A very nice example of Richard Powers’ work from the mid-1950s. Like the covers of Star Science Fiction Number One and Number Two but even more stylized than those illustrations, the book depicts a jagged alien landscape which actually “wraps” around all four sides of the cover. It seems as if the cover was deliberately designed – both front and back – to allow “empty” areas for the presentation of the title, editor’s name, authors’ names, and a short blurb about each of the six stories.
This time, however, there is no space-suited explorer. Rather, the symbolic figure of a man holds a ringed-planet.
An interesting aspect of this book is that the title of each story includes an illustration by artist David Stone, all of which are original to this book. (I’d like show scans of these images, but I don’t want to risk breaking the binding in my scanner!)
As for the stories themselves, I read “Surface Tension” some years ago, and found the premise to be quite innovative, though the “science” behind the story is another question!
Contents
“The Blast”, by Stuart Cloete, from Colliers, April, 1946
“Coventry”, by Robert A. Heinlein, from Astounding Science Fiction, July, 1940
“The Other World”, by Murray Leinster, from Startling Stories, November, 1949
“Barrier”, by Anthony Boucher, from Astounding Science Fiction, September, 1942
“Surface Tension”, by James Blish, from Galaxy Science Fiction, August, 1952
“Maturity”, by Theodore Sturgeon, from Astounding Science Fiction, February, 1947
