Remembering (& very fondly too, given the impact this book had on me as a youngster) the SF & film critic Philip Strick, born OTD 1939. This wonderful book hails from 1976, just before cinema SF hit new heights of popularity. A treasure trove of images indelibly ingrained on the memory to this day 🙂

Noted that H. G. Wells was born on this day 1866. An author of many well known titles of course, but familiarity with his name & reputation still didn’t fully prepare me for how astonishing ’The War of the Worlds’ remains after over 125 years. An extraordinary achievement.

Remembering the superlative writer and editor Keith Roberts, who was born on this day 1935. A fitting day therefore to be embarking on his 1968 book ‘Pavane’, which many still regard as not only his masterpiece but also one of the genre’s finest ‘alternative history’ novels.

On to two striking tales from these books - Fritz Leiber’s ‘Coming Attraction’ & Bester’s ‘The Pi Man’. Both unsettling & challenging in their own ways - reminding me again that the 50s gave rise to a fair share of material that was already stretching the genre’s limits well before the New Wave era.

Back to 1962 & J.G. Ballard‘s ‘The Insane Ones’. A short tale which presents glimpses of a future ‘dystopian’ society in which psychiatrists are outlawed. The premise (and ending) is notably dark, but you can’t help but feel Ballard is casting a very satirical eye over proceedings too.

On to this much-loved tale by PKD from 1966. I can appreciate why this had caught the attention of the blockbuster film industry back in the 80s - plenty of plot twists & opportunities for pursuit & capture to keep audiences happy. Pacy & often playful, PKD has rarely disappointed this reader.

Just read David Masson’s ‘Lost Ground’ from 1966, another inventively offbeat tale from his ‘Caltraps of Time’ collection. A story that weaves together the concept of weather fronts that physically engender emotions with the disappearance of people in ‘time displacement’ zones. Curious & engaging.

“How do you expect to communicate with the ocean, when you can’t even understand one another?” Stanislaw Lem, born OTD 1921. ‘Solaris’, with its enigmatic depiction of a planet whose ‘sentient’ ocean remains ultimately inscrutable, must easily rank as one of the finest ‘first contact’ stories.

Now reading the opening stories from Bradbury’s ‘The Illustrated Man’. I can see why ’The Veldt’ often ranks amongst the most popular tales. It brought to mind the impact of the old Amicus anthology films - tight, economical storytelling that propels the narrative to an abrupt & horrific conclusion.

This weekend‘s pick from the ‘Masterpieces’ SF anthology was Terry Bisson’s 1991 Hugo & Nebula award winning ‘Bears Discover Fire’. By turns sharply funny & sadly poignant, this has to be one of the most original short stories I’ve read this year. One of those tales that’ll deserve revisiting…

Our own @drmjones.bsky.social did a thing. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

OTD 1972. The last UK broadcast of Nigel Kneale’s TV ghost story ‘The Chopper’ (now sadly missing). Here’s a section of the script, displaying Kneale’s skill in delineating the inner & outer facets of his key characters, in this instance the taciturn mechanic Jimmy Reed, played by Patrick Troughton.

Platinum Pohl - a much anticipated acquisition this week. Quite a substantial selection too, which will allow me to finally catch up with the likes of ‘Day Million’ & the award-winning ‘Fermi and Frost’. To kick things off though, I’ve opted for the superb novella ‘The Gold at the Starbow’s End’.

Enjoyed reading Fredric Brown’s ‘Arena’ in tandem with watching the Star Trek episode of the same title (with Brown receiving a screen credit). I can see why the original is often anthologised - no malevolent humanoid lizards here of course, but for 1944 it’s a very polished piece of storytelling.

Finished Aldiss’s ‘Greybeard’ today - easily one of my top 3 novels of the year to date. I thought that ‘Hothouse’ & ‘Non-stop’ would be hard to beat, but I can see why many class this as his best realised novel. Beautifully structured with an engaging cast of finely drawn characters. Superb book.

