Jack of Eagles is a kind of SF novel I don’t think is really being written any longer, because its subject matter has been subsumed into fantasy or horror. But once upon a time, when SF was the dominant and only mode of fantastika, the genre easily included tales of ESP and psionics—mainly at the behest of John Campbell, who was fascinated by such stuff. Blish’s usage of scientific reasoning and terminology to explain paranormal powers marks this book as pure SF, rather than any other kind of fantastika.
Blish’s book concerns one Danny Caiden, an ordinary fellow who is peacefully idling along as a writer at a trade journal. Plagued in a minor way for his whole life by bouts of precognition and remote viewing, he suddenly finds his mental instabilities exfoliating into undeniable wild talents. Trying to exploit them, he discovers himself getting deeper and deeper into trouble and debt. Add in a greedy young woman named Marla and her overprotective brother, and the fun is just beginning.
Blish’s somewhat cynical take on what would happen if extraordinary mental abilities were real is entirely typical of his worldview. He’s something of a contrarian and a mordant anti-romantic, and his lifelong love for the works of James Branch Cabell give a hint as to his attitudes and outlooks on the oft-times farcical nature of existence. Nonetheless, his heroes continue admirably to strive and endure through principled behavior. Danny’s climactic transcendence and utopian dreams are particularly touching and invigorating.
The third (short) novel, Get Out of My Sky (1957), concerns a solar system where two gravitationally linked planets feature populations who look at the universe through radically different cultural lenses. A study in understanding the Other, it looks forward to Le Guin’s The Dispossessed (1974).
Editor James Mann rounds out his selection with four stories. “The Thing in the Attic,” despite its horror-genre title, is pure SF, concerning bio-modified humans and the jungle world they inhabit. “The Writing of the Rat” is another confrontation with otherness, as humanity comes face to face with the rodent-like galactic caretakers found on all the many abandoned worlds of the Milky Way. Tom Disch might very well have looked to “The Genius Heap” as inspiration for his own Camp Concentration (1968), since the Blish piece also concerns an experimental colony of artists tweaked into higher states of ability. And finally, collaborating with Damon Knight, Blish turned out “Tiger Ride,” in which the science of “ultronics” produces a sentient threat to the future of our species.
Owning a keen intellect, a well-developed sense of tragedy and farce, and a willingness to employ a rigorous calculus on an individual’s behavior and motives, James Blish might very well have been the Platonic Ideal of an SF writer.
Lester del Rey
The career of Lester del Rey falls neatly into two parts. The latter portion of his worklife was filled with book reviewing and book editing. And it is this stage of his life that is most problematical, and leaves the sourest taste in the mouths of many.
As a book reviewer, del Rey was notably mean-spirited, lazy, and retrogressive, opposed to innovation and change. I have a particular grudge against him, since he dissed UnEarth magazine, where I published my first story, as a worthless enterprise. Might I take this instance to remind folks that UnEarth also debuted William Gibson, Rudy Rucker, James Blaylock, Somtow Sucharitkul, Tim Sullivan, and others? Worthless? Hardly!
As a book editor, del Rey's tastes and commercial proclivities were problematical to many. So anyone viewing del Rey’s life from this perspective alone might have cause to dismiss him out of hand.
But what about the young del Rey? Ah, there’s the more interesting and worthwhile character! Excellent writer and magazine editor; mentor to many, including the young Harlan Ellison; progressive and revolutionary in his way; sociable founder of the fabled Hydra Club, and good friend to Fred Pohl. That’s the version of del Rey we need to preserve. And thanks to NESFA Press, we can.
Editor Steven H. Silver has assembled two mammoth volumes that offer all the evidence necessary to induct del Rey into the pantheon of classic SF forebears, the men and women who first uncovered the ore we all continue to mine to this day. The first book is titled War and Space (hardcover, $29.00, 576 pages, ISBN 978-1-886778-76-4), while the second has been christened Robots and Magic (hardcover, $29.00, 600 pages, ISBN 978-1-886778-88-7).
