“To Avenge Man”, the inspiration for Richard McKenna’s cover art of the December, 1964, issue of Galaxy, is a brief, but well-written story. The protagonist is the robot who is depicted on the cover kneeling amidst the ruins of a desolate and abandoned moon-base, his pensive gaze directed somewhere between the earth overhead and, the flaccid remnants of a discarded spacesuit lying before him. Though the scene doesn’t exactly parallel the events of the story, in symbolism and setting it well captures the meaning of Del Rey’s tale.
As to the story itself, after an introduction which will hint at its eventual outcome, the first part builds slowly and in a straightforward fashion, but with a meaningful twist: It’s a tale of isolation, solitude, and survival: Specifically, the survival – mechanical and electronic such as it is, but survival nonetheless – of “Sam”, a unique, singular, and entirely sentient robot, after a scientific expedition has abandoned a lunar settlement to return to the Earth, during a time of war. Then, amidst a global war, all contact with men, from men, by men, and between men, completely vanishes. However, the actual nature and origin of the war is deliberately left ambiguous, and touched upon only slightly.
And, though Sam is by definition and design an artificial being – does he have a soul? – Del Rey does a fine job of showing the evolution and eventual creation of Sam’s personality, which is characterized by a combination of naïveté, a complete and altruistic devotion to humanity, and unrelenting intellectual curiosity – the latter quality manifested in Sam’s reading of science-fiction (yes, seriously) from the 1930s and 1940s. Eventually, perhaps inevitably, Sam comes under a kind of monomaniacal spell which compels him to return to Earth to find men, contact men, aid men, determine the nature and origin of the war, and, defend men against all enemies. Enemies, that is, as Sam has perceived, interpreted, and fully anticipated through the tales of Edward E. Smith and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Enemies which, he believes, are entirely real.
Sam eventually cobbles together a one-robot spacecraft (hey, life support is of no consideration here!) and does return to Earth. And from this point on, Del Rey’s tale rapidly moves from a story of endurance and survival to one of slightly mythic tones. The final direction of the story soon becomes apparent, and its ultimate conclusion – apparent through a careful reading and contemplation of the above-mentioned introduction – while not wholly unexpected, is wholly well told.
“It was because there was only one Phoenix. Only one in the whole world.”
Time flies. It really, really does.
Case in point, “this” post, dating back to 2017, pertaining to Ballantine Books’ 1976 anthology “The Best of C.L. Moore”. Now in 2022 (one hell of a year it’s turning out to be, and what of the future?), it’s time for a rewrite…
As one of my several posts presenting Ballantine Books’ Classic Science Fiction series “The Best Of…” (insert appropriate author’s name [here]!), the time arrived to revisit and refine the post’s text and images. Partially…because I like to improve my existing posts. Partially … especially … because Catherine Moore is among my favorite science fiction authors, her writing displaying remarkable levels of depth, richness, and substance, all presented through a singularly distinctive literary style.
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First things first … C.L. Moore’s portrait, from Tellers of Weird Tales, where the caption is given as follows: “Catherine L. Moore (1911-1987) — The date of the photograph is unknown, but the author-to-be is quite young, perhaps still a student. Look upon this and other pictures of her, read her stories, and you’ll not wonder why Forrest J Ackerman called her “Catherine the Great,” why E. Hoffman Price confessed his love for her, and why Henry Kuttner proposed to her shortly after their first meeting. From the collection of Julius Schwartz and reprinted in Locus, March 1988.” (For this post, I’ve used Photoshop to slightly enhance the image.)
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Here’s the paperback edition of The Best of C.L. Moore, with cover art by The Brothers Hildebrandt.
The worn-around-the-edges and not-so-pristine-quality of my copy is evidence less of its forty-four year age than my several (!) readings of it over the intervening decades. Even without the painters’ signature, the cover is immediately distinguishable as a Hildebrandt work, by virtue of the richness, texture, and brightness of side elements (in this case, curtains and stairway) set around a central brightness, illumination, or backlighting. Though not evident in this cover by virtue of the subject matter (the protagonist Deirdre from the story “No Woman Born” having become a cyborg), there’s an extremely distinctive muscularity to some – not all – of the characters in Hildebrandt art, inspired by and reflecting the influence of comics.
