Download or read book Astounding Science Fiction July 1939 written by John Wood Campbell (Jr.) and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reprint of the issue of Astounding Science Fiction that is widely considered to be the first great issue under the editorship of John W. Campbell, Jr. Astounding Science Fiction as edited by Campbell was the premier magazine of the golden age of American science fiction. This special reprint edition ably demonstrates why the science fiction magazines of that era were so important to the development of modern science fiction into the popular and important literary form it is today. Unquestionably a classic issue, it begins with the cover story, "Black Destroyer," the first published work of A. E. van Vogt and also features "Trends" by Isaac Asimov, his first sale to Astounding. Significant as these debuts are, it is the overall strength of the issue that finally impresses. These are stories by some of the best-known writers in the field: Nat Schachner, "City of the Cosmic Rays"; Nelson S. Bond, "Lightship Ho!"; Ross Rocklynne, "The Moth"; C. L. Moore (one of the first women to achieve prominence in writing science fiction), "Greater than Gods"; as well as thought-provoking articles on nuclear energy, computers, and hemispheric migration. But this new edition is far more than just a fine reprint of an important issue. There is a commentary on Astounding by Stanley Schmidt (the current editor of Analog Science Fiction / Science Fact, the successor to Astounding)and memoirs of the stories and the magazine by Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt, and Ross Rocklynne.
Download or read book The Voyage of the Space Beagle written by A. E. van Vogt and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-07-08 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An episodic novel filled with surprises and provocative ideas, this is the story of a great exploration ship sent out into the unknown reaches of space on a long mission of discovery. They encounter several terrifying alien species, including the Ix, who lay their eggs in human bodies, which then devour the humans from within when they hatch. Reissue of a classic.
Download or read book One Against the Legion written by Jack Williamson and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2013-07-25 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I am omnipotent and omniscient. I want every man on every planet to shudder and grow pale when he thinks of Me. For I have suffered gross injuries that must be avenged..." This sinister message - and a loathsome serpent-like trademark - were the only clues the Legion of Space had to the identity of Mankind's most evasive and horrible enemy. But meanwhile, He or IT - had meticulously begun to destroy the world... The Legion of Space was well accustomed to facing mortal peril in the black depths of outer space in order to defend humanity against its unearthly foes. But even they were to find their courage and ingenuity tested to the utmost limits in their fight against the vile phantom that called itself God and shrouded the Universe in an incredible web of terror...
Download or read book Astounding written by Alec Nevala-Lee and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 619 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hugo and Locus Award Finalist An Economist Best Book of the Year A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Best Book of 2018 “An amazing and engrossing history...Insightful, entertaining, and compulsively readable.” — George R. R. Martin Astounding is the landmark account of the extraordinary partnership between four controversial writers—John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and L. Ron Hubbard—who set off a revolution in science fiction and forever changed our world. This remarkable cultural narrative centers on the figure of John W. Campbell, Jr., whom Asimov called “the most powerful force in science fiction ever.” Campbell, who has never been the subject of a biography until now, was both a visionary author—he wrote the story that was later filmed as The Thing—and the editor of the groundbreaking magazine best known as Astounding Science Fiction, in which he discovered countless legendary writers and published classic works ranging from the I, Robot series to Dune. Over a period of more than thirty years, from the rise of the pulps to the debut of Star Trek, he dominated the genre, and his three closest collaborators reached unimaginable heights. Asimov became the most prolific author in American history; Heinlein emerged as the leading science fiction writer of his generation with the novels Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land; and Hubbard achieved lasting fame—and infamy—as the founder of the Church of Scientology. Drawing on unexplored archives, thousands of unpublished letters, and dozens of interviews, Alec Nevala-Lee offers a riveting portrait of this circle of authors, their work, and their tumultuous private lives. With unprecedented scope, drama, and detail, Astounding describes how fan culture was born in the depths of the Great Depression; follows these four friends and rivals through World War II and the dawn of the atomic era; and honors such exceptional women as Doña Campbell and Leslyn Heinlein, whose pivotal roles in the history of the genre have gone largely unacknowledged. For the first time, it reveals the startling extent of Campbell’s influence on the ideas that evolved into Scientology, which prompted Asimov to observe: “I knew Campbell and I knew Hubbard, and no movement can have two Messiahs.” It looks unsparingly at the tragic final act that estranged the others from Campbell, bringing the golden age of science fiction to a close, and it illuminates how their complicated legacy continues to shape the imaginations of millions and our vision of the future itself. "Enthralling…A clarion call to enlarge American literary history.” — Washington Post “Engrossing, well-researched… This sure-footed history addresses important issues, such as the lack of racial diversity and gender parity for much of the genre’s history.” — Wall Street Journal “A gift to science fiction fans everywhere.” — Sylvia Nasar, New York Times bestselling author of A Beautiful Mind
Download or read book The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction from the 1920s to the 1960s written by Gary Westfahl and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2019-10-14 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By examining important aspects of science fiction in the twentieth century, this book explains how the genre evolved to its current state. Close critical attention is given to topics including the art that has accompanied science fiction, the subgenres of space opera and hard science fiction, the rise of SF anthologies, and the burgeoning impact of the marketplace on authors. Included are in-depth studies of key texts that contributed to science fiction's growth, including Philip Francis Nowlan's first Buck Rogers story, the first published stories of A. E. van Vogt, and the early juveniles of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.
