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amazingstories · 7 years ago

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The other day I got into a brief discussion of cover mentions throughout the history of the science fiction magazine.

Of course we all focus on the cover image first, but unless it is a really extraordinary sample of the genre’s art (between BEMs and brass brassieres it’s a bit tough to hit “extraordinary”) the very next thing we look at are the names of the authors to be found within.

To the first time buyer, these mean little to nothing. To the aficionado however, they can serve as an instant assessment of the expected quality of the issue. Lots of top names, stands a chance of being an excellent issue. No recognizable authors – well, either the title is on its way out (the editors are scraping the bottom of the submission barrel) or – we’re about to discover the next great thing to come down the genre pike. This latter possibility can only be found in the “vanishingly small probability” box, and represents more of a hope for the reader than a real possibility.

I decided to take a look at how the various magazine titles handled this bit of self-promotion. I then decided to use 1953 as my exemplar year.

Why 1953? Because 1953 was THE banner year for science fiction and fantasy magazines. And because the frenzy surrounding this boom year somewhat resembles what we’ve been seeing for the past several years – an explosion of electronic magazine titles, each of which carefully lists it’s available contents.

1953 was also a year in which the genre was changing; more markets meant that more authors could stretch, had a few more places they could pitch to. Many of the “old guard” were still publishing, and a lot of familiar names had become firmly established. The short story was still the dominant form for the genre and thus, it’s at least as good a year as any other to pick on.

(Wikipedia only lists 219 SF novels published in 1953. There were undoubtedly a handful of others, but this is a pretty good indicator of how few novels were published, as opposed to short fiction in the magazines.)

Here’s a gallery, displaying the magazine covers from 1953, in alphabetical order by magazine title.

AMAZING STORIES

Published by: Ziff-Davids Publishing Company Edited by: Howard Browne Format: Pulp

Charles Creighton, Mallory Storm, Chester Geier, Guy Archette, E. K. Jarvis, Paul Lohrman (2), Jack Lait, Lee Mortimer, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, H.L. Gold (2), Theodore Sturgeon, Harriet Frank, Walter M. Miller Jr., Kendall Foster, Henry Kuttner, Algiss Budrys, R. W. Krepps, Richard Matheson, Robert Skeckley (2), Vern Fearing, William P. McGivern, Wallace West, Evan Hunter 2/26

ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Street & Smith Publications Edited by: John W. Campbell, Jr. Format: Digest

Poul Anderson (3), H. Beam Piper, John J. McGuire, John Loxmith, Hal Clement, John E. Arnold, Lee Correy, Mark Clifton (2), Alex Apostildes (2), Tom Godwin, Raymond F. Jones

0/11

AVON SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY READER

Published by: Avon Novels Inc, & Stratford Novels Inc. Edited by: Sol Cohen Format: Digest

Arthur C. Clarke (2), John Jakes (2), Alfred J. Coppel Jr., John Christopher, Milton Lesser (2), Jack Vance

0/9

BEYOND FANTASY FICTION

Published by: Galaxy Publishing Edited by: Horace L. Gold Format: Digest

Ted Sturgeon (2), Damon Knight, T. L. Sherred, Jerome Bixby (2), Joe E. Dean, Richard Matheson (2), Roger Dee, Frank M. Robinson, James McConnell, Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, T. R. Cogswell, Philip K. Dick, John Wyndham, Wyman Guin, Richard Deeming, Algis Budrys, Franklin Gregory, Zenna Henderson, Ted Reynolds

1/23

COSMOS SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY MAGAZINE

Published by Star Publications Edited by Laurence M. Jannifer Format: Digest

Poul Anderson, Carl Jacobi (2), Philip K. Dick, Evan Hunter (2), Ross Rocklynne, John Jakes, Bertram Chandler (2), Robert S. Richardson (2), B. Traven, N. R., Jack Vance

0/15

DYNAMIC SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Columbia Publications Edited by: Robert A. W. Lowndes Format: Pulp

Cyril Judd, Raymond Z. Gallun, James Blish, Michael Sherman, Algis Budrys

0/5*

FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES

Published by: All Fiction Field (imprint of Popular Publications) Edited by: Mary Gnaedinger Format: Pulp

Talbot Mundy, H. Rider Haggard, Ayn Rand, Kafka

1/4

FANTASTIC

Published by: Ziff-Davis Publications Edited by: Howard Browne Format: Digest

Samuel Hopkins Adams, Joseph Shallit, Kris Neville, Edgar Allan Poe, John Collier, Billy Rose, B. Traven, Stephen Vincent Benet, William P. McGivern (3), Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, John Wyndham (2), Esther Carlson, Evelyn Waugh, Ralph Robin (3), Walter M. Miller Jr., Robert Sheckley (2), Richard Matheson, Frank M. Robinson, Rog Phillips, Robert Bloch

2/27

FANTASTIC ADVENTURES

Published by: Ziff-Davis Publications Edited by: Howard Browne Format: Pulp

Frank McGiver, Peter Dakin, E. K. Jarvis, Mallory Storm, Ivar Jorgensen, Alexander Blade

1/6

FANTASTIC STORY MAGAZINE

Published by:Best Books Edited by: Samuel Mines Format: Pulp

Edmond Hamilton, Murray Leinster (3), L. Sprague de Camp (4), Thomas L. McClary, Leigh Brackett, Henry Kuttner, Carl Jacobi, Horace L. Gold, Jerry Shelton, Ed Weston, Kevin Kent, Jack Townsley Rogers, Frederic Brown, Cleve Cartmill, Manly Wade Wellman, Otis Adelbert Kline, Roscoe Clark, Robert Moore Williams

1/23

FANTASTIC UNIVERSE SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: King-Sized Publications Edited by: Sam Merwin Format: Digest

Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Belknap Long, E. Hoffman Price, Evan Hunter, Irving Cox, William Campbell Gault, A. Bertram Chandler (2), Walt Sheldon, Clifford D. Simak, Poul Anderson, Richard Matheson, Eric Frank Russell, Jean Jaques Ferrat, William F. Temple, Wallace West, C. M. Kornbluth, William Morrison, Philip K. Dick, Evelyn E. Smith

1/21

THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Mercury Press Edited by: Anthony Boucher Format: Digest

Fritz Leiber, Mabel Seeley, John Wyndham, Idris Seabright (2), Robert Louis Stevenson, R. Bretnor (2), L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, Oliver la Farge, J. T. McIntosh, Wilson Tucker, Richard Matheson, Anthony Boucher (2), Kris Neville, Chad Oliver, Esther Carlson, Alan Nelson, William Bernard Ready, Poul Anderson, Ward Moore, John D. MacDonald, Edward W. Ludwig, Arthur Porges, Manly Wade Wellman, Winona McClintic, Tom McMorrow Jr.,

4/29

FANTASY MAGAZINE/FANTASY FICTION

Published by: Future Publications Edited by: Lester Del Rey Format: Digest

Robert E. Howard (2), John Wyndham, (Philip K) Dick, Elliot, Fritch, (H.B.) Fyfe, H. Harrison, MacLean, L. Sprague de Camp, Pletcher Pratt

0/10

FUTURE SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Standard Publications Edited by: Robert A. W. Lowndes Format: Pulp

John Wyndham, Poul Anderson, William Tenn, Gordon R. Dickson, Kriss Neville, Robert Sheckley

