Month: July 2021

Astounding Science Fiction, December, 1946 (Featuring “Metamorphosite” by Eric Frank Russell) [Alexander Cañedo [Alejandro de Cañedo]]

Now, t h i s is an interesting cover.

I first “noticed” it among six small black & white images illustrating the evolution of the logo and cover design of Astounding Science Fiction – from February of 1935 through April of 1965 – in James Gunn’s Alternate Worlds: An Illustrated History of Science Fiction (specifically, on page 152).  Only later, when I started building my collection of issues of Astounding and saw scans of the cover at VISCO (The Visual Index of Science Fiction Cover Art) and Archive.org, was I able to fully appreciate the balance of style and symbolism inherent to the composition. 

I first thought that it was created by William Timmins.  But, I was wrong.

The painting was created by Alexander Cañedo (Alejandro de Cañedo) who subsequently completed nine other covers for Astounding Science Fiction, encompassing issues published between September, 1947, and July, 1954.  Of these nine covers, only one other painting (like that illustrated below) actually pertains to a story published within “its” issue, the other eight covers being purely – very – symbolic and allegorical, such as this cover for August of 1948:  The other “literal” cover is for December of 1947, representing Clifford Simak’s tale “Aesop”. 

That issue, coincidentally, happens to be my favorite Cañedo cover:  The illustration powerfully uses light and shadow (notice that illumination comes from the background?), and a small number of colors (shades of blue, gray, yellow, and orange) to depict four elements inherent to the story: Wobots.  Robots.  (Well, just one wobot.  I mean robot.)  A wabbit rabbit.  A dog.  (Dogs figure prominently in Simak’s earlier tales.)  And, a post-nuclear-holocaust future in which mankind is an afterthought:  A mushroom cloud rises in an otherwise empty background.   

You can read more about the interestingly incongruous relationship between John W. Campbell, Jr., and Alexander Cañedo, in Alec Nevala-Lee’s October, 2018 blog post, The Beauty of the World.  

As for Eric Frank Russell’s tale “Metamorphosite”?  It’s been anthologized a number of times since its original publication, perhaps most prominently in the Del Rey / Ballantine Classic Library of Science Fiction’s The Best of Eric Frank Russell, of 1978.  Though I’ve not read too much of Russell’s body of work (I’d really like to get around to “Sinister Barrier”, from Unknown, October of 1939), I found it very similar – in respects positive and negative – to “Dreadful Sanctuary”, published in Astounding in June and July of ’48:  The plot, premise, and setting of the story are clearly delineated early on, and, genuinely interesting; the events of the story – whether action or contemplation – are crisply paced, without extraneous diversions that would cause the story to “lag” or go flat; the technology sensibly futuristic, yet neither driving the tale nor overwhelming the centrality of the characters.  And yet, like “Dreadful Sanctuary” … which I think is the better of the two … “Metamorphosite” suffers from the one-dimensionality of the protagonist and his allies, who confront and overcome challenges and dangers far too easily, leaving very (or no) room for doubt, growth, or change.    

Again, though, one point in the story’s favor lies in its premise and conclusion (small spoiler alert!):  It posits and is based upon a future in which humanity has extensively colonized other worlds, to the extent that as a result of the enormous variation in the physical conditions of these planets, and the passage of time, speciation has occurred on an interstellar scale, and humanity no longer exists solely as homo sapiens.  Though the specifics escape me as I compose this post (!), I think that this topic has been addressed in depth by Isaac Arthur in one of his many SFIA videos. 

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For a few minutes he stood quietly regarding the shadows and musing within himself. 
He was alone — alone against a world. 
It didn’t bother him particularly. 
His situation was no different from that of his own people who formed a solitary world
on the edge of a great Empire. 
He’d one advantage which so far had stood him in good stead: he knew his own powers. 
His opponents were ignorant in that respect. 
On the other hand, he suffered the disadvantage of being equally ignorant,
for although he’d learned much about the people of the Empire,
he still did not know the full extent of their powers. 