Download or read book The World Turned Upside Down written by David Drake and published by Baen Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publisher Description
Download or read book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier Clay with bonus content written by Michael Chabon and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-06-12 with total page 705 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic, beloved novel of two boy geniuses dreaming up superheroes in New York’s Golden Age of comics, now with special bonus material by the author “It's absolutely gosh-wow, super-colossal—smart, funny, and a continual pleasure to read.”—The Washington Post Book World One of The New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Books of the Decade • Finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize A “towering, swash-buckling thrill of a book” (Newsweek), hailed as Chabon’s “magnum opus” (The New York Review of Books), The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a triumph of originality, imagination, and storytelling, an exuberant, irresistible novel that begins in New York City in 1939. A young escape artist and budding magician named Joe Kavalier arrives on the doorstep of his cousin, Sammy Clay. While the long shadow of Hitler falls across Europe, America is happily in thrall to the Golden Age of comic books, and in a distant corner of Brooklyn, Sammy is looking for a way to cash in on the craze. He finds the ideal partner in the aloof, artistically gifted Joe, and together they embark on an adventure that takes them deep into the heart of Manhattan, and the heart of old-fashioned American ambition. From the shared fears, dreams, and desires of two teenage boys, they spin comic book tales of the heroic, fascist-fighting Escapist and the beautiful, mysterious Luna Moth, otherworldly mistress of the night. Climbing from the streets of Brooklyn to the top of the Empire State Building, Joe and Sammy carve out lives, and careers, as vivid as cyan and magenta ink. Spanning continents and eras, this superb book by one of America’s finest writers remains one of the defining novels of our modern American age. Winner of the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award and the New York Society Library Book Award
Download or read book Science Fiction Vision of Tomorrow written by Richard Hantula and published by Gareth Stevens Publishing LLLP. This book was released on 2004-12-15 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compares what writers over the centuries have written about an imaginary future with the reality revealed by time.
Download or read book Transgalactic written by A.E. Van Vogt and published by Baen Books. This book was released on 2006-10 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the collapse of civilization, Clane a brilliant mutant, manages to rediscover the lost science behind ancient machines that once ran everything and finds that alien invaders had reduced humankind to barbarism in preparation for seizing control of the solar system.
Download or read book The World of written by Alfred Elton Van Vogt and published by New York, Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1948 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contact has been made between other planets and Gilbert Gosseyn finds himself trying to stop a galactic war between Earth and Venus.
Download or read book Catalog of Copyright Entries Third Series written by Library of Congress. Copyright Office and published by Copyright Office, Library of Congress. This book was released on 1969 with total page 1140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Work of Ross Rocklynne written by Douglas Alver Menville and published by Wildside Press LLC. This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ross Rocklynne (1913-1988) was the pen name used by Ross Louis Rocklin, an American science fiction author active in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Born in 1913 in Ohio, Rocklynne was a regular contributor to the science fiction pulps. He was a professional guest at the first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939. Despite his numerous appearances and solid writing, Rocklynne never quite achieved the fame of his contemporaries Robert A. Heinlein, L. Sprague DeCamp, and Isaac Asimov. His most well known story is probably "The Men and the Mirror," first published in 1938. Rocklynne partially retired from writing in the late 1950s, but made a notable return in the 1970s when his novelette "Ching Witch " was included in Harlan Ellison's original anthology, Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). "Ching Witch " was later nominated for a Nebula award. This volume contains an annotated bibliography of Ross Rocklynne's work. It features an introduction by Arthur Jean Cox, plus an index.