From Pinterest, here’s the Hildebrandt cover art in its pre-publication form: sans title, publisher’s logo, and boring stuff like price and Ballantine book number. Even with having been tweaked via Photoshop Elements (yeah, I did that), the colors here are less saturated those displayed on the book, suggesting that Ballantine brightened the colors and shifted the tones towards yellow, red, and orange to make the cover art more noticeable; more catchy. Accompanying this, the right and left sides, and, top edge were slightly cropped to allow Deirdre’s figure to occupy more of the cover area.
As in my other posts about science fiction and fantasy anthologies, the book’s contents are listed below. But this time, I’ve done things a little done differently: Each title is linked to a PDF version of the listed story. These PDFs were created from the digital version of the pulp magazine in which the story itself originally appeared, as accessed through the Internet Archive’sPulp Magazine Archive, through which digital copies are available in a variety of formats. In this case, relevant issues were downloaded in Comic Book Zip format, and, using CBR Reader, the pages comprising the story were converted to JPGs, along with tables of contents. The individual pages – files – were then combined to create a single PDF of the story, after lots of adjustment for color, and, brightness and contrast.
Of the stories listed below, the original scanning and uploading to the Internet Archive was done for eight by Sketch the Cow, and for two (“Black Thirst” and “The Black God’s Kiss”) by zatoichi01.
For two stories (“No Woman Born” and “Vintage Season”) the magazine covers were scanned from my own copies of Astounding, while other covers are from the Internet Archive issue, or, some-random-else-where on the Internet. (I don’t yet own a copy of the singularly significant July, 1939 issue of Astounding!) In all cases, page numbers are identical to and correlate with those in the original magazine, while interior art associated with the stories is naturally included.
Though these stories are obviously – by definition! – immediately present in “this” Ballantine volume, and certainly have been anthologized many times elsewhere, after viewing them at the Pulp Magazine Archive, I thought it’d be an interesting endeavor to make them available – digitally – in the (purely visual, not physical!; purely visual, not digitized text) format in which they first appeared. While I’m sure that some visitors to this blog, and particularly this post, may already be more than familiar with “Golden Age” science fiction and fantasy, perhaps stories might ignite a spark (and perhaps an ember, and maybe a flame?!) of interest in a wider audience.
As for C.L. Moore’s overall body of work, two of the stories – “Shambleau” (Moore’s first published work) and “Black Thirst” (her second published story) are tales of Northwest Smith, while “The Black God’s Kiss” is the first story (and her fifth published tale) featuring Jirel of Joiry. Notably, “Vintage Season” the last listed (and chronologically last published) story in the anthology is by Lawrence O’Donnell, the pen name for collaborative authorship by Moore and her husband, Henry Kuttner.
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This (undated) well-known image of the husband-and-wife writing team otherwise known (!) as “Lawrence O’Donnell” (or, “Lewis Padgett”) is from James Gunn’s 1975 Alternate Worlds – The Illustrated History of Science Fiction.
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Aside from the above-mentioned stories, Jirel of Joiry was Moore’s protagonist in the following stories, all published in Weird Tales…
“Black God’s Shadow” – December, 1934 “Jirel Meets Magic” – July, 1935 “The Dark Land” – January, 1936 “Hellsgarde” – April, 1939
…while Northwest Smith was the central character in these stories, also in Weird Tales…
“Scarlet Dream” – May, 1934 “Dust of Gods” – August, 1934 “Julhi” – March, 1935 “The Cold Gray God” – October, 1935 “Yvala” – February, 1936 “Lost Paradise” – July, 1936 “The Tree of Life” – October, 1936 “Nymph of Darkness” – December, 1939 (Co-Authored with Forrest J. Ackerman)
…with Jirel and Northwest appearing in only one story in Moore’s oeuvre, “Quest of the Starstone”, in the magazine’s November, 1937 issue.