“In the awful struggle for life on new and hostile worlds, you, too, sank,” Harold continued.
“But you climbed again, and once more reached for the stars.
Naturally, you sought the nearest system one and a half light-years away,
for you had forgotten the location of your home which was spoken of only in ancient legends.
We were three light-years farther away than your nearest neighboring system.
Logically, you picked that — and went away from us.
You sank again,
climbed again,
went on again,
and you never came back until you’d built a mighty Empire on the rim of which we waited,
and changed, and changed.’’

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Some Other Things

Eric Frank Russell…

…at Wikipedia

…at Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Alexander Cañedo…

… at Wikipedia

…at Internet Speculative Fiction Database

…and…

Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur

The Past Through Tomorrow, by Robert A. Heinlein – January, 1975 and July, 1987 [“Unknown”, and James Warhola]

[[Updated yet again…  Writer John C. Wright’s blog, SciFiWright, now features a fascinating post, “Wright on Asimov on Orwell“, which is a discussion of a book review by Asimov of George Orwell’s 1984 (review linked within the post), dating from approximately 1980, which appeared in the The New Worker.  The review is also mentioned at RedSails.org, where a footnote is linked to Ernie Trory Books, at which website the review is listed under the (appropriate) heading “George Orwell — a critique”.  You can read Mr. Trory’s bio here…

Well.  As substantive and insightful as is Mr. Wright’s post, so are many of the thus-far – 12/14/21 – 330 (gad – 330!) comments in reply, many of which focus on Asimov’s body of work from standpoints literary and historic.

A full list of Mr. Wright’s own works can be found here.]]

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[Update August 16, 2021: Here’s an interesting essay by Thomas Parker at the Black Gate, My Robert A. Heinlein Problem, strongly recommended for your consideration…]

Given his influence upon science fiction and popular culture, Robert Heinlein will need little in the way of an introduction for this post, which focuses on Berkley Books’ and Ace Books’ editions of Heinlein’s “future history” stories, The Past Through Tomorrow.  But…  For those so interested, let alone readers already (?!) familiar with Heinlein and the history of science-fiction, I strongly recommend Alec Nevala-Lee’s 2019 Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, as well as his blog, NevalaLee.  Where, to quote a blog post of August 3, 2016, Astounding Stories #14: “The Heinlein Juveniles”:

As well as being a cult figure, the first science fiction writer to break through to the mainstream, and an object of veneration for countless fans, he [Heinlein] was also the best writer the genre ever produced.  And believe me, I know how boring this sounds.  Frankly, I’d love to come up with a contrarian stance – that Heinlein is interesting primarily for his historical significance, that he’s revered mostly out of nostalgia, or that a handful of masterpieces allow us to overlook the fact that much of what he wrote was routine.  But none of this is true.  Of all the science fiction writers I’ve read, Heinlein is consistently the most compelling author, the most interesting thinker, and the most versatile artist.  He’s the one writer of his era who could seemingly do anything, and who actually did it over an extended period of time for a big popular audience: great ideas, meticulously developed science and technology, worldbuilding, plot, action, character, philosophy, style.  Heinlein was given what the sports writer Bill Simmons likes to call the “everything” package at the car wash, and he more than lived up to it.  To a very real extent, Heinlein was the golden age of science fiction, and it’s hard to imagine John W. Campbell doing any of it without him.

While I fully agree with Mr. Nevala-Lee’s opinion concerning the magnitude of Heinlein’s impact upon the genre, I’ve never felt (really, I’ve not!) Heinlein to be the field’s most compelling writer or innovative thinker, albeit he could unquestionably craft riveting prose; I readily grant that.  Yet, in a sense far wider, given the immense scope of science-fiction, and, the subjectivity inherent to such judgements, I don’t know if the appellation of “best” can even be accorded to any one author. 

But…!  Were I to chose, I believe that the genre’s best writers – at least, of the 40s, 50s, and 60s (I suppose this “dates” me – but then again, are we not in time all eventually “dated”?!) are, randomly listed: Cordwainer Smith (Paul M. A. Linebarger), Catherine L. Moore, Philip K. Dick, Jack Williamson, Walter M. Miller, Jr., Fritz Leiber, Jr.  And, Ray Bradbury.  And (and) Poul Anderson.  I could easily be persuaded to include in this august group A.E. van Vogt (okay, to be specific, generally the early van Vogt), Ward Moore (resting largely upon the strength of his brilliantly crafted novel, Bring the Jubilee – that’d be one hell of a mini-series, if pulled off correctly!), and, Theodore Sturgeon. 