Download or read book Archaeologies of the Future written by Fredric Jameson and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age of globalization characterized by the dizzying technologies of the First World, and the social disintegration of the Third, is the concept of utopia still meaningful? Archaeologies of the Future, Jameson's most substantial work since Postmodernism, Or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, investigates the development of this form since Thomas More, and interrogates the functions of utopian thinking in a post-Communist age. The relationship between utopia and science fiction is explored through the representations of otherness . alien life and alien worlds . and a study of the works of Philip K. Dick, Ursula LeGuin, William Gibson, Brian Aldiss, Kim Stanley Robinson and more. Jameson's essential essays, including "The Desire Called Utopia," conclude with an examination of the opposing positions on utopia and an assessment of its political value today.
Download or read book Arkwright written by Allen Steele and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-03 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nathan Arkwright is a famous science fiction writer who is convinced that humanity cannot survive on Earth. His Arkwright Foundation dedicates itself to creating a colony in deep space. Fueled by Nathan's legacy, generations of Arkwrights are drawn together, and pulled apart, by the enormity of the task and weight of their name.
Download or read book Time Travel written by David Wittenberg and published by Fordham University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that time travel fiction is a narrative “laboratory,” a setting for thought experiments in which essential theoretical questions about storytelling—and, by extension, about the philosophy of temporality, history, and subjectivity—are represented in the form of literal devices and plots. Drawing on physics, philosophy, narrative theory, psychoanalysis, and film theory, the book links innovations in time travel fiction to specific shifts in the popularization of science, from evolutionary biology in the late 1800s, through relativity and quantum physics in the mid–20th century, to more recent “multiverse” cosmologies. Wittenberg shows how increasing awareness of new scientific models leads to surprising innovations in the literary “time machine,” which evolves from a “vehicle” used chiefly for sociopolitical commentary into a psychological and narratological device capable of exploring with great sophistication the temporal structure and significance of subjects, viewpoints, and historical events. The book covers work by well-known time travel writers such as H. G. Wells, Edward Bellamy, Robert Heinlein, Samuel Delany, and Harlan Ellison, as well as pulp fiction writers of the 1920s through the 1940s, popular and avant-garde postwar science fiction, television shows such as “The Twilight Zone” and “Star Trek,” and current cinema. Literature, film, and TV are read alongside theoretical work ranging from Einstein, Schrödinger, and Stephen Hawking to Gérard Genette, David Lewis, and Gilles Deleuze. Wittenberg argues that even the most mainstream audiences of popular time travel fiction and cinema are vigorously engaged with many of the same questions about temporality, identity, and history that concern literary theorists, media and film scholars, and philosophers.
Download or read book Murray Leinster written by Billee J. Stallings and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2011-08-12 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Will F. Jenkins, known to science fiction fans by his penname Murray Leinster, was among the most prolific American writers of the 20th century. "The Dean of Science Fiction," as he was sometimes known, published more than 1,500 short stories and 100 books in a career spanning more than fifty years. This biography, written by his two youngest daughters, chronicles Murray Leinster's private and literary life from his first writings for The Smart Set and early pulp magazines such as Argosy, Amazing Stories and Astounding Stories, through the golden age of science fiction in the 1930s through the 1950s, to his death in 1975. Included as appendices are his famous 1946 story "A Logic Named Joe" and 1954 essay "To Build a Robot Brain."
Download or read book The Exegesis of Philip K Dick written by Philip K. Dick and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2011-11-07 with total page 1003 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A great and calamitous sequence of arguments with the universe: poignant, terrifying, ludicrous, and brilliant. The Exegesis is the sort of book associated with legends and madmen, but Dick wasn't a legend and he wasn't mad. He lived among us, and was a genius."-Jonathan Lethem Based on thousands of pages of typed and handwritten notes, journal entries, letters, and story sketches, The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick is the magnificent and imaginative final work of an author who dedicated his life to questioning the nature of reality and perception, the malleability of space and time, and the relationship between the human and the divine. Edited and introduced by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem, this will be the definitive presentation of Dick's brilliant, and epic, final work. In The Exegesis, Dick documents his eight-year attempt to fathom what he called "2-3-74," a postmodern visionary experience of the entire universe "transformed into information." In entries that sometimes ran to hundreds of pages, Dick tried to write his way into the heart of a cosmic mystery that tested his powers of imagination and invention to the limit, adding to, revising, and discarding theory after theory, mixing in dreams and visionary experiences as they occurred, and pulling it all together in three late novels known as the VALIS trilogy. In this abridgment, Jackson and Lethem serve as guides, taking the reader through the Exegesis and establishing connections with moments in Dick's life and work.
