Tag: Anthony Boucher

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction – Seventh Series, Edited by Anthony Boucher – 1956 (1957, 1958) [Unknown Artist] […updated post…]

Dating back to June of 2017 (oh my!), I’ve now updated this post to show a much (much) better copy of the Anthony-Boucher-edited The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction -Seventh Series.  The image of my “original” copy, with the previous unknown owner’s home-made label on the spine, is displayed at the bottom of the post.

Having read this volume several years ago, by this point in time (late 2024) I cannot recall each story in detail, but it’ll suffice to say that this volume, truly like others in the series (well, at least through the late 1960s) continued the high quality of previous books in the series.  The stories that stand out in my memory at this point are Ward Moore’s “Adjustment”, Robert F. Young’s “Goddess in Granite”, and, Fritz Leiber’s “The Big Trek”.

The few stories by Young that I’ve read have been excellent.  Highly original in plot and setting, there’s nothing extraneous to his text, and his characters – while like most science fiction protagonists not entirely “three dimensional” in personality and background – are nevertheless distinct and individuated, manifesting change in belief, attitude, and self-understanding by a given story’s conclusion.  One thing I’ve noticed – albeit I’ve not read either of the two collections of his stories! – is that a central element of his tales seems (seems…)  to be the nature of relationships … relationships in all their complex aspects … between men and women.  And, women and men.  Certainly this is true for “Goddess in Granite”, which is a deeply disturbing and ironic tale of the evolution of one man’s attitudes towards and relationships with women, in senses both abstract and very (very; emphatically so) physically real.  While not necessarily a likeable chap, the development and maturation of the protagonist’s character is intriguing; the story heavily (very; again emphatically!) laden with symbolism.  In a contemporary, early twenty-first-century parlance, “Goddess in Granite” might well be deemed a “blue pill to red pill” (to black pill?) conversion story.  But, its meaning goes deeper.

Meanwhile, Fritz Leiber’s “The Big Trek” is a light, brief, and charming tale, typical of the level of imagination inherent to Leiber’s oeuvre.  It merited colorful cover art by Edmund Emshwiller which perfectly mirrored the setting and central event of the story.  

“The Wines of Earth”, by Idris Seabright, September, 1957

“Adjustment“, by Ward Moore, May, 1957

“The Cage”, by Bertram Chandler, June, 1957

“Mr. Stilwell’s Stage”, by Avram Davidson, September, 1957

“Venture to the Moon”, by Arthur C. Clarke, from Fiction #49, December, 1957

“Expedition”, by Frederic Brown, February, 1957

“Rescue”, by G.C. Edmondson, June, 1957

“Between The Thunder and The Sea”, by Chad Oliver, May, 1957

“A Loint of Paw”, by Isaac Asimov, August, 1957

“The Wild Wood”, by Mildred Clingerman, January, 1957

“Dodger Fan”, by Will Stanton, June, 1957

“Goddess in Granite”, by Robert F. Young, September, 1957

“Ms. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie”, by Cyril M. Kornbluth, July, 1957

“Journey’s End”, by Poul Anderson, for this volume

“The Big Trek”, by Fritz Leiber, October, 1957

“In Memoriam: Fletcher Pratt”, poem by James Blish, October, 1957

“Yes, but”…”, poem by Anthony Brode, September, 1957

“The Horror Story Shorter by One Letter Than the Shortest Horror Story Ever Written”, by Ron Smith, July, 1957

“Lyric for Atom Splitters”, poem by Doris Pitkin Buck, for this volume

Referentially Speaking…

… Internet Speculative Fiction Database

6/19/17 154

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction – Fourth Series, Edited by Anthony Boucher – 1953 (1954, 1955) [Edmund A. Emshwiller] (Revised post…)

Created way back in 2017-land, I’ve updated this post to display a newly acquired copy of the fourth series of The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction.  The book originally featured as the leading image of this post, which I bought in 1982 (seriously – 42 years ago! – is it possible? – it is!), no longer here occupies pride of place, and now takes its position near the “end” of the post.  Given that I like to display the best available example of a book’s cover in my posts, I’ve long sought a pristine copy of this Ace edition that would replace my battle-scarred, torn-at-the-top, original book.  