What can we say about del Rey the fiction writer, based on the stories in the first book? Let’s consider his first publication, “The Faithful,” from 1938. This story—reminiscent of Simak’s City (1952), wherein mankind is gone, and dogs inherit the planet—is full of poignant melancholy, a sense of cosmic evolution, vivid scene-building, crisp dialogue, unique narrative voice and economy of setup. Del Rey clearly had all the requisite authorial talents even at age twenty-three.
His humble working-class background comes across in a story like “The Band Played On,” whose hero is a spaceship pilot—on the garbage run! A devilish contrarian streak emerges in his famously blasphemous “For I Am a Jealous People!,” which finds humanity pitted in war against the literal God of the Old Testament. “And It Comes Out Here” is not only an ingenious time-travel story to rival Heinlein, but also a stylistic tour de force, narrated in second-person present tense. “The Luck of Ignatz” shows del Rey doing excellent screwball comedy along the lines of Bringing Up Baby (1938), with a Venusian zloaht standing in for that film’s leopard. The novella version of “Nerves” practically invents a new genre of medico-industrial near-future fiction. And “Moon-Blind” ventures into Fritz Leiber/Philip K. Dick territory with its surreal reality tampering. Additionally, there are stories that deliver more standardized thrills in more predictable, yet perfectly workmanlike fashion.
So overall, this first volume displays a writer of consumate technical skills who felt comfortable veering between experimental novelty and more cookie-cutter work, one whose general worldview tended toward the tragic—given the plethora of disasters in these stories.
As you might expect from its title, and its preponderance of copyrights citing Weird Tales and Unknown Worlds, the companion book highlights del Rey’s facility with fanciful fiction—though high-quality hardcore SF abounds as well. A story like “The Pipes of Pan,” with the Greek demigod becoming a jitterbugging musician, presages the work of Neil Gaiman, while “Though Poppies Grow” is a tragic tale of a fellow who doesn’t know his own mortal condition. Del Rey’s sardonic humor shows up in abundance, in such a story as “Hereafter, Inc.,” where a tight-assed fellow finds the afterlife not to his liking.
Del Rey possessed a sentimental streak, most famously on display in “Helen O’Loy,” that mildly controversial depiction of a loving robot wife. But there’s nothing wrong with some honest pathos, and other tales such as “Though Dreamers Die,” which finds the last individual human passing on the race’s legacy to robots, will evoke the expected tight throat as the author intended. By the time you reach Helen at book’s end, you’ll be applauding del Rey’s range and skills.
During his prime, for roughly thirty years (1938-1968), Lester del Rey—after performing as John Campbell’s reliable and unassuming pinch hitter—was an unsung, unflashy bulwark of the field, moving it ahead by incremental steps. His dedication and artistry surely offset any perceived failings of his later years, as these two essential volumes handily prove.
Copyright © 2011 Paul Di Filippo
Previous Article Next Article
Previous Article
DEPARTMENTS
SF CONVENTIONAL CALENDAR
The spring convention season gets off to an early start. Boskone (where I’ll be), ConDFW, ConDor, Potlatch, StellarCon, FantaSciCon, and LunaCon (me again) are good—something near no matter where you live. Plan now for social weekends with your favorite SF authors, editors, artists, and fellow fans. For an explanation of con(vention)s, a sample of SF folksongs, and info on fanzines and clubs, send me an SASE (self- addressed, stamped #10 [business] envelope) at 10 Hill #22-L, Newark NJ 07102. The hot line is (973) 242-5999. If a machin
e answers (with a list of the week’s cons), leave a message and I’ll call back on my nickel. When writing cons, send an SASE. For free listings, tell me of your con five months out. Look for me at cons behind the Filthy Pierre badge, playing a musical keyboard. —Erwin S. Strauss
JANUARY 2011
29-30—Sci-Fi Expo. For info, write: 10 Hill St. #22-L, Newark NJ 07102. Or phone: (973) 242-5999 (10 am to 10 pm, not collect). (Web) sciexpo.com/dcc. (E-mail) [email protected]. Con will be held in: Richardson (Dallas) TX (if city omitted, same as in address) at the Dallas Convention Center. Guests will include: none announced at press time. Commercial expo for media SF, and toys.