Remembering author Arkady Strugatsky, born OTD 1925. In collaboration with his brother Boris, they produced a host of well received & often challenging works, the best known of which remains ‘Roadside Picnic’. As Ursula K. Le Guin once put it, a ‘first contact’ story of quite a different kind…

Currently half-way through Brian Aldiss’ wonderful novel ‘Greybeard’, which is rapidly shaping up to be one of my favourite books of the year so far. For those interested, there’s also this 2013 edition of the ‘World Book Club’ podcast, featuring Aldiss himself answering questions on the novel 👇

Remembering author Ray Bradbury, born OTD 1920. Even a cursory flick through the pages of ‘Fahrenheit 451’ will quickly reveal an absolute gem of a passage - here’s one of my favourites, as Fireman Guy Montag gazes in wonder at the pages of a banned book just prior to its consumption by flames…

I noted that today is the centenary of the birth of author and critic Brian W. Aldiss - so a good time to be embarking on one of the best novels he produced in his decades-spanning career…

First pick from Delany’s ‘Driftglass’ collection was ‘Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-precious Stones’. A central character who regularly changes identity, prediction via ‘hologramic information storage’, an ambiguous criminal fraternity… Had to pay very careful attention to this complex tale! 🙂

This week’s welcome acquisition, Samuel R. Delany’s excellent 1971 collection ‘Driftglass’. Nice variety of well known & unfamiliar titles in the Penguin SF range - and now quite rare to see paperbacks in the smaller ‘A’ format on the shelves. Quite nostalgic really 🙂

Working through Ballard’s ‘Collected Stories’ has brought me to ‘The Gentle Assassin’, a time-travel paradox tale originally published in New Worlds in 1961. Carefully builds the mystery of our titular assassin - although curiously for a Ballard tale the final paragraphs are notably ‘explanatory’!

On to Asimov’s ‘Nightfall’. Of the early work I’ve read to date, this was by far the most engaging. Love the central premise - a world that has never known the absence of light finding itself on the brink of a solar eclipse, generating a host of primordial fears. One I’m sure to return to.

Just read another fine Philip K. Dick tale, the 1953 novelette ‘Second Variety’. Classic PKD territory, involving a band of soldiers having to work out which of their group is actually a malevolent robot intent on destroying the others. Had me gripped all the way to the satisfying final line.

Remembering scriptwriter Terry Nation, born OTD 1930. Some of his lesser known contributions to TV SF included adaptations of Philip K. Dick stories for the 1962 series ‘Out of this World’, Asimov’s ‘The Caves of Steel’ in 1964, & Bradbury’s ‘The Fox and the Forest’ in 1965. Sadly all are now lost!

A welcome acquisition today. Some familiar and some less than familiar titles within these 560 pages. That’s the heartening thing about this genre - so much variety, so much history…

Now embarking on one of Richard Matheson’s finest. A captivating character study woven with brilliantly staged set pieces that are a real adrenaline rush. And a book that’s hard to put aside once started… 🙂

Just read James Blish’s ‘Work of Art’ from 1956. Entirely deserving of its ‘classic’ status, this is a beautifully crafted short story centred around the transposing of a ‘recreated’ identity, with all its latent hopes & anxieties, into another ‘host’ body. Touching but devastating final scene.

A week of great short stories continues with David Masson’s ‘Mouth of Hell’, originally published in New Worlds in 1966. An astonishingly effective piece, depicting an eerie descent into a huge hole discovered in the earth’s surface. The way the tale shifts gears in the closing moments is a delight.

Just read Zelazny’s ‘Loki 7281’ (first seen in the 1984 ‘R-A-M’ anthology). A tale of a home computer taking over the domestic affairs of a SF writer, including rewriting his novels… Given current AI concerns, the writer’s cry of “I won’t be ghostwritten by a damn machine!” seemed quite poignant!

On to Bester’s ‘Time is the Traitor’, first published in the Magazine of F&SF in Sept 1953. Another pacy tale of a man with a troubled psyche - uncomfortable at times, but there’s no doubting Bester’s consummate skill as a storyteller - “stories which never stand still” as one critic aptly put it.

This month’s J.G. Ballard story was ‘Billennium’, first published in New Worlds in 1961. Shot through with a wonderful irony, the tale is set within a city whose population growth entails just 4 square metres of living space to each resident. And the population growth shows no signs of decreasing…

Celebrating director Stanley Kubrick, born OTD 1928. Hard to pick just one thing from his extraordinary legacy, but I’ve opted for the iconic final act from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. 57 years on and it’s still absolutely mesmerising.