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As for the quality of Moore’s writing, it’s outstanding. Stylistically, her use of language is utterly remarkable in depicting changing mental states, perceptions, and thoughts of her characters – or action and activity – even if this only spans, in the context of an actual tale, a limited amount of time, or, a brief event. This skill likewise applies to her ability to create and describe the physical nature of imagined worlds, and the psychological and emotional impact of these places; these lands; these settings, upon men and women; upon individuals and groups; upon peoples and civilizations.
Her work lies upon the intersection of science fiction and fantasy, for while it certainly includes elements and tropes of science fiction (space travel, genetic engineering, time travel, aliens, extraterrestrial intelligence, parallel universes, cybernetics, dystopias, as well as physically decayed or morally degenerate cultures and civilizations, as in “Judgement Night”), these largely serve as background points or foundations for tales that in reality are character driven, and founded in elements of myth and legend.
In this, Moore’s work is the antithesis of “hard” science fiction, and, had her greatest years of productivity occurred from the 40s through the 60s, her writing would, I think, have found a ready home in Galaxy Science Fiction, or, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Coupled with this is Moore’s sense of realism about human nature and “life” (the final paragraph of “The Black God’s Kiss” is quite stunning, and – by being utterly un-“woke” in the world of 2022 – reveals her understanding of human nature). Not all; not necessarily most, or her stories have upbeat, optimistic, happy endings, many of her tales concluding, at best, on notes of uncertainty and ambivalence. For example, “Greater Than Gods,” a tale of the intersection and conflict between parallel universes and, the implications of this for humanity’s future, ends with a successful resolution, but not an entirely happy one. Likewise the superb “Shambleau”: The threat is confronted and ultimately destroyed, but at the tale’s end, hero Northwest Smith’s mindset is one of ambivalence, for though he has survived (and this only because of his rescue, at the last moment, by his friend), he is not the same man he was before the tale began, and may never be again.
With all this, and more, many of Moore’s tales could be readily adapted for for the cinema (or streaming video). As to that eventuality, now, nearly a century after the appearance of her first story? Who knows. But, it’s nice to think about.
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There are numerous depictions of Jirel of Joiry and Northwest Smith, ranging from book covert art, to interior illustrations, to simple imagined images. So while we’re at it, here’s Hervé Leblan’s depiction of an encounter between Jirel and Northwest, as a single image created from the cover art of Jirel de Joiry, and, Les Aventures de Northwest Smith, both published in Paris in late 2010. The fact that you can’t actually see Jirel’s face lends a touch of intrigue to the composition!
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Titles of Moore’s four other pulp fiction works – listed at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database as having been written specifically by her, as opposed to collaboration with Henry Kuttner (the latter by far representing the bulk of her work) – follow:
Particularly valuable in Dr. Sadler’s discussion is the focus paid to “Vintage Season”. And, like all of Dr. Sadler’s Speculative Fiction videos, the feedback, commentary, and (yes!) speculation by attendees of his lectures (not visible in the video) is invaluable.
Then again, then again…
Eric Rosenfield, at Literate Machine, takes an entirely different approach, for instead of focusing upon Moore in the context of the literary, philosophical, and symbolic aspects of her writing, his video is instead a study of Catherine L. Moore herself, as a writer; simply a person, in “Vintage Season – C.L. Moore and the “Golden Age of Science Fiction“. Mr. Rosenfield’s insightful video discusses Moore’s life, her husband Henry Kuttner, and other twentieth century science fiction and fantasy writers in the context of the straightforward challenges inherent to making a nominal living as a writer of pulp fiction; the effect of mid-twentieth century technological, economic, and cultural changes upon the worlds of writing and publishing; the psychological and (quite literally) physical toll incurred by at least some writers (think Henry Kuttner, Cyril K. Kornbluth, and perhaps H. Beam Piper) from the demanding nature of their vocation. Stepping “back” – far back; say, from an allegorical altitude of twenty-thousand-feet – what emerges from Rosenfield’s retrospective is a tale of struggle, accomplishment, and eventually, sad irony.