Isaac Asimov?  Ironically, in light of my many posts displaying illustrations from books and pulp magazines featuring his work…  No, not so much.  No, not really.  No, not at all.  No.  Not ever.  And, that “never” definitely includes The Foundation Trilogy.

But.  Back to the book at hand…

Comprising twenty-one stories, the cover of Berkeley’s 1975 The Past Through Tomorrow features very generic “space art”, depicting four planets – one with an obligatory Saturn-ring – set against a starry background. 

My copy, purchased in mid-1975 and still holding up fairly well across the decades, is shown below.  On examining the table of contents, I notice that I “checked off” the stories “If This Goes On -” and “Coventry”.  At the time, those two tales must have left a particular impression!

Artist?  Unknown.  Perhaps a member of Berkeley’s in-house art department?

Rather than a continuation of art from the front cover, the rear cover simply lists the book’s content, and features Robert Heinlein’s portrait, though the photographer is uncredited.  

Contents

Introduction, by Damon Knight

Life-Line, from Astounding Science Fiction, August, 1939

The Roads Must Roll, from Astounding Science Fiction, June, 1940

Blowups Happen, from Astounding Science Fiction, September, 1940

The Man Who Sold the Moon, Shasta Publishers (book), February, 1950

Delilah and the Space Rigger, The Blue Book Magazine, December, 1949

Space Jockey, from The Saturday Evening Post, April 26, 1947

Requiem, from Astounding Science Fiction, January, 1940

The Long Watch, from Beyond Time and Space (book), May, 1950

Gentlemen, Be Seated, from The Green Hills of Earth: Rhysling and the Adventure of the Entire Solar System!, Shasta Publishers, 1952 (book)

The Black Pits of Luna, from The Saturday Evening Post, January 10, 1948

“It’s Great to be Back!”, from The Saturday Evening Post, July 26, 1947

“-We Also Walk Dogs”, from Astounding Science Fiction, July, 1947

Searchlight, from The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein (book), 1966

Ordeal in Space, from The Green Hills of Earth, Shasta Publishers, June 25, 1951 (book)

The Green Hills of Earth, from The Saturday Evening Post, February 8, 1947

Logic of Empire, from Astounding Science Fiction, March, 1941

The Menace from Earth, from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August, 1957

“If This Goes On -”, from Astounding Science Fiction, February, 1940

Coventry, from Astounding Science Fiction, July, 1940

Misfit, from Astounding Science Fiction, November, 1939

Methuselah’s Children, from Astounding Science Fiction, July, 1941

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The contents of Ace’s 1987 edition are identical to Berkeley’s 1975 imprint.  Thus, the book’s table of contents will not be repeated.  

But here, James Warhola’s cover art is completely different in style and subject matter from the 1975 edition.  Along with a reproduction of Heinlein’s signature, the cover art is directly inspired by Heinlein’s 1947 tale “The Green Hills of Earth”, depicting blind spaceship engineer “Noisy” Rhysling and his squeeze-box, set against the symbolic backdrop of a spiral galaxy.  

The story was first published in the February 8, 1947, issue of The Saturday Evening Post:    

From the Norman Rockwell Museum, here’s Fred Ludekens‘ interior illustration (oil on canvas) that accompanied Heinlein’s tale in the Post.  The image below is the illustration “as is”, as it appears at the Museum’s website…

…while here’s the same illustration, enhanced via Photoshop Elements.    

Stylistically, Ludeken’s composition has a visual vibe somewhat (… s o m e w h a t …) akin to that of Frank McCarthy’s absolutely wonderful cover illustration for Bleiler and Dikty’s The Best Science Fiction Stories * 1949.  [In the “original” version of this post, from August of 2021, I assumed that the cover was by Edd Cartier.  A quick referral to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database revealed I was in error about that.  Veritably, “oops”!]

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Partial lyrics for “The Green Hills of Earth” – presented below – can be found in “Quest of the Starstone”, by Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore, from the November, 1937 issue of Weird Tales (pp. 559-560).

Across the seas of darkness
The good green Earth is bright –
Oh, star that was my homeland
Shine down on me tonight….