0/6

GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Galaxy Publishing Edited by: Horace L. Gold Format: Digest

Philip K. Dick, Damon Knight, H. L. Gold, Willy Ley (3)*, F, L. Wallace, J. T. McIntosh, Theodore Sturgeon, Isaac Asimov

0/10

GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS

Published by: Galaxy Publishing Edited by: Horace L. Gold Format: Digest

This “magazine” Doesn’t really count as these are single novel publications. However, for completeness’ sake: John Taine, Isaac Asimov, J. Leslie Mitchell, James Blish (2), Lewis Padgett*, Edmond Hamilton

0/7

IF WORLDS OF SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Digest Publications Edited by: Larry Shaw Format: Digest

Walter M. Miller Jr., Ivar Jorgenson, Arthur C. Clarke, Jack Vance, Walt Sheldon, H. B. Fyfe, James Blish, William Tenn, Mark Wolf

0/9

ORBIT SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Hanro Corporation Edited by: Donald A. Wollheim Format: Digest

Richard English, August Derleth (2), Mack Reynolds, Charles Beaumont (2), Paul Brandts, H. B. Fyfe, John Christopher, James Causey

0/10

OTHER WORLDS

Published by: Clark Publications, later Bell Publications Edited by: Raymond A. Plamer & Bea Mahaffey Format: Digest

H. B. Fyfe, Richard S. Shaver (2), L Sprague de Camp (3), Eric Frank Russell, (William F.) Temple, (Robert Moore) Williams, Edward L. Smith, (Joe) Gibson, (Raymond A.) Palmer, S. J. Byrne, Robert Bloch, James McConne

0/15

PLANET STORIES

Published by: Love Romances Edited by: Jack O’Sullivan Format: Pulp

Bryan Berry (4*), Roger Dee, Gardner F. Fox, Robert Moore Williams, Ross Rocklynne, William Tenn, Ray Gallun, B. Curtis, Gordon R. Dickson, Hayden Howard, Stanley Mullen, Leigh Brackett, Ray Bradbury, Fox B. Holden

1/17

ROCKET STORIES

Published by: Space Publications Edited by: Lester Del Rey, Harry Harrison Format: Digest

(?) Bernard, (Henry) De Rosso, (John) Jakes, (Milton) Lesser (2), (Poul) Anderson, (Algis) Budrys, (?) Cox, (James) Gunn, (A. F. ?) Loomis, (?) Mullen

0/12

SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURES

Published by: Space Fiction/Future Publications Edited by: Lester Del Rey, Harry Harrison Format: Digest

(William) Morrison (2, (Alan E.) Nourse, (George O.) Smith, (Erik) Van Lhin* (5), (Chad) Oliver, (Algis) Budrys, (Raymond Z.) Gallun, (Theodore R.) Cogswell, (Robert) Sheckley, (Poul) Anderson, (Irving E.) Cox (Jr.) (2), (Samuel) Moskowitz, (Richard) Snodgrass, C. M. Kornbluth

0/20

SCIENCE FICTION PLUS

Published by: Gernsback Publications Edited by: Sam Moskowitz Format: Slick

Eando Binder (2), Hugo Gernsback (2), Philip Jose Farmer (2), John Scott Campbell, Dr. Donald H. Menzel, Richard Tooker, Clifford D. Simak (2), Raymond Z. Gallun, Frank Belknap Long, F. L. Wallace, Robert Bloch, Harry Walton, Murray Leinster (2), Pierre Devaux, H. G. Viet, Gustav Albrecht, Frank R. Paul, Chad Oliver, Thomas Calvert McClary, Jack Williamson, Eric Frank Russell (2), Harry Bates, James H. Schmitz

0/29

SCIENCE FICTION QUARTERLY

Published by: Double-Action Magazines Edited by: Charles D. Hornig, Robert A. W. Lowndes Format: Pulp

Poul Anderson, Philip K. Dick, Randall Garrett, Milton Lesser

0/4

SCIENCE FICTION STORIES

Published by: Columbia Publications Edited by: Robert A. W. Lowndes Format: Digest

Poul Anderson, Raymond Z. Gallun, Robert Sheckley, Algis Budrys, Philip K. Dick, Noel Loomis, M.C. Pease

0/7

SCIENCE STORIES

Published by: Clark Publishing, Bell Publishing Edited by: Raymond A. Palmer, Bea Mahaffey Format: Digest

Jack Williamson, John Bloodstone, S. J. Byrne, T. P. Caravan, Mack Reynolds, Edward Wellen, Richard Dorot

0/7

SPACE SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Space Publications Edited by: Lester Del Rey Format: Digest

H. Beam Piper, (John) Christopher, (William) Morrison (2), Damon Knight, T. L. Sherred, Lester Del Rey, Poul Anderson

0/8

SPACE STORIES

Published by: Standard Magazines Edited by: Samuel Mines Format: Pulp

Leigh Brackett, William Morrison, Sam Merwin Jr.

1/3

SPACEWAY STORIES OF THE FUTURE

Published by: Fantasy Publishing Co Edited by: ? Format: Digest

Only a movie title is listed.

STARTLING STORIES

Published by: Better Publications Edited by: Samuel Mines Format: Pulp

Damon Knight, Murray Leinster (2), George O. Smith, Sam Merwin Jr (3)., Chad Oliver, Kendall Foster Crossen, Willy Ley, Fletcher Pratt, Noel Loomis, Philip Jose Farmer, Theodore Sturgeon, Edmond Hamilton

0/15

THRILLING WONDER STORIES

Published by: Beacon/Better/Standard Magazines Edited by: Samuel Mines Format: Pulp

L. Sprague de Camp, Kendall Foster Crossen (3), Damon Knight, Katherine MacLean, Wallace West, R. J. McGregor, George O. Smith, Dwight V. Swain

1/10

TOPS IN SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Love Romances Edited by: Jack O’Sullivan, Malcolm Reiss Format: Pulp

(Ray) Bradbury, Leigh Brackett (2), (Robert) Abernathy, (Hugh Frazier) Parker

TWO COMPLETE SCIENCE-ADVENTURE BOOKS

Published by:Wings Publishing Edited by: Katherine Daffron Format: Pulp

Like The Galaxy SF Novel, these “magazines” only published two full length novels, so it doesn’t really fit the standard pulp magazine cover listings thing. However –

James Blish, Vargo Statten, Killian Houston Brunner, Bryan Berry, Poul Anderson, John D. MacDonald

0/6

UNIVERSE SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Bell Publications, Palmer Publications Edited by: Raymond A. Plamer, Bea Mahaffey Format: Digest

Theodore Sturgeon, Murray Leinster, Nelson Bond, Robert Bloch, William T. Powers (2), William Campbell Gault, Gordon R. Dickson (2), Mark Clifton, Sylvia Jacobs, Roger Flint Young, Poul Anderson, (Isaac Asimov, (L. Sprague) de Camp, (Eando) Binder, F. L. Wallace, George H. Smith

1/18

VORTEX SCIENCE FICTION

Published by: Specific Fiction Edited by: Chester Whitehorn Format: Digest

(Nobody listed on the cover, probably owing to the fact that this was a terrible magazine.)