Particularly valuable at Mr. Rosenfield’s video is this comment by viewer Hollis Ramsey: “I waited in vain for some pithy comments on “Vintage Season” as well as on the tendency of Kuttner and Moore’s collabs to have the unhappy endings that I remarked upon in my comments on your video about “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” (not “Borogroves”). One of the things I find attractive in Kuttner and Moore’s short fiction IS their ability to refuse conventional “once upon a time … happily ever after” summations. Not only do “Vintage Season” and “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” end with death or separation, but “When the Bough Breaks” also ends with death, albeit the death of their horrible child being a great relief to his parents. In addition, my favorite C. L. Moore story, “The Bright Illusion,” ends in the deaths of 3 of the 4 characters … BUT for the 2 lovers we can’t be certain that their deaths are the finale to their love. Now THAT’S a real kicker!”
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To close, an excerpt from “No Woman Born”, the inspiration for Hildebrandt’s cover art:
“Could you ever duplicate this body?” she asked.
Maltzer glanced down at his shaking hands. “I don’t know. I doubt it. I – ”
“Could anyone else?”
He was silent. Deirdre answered for him.
“I don’t believe anyone could. I think it was an accident. A sort of mutation halfway between flesh and metal. Something accidental and … and unnatural, turning off on a wrong course of evolution that never reaches a dead end. Another brain in a body like this might die or go mad, as you thought I would. The synapses are too delicate. You were – call it lucky – with me. From what I know now, I don’t think a … a baroque like me could happen again.” She paused a moment.
“What you did was kindle the fire for the phoenix, in a way. And the phoenix rises perfect and renewed from its own substance. Do you remember why it had to reproduce itself that way?”
Maltzer shook his head.
“I’ll tell you,” she said. “It was because there was only one Phoenix. Only one in the whole world.”
Like most, if not all (hmmm…) of Ballantine Books’ Star Science Fiction series, each volume of which featured previously unpublished stories, the cover art of the 1954 Star Short Novels was created by Richard Powers. Unlike other books in the series, Powers’ art for this volume was neither wraparound, not a single composition on the front cover. Rather, Powers combined distinct visual elements of science fiction art – a spacecraft and an ill-defined building or space-station; a jagged monochromatic alien landscape; a humanoid form – into one composition, all separated by “blank” white cover space. While nowhere near as compelling as his stunning cover art for the earliest volumes in the Star series, it’s still serviceable.
Well, as for the hulking “humanoid” on the front cover, something about its appearance suggests that it’s the progeny of a Golem and an organic chemistry molecular model kit.
Ah, yes… As for the stories in this volume? I admit to not having actually read them. (Yet.) Albeit, they’re some-vague-where in my reading queue.
Some day, some day…
Imagination is the Key…
to this remarkable collection of short novels by two acknowledged masters of fantasy – and the distinguished and best-selling author, Jessamyn West.
Startlingly different vividly real – these three novels open onto the world beyond appearances … the fascinating world of what might be.
THIS IS AN ORIGINAL COLLECTION – NOT
A REPRINT, EACH OF THESE NOVELS APPEARS
HERE IN PRINT FOR THE FIRST TIME.
An old favorite of science fiction returns – with a tale of a robot that had patience, a brain adequate to its task, and a slow-working, patient urge to self-destruction.
Illustration by Pasilang R. Isip, for “The Warbler”, by Murray Leinster (p. 85).
Vacation in the Golden Age, by Jamie Todd Rubin “Episode 40: October 1942 – George O. Smith makes his Astounding debut. Also stories by A. E. van Vogt, Lester Del Rey, Malcolm Jameson, and L. Ron Hubbard’s last Astounding appearance for 5 years.”