I found one and it’s here.

In the original post, I surmised that the cover painting was by Edmund Emshwiller, in light of its clarity, boldness of color, and style.  A quick trip to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database confirmed that:  Emsh’s signature – “EMSH” – diminutive and barely visible, can be seen all the way in the lower right corner.

So, what’s in the book?

“Fondly Fahrenheit”, by Alfred Bester, August, 1954

“I Never Ast No Favors”, by Cyril M. Kornbluth, April, 1954

“Heirs Apparent”, by Herbert Abernathy, June, 1954

“$1.98”, by Arthur Porges, May, 1954

“The Immortal Game”, by Poul Anderson, February, 1954

“All Summer In a Day”, by Ray Bradbury, March, 1954

“The Accountant”, by Robert Sheckley, July, 1954

“Brave New World”, by J. Francis McComas, September, 1954

“My Boy Friend’s Name Is Jello”, by Avram Davidson, July, 1954

“The Test”, by Richard Matheson, November, 1954

“Carless Love”, by Albert Compton Friborg, January, 1955

“Bulletin”, by Shirley Jackson, March, 1954

“Sanctuary”, by Daniel F. Galouye, February, 1954

“Misadventure”, by Lord Dunsany, October, 1954

“The Little Black Train”, by Many Wade Wellman, August, 1954

“The Foundation of Science Fiction Success”, by Isaac Asimov, January, 1955

Original image; original book:

Referentially Speaking…

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction – Fourth Series, at…

… Internet Speculative Fiction Database

6/19/17 – 177

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction – Fifth Series, Edited by Anthony Boucher – 1954 (1955, 1956) [Artist unknown!] [Updated post…]

I purchased this one – in rather bedraggled shape – some time (a few decades) ago, at a small-town flea market, probably my first acquisition in my collection of Ace’s The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction series.  In a perhaps symbolic way, it featured in the creation of this – one-of-my-first- blog posts, which was created in June of 2017, a near-infinity ago in Internet terms.  

I’ve now acquired a copy in vastly better condition than my original, which displays the cover art to much better and intact effect than my “original”, which is visible at the very “bottom” of this post.  Interestingly, the artist is unknown: The cover illustration bears neither signature nor initials, and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database is absent of information about the man’s (or woman’s) identity.  While the composition has elements of the works of both Richard Powers and Edmund Emshwiller, the latter having created five mid-50s covers for this Ace series, it’s not actually the work of either.  

On a more important level, what about the book’s content?

Though I have read every story in this anthology, the writings that specifically stand out in memory are those by Zenna Henderson (a wonderfully skilled writer; I’ve never read a story by her that I’ve not appreciated and been moved by), Shirley Jackson (author of “The Lottery” … had to read that one as a freshman in college, though I’d read it previously!), and inevitably, Walter M. Miller, Jr., for “A Canticle for Leibowitz”.

So, enjoy this (qualifiedly) “new arrival”!

 So, what’s in the book?

You’re Another, by Damon Knight (June, 1955)

The Earth of Majesty, by Arthur C. Clarke (July, 1955)

Birds Can’t Count, by Mildred Clingerman (February, 1955)

The Golem, by Avram Davidson (March, 1955)

Pottage, by Zenna Henderson (September, 1955)

The Vanishing American, by Charles Beaumont (August, 1955)

Created He Them, by Alison Eleanor Jones (June, 1955)

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Four Vignettes

Too Far, by Frederic Brown (September, 1955)

A Matter of Energy, by James Blish (…from this volume…)

Nelithu, by Anthony Boucher (August, 1955)

Dreamworld, by Isaac Asimov (November, 1955)

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One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts, by Shirley Jackson (January, 1955)

The Short Ones, by Raymond E. Banks (March, 1955)

The Last Prophet, by Mildred Clingerman (August, 1955)

Botany Bay, by P.M. Hubbard (February, 1955)

A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (April, 1955)

Lament by a Maker, by L. Sprague de Camp (January, 1955)

Pattern For Survival, by Richard Matheson (May, 1955)

The Singing Bell, by Isaac Asimov (January, 1955)

The Last Word, by Chad Oliver and Charles Beaumont (April, 1955)

Simple, simple rear cover…

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My “original” of 2017…

A. Reference.

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fifth Series, at…

… Internet Speculative Fiction Database

126 6/19/17

New Tales of Space and Time, Edited by Raymond J. Healy – October, 1958 (1951) [Paul Lehr] [New cover…]

Created way back when – in the world April of 2018 – I’ve since acquired a new copy of Raymond Healy’s New Tales of Space and Time, the cover of which appears below, the original image (a little chipped, slightly dinged and somewhat dented) appearing at the bottom of the post.