WEIRD TALES

Published by: Weird Tales Inc Edited by: Dorothy McIllwraith Format: Digest

Everil Worrell, Joseph Payne Brennan, Leah Bodine Drake, August Derleth (2), (Manly Wade) Wellman, C.(lark) A.(shton) Smith

2/6

WONDER STORY ANNUAL

Published by: Best Books Edited by: ? Format: Pulp

Jack Williamson, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Henry Kuttner, Isaac Asimov

0/5

***

Text markup key: A bolded name is an author who still resonates today (at least in my estimation); italics indicate a pseudonym – sometimes a house name, sometimes not; a number in ellipses indicated that the author was cover mentioned more than once during the year’s run.

The numbers following the names related the ration of female/male mentions for the year’s run. The best that can be said about this is that Space Stories managed to achieve 33%, while the majority of the magazines featured no female authors.

***

Thirty Eight different titles, if we include serious name changes:

Amazing Stories, Astounding Science Fiction, Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader, Beyond Fantasy Fiction, Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, Dynamic Science Fiction, Famous Fantastic Mysteries,Fantastic Adventures, Fantastic*, Fantastic Story, Fantastic Universe, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction*, Future Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction Novels, If Worlds of Science Fiction, Orbit Science Fiction, Other Worlds, Planet Stories, Rocket Stories, Science Fiction Adventures, Science Fiction Plus, Science Fiction Quarterly, Science Fiction Stories, Science Stories*, Space Science Fiction, Space Stories, Spaceway, Startling Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Tops in Science Fiction, Two Complete Science-Adventure Books, Universe Science Fiction, Vortex Science Fiction, Weird Tales, Wonder Story Annual. (*This was a title change) (and I’ve got 32 of the 38 first issues in my personal collection!)

Phew!

Incidentally, if you’d purchased all of these at the newsstand back in the day, it would have set you back a grand total of $55.80. Adjusted for inflation, it would be a bit over $500 bucks today. That’s a bit low. There are 176 issues in question and current asking price for a digest magazine on the stands these days is $7.99. At that price, these issues would have set you back about $1400.00. This suggests that things really were cheaper back then!�� (It’s also a lot easier to scrape up 25 cents looking for pennies on the street than it is to find $7.99….)

Beyond anything else, I simply can not imagine what it must have been like to be standing in front of the racks of a 1953 news shop. During they heyday of my purchasing magazines from news shops, I had Amazing, F&SF, Fantastic, Galaxy, If, Analog, Odyssey, Galileo, and a handful of reprint mags to choose from, as well as a number of “graphic” magazines like Heavy Metal and “media” magazines like Star Warp. I’d have been overwhelmed and terribly frustrated to find 38 different titles – I wouldn’t be able to choose which ones to spend my nickles on!

Truth be told, though, the regularity of these magazines was anything but regular. If you averaged out their production over twelve months, there’d only be 15 titles to choose from at any given time.

No doubt quality suffered to some degree, but the chances of finding good stories was also increased.

Note, interestingly, that only 45 percent of these titles include the identifier “science fiction” in their name. Among those that don’t include “science fiction”, seven consist of a descriptor and the word “stories”: Amazing, Planet, Rocket, Science, Space, Startling, Thrilling Wonder, and two a descriptor plus “story” – Fantastic and Wonder.

I think it safe to say that the majority of magazines back in 1953 still felt the need to be very specific about what they were offering readers. The cover image was apparently not quite enough, though I’m sure they worked hand-in-hand: the outre image would catch your eye and the properly worded title would confirm your suspicions: rocketships plus “Amazing” equals “science fiction”. (Anyone seeing a scantily clad “space babe” and hoping for titillation was going to be sorely disappointed, and unlikely to be interested in anything “science stories”.)

Those two elements were probably believed to be sufficient come-ons to new customers, none of whom had a computer or databases to consult. (In fact, whether or not you ever even saw a particular title on the newsstands was often hit or miss: if the magazine distributor didn’t cover a particular territory (or deliver to that territory that month), you’d never see the issue(s).

But then, most of the magazines also went ahead and put two other items on their covers. Frequently a statement about the contents was made -All New Stories!- and the title and author of at least one story listed on the table of contents.

I find it interesting that they felt a need to proclaim “All Stories Complete!” “All New Fiction!” and even “A Selection of the Best Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction, new and old.” This was of course due to the fact that there were numerous reprint magazines on the stands (Famous Fantastic Mysteries among them) and woe to the reader who spent that hard-earned quarter, only to discover contents they’d already read!

Another thing regularly stuck on the cover of these ‘zines was a sort of sub-title: Strange Adventures on Other Worlds…Preview of the Future…Stories of the Future…Science Fiction…Best in Fantasy….

If you stand back and take a look at all of the covers shown previously, you may notice that there seem to be two general format layouts – “framed” and “unframed”, and further that the unframed titles break down into two sub-groups – boxes or no boxes.

Framed layouts present the cover image, untouched, and surround it with (usually) an inverted ‘L’ shaped border (Galaxy, Space Stories), while unframed titles print a full-sized cover image and slap text directly over the image. Some of these restrict the listing of contents or highlighted story in an opaque box (which is printed over the image).

It seems that two different schools of design thought were expressing themselves. Both have advantages: unframed present a larger image, framed present one that lets you see everything, no textual interruptions, please, but are small in area.

Also note that 1953 was a year of transition for magazine format: some of the titles shown were published in “pulp” format (about 9 inches tall), such as Two Complete Science-Adventure Tales and Fantastic Adventures, while most had or were switching to the familiar digest (about 7 inches tall) format – such as Fantastic Universe and Galaxy.

The larger format almost exclusively utilized an unframed layout, while many of the digests went with the framed format, though not exclusively. Notably, Amazing Stories seems to be all over the place.

Now, with all that being said…why’d they put those names on the cover?

These magazines had three basic markets they were trying to reach – the educated fan, the fan who didn’t know they were a fan, the casual reader.

The publishers didn’t really have to worry about the educated fan too much; chances were they were a subscriber, or belonged to a club that subscribed, or had fellow fans who shared issues around. Fan readers of SF&F were always hungry for more and needed no other motivation than “the new issue is on the stands” to go and seek it out.

Further, this kind of consumer had already developed their tastes and would have been pretty familiar with the regularly published authors and those who were considered to be headliners. Any given name on the cover stood a 50-50 chance of attracting or deterring that reader. You could get a lot for a quarter and a dime back then – almost a beer, almost a movie ticket; Mark Watney would probably like to know that ten pounds of potatoes cost the same as a magazine.

I ponder the wisdom of a promotional campaign that runs the risk of turning your potential customer off, up to fifty percent of the time.

On the other hand, publishers, at least in regards to this demographic, were probably counting on a few other things as well: most fans were rabid fans by necessity. Even if every single author in a given issue was disliked, there was still the editorial and the letter column (often worth the price of admission alone), whatever other features might be included and, of course, the cover, along with the interior illustrations. (Remember those?) Having probably already been through the demise of many prior titles, the experienced fan back then probably had a well-honed sense of historical preservation. All of which would tend to encourage them to ignore front cover unpleasantness.

One thing is for sure though: this segment of the market didn’t have to be sold. They were already bought and paid for. The only competition a magazine faced with this particular buyer was whether or not a competing title was more “attractive” this month. Which suggests that one purpose of the names on the cover was to play one-ups-manship with the other titles.

This then leaves us with two segments – the unrealized fan and the casual reader.

