Writer: D. Richard Martin
First Publication: 2011
"This book includes lost interviews with four masters of post-war American science fiction—Frank Herbert, Frederik Pohl, Clifford D. Simak, and Gordon Dickson. This compact volume catches them all in their primes, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their trenchant, prescient observations still resonate three decades later."
I enjoy reading non-fiction books about science fiction. For 14 years, beginning in 1980, D. Richard Martin was the science fiction and fantasy book reviewer for the Minneapolis Star/Tribune. Over the course of that time, he was able to interview some of the big authors of that time. This collection takes out of print interviews he did with four of the authors and puts them into an ebook. The reader will quickly see that Martin is a very professional interviewer. His questions are short but spark the authors to give answers that explain the background of their careers.
Here is a sampling of items that caught my interest:
Frank Herbert
The original Dune trilogy (Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune) was conceived as a 1,200 page novel. Some parts of the second and third books were written while Herbert was writing the first book.
"The theory was that heroes are bad for society, and super-heroes are disastrous." Herbert's theory is demonstrated in this series. He shows through Paul's actions what would happen if a super-hero rose to power.
Frederik Pohl
Pohl, known as one of the best magazine editors of his time, turned down the position of fiction editor at Omni magazine. Omni was a glossy science fiction magazine that was highly considered at the time.
Clifford D. Simak
Simak has a different opinion from many other authors. He thought that when a society advances enough to build a starship to visit Earth, they would come in peace. They would not come with a plan to invade the Earth.
Gordon R. Dickson
Dickson charged a high price for speaking engagements. His idea was that it took too much time from his writing. The other factor was some problems he had with asthma. He had to be careful what the place was like when he would teach at a workshop or attend a convention.
There were just the tip of the iceberg. Martin has put together an excellent short collection of interviews. If you want to learn about the authors listed above, it is an inexpensive way of learning about them.
Recommended.
The "new Asimov stories" are ones from Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. So in one respect, I am reviewing new Asimov's stories.
Title: Dolly
Author: Elizabeth Bear
First Publication: Asimov's Science Fiction, Jan. 2011
Cover: Tomislav Tikulin
Elizabeth Bear must be a fan of Isaac Asimov’s robot stories. “Dolly” seems like a modern version of the classic Asimov robot mystery. Bear’s robots are not as advanced as Asimov’s. The positronic brain has not been developed. The main characters, two detectives, are called in to investigate a closed room murder. Only the victim and his robot companion are in the room. The robot obviously had to commit the murder. The question becomes who hacked into the programming to orchestrate the deed. Or is something else going on… Bear has captured the spirit of classic science fiction short story telling and combined it with a modern writing style. After reading this story, I will be looking for more of Bear’s work in the future.
Like many fans, I am torn over which “best science fiction of the year” collection(s) to read. I find myself enjoying short stories more than the door-stopper novels. That doesn’t mean the long novels are not good it just means that I prefer reading many different stories in the short fiction (novellas, novelettes, short stories) to reading one long novel. There are exceptions. “Dune” is one of my favorites and I have read it many times. But if you look at the novels I mainly read, they are the length I enjoyed reading in the 70s and 80s when I was getting into science fiction. Look at the length of the typical works of Isaac Asimov, Roger Zelazny, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance, E. C. Tubb, and others of that generation. Even many of Frank Herbert’s novels are not 600 to 1000 pages long. Take a look at the majority of the novels I am reviewing. Most are older ones. Does this mean I don’t want to read newer authors? No. I plan on reading books by Alastair Reynolds, Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Sawyer, Eric Brown and others this year. In the words of Peter David, “But I Digress…”.
Cover by Jack Gaughan
Getting back to the subject of “best of the year” collections, my favorite in the early days were the ones edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr. I plan on starting to re-read them with the first one this year. Last year I took a good look at the current series. I chose to buy two (the Gardner Dozois collection and the David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer one). From what I have read on other sites, the Dozois is generally considered the top series since it started. Each year he includes a fascinating overview of the field. So why did I pick up the Hartwell & Cramer book? A friend of mine loved this series because it is more focused on traditional science fiction. When I compared the two, there is very little overlap. Part of my plan is to go back, read and review all of the Hartwell & Cramer collections. It will take some time because last year’s edition is the seventeenth. By reading these, it will give me a chance to read many of the newer authors I have not read or have read very little of. Which leads me to the first story in last year’s collection…
It is bad enough that Brian Cohn is being medicated for schizophrenia but he also struggles with his father suffering from Alzheimer's. On his deathbed, Brian's father confesses that he was a serial killer. He gives Brian instructions on how to find the evidence. Brian finds the victims' remains in his childhood home. Now the murders begin again. Is Brian's schizophrenia causing him to follow in his father's footsteps?
Art by Tim Stewart
What happens when a twelve year old girl finds a talking gun in an old oak tree? More than you would think...