In celebration of the superlative SF & fantasy illustrator Virgil Finlay, born OTD 1914. Here’s just one example (adorning Robert Sheckley’s 1953 story ‘Beside Still Waters’) of the beautiful black & white pen-and-ink drawings that graced the Pulp magazines & their successors over several decades…

Now on to ‘The Mule’, the 2nd part of Asimov’s ‘Foundation and Empire’. Originally a standalone novella, I can see why this tends to be considered one of the more popular sections - the story is allowed to breathe more, & the machinations of the titular Mule certainly keeps the plot driving forward…

A hunter-gatherer sets out to discover if he is really on a "Ship", in Brian Aldiss' excellent debut Non-Stop (1958). This week's article is now up.

Just realised I missed the fact that artist Bryan Kneale turned 95 last month. So rather belatedly, and in celebration of his inestimable talent, here’s his iconic & timeless cover art for the Penguin publication of his brother’s equally timeless masterpiece ‘Quatermass and the Pit’…

Remembering the fabulous Robert Sheckley, born OTD 1928. An author who hit the ground running in the 50s with his sheer wit & inventiveness, and whose influence was still keenly felt decades thereafter. Two of my favourites here - smart writing shot through with a wonderful sense of humour.

Today’s pick from the ‘Masterpieces’ tome was William Gibson’s & Michael Swanwick’s ‘Dogfight’, originally published in Omni in 1985. Pacy & uncompromising, particularly in regard to the presentation of its central character - however, this helps to drive things home to quite a poignant conclusion.

Revisiting an old favourite - John Brunner’s ‘The Last Lonely Man’, published in 1964 in ‘New Worlds’ No. 142. I’m glad I held on to this dog-eared & generally well-worn find, as only later did I discover that it was Michael Moorcock’s first issue as editor. A little bit of history in the making…

Another gem of a story today - Philip K. Dick’s ‘Upon the Dull Earth’ from 1954. It has an odd almost surreal premise, opening with the bizarre feasting of a colony of visiting ‘Angels’, who may or may not be of extraterrestrial origin. Part ‘Gothic’ horror, part SF - had me thoroughly engaged.

This was excellent. David I. Masson’s ‘Travellers Rest’ from 1965, now the opening tale in the superb collection ‘The Caltraps of Time’. Weaves absolute wonders with the disconcerting concept of ‘time dilation’ - so easy to see why this captured the imagination of a young Christopher Priest.

Celebrating the astonishing legacy of John Wyndham, born OTD 1903. Herewith three of his much loved works, ones that rank amongst the best things I’ve read since rediscovering the myriad pleasures of curling up with a good book. Some things are just undeniably worthy of the accolade ‘classic’.

Almost a year after reading the first book, I’ve embarked on the next instalment of Asimov’s celebrated saga. Although I enjoyed the set-up of its predecessor, Asimov’s writing seems stronger this time around. And I’m certainly keen to become acquainted with the character of The Mule at long last…

58 years ago, in July 1967, the BBC’s adaptation of E.M. Forster’s ‘The Machine Stops’ (made for their ‘Out of the Unknown’ anthology series) scoops first prize at the Trieste Fantasy Film Festival. Fine contemporary press coverage here of producer Irene Shubik receiving the prestigious award.

A trip back to the pre-‘Golden Age’ today with Edmond Hamilton’s ‘Devolution’ from 1936 (later reprinted in the 35th Anniversary edition of ‘Amazing Stories’👇). Original for its time I would imagine, foreshadowing the type of theme later exemplified by Nigel Kneale’s “We are the Martians” line…

This was a very welcome acquisition this week. An absolute treasure trove of stories from an author well deserving of their outstanding reputation. It was hard to know what to select first, but I’ve opted for the superb - and at times shockingly horrific - ‘Fondly Fahrenheit’.

Celebrating the composer of an iconic release that defined a significant part of my childhood - Jeff Wayne, who is 82 today. Akin to the remarkable staying power of H.G. Wells’s original novel, Wayne’s inspired 1978 adaptation still has me enthralled. And that artwork remains a thing of beauty…

Remembering scientific journalist, editor & author Brian Ash, who died OTD 2010. Alongside his many accomplishments was this satisfyingly hefty tome in 1977 full of facts, figures & enticing glimpses of history - one that rapidly became a cornerstone of my emerging fascination with all things SF 🙂