The only difference between these two market segments is that the unrealized fan reader might have heard of an author or two. I stress might, since the novels they might have been exposed to were few and far between and no one was advertising SF magazines on television or radio, nor even in the mass-circulation magazines of the day. You weren’t going to see Isaac Asimov on a Wheaties box (though this might not be a bad idea…), Jack Parr wasn’t interviewing Ray Bradbury and the movies they might have caught rarely, if ever, mentioned the origin of their script.

Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, Tales of Tomorrow (ended this year), some fans might have caught Atom Squad, some kids were maybe watching Johnny Jupiter, Rod Brown was competing with Tom, and it would be several years before Science Fiction Theater, The Twighlight Zone and Men Into Space would grace the small screen; these 1953 television shows did little to elevate the profile of the science fiction author.

Likewise, radio (still a popular medium) wasn’t producing much of serious fan interest either: Dimension X had been off the air for a couple of years, and it would be a couple more before X Minus One would air (both prominently featured stories largely drawn from Astounding Science Fiction). The radio companion for Space Patrol was airing, but, again, any author involved probably tried to keep as low a profile as possible.

The only real benefit any of the magazines might have derived from these other media might have been creating the initial interest in the subject matter. Given the right circumstances, it is entirely possible that a consumer walking past a newsstand would make the connection between a television show featuring outer space and the image of a rocketship on the cover of one of the magazines.

This works, potentially, for the unrealized fan, though it begs a question: why didn’t any of the magazines attempt to capture this television show audience with various forms of tie-in? (Tom Corbett Isn’t the ONLY Space Cadet. We’ve got space cadets in every issue! A New Short Story by the author of the latest Tales of Tomorrow episode!) It could be suggested that most of SF on television back in the day was focused on “kids”, and that the magazines were going after an older audience, but most of the magazines on sale were perceived, at least by the general public, as being kid-stuff too. I can imagine a well-meaning parent, noting their child’s interest in Space Cadets, picking up a copy of Universe, or Science Fiction Plus, or Science Fiction Adventures (check out the cover art) as an attempt to support the kid’s interest. But then again, we’re talking about an era that generally despised science fiction, so it’s more likely that mom or dad would be scheduling homework time during Corbett’s 15 minute episodes….

The casual reader…the only thing I can imagine that would attract them to an SF pulp (or digest) would be the cover art, perhaps reinforced by one of the come-ons. But certainly not the names.

This of course brings us back full circle. It’s pretty well established that the names on the cover did little to help market these titles. Existing fans knew the titles and would pick them up regardless of who was featured; unrealized fans could make no informed judgement about the content, and the casual reader would be attracted by art and possibly blurbs.

So why? Why go to the trouble to select the names, why the belief that doing so was beneficial? There’s probably only two reasons: tradition (magazines had been printing the contents on the cover from the beginning) and ego boo: ego boo for the authors (who were getting paid very little and had only two sources of fan interaction – letters and conventions. Not to mention wanting to keep valued authors on the submission hook. And ego boo for the editors and publishers who got to brag among themselves and play a game of one upsmanship.

So what have we got? Here’s the list, most cover mentions to least, in alphabetical order. There are quite a few names we still engage with these days…and quite as many we have forgotten.

14 Anderson Poul 11 de Camp L. Sprague 8 Leinster Murray 7 Dick Philip K., 7 Sheckley Robert 6 Asimov Isaac, Budrys Algis, Matheson Richard, Morrison William, Sturgeon Theodore, Wyndham John 5 Berry Bryan, Blish James, Bloch Robert, Brackett Leigh, Bradbury Ray, Crossen Kendall Foster, Gallun Raymond Z., Knight Damon, Lesser Milton, Lhin Erik Van, 4 Chandler A. Bertram, Clarke Arthur C., Derleth August, Dickson Gordon R., Gold Horace L., Hunter Evan, Jakes John, Ley Willy, McGivern William P., Merwin Jr Sam, Oliver Chad, Russell Eric Frank 3 Binder Eando, Christopher John, Clifton Mark, Cox Irving, Farmer Philip Jose, Fyfe H. B., Hamilton Edmond, Jacobi Carl, Kuttner Henry, Miller Jr. Walter M., Neville Kris, Robin Ralph, Simak Clifford D., Smith George O., Tenn William, Vance Jack, Wallace F L., Wellman Manly Wade, West Wallace, Williams Robert Moore, Williamson Jack, 2 Apostildes Alex, Beaumont Charles, Bixby Jerome, Boucher Anthony, Bretnor R., Byrne S. J., Carlson Esther, Cogswell Theodore R., Dee Roger, Gault William Campbell, Gernsback Hugo, Heinlein Robert, Howard Robert E., Jarvis E. K., Jorgensen Ivar, Kornbluth C. M., Lohrman Paul, Long Frank Belknap, Loomis Noel, MacDonald John D., McIntosh J. T., Mullen Stanley, Piper H. Beam, Powers William T., Pratt Fletcher, Reynolds Mack, Richardson Robert S., Robinson Frank M., Rocklynne Ross, Seabright Idris, Shaver Richard S., Sheldon Walt, Sherred T. L., Storm Mallory, Temple William F., Traven B., 1 Abernathy Robert, Adams Samuel Hopkins, Albrecht Gustav, Archette Guy, Arnold John E., Bates Harry, Benet Stephen Vincent, Bernard (?), Bester Alfred, Blade Alexander, Bloodstone John, Bond Nelson, Brandts Paul, Brennan Joseph Payne, Brown Frederic, Brunner Killian Houston, Campbell John Scott, Caravan T. P., Cartmill Cleve, Causey James, Clark Roscoe, Clement, Hal, Collier John, Coppel Jr. Alfred J., Correy Lee, Cox (?), Creighton Charles, Curtis B., Dakin Peter, De Rosso Henry, Dean Joe E., Deeming Richard, Del Rey Lester, Devaux Pierre, Dorot Richard, Drake Leah Bodine, English Richard, Fearing Vern, Ferrat Jean Jaques, Fox Gardner F., Frank Harriet, Fritch Elliot, Fyfe H.B., Garrett Randall, Geier Chester, Gibson Joe, Godwin Tom, Gregory Franklin, Guin Wyman, Gunn James, Haggard H. Rider, Harrison H., Henderson Zenna, Holden Fox B., Howard Hayden, Jacobs Sylvia, Jones Raymond F., Judd Cyril, Kafka , Kent Kevin, Kline Otis Adelbert, Krepps R. W., la Farge Oliver, Lait Jack, Leiber Fritz, Loomis (A. F. ?), Loxmith John, Ludwig Edward W., MacLean Katherine, MacLean Mabel Seeley, McClary Thomas Calvert, McClary Thomas L., McClintic Winona, McConne James, McConnell James, McGiver Frank, McGregor R. J., McMorrow Jr. Tom, McGuire John J, Menzel Donald H., Mitchell J. Leslie, Moore Ward, Mortimer Lee, Moskowitz Samuel, Mundy Talbot, Nelson Alan, Nourse Alan E., Padgett Lewis, Palmer Raymond A., Parker Hugh Frazier, Paul Frank R., Pease M.C., Phillips Rog, Poe Edgar Allan, Porges Arthur, Pratt Pletcher, Price E. Hoffman, R. N., Rand Ayn, Ready William Bernard, Reynolds Ted, Rogers Jack Townsley, Rose Billy, Schmitz James H., Shallit Joseph, Shelton Jerry, Sherman Michael, Smith Clark Ashton, Smith Evelyn E., Smith George H., Smith Edward L., Snodgrass Richard, Statten Vargo, Stevenson Robert Louis, Swain Dwight V., Taine John, Tooker Richard, Tucker Wilson, Viet H. G., Walton Harry, Waugh Evelyn, Wellen Edward, Weston Ed, Wolf Mark, Worrell Everil, Young Roger Flint

Resources for this article were obtained from Galactic Central and the Internet Science Fiction Database.