FEBRUARY 2011
4-6—Cre2c3ndo. contabile.org.uk/cre2c3ndo. Grantham UK. H. Dale, B. Deschamps, M. Valtazanou. SF and fantasy folksinging.
11-13—EatonCon, c/o Conway, UCR Libraries, Box 5900, Riverside CA 92517. eaton-collection.ucr.edu. Mike Davis. Academic.
18-20—Boskone, Box 809, Framingham MA 01701. (617) 625-2311. boskone.org. Boston MA. Stross, C. Harris, Manchess, Neely.
18-20—ConDFW, 750 S. Main #14, Keller TX 76248. condfw.org. Richardson (Dallas) TX. Sanderson, McDevitt. SF, fantasy, horror.
18-20—FarPoint, 11708 Troy Ct., Waldorf MD 20681. farpointcon.com. Timonium (Baltimore) MD. Okrand, Weinstein. Star Trek, etc.
18-20—TrekTrax, Box 620605, Atlanta GA 30362. trektrax.org. Holiday Inn Perimenter. Tim Rush, B. Marsh, G. Walsh, DJ B-naut.
18-20—Katsucon, c/o Box 3354, Crofton MD 21114. katsucon.org. Gaylord National Resort, National Harbor MD (near DC). Anime.
18-20—Eternal Twilight, Box 5773, Milton Keynes MKL10 1AS, UK. massiveevents.co.uk. Hilton, Birmingham UK. Julia Jones.
25-27—ConDor, Box 15771, San Diego CA 92175. condor.org. Town & Country Resort. A general SF and fantasy convention.
25-27—ConCave, 124 Fairlawn Ave., Lexington KY 40505. concaveky.org. Best Western Inn, Bowling Green KY. The Francises.
25-27—MystiCon. mysticon-va.com. Tanglewood Holiday Inn, Roanoke VA. Brinke Stevens, Allen Wold, Paul Dellinger, Mike Allen.
25-27—Furry Fiesta. furryfiesta.org. Addison (Dallas) TX (note changed city). “All Things Furry.” Anthropomorphics.
25-27—Redemption, 61 Chaucer Rd., Farnborough GU14 8SP, UK. smofcon.com/redemption. Brittania Hotel, Coventry UK.
MARCH 2011
4-6—StellarCon, Box F-4, EUC, UNCG, Greensboro NC 27413. stellarcon.org. Best Western, High Point NC. T. McCaffrey, Elmore.
4-6—Wild Wild West Con, c/o Box 13904, Tempe AZ 85284. (623) 237-3663. wildwildwestcon.com. Tucson AZ. Steampunk.
4-6—Potlatch, Box 3400, Berkeley CA 94703. potlatch-sf.org. Domain, Sunnyvale CA. Written speculative fiction; “Earth Abides.”
10-13—EPICon. epic-conference.com. Williamsburg VA. “Electronically Published Internet Connection.” E-publishing conference.
11-13—FogCon. fogcon.org. Holiday Inn Golden Gateway, San Francisco CA. Pat Murphy, Jeff Vandermeer. “The City in SF.”
11-13—RevelCon, c/o Box 130602, Houston TX 77219. severalunlimited.com. Relax-a-con for adult media fanzine fans.
11-13—ConJour, c/o UHCL Gamers’ Guild, 2700 Bay Area Blvd. #198, Houston TX 77058. conjour.net. J. L. Nye, P. L. Blair.
