by Judith Merrill This 1960 book features a selection of speculative fiction short stories published during the 1958-60 time period.  Editor Judith Merrill provides an introduction about the concept of wonder, chatty introductions to each story (she doesn’t think much of Kingsley Amis as a… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition

Comic Book Review: Roy Thomas Presents: Planet Comics, Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Roy Thomas Presents: Planet Comics, Vol. 1 Comic books were still a very new thing in 1940, and the publishers were still trying to figure out what there was a market for.  Science fiction themes seemed popular, so Fiction House created the pulp-inspired Planet Comics to appeal to fans of rockets and aliens.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Roy Thomas Presents: Planet Comics, Vol. 1

Book Review: Milestones of Space: Eleven Iconic Objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Book Review: Milestones of Space: Eleven Iconic Objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum edited by Michael J. Neufeld Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut.   It sounded like the best job… Continue reading Book Review: Milestones of Space: Eleven Iconic Objects from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Book Review: After the Vikings

Book Review: After the Vikings by G. David Nordley This collection of “tales of future Mars” was first published as an adjunct to a conference on possible first contact and the planet Mars.; the stories had individually appeared in Analog and Asimov’s magazines.  When the author realized he’d written them from furthest in time to closest, he decided… Continue reading Book Review: After the Vikings