On Cover Mentions The other day I got into a brief discussion of cover mentions throughout the history of the science fiction magazine.

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portal-to-the-past · 3 years ago

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Avon Fantasy Reader - January 1951 // Cover by James Bama

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#avon fantasy reader #pulp fiction #pulp magazine #pulp cover #pulp cover art #james bama #science fiction

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rainydaypaperback · 4 years ago

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Avon Fantasy Reader no 13 - more at link

#frank belknap long #avon fantasy reader #pulp science fiction

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pulpsandcomics2 · 4 years ago

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“Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader” April 1950

#science fiction magazine #fantasy stories

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othmeralia · 5 years ago

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Recently added to our library is Space, Space, Space (1953), a collection of 10 science fiction stories. Six of the stories originally appeared in Astounding Science-Fiction Magazine, one story in Imagination Magazine, one story in Other Worlds Science Stories Magazine, one story in Fantastic Story magazine, and one story in Avon Science-Fiction and Fantasy Reader magazine.

“Of course none of the stories in this book are true today. No living human being has ever been beyond the Earth, nor even as far as halfway up through the ocean of air to its surface in outer space. So far as we know for certain, the Earth has never yet been visited by any kind of intelligent life with a home on another planet, near or far. These things are still to happen; and so the stories in this book are all about what may take place sometime in the future.” – page 9

#science ficition #space #1950s #space space space #othmeralia

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mycrazystrangeworld · 6 years ago

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It has been a long hiatus, though to me it didn’t seem to be one. Time flies. June and July have flied by so fast, and I can’t keep up, shit things happening one after the other, and I’m still coping… But it’s a process. I’m functioning now enough to write and interact on this blog.

As I promised, this first post is a list of June releases (from June 3rd) and the reviews I found about them until now. You’re all welcome to let me know if you have a review that I forgot to add.

Since July is also over, I’m also sharing this month’s books and reviews.

As always, updating is constantly happening, if you know about a book or have a review, just let me know! 😉

Welcome back on Swift Coffee, everyone!

For the newbies (welcome 😘): if you don’t yet know what this is all about: I’m posting a list every Monday of the books that get released during the current week. I also include other people’s reviews about them! I try to do a blog hop from time to time and spread the word about this feature, but I obviously can’t find every review that’s related, so a sign that you have one would be very much appreciated! Every review is eligible that is written about a book published on the week in question, even if it was written before said week!

So… one question remains:

Would you like to join the ride?

It’s very easy!

These are the rules:

To be featured, you don’t have to do anything else, but to leave a comment below this post, or contact me by any other way, and let me know you have a review. A link to it makes it easier, but if you only say your review comes out on x day of the week, that’s okay as well, I’ll watch out for it! Following me is not a must, but I appreciate it very much, if you do! 🙂

I continuously update this post according to your infos/comments, and I share it again every time I’ve made an update.

The book you reviewed don’t have to be from the list here, if it’s not listed, but published this week, I’ll add the book, too!

You can also send me a review for next week, because these posts are scheduled! 😉

Books Published in June:

‘After the End’ by Clare Mackintosh mystery/thriller

‘All the Missing Girls’ by Megan Miranda mystery

‘A Merciful Promise’ by Kendra Elliot mystery/romantic suspense

‘A Nearly Normal Family’ by M.T. Edvardsson, Rachel Willson-Broyles (Translation) mystery/thriller

‘Ayesha at Last’ by Uzma Jalaluddin romance

‘Beyond Āsanas: The Myths and Legends behind Yogic Postures’ by Pragya Bhatt, Joel Koechlin (Photographer)

‘Bound to the Battle God’ by Ruby Dixon fantasy/romance

‘Briar and Rose and Jack’ by Katherine Coville middle grade

‘Bunny’ by Mona Awad horror

‘City of Girls’ by Elizabeth Gilbert historical fiction

‘Close to Home’ by Cate Ashwood M M romance

‘Dear Wife’ by Kimberly Belle mystery/thriller

‘Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Life and Work’ by Victoria Ortiz non-fiction/middle grade

‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ by Taffy Brodesser-Akner contemporary

‘Five Midnights’ by Ann Dávila Cardinal horror

‘Fix Her Up’ by Tessa Bailey romance

‘Fixing the Fates: A Memoir’ by Diane Dewey non-fiction

‘Ghosts of the Shadow Market’ YA fantasy

‘Gun Island’ by Amitav Ghosh cultural/India/historical fiction

‘If Only’ by Melanie Murphy

‘Just One Bite’ by Jack Heath mystery/thriller

‘Like a Love Story’ by Abdi Nazemian YA/LGBT

‘Magic for Liars’ by Sarah Gailey fantasy/mystery

‘More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)’ by Elaine Welteroth non-fiction

‘Mrs. Everything’ by Jennifer Weiner historical fiction

‘Mostly Dead Things’ by Kristen Arnett contemporary/LGBT

‘Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune’ by Roselle Lim contemporary/romance

‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’ by Ocean Vuong poetry

‘Rapture’ by Lauren Kate YA fantasy

‘Recursion’ by Blake Crouch science fiction

‘Searching for Sylvie Lee’ by Jean Kwok mystery

‘Somewhere Close to Happy’ by Lia Louis romance

‘Sorcery of Thorns’ by Margaret Rogerson fantasy

‘Storm and Fury’ by Jennifer L. Armentrout fantasy

‘Summer of ’69’ by Elin Hilderbrand historical fiction

‘Sweet Tea and Secrets’ by Joy Avon cozy mystery

‘Teeth in the Mist’ by Dawn Kurtagich horror

‘The Accidental Girlfriend’ by Emma Hart romance

‘The Bookshop on the Shore’ by Jenny Colgan contemporary/women’s fiction

‘The First Mistake’ by Sandie Jones thriller

‘The Friends We Keep’ by Jane Green women’s fiction

‘The Friend Zone’ by Abby Jimenez contemporary/romance

‘The Girl in Red’ by Christina Henry fantasy/horror

‘The Haunted’ by Danielle Vega horror

‘The Holiday’ by T.M. Logan

‘The July Girls’ by Phoebe Locke mystery/thriller

‘The Last House Guest’ by Megan Miranda mystery/thriller

‘The Most Fun We Ever Had’ by Claire Lombardo contemporary/literary fiction

‘The New Achilles’ by Christian Cameron historical fiction

‘The Red Labyrinth’ by Meredith Tate fantasy

‘The Resurrectionists’ by Michael Patrick Hicks horror

‘The Rest of the Story’ by Sarah Dessen YA contemporary/romance

‘Ollie Oxley and the Ghost: The Search for Lost Gold’ by Lisa Schmid middle grade

‘The Space Between Time’ by Charlie Laidlaw

‘The Stationery Shop’ by Marjan Kamali historical fiction

‘The Summer Country’ by Lauren Willig historical fiction

‘They Called Me Wyatt’ by Natasha Tynes mystery

‘This Might Hurt a Bit’ by Doogie Horner YA

‘Time After Time’ by Lisa Grunwald historical/science fiction

‘Waiting for Tom Hanks’ by Kerry Winfrey contemporary/romance

‘We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir’ by Samra Habib non-fiction