My heart turns home in longing
Across the voids between,
To know beyond the spaceways
The hills of Earth are green….

– and count the losses worth
To see across the darkness
The green hills of Earth….

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References

Robert A. Heinlein

Wikipedia

Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Internet Movie Database

The Heinlein Society

The Heinlein Archives

Site RAH: The Home Page for Science Fiction’s Grand Master

“The Past Through Tomorrow”

Internet Speculative Fiction Database

“The Green Hills of Earth”

Wikipedia

Norman Rockwell Museum

The Saturday Evening Post (Issue of February 8, 1947)

StuffNobodyCaresAbout

Artist James Warhola

Wikipedia

Artist Fred Ludekens

Wikipedia

A Bell for Adano, by John Hersey – 1945, 1946, and 1960 [Stefan Salter, Carl Diehl, and James S. Avati] [Updated post…]

[Illustrating John Hersey’s 1945 novel A Bell for “Adano”, and created back – waaayyy back!, in the context of the Internet – in December of 2016 (was it that long ago?!), this post has now been “updateified” to include the cover of Avon Books’ 1960 edition of John Hersey’s novel.]  

First, the cover of Dial Press’ 1945 edition, featuring simple Italian-themed illustrations by “Salter” – probably Stefan Salter – and far greater emphasis on text than graphics.  Stefan Salter’s brother George, also an illustrator, created very (v e r y !) original cover illustrations for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

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Second, Carl Diehl’s cover for Bantam Books’ 1946 edition of the novel.  Now, illustration takes precedence over text.  Note the early style of Bantam Books’ rooster logo!

Third, Bantam retained (and enlarged) Salter’s cover art from the hardback edition for the paperback’s rear cover.  Though the color selection is different, all features are identical, from clouds to buildings.

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And, the cover blurb…

This stirring novel by a young American has won exceptional tribute since it was first published, and over 325,000 copies of the book were sold in its first year.  Chosen by the Literary Guild of America, A Bell for Adano was listed as ‘Imperative’ by the Council on Books in Wartime.  Fredric March  starred in the Broadway hit and Twentieth Century-Fox produced the motion picture of A Bell for Adano.  French, Portuguese, Russian and Swedish translations have been published, as well as a special Braille edition.

This Bantam Book contains the complete text of the original edition, shown here.  Not one word has been changed or omitted.  The low-priced Bantam edition is made possible by the large scale and effective promotion of the original edition, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.  

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As for the novel itself?  I read it some decades ago, and though it was well-written and charming, with characters clearly drawn, I never found it to be to be the most compelling piece of literature.  Perhaps I’d have a different impression, today, in 2021.  But, I presently have other works in my queue of a vastly different nature, such as a selection of stories by Catherine L. Moore, and a tale by Lawrence O’Donnell…      

In any event, hers’s an excerpt from the story, to give you its literary “flavor”…

BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM B. WILSON of the Quartermaster Depot in Algiers leaned back at his desk
and shouted across the room to his deputy in a rich Southern accent:
“Ham, listen to this, goddamit,
sometimes I think those English think they own us.”

The Colonel addressed as Ham looked up from the Stars & Stripes.
“What have the limeys done now?” he asked.

“Just got this letter, damnedest thing I ever saw,” the General said.
“It’s from an American major, too,
just goes to show how those glib bastards can put it over on us if we don’t watch ‘em.”

The Colonel called Ham said: “Yeah, they sure are good talkers.”

Listen here, now, he says:
‘Am writing you at the suggestion of Major General His Excellency Lord Runcin – that fancy bastard.  
I met him one time down at the Aletti,
and I just happened to say,
like anyone does who’s a gentleman when he says good-bye,
I said to him: ‘If there’s anything I can ever do for you, just let me now.’
He came right back at me and said:
‘I may,’ he said, ‘you Americans have everything, you know.’
So damn if I didn’t get a letter from him about two weeks later
reminding me of what I said and asking me if I’d get him a jeep.
Well, this Amgot thing sounded pretty important to me,
so I just about busted my neck to wangle him a jeep.
Soon as he got that he wrote me thank-you note
and asked me if the Americans had any pipes,
that he was lost without a pipe,
and could I get him one?
So I got him a pipe.
Then I had to get him an electric razor, for godsake.
Then he wrote me that chewing gum was such a curiosity among his staff
would I get him a large box of chewing gum?
He even had the nerve to ask me to get him a case of whisky,
he said he got a ration of rum and gin, but all the Scotch was imported to the States,
so would I mind terribly nailing him a case of Scotch?
I made up my mind I was never going to get him another thing after that,
even if I got sent home.”