According to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, the book’s cover art was the third cover illustration to have been created by Paul Lehr, whose most recent work appeared on the cover of 2019’s Cosmic Assembly.  It’s extremely evocative of the best of science fiction art of the 40s and 50s, for it combines themes of simple machines having an abstract look, with a man wearing a futuristic helmet the shape of which imparts a sort of “ancient” appearance.  More importantly, the book’s content: All the stories are unique to this volume, not having previously appeared in pulp magazines.  

You can view the 1952 paperback edition here. 

(I like this one more.)

What’s in the Book?

“Here There Be Tygers”, by Ray Bradbury, from this volume…

“In A Good Cause –“, by Isaac Asimov, also from this volume…

“Tolliver’s Travels”, by Fran Fenton and Joseph Petracca, from this volume, too…

“Bettyann”, by Kris Neville, unsurprisingly, from this volume…

“Little Anton”, by R. Bretnor, from this volume, too? – yes!

“Status Quondam”, by P. Schuyler Miller, yet again, from this volume…

“B + M – Planet 4”, by Gerald Heard, and another, from this volume…

“You Can’t Say That”, by Clive Cartmill, as above…

“Fulfillment”, by A.E. van Vogt, first appearance in this volume…

“The Quest for Saint Aquin”, by Anthony Boucher, but I repeat myself; from this very volume…

____________________

Alas, the dinged original.

Some Things to Refer To…

New Tales of Space and Time, at…

… GoodReads

… Black Gate

… Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Raymond J. Healy, at…

… Wikipedia

… Internet Speculative Fiction Database

April 7, 2018 279

New Tales of Space and Time, Edited by Raymond J. Healy – December, 1952 (1951) [Charles Frank]

The title of Pocket Books’ 1952 New Tales of Space and Time is very apt, for the tales within this volume are (were) entirely new to the book, none having previously appeared in pulp magazines.

The cover art’s pretty conventional:  A spacecraft, a moon (“the” moon?), the darkness of space, a planetary system.  Straightforward and spacey.  But, I doubt that in the universe as we know it, you’d see a planetary system with orbits indicated by rings.  If you did, I’d zoom away from there.  Quick.     

You can view the 1958 edition of this book, here. 

(I like that cover more!)

What’s in the Book?

“Here There Be Tygers”, by Ray Bradbury, from this volume…

“In A Good Cause –“, by Isaac Asimov, also from this volume…

“Tolliver’s Travels”, by Fran Fenton and Joseph Petracca, from this volume, too…

“Bettyann”, by Kris Neville, unsurprisingly, from this volume…

“Little Anton”, by R. Bretnor, from this volume, too? – yes!

“Status Quondam”, by P. Schuyler Miller, yet again, from this volume…

“B + M – Planet 4”, by Gerald Heard, and another story from this volume…

“You Can’t Say That”, by Clive Cartmill, as above…

“Fulfillment”, by A.E. van Vogt, first appearance in this volume…

“The Quest for Saint Aquin”, by Anthony Boucher, but I repeat myself; from this very volume…

Some Things to Refer To…

New Tales of Space and Time, at…

… GoodReads

… Black Gate

… Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Raymond J. Healy, at…

… Wikipedia

… Internet Speculative Fiction Database

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction – Sixth Series, Edited by Anthony Boucher – 1955 (1956, 1957) [Unknown Artist – Edmund A. Emshwiller]

Rather than presenting a general “science-fictiony” scene, the cover presents an illustration inspired by Poul Anderson’s “The Man Who Came Early” from appeared in the June, 1956 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and anthologized in this sixth series of stories from the magazine.   