‘We Were Killers Once’ by Becky Masterman mystery/thriller

‘Where The Story Starts’ by Imogen Clark women’s fiction

‘Wicked Fox’ by Kat Cho YA fantasy

‘Wild and Crooked’ by Leah Thomas YA contemporary/LGBT

‘Wolf Rain’ by Nalini Singh paranormal romance

Reviews:

‘Sorcery of Thorns’ by Stephanie at Between Folded Pages

‘The Rapture’ at Book Bound

‘The Resurrectionists’ by Jen at Shit Reviews of Books

‘The Haunted’ by Kris at Boston Book Reader

‘The Friends We Keep’ by Vicky at Women in Trouble Book Blog

‘This Might Hurt a Bit’ by Amanda at Between the Shelves

‘Wild and Crooked’ by Amanda at Between the Shelves

‘The Haunted’ by Mandy at Book Princess Reviews

‘We Were Killers Once’ by Vicky at Women in Trouble Book Blog

‘Five Midnights’ by Sian at Sci-fi & Scary

‘Wolf Rain’ by Corina at Book Twins Reviews

‘Just One Bite’ by Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark

‘Where the Story Starts’ by Anjana at Superfluous Reading

‘The Red Labyrinth’ by Anjana at Superfluous Reading

‘Fixing the Fates’ by Anjana at Superfluous Reading

‘Gun Island’ by Anjana at Superfluous Reading

‘If Only’ by Anjana at Superfluous Reading

‘Sweet Tea and Secrets’ by Rekha at The Book Decoder

‘Storm and Fury’ by Claire at bookscoffeeandrepeat

‘The New Achilles’ by Zoé at Zooloo’s Book Diary

‘Time After Time’ by Ashley at Ashes Books and Bobs

‘Recursion’ by Lilyn G at Sci-fi & Scary

‘The Space Between Time’ by Rekha at The Book Decoder

‘The Rumor’ by Vicky at Women in Trouble Book Blog

‘The Search for the Lost Gold’ by Lilyn G at Sci-fi & Scary

‘They Call Me Wyatt’ by Jen at Shit Reviews of Books

‘After the End’ by Linda at Linda’s Book Bag

‘Beyond Asanas’ by Shashank at Wonder’s Book Blog

‘The July Girls’ by Nicola at Short Book and Scribes

‘We Have Always Been Here’ by Kristin at Kristin Kraves Books

‘Close to Home’ by T. J. Fox

‘Dissenter on the Bench’ by Taylor at Tays Infinite Thoughts

‘Bound to the Battle God’ by Corina at Book Twins Reviews

‘Briar and Rose and Jack’ by Briana at Pages Unbound

‘Teeth in the Mist’ at Lori’s Bookshelf Reads

‘All the Missing Girls’ by Celine at Celinelingg

‘The Holiday’ by Zoe at Zooloo’s Book Diary

‘The July Girls’ by Joanna at Over the Rainbow Book Blog

‘More Than Enough’ by Jessica at Jess Just Reads

‘Somewhere Close to Happy’ at Jess Just Reads

‘The Accidental Girlfriend’ by Tijuana at Book Twins Reviews

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Books Published in July:

‘Along the Broken Bay’ by Flora J. Solomon historical fiction

‘A Stranger on the Beach’ by Michele Campbell mystery/thriller

‘A Whisker In The Dark’ by Leighann Dobbs cozy mystery

‘Dark Age’ by Pierce Brown science fiction

‘Depraved’ by Trilina Pucci romance/erotica

‘Deserve to Die’ by Miranda Rijks thriller

‘Drummer Girl’ by Ginger Scott YA romance

‘False Step’ by Victoria Helen Stone mystery/thriller

‘Girls Like Us’ by Cristina Alger mystery/thriller

‘Gods of Jade and Shadow’ by Silvia Moreno-Garcia fantasy/historical fiction

‘Good Guy’ by Kate Meader romance

‘Gore in the Garden’ by Colleen J. Shogan cozy mystery

‘How to Hack a Heartbreak’ by Kristin Rockaway romance

‘Last Summer’ by Kerry Lonsdale contemporary

‘Life Ruins’ by Danuta Kot audiobook/mystery

‘Lock Every Door’ by Riley Sager mystery/thriller

‘Maybe This Time’ by Kasie West contemporary

‘Never Have I Ever’ by Joshilyn Jackson mystery/thriller

‘Never Look Back’ by Alison Gaylin mystery/thriller

‘Nightingale Point’ by Luan Goldie

‘Reclaimed by Her Rebel Knight’ by Jenni Fletcher historical romance

‘Resist’ by K. Bromberg romance

‘Salvation Day’ by Kali Wallace science fiction

‘Season of the Witch’ by Sarah Rees Brennan YA fantasy

‘Sisters of Willow House’ by Susanne O’Leary

‘Spin the Dawn’ by Elizabeth Lim fantasy

‘That Long Lost Summer’ by Minna Howard

‘The Betrayed Wife’ by Kevin O’Brien mystery/thriller

‘The Bookish Life of Nina Hill’ by Abbi Waxman contemporary/romance

‘The Chain’ by Adrian McKinty thriller

‘The Gifted School’ by Bruce Holsinger contemporary fiction

‘The Golden Hour’ by Beatriz Williams historical fiction

‘The Guy on the Right’ by Kate Stewart NA romance

‘The Last Book Party’ by Karen Dukess historical fiction

‘The Marriage Trap’ by Sheryl Browne thriller

‘The Merciful Crow’ by Margaret Owen fantasy

‘The Miraculous’ by Jess Redman middle grade

‘The Need’ by Helen Phillips horror/thriller

‘The Nickel Boys’ by Colson Whitehead historical fiction

‘The Rogue King’ by Abigail Owen paranormal romance

‘The Seekers’ by Heather Graham mystery

‘The Silent Ones’ by K.L. Slater thriller

‘The Storm Crow’ by Kalyn Josephson fantasy

‘The Wedding Party’ by Jasmine Guillory romance

‘Three Women’ by Lisa Taddeo non-fiction/feminism

‘To Be Devoured’ by Sara Tantlinger horror

‘Truly Madly Royally’ by Debbie Rigaud YA romance

‘Under Currents’ by Nora Roberts romance

‘War’ by Laura Thalassa fantasy/romance

‘Whisper Network’ by Chandler Baker mystery/thriller

‘Wilder Girls’ by Rory Power YA horror/mystery

A fantastic review of…

‘Reclaimed by her Rebel Knight’ by Demetra at Demi Reads

‘The Merciful Crow’ by Clarissa at Clarissa Reads It All

‘The Bookish Life of Nina Hill’ at Flavia the Bibliophile

‘The Merciful Crow’ by Kaleena at Reader Voracious

‘The Guy On the Right’ by Astrid at The Bookish Sweet Tooth

‘False Step’ by Jordann at The Book Blog Life

‘The Guy On the Right’ by Angela at Reading Frenzy Book Blog

‘Reclaimed by Her Rebel Knight’ by Joules at Northern Reader

‘Depraved’ by Demetra at Demi Reads

‘Never Have I Ever’ by Steph AT Steph’s Book Blog

‘Reclaimed by Her Rebel Knight’ by Jennifer C. Wilson

‘That Long Lost Summer’ by Shalini at Shalini’s Books and Reviews

‘Sisters of Willow House’ by Joanne at Portobello Book Blog

‘A Whisker in the Dark’ by Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark

‘The Rouge King’ by Ashley at Falling Down the Book Hole

‘Good Guy’ by Astrid at The Bookish Sweet Tooth

‘Drummer Girl’ by Astrid at The Bookish Sweet Tooth

‘The Need’ by T. J. Fox

‘The Seekers’ by Shalini at Shalini’s Books and Reviews

‘The Silent Ones’ by Steph at StefLoz Book Blog

‘Resist’ by Tijuana at Book Twins Reviews

‘Reclaimed by Her Rebel Knight’ by Jess Bookish Life

‘Sisters of Willow House’ by Joanna at Over the Rainbow Book Blog

‘How To Hack a Heartbreak’ by Corina at Book Twins Reviews

‘Somebody Else’s Baby’ by Shalini at Shalini’s Books and Reviews

‘Life Ruins’ by Amanda at mybookishblogspot

‘The Miraculous’ by Chris at Plucked from the Stacks

‘The Betrayed Wife’ by Shalini at Shalini’s Books and Reviews

‘Salvation Day’ by Lilyn G at Sci-fi & Scary

‘The Marriage Trap’ by Shalini at Shalini’s Books and Reviews

‘The Chain’ at Jess Just Reads

‘To Be Devoured’ by Sam and Gracie at Sci-fi & Scary

‘Truly Madly Royally’ by Olivia at The Candid Cover

‘Season of the Witch’ by Jill at Jill’s Book Blog

‘Gore in the Garden’ by Rekha at The Book Decoder

‘Never Look Back’ by Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark

‘Wilder Girls’ by Kathy at Pages Below the Vaulted Sky

‘Deserve to Die’ by Shalini at Shalini’s Books and Reviews

‘Sisters of Willow House’ by Shalini at Shalini’s Books and Reviews

‘Sisters of Willow House’ by Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark

‘Nightingale Point’ by Amanda at mybookishblogspot

#gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 16%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

See these beautiful covers? *.*

Which are your favorites?

I’m so happy to be here with you bookish guys again!!

Don’t forget to let me know if you have a review!

Oh, and in the near future comes another post with the releases of the beginning of August! You can send me reviews for that post, as well.

Have a wonderful time!

Hugs 🙂

I’m back! – A Master List of Book Releases of June and July + Reviews! It has been a long hiatus, though to me it didn't seem to be one. Time flies.

#books published this week #new books #new releases #sharing reviews

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the-eye-is-watching · 6 years ago

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Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader, January 1953

(Cover by Leo Manso)

#the eye #the eye is watching #science fiction #scifi #horror #art #pulp fiction #books #paperback #comics #magazine #fantasy

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anitanh · 6 years ago

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Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader (April 1953). Found in the Intrnet Archive by AnitaNH

#AnitaNH #old magazines

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musingsofmonica · 8 months ago

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April 2024 Diverse Reads

April 2024 Diverse Reads:

•”All We Were Promised” by Ashton Lattimore, April 2, Ballantine Books, Historical/Saga/African American & Black/Women

•”Real Americans” by Rachel Khong, April 30, Knopf Publishing Group, Contemporary/Family Life/Cultural Heritage/Asian American

•”The Cemetery of Untold Stories” by Julia Alvarez l, April 2, Algonquin Books, Literary/Fantasy/Magical Realism/Cultural Heritage/Hispanic & Latino/World Literature/Caribbean & West Indies

•”The Stone Home” by Crystal Hana Kim, April 2, William Morrow & Company, Literary/Historical/Saga/Psychological/World Literature/Korea/Multiple Timelines

•”Indian Burial Ground” by Nick Medina, April 16, Berkley Books, April 2, Horror/Thriller/Supernatural/Cultural Heritage/Native American & Aboriginal

•”A Magical Girl Retires” by Park Seolyeon, translated by Anton Hur, April 30, Harpervia, Contemporary/Fantasy/Feminist/World Literature/Korea

•”Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees” by

Aimee Nezhukumatathil, April 30, Ecco Press, Essays/Short Essays/Essay Collection/Memoir in Essay

•”Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire” by Alice Wong, April 30, Vintage, Essays/Short Essays/Essay Collection/People with Disabilities/Love & Romance/Human Sexuality/Social Science

•”The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan, April 23, Knopf Publishing Group, Personal Memoir/Personal Memoir in Journal/Animals - Birds/Motivational & Inspirational/Illustration

•”Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder” by Salman Rushdie, April 16, Random House, Personal Memoir/Literary Figure/Survival/Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Discrimination & Race Relations/Social Justice

•”Just for the Summer” by Abby Jimenez, April 02, Forever, Contemporary/Romance/Romantic Comedy/Women/Small Town & Rural

•”How to End a Love Story” by Yulin Kuang, April 09, Avon Books, Contemporary/Romance/Romantic Comedy/Multicultural & Interracial/Diversity & Multicultural/Cultural Heritage Asian American/Workplace/Family Life/Siblings/Women

•”When I Think of You” by Myah Arie, April 16, Berkley Books, Contemporary/Romance/Romantic Comedy/Women/Hollywood/Workplace/Diversity & Multicultural

•”Canto Contigo” by Jonny Garza Villa, April 09, Wednesday Books, Contemporary/Romance/Culwtural Heritage/Hispanic & Latino/LGBTQ

•”Table for One: Stories” by Ko-Eun Yun, translated by Lizzie Buehler, April 09, Columbia University Press, Literary/Short Stories/Women/World Literature/Korea

•”One of Us Knows” by Alyssa Cole, April 16, William Morrow & Company, Thriller/Suspense/Psychological/Mystery & Detective/Women Sleuths/Women

•”Ocean's Godori” by Elaine U. Cho, April 23, Zando - Hillman Grad Books, Science Fiction/Space Opera/Romance/Asian American/LGBTQ

•”Kill Her Twice” by Stacey Lee, April 23, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, YA/Historical/20th Century/Mysteries & Detective/Women Sleuths/Women/Culwtural Heritage/Asian American

•”You Know What You Did” by K. T. Nguyen, April 16, Dutton, Thriller/Psychological/Culwtural Heritage/Asian American

•”The Spoiled Heart” by Sunjeev Sahota, April 16, Viking, Contemporary/Political/Family Life/World Literature/England

#books #bookworm #bookish #bibliophile #book lover #bookaddict #reading #book #booklr #bookaholic #books and reading #bookblr #reading list #to read #reader #read diverse books #diverse authors #diverse books #diverse reads

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hongyueg · 4 years ago

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Trapped in Space!

A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland Genre: fantasy, science fiction, middle grade Content Warnings: death, violence (no gore) Description: "When a transport ship is abruptly kicked out of hyperspace as part of a galaxy-wide disaster, newly-minted teen Jedi Vernestra Rwoh, a young Padawan, an audacious tech-kid, and the son of an ambassador are stranded on a jungle moon where they must work together to survive both the dangerous terrain and a hidden danger lurking in the shadows…."