“What’s he want now?”

“He doesn’t want it, this Major of ours wants it, that’s what makes me mad.
Old Runcin seems to think I’m a one-man shopping service,
and he goes around recommending to people to write me all their screwy things they want.”

“Well, what does this guy want?”

“Jesus, Ham, he wants a bell.”

“What the hell for?”

“He says here:
‘I consider it most important for the morale and continued good behavior of this town
to get it a bell to replace the one which was taken away as per above.’
I don’t know, something about a seven-hundred-year-old bell.
But that’s not the point, Ham.
The thing that makes me mad is this English bastard thinking he owns us.”

The Colonel named Ham,
who was expert at saying Yes to his superiors and No to his inferiors, said:
“Yeah, I see what you mean.”

“They do it all the time, Ham.
You watch, an Englishman will always eat at an American mess if he gets a chance.
Look at Lend-Lease, why hell, we’re just giving it to ‘em.
And don’t you think they’ll ever pay us for it.
They won’t even thank us for it, Ham.”

The Colonel named Ham said: “I doubt if they will.”

“I know they won’t.
And look at the way they’re trying to run the war.
They got their officers in all the key spots.
Ham, we’re just winning this damn war for the British Empire.”

The Colonel named Ham said: “That’s right, I guess.”

“No sir, I’m damned if I’ll root around and find a bell for this goddam sponger of an Englishman.
Where the hell does he think I’m going to find a seven-hundred-year-old bell?
No sir, Ham, I won’t do it.
Write a letter to this Major, will you, Ham?”

“Yes sir, what’ll I say?”

“Lay it on, dammit,
tell him the U.S. Army doesn’t have a stock of seven-hundred-year-old bells,
tell him he should realize there is a war on,
tell him to watch out for these goddam Englishmen
or they’ll take the war right away from us.”

“Yes sir.”

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Fourth, Avon’s quite 1960 edition, with cover art inspired by and nearly identical to a photograph taken by illustrator James Sante Avati.  This cover art strongly symbolizes the relationships (potentially romantic, and, otherwise) between Major Joppolo and the people of Adano, rather than connoting a generic “Italian” scene.  

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The models were Tom Dunn, and Avati’s daughter Alexandra, as seen in the photograph below, taken by Avati at Broad Street, Red Bank, New Jersey, in September, 1959.  (Information and photo from the flickr photostream of Piet Schreuders, from Schreuders’ and Kenneth Fulton’s The Paperback Art of James Avati.) 

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Also at Piet Schreuders’ flickr photostream is this image of Alexandra “Zan” Avati – an outtake from the session for A Bell for Adano – taken by her father, dated April 1, 1960.

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When the Americans arrived, the end of war came to Adano, but with it came Major Victor Jopplo to start another kind of battle – not for the heads but for the hearts of the former enemy.

It was a lonely battle for Major Joppolo, and a terrible important one, but the fiery red wine, the love of laughter and the gentle-mannered, hot-eyed girls of Adano made the drama look more like raucous comedy.  And in the end Major Jopplo won the heart of Adano – but at a price to himself.

This story fairly bounces off the page with vitality.  John Hersey has set a scene splashed with a bright, laughing sun that sharply exposes the hidden lines and shadows in the smiling face of the little town of Adano.

John Hersey needs no introduction to American readers.  With the publication of his first novel, A BELL FOR ADANO, the hard-boiled young reporter won the Pulitzer Prize and was hailed as a major new American novelist.  Since then John Hersey has written HIROSHIMA, THE WALL, MARMOT DRIVE, A SINGLE PEBBLE and THE WAR LOVER – bestsellers all.  He is one of the great living novelists of the Western World.  

References

John R. Hersey, at Wikipedia

John R. Hersey, at FindAGrave

John R. Hersey Papers, at Yale University

James S. Avati, at Wikipedia