11-13—CoastCon, Box 1423, Biloxi MS 38533. coastcon.org. Gulf Coast Coliseum. Jeff Dee, Jack Herman, J. Fisher. Much gaming.
11-13—AniidaCon, c/o 1621 Helen #A, Boise ID 83705. aniida.webs.com. M. Coleman, T. Grant. “East Bound and Down.” Anime.
18-20—LunaCon, Box 432, Bronx NY 10465. lunacon.org. Hilton, Rye Brook NY. Schoen, Mayo, Eric “in the elevator” Zuckerman.
18-20—FantaSciCon, 395 Stancil Rd., Rossville GA 30741. fantasci.com. Howard Johnson’s Plaza Hotel, Chattanooga TN.
18-20—AllCon, Box 177194, Irving TX 75019. all-con.org. Dallas, TX. Media and costuming emphasis.
18-20—Anime Matsuri. animematsuri.com. Houston TX.
18-20—ZenkaiKon, 421 Evergreen Ave., Hatboro PA 19040. zenkaikon.com. Valley Forge Convention Center, King of Prussia PA.
18-20—A & G Ohio, 3907 Chickadee Ct., Westerville OH 43081. aandgohio.com. Cincinnati OH. Anime and gaming (“A & G”).
AUGUST 2011
17-21—RenoVation, Box 13278, Portland OR 97213. renovationsforg. Reno NV. Asher, C. Brown (I. M.), Powers. WorldCon. $180.
AUGUST 2012
30-Sep. 3—Chicon 7, Box 13, Skokie IL 60076. chicon.org. Chicago IL. Resnick, Morrill, Musgrave, Scalzi. WorldCon. $155.
Previous Article INFORMATION
INFORMATION
INFORMATION
SHEILA WILLIAMS Editor TREVOR QUACHRI Managing Editor MARY GRANT Editorial Assistant JACKIE SHERBOW Editorial Administrative Assistant VICTORIA GREEN Senior Art Director CINDY TIBERI Production Artist LAURA TULLEY Senior Production Manager JENNIFER CONE Production Associate ABIGAIL BROWNING Manager...
Top of INFORMATION
DEPARTMENTS
INFORMATION
INFORMATION
SHEILA WILLIAMS
Editor
TREVOR QUACHRI
Managing Editor
MARY GRANT
Editorial Assistant
JACKIE SHERBOW
Editorial Administrative Assistant
VICTORIA GREEN
Senior Art Director
CINDY TIBERI
Production Artist
LAURA TULLEY
Senior Production Manager
JENNIFER CONE
Production Associate
ABIGAIL BROWNING
Manager Subsidiary Rights and Marketing
BRUCE W. SHERBOW
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
SANDY MARLOWE
Circulation Services
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
ROBIN DIMEGLIO
Advertising Sales Manager
Tel: (203) 866-6688 ext.180 Fax: (203) 854-5962
[email protected]
(Display and Classified Advertising)
PETER KANTER
Publisher
CHRISTINE BEGLEY
Vice President, Editorial and Product Development
SUSAN MANGAN
Vice President, Design and Production
ISAAC ASIMOV
Editorial Director (1977-1992)
Stories from Asimov’s have won 51 Hugos and 27
Nebula Awards, and our editors have received 18
Hugo Awards for Best Editor.
Please do not send us your manuscript until you’ve gotten a copy of our guidelines. Look for them online at www.asimovs.com or send us a self-addressed, stamped business-size (#10) envelope, and a note requesting this information. Write “manuscript guidelines” in the bottom left-hand corner of the outside envelope. We prefer electronic submissions, but the address for manual submissions and for all editorial correspondence is Asimov’s Science Fiction, 267 Broadway, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10007-2352. While we’re always looking for new writers, please, in the interest of time-saving, find out what we’re looking for, and how to prepare it, before submitting your story.
Asimov's Science Fiction 03/01/11 Page 21