As my first foray into Star Wars' High Republic, Justina Ireland's A Test of Courage was a magnificent read that possessed all of the feels of my favorite middle grade books from when I was a tween. From engaging, but complicated young main characters to big questions about how to live in a complex world to cute moments that are bound to make you smile, Ireland's novel has it all. If you are Star Wars fan, you will be relieved to learn that this book definitely includes fun tidbits about the force, the Jedi, and the galaxy as a whole.

What I enjoyed: -The characters carry the show. I love how this novel is more character-focused than plot-centered and I am sure readers will definitely relate to Vernestra's determination and worries, Avon's rationality and desire for connection, Honesty's courage and grief, and Imri's sensitivity and passion. The rapport between the main characters is a joy to read and you learn to respect each character for all of their strengths and struggles. -The writing style of this book is simple and fast-paced unlike other Star Wars books I have read. While there is acknowledgement of the wider galaxy for sure, this book is very self-contained, which makes it easy to understand the High Republic at a basic level. -The lessons this novel shares are deep and applicable. I love how Ireland explores the difference between justice and revenge and how sometimes it's okay to be angry, but what matters is how we use that anger. These are themes that Star Wars in general loves to tangle with and I appreciate what A Test of Courage has to say about the topic.

What I thought could be better: -I felt the climax wasn't as exciting as I was anticipating and was actually somewhat underwhelming, but the ending does leave much room for future stories with these characters.

At the end of the day, I am glad to have read A Test of Courage. The characters and the lessons they learn are just so real and I am confident late-elementary school and middle grade readers will agree with me. I highly recommend this novel to anybody who wants a good character-centric story that takes place in a galaxy far, far away.

#star wars #the high republic #star wars the high republic #a test of courage #justina ireland #book review #reviews #fantasy #science fiction

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pulpsandcomics2 · 4 years ago

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“Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader” #1 January 1953

#science fiction magazine #fantasy stories

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man-creates-dinosaurs · 8 years ago

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Late last month news broke that British sci-fi and fantasy author Brian W. Aldiss (8/18/25 – 8/19/17) had passed away at the age of 92. Best remembered as the author of the 1969 short-story “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” which the feature film A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001, Dir. Steven Spielberg) was based on, Aldiss, like many science-fiction writers, also occasionally dabbled with the subject of dinosaurs. This includes the short-story “Poor Little Warrior!” originally published in the April 1958 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and two novels, An Age (Faber, 1967 – released in the US under the title Cryptozoic! by Avon in ’69) and The Malacia Tapestry (Jonathan Cape, 1976).

Because I haven’t read either of these novels, this post will focus on the short-story “Poor Little Warrior!”, which I have read, and its curious legacy as the originator of a trope found today principally in kaijū movies concerning the presence of dangerous super-sized exoparasites living on the bodies of giant monsters.

Falling firmly into the ‘time-traveling big game hunter’ sub-genre which began with Ray Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder” (1952) and was initially continued with L. Sprague de Camp’s “A Gun for Dinosaur” (1956), Aldiss’ “Poor Little Warrior!” is closer in spirit to that of de Camp then Bradbury as it is less concerned with the question of the mechanics and consequences of time travel in and of itself and more intent upon using the conceit of man going back into the past to hunt dinosaurs as the basis of a short morality tale – in this case about the dangers of biting off more than you can chew.

The protagonist of Aldiss’ story is a nebbish, hen-pecked man named Claude Ford who has decided to try and shore up his masculinity by traveling back to the Jurassic and bagging himself a brontosaurus. In this one respect Aldiss’ story is like Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder” in that his brontosaurus, like Bradbury’s T. Rex, is more of a giant monster then an actual animal being described as possessing “eyes [which] gleamed with the liveliness of a week-old corpses’ big toe” and breath which reeked of “compost,” the body of the sauropod is seen as the embodiment of biological horror having “come full circle and finally disappeared up its own sphincter.” Naturally such a behemoth is also adorned with super-size exoparasites, lice in this case, described as being as big as crabs and “living in those gray walls and canyons” which make up the dinosaur’s elephantine hide.

After several paragraphs of nervous deliberation Ford finally man’s up and does the deed, shooting the brontosaurus. However as he moves forward to claim his prize he is suddenly besieged by the giant lice! Aldiss, as narrator, describes the scene…

“You [i.e. Ford] struggle and scream as lobster claws tear at your neck and throat. You try to pick up the rifle but cannot, so in agony you roll over, and next second the crab-thing is greedying it on your chest. You wretch at its shell, but it giggles and pecks your fingers off. You forgot when you killed the bronto that its parasites would leave it, and that to a little shrimp like you they would be a deal more dangerous than their host. You do your best, kicking for at least three minutes. By the end of that time there is a whole pack of the creatures on you. Already they are picking your carcass loving clean.”

While an evocative ending Aldiss’ idea that giant dinosaurs would harbor giant exoparasites is pure fantasy. As Brian Switek explains in an article for Smithsonian Magazine, the evidence that lice even existed during the time of the dinosaurs is incredibly slim with only a single fossil having been recovered so far. Significantly however this fossil specimen represented a type of lice that today is most commonly found on birds, thus bolstering the case that dinosaurs and birds are evolutionary relatives. In either case, the fossil louse in question was as tiny as its present day counterparts, not the crustacean-sized monstrosities featured in Aldiss’ short-story.

However, with this tale Aldiss introduced a trope – that of the giant exoparasite – which has continued down to today and found a special home in the realm of kaijū movies. First seen in THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (1985, Dir. Koji Hashimoto), this film opens with journalist Goro Maki coming across the fishing boat Yahata-Maru floating out at sea, seemingly abandoned. Maki boards the vessel and finds the crew dead with the exception of one young man, Hiroshi Okumura, who is injured and in a nearly catatonic state. Suddenly a giant sea louse – referred to in Godzilla lore as a Shockirus – attacks Maki and nearly does him in only for Okumura to come to and save him at the last minute. Eventually it is revealed that the Yahata-Maru had a run in with Godzilla and we are lead to infer that the giant sea louse fell off of Godzilla’s skin and onto the ship where it proceeded to slaughter the crew.

More recently this same idea showed up in both the films CLOVERFIELD (2008, Dir. Matt Reeves) and PACIFIC RIM (2013, Dir. Guillermo del Toro). In CLOVERFIELD, the twenty-something New Yorkers who are our protagonists quickly learn that while the giant monster attacking the Big Apple maybe easy enough to avoid, a much more imminent danger is posed by the German Shepard-sized alligator-jawed parasites which have hitched a ride on the kaijū and are now running through the city’s abandoned subways. Likewise in PACIFIC RIM, skin mites the size of Shih Tzus live on the kaijū. When the kaijū dies the skin mites do as well unless immediately soaked in ammonia.

Aldiss’ “Poor Little Warrior!” has been reprinted numerous times over the years, but collections which would most likely be of interest to readers of this blog include the anthologies Behold the Mighty Dinosaur (Elsevier / Nelson Books, 1981), The Science Fictional Dinosaur (Avon Flare, 1982) and Dinosaurs! (Ace Books, 1990). Images: 1) Is this fossil evidence that dinosaurs dealt with lice? 2) The Shockirus almost does in Goro Maki in The Return of Godzilla. 3) The dangerous exoparasites from the film Cloverfield. 4) The skin mites from Pacific Rim

#brian w. aldiss #brian aldiss #poor little warrior #a sound of thunder #time travel #kaiju #kaiju eiga #exoparasites #parasites #lice #godzilla #the return of godzilla #pacific rim #cloverfield monster #cloverfield

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