Like the great majority of Anderson’s work – at least, what I’ve read of Anderson! – The Man Who Came Early is excellently written, and of greater import, tackles with profound social, psychological, and philosophical questions, all the more impressive in that these are manifested in the form of a short story, rather than a book or novelette.  Though ostensibly a tale of science-fiction, themes of technology and science, whether real or conjectural are not really the tale’s focus – this is emphatically not “hard” science fiction! – and only serve as a brief and opening springboard to set the plot in motion.  An air of inevitability emerges as the story progresses, and it concludes on a note of pathos, which perhaps makes it all the more effective, and, memorable.

(The copy originally serving as this post’s image – see at bottom; rather bent and worn; I purchased it at a flea market in the 1970s! – has now been supplanted by a scan of a copy in far better condition.)  

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The Cosmic Expense Account, by Cyril M. Kornbluth

Mr. Sakrison’s Halt, by Mildred Clingerman

The Asa Rule, by Jay Williams

King’s End, by Avram Davidson

The Census Takers, by Frederik Pohl

The Man Who Came Early, by Poul Anderson

Final Clearance, by Rachel Maddux

The Silk and The Song, by Charles L. Fontenay

The Shoddy Lands, by C.S. Lewis

The Last Present, by Will Stanton

No Man Pursueth, by Ward Moore

I Don’t Mind, by Ron Smith

The Barbarian, by Poul Anderson

And Now The News…, by Theodore Sturgeon

Icarus Montgolfier Wright, by Ray Bradbury

______________________________

6/19

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction – Third Series, Edited by Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas- 1952 (1953, 1954) [Edmund A. Emshwiller] [Updated post…] – Ace D-422 / G-712

Dating from June of 2017 (gadzooks!), this was one the earliest posts at WordsEnvisioned: The cover of the third volume (or, third series, as it were) of stories published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction during 1953.

The post originally showing a rather bedraggled copy of the book, which I purchased at a flea market some decades ago.  (See image at bottom.)  It’s now been updated with a pristine copy, which presents Edmund Emshwiller’s cover art in its complete imagination and intricacy.  In this case, for Kay Rogers’ tale “Experiment”. 

This is also a great example of how “Emsh” sort of “hid” his nickname in his illustrations:  In this case, “EMSH” appears in tiny blue letters in the center of the aquatic space-alien’s chest.  Uh, assuming the space-alien has a chest…

“Attitudes”, by Philip Jose Farmer, October, 1953

“Maybe Just a Little One”, by Reginald Bretnor, February, 1953

“The Star Gypsies”, by William Lindsay Graham, July, 1953

“The Untimely Toper”, by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, July, 1953

“Vandy, Vandy”, by Manly Wade Wellman, March, 1953

“Experiment, by Kay Rogers, February, 1953

“Lot”, by Ward Moore, May, 1953

“Manuscript Found in a Vacuum”, by Philip Maitland Hubbard, August, 1953

“The Maladjusted Classroom”, by Homer Czar Nearing, Jr., June, 1953

“Child by Chronos”, by Charles L. Harness, June, 1953

“New Ritual”, by Idris Seabright, January, 1953

“Devlin”, by William Bernard Ready, April, 1953

“Captive Audience”, by Anne Warren Griffith, August, 1953

“Snulbug”, by Anthony Boucher, May, 1953 (originally in Unknown Worlds, December, 1941)

“Shepherd’s Boy”, by Richard Middleton, March, 1953 (originally in The Ghost Ship & Other Stories, May, 1912)

“Star Light, Star Bright”, by Alfred Bester, July, 1953

Reference

The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction – Third Series, at Internet Speculative Fiction Database

6/19/17

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction – April, 1952 [Stefan Salter]

Another cover by Stephen Salter.   The magazine went by the title “The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction” from February of 1951 through September of 1952, when it reverted to and remained as “The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction“. 

Though subtle, the “&” symbol in the title was actually the silhouette of a smiling impish face, and also forms the bottom part of the letter “F” in the word “Fantasy“.  (You can see it, below.)  This symbol seems to have been the magazine’s unofficial logo, and was displayed on the back cover (and randomly in the interior) during the 1950s.  (Information from VISCO.)