Posted on 10/31/2004 8:57:04 PM PST by Lancey Howard
BTW, before he gots nuts, L. Ron Hubbard wrote a terrific novel called Fear.
I'm almost sorta related to him! He's my wife's great uncle. Seriesly.
The sexy female robot companion, maybe. Virtual hide-the-salami, as an engineer friend called it.
I think ACC is credited with the invention of the geo-synchronous communications satellite.
(steely)
For what it's worth, I had always heard it was Campbell.
I disagree that his eary works are his best. I started reading Heinlein in 5th grade. I am now in my 50's so I progressed through his works pretty much as he wrote them. I found that his earlier works were more technical but the characters where not well developed. In the later works, the characters and their interaction formed more of the story. His distrust of government taught me early to keep some things anonymous and to never hand out your social security number. And I always thought Stranger was more of a parody on the current day. Thank you for this article.
are you kidding?? There are tons
Regardless of T.O. [Table of Organization], all military bureaucracies consist of a Surprise Party Department, a Practical Joke Department, and a Fairy Godmother Department. The first two process most matters as the third is very small; the Fairy Godmother Department is one elderly female G-5 clerk usually out on sick-leave.Robert A. Heinlein
I think that's because New York was where the SF "action" was. Most of the writers lived there and of course Campbell at Astounding was the real sparkplug of the great flowering of the genre at that time. He was quick to recognize 'over the transom' manuscripts that showed talent and he personally groomed many budding writers. It was standard practice for writers to go to his office and discuss current and future projects, with JWC making suggestions, developing characters and plotlines, etc.
In those days pulp magazines like Astounding paid something on the order of a half-cent or a penny a word and maybe a little more if you were well known. Most of the SF writers also wrote detective, Western, romance, sports -- anything to help keep groceries on the table. While he never wrote SF, Western writer Zane Grey once said that to make a living in his racket you had to be able to type at least 120 words a minute. Judging from his enormous output he typed faster than than.
At least one such community exists at the national level. It's here. At Free Republic.
(steely)
Novels
Sixth Column ASF Jan-Feb-Mar 1941 (Book publication 1949)
Methuselah's Children ASF Jul-Aug-Sep 1941 (Rewritten and expanded for book publication 1958)
Beyond This Horizon ASF Apr-May 1942 (Book publication 1948)
The Puppet Masters 1951 (Serialized Galaxy Sep-Oct-Nov 1951, Uncut version published 1990)
Double Star 1956 (Serialized ASF Feb-Mar-Apr 1956, Hugo award 1956)
The Door into Summer 1957 (Serialized F&SF Oct-Nov-Dec 1956)
Starship Troopers 1959 (Serialized F&SF Oct-Nov 1959, Hugo award 1959)
Stranger in a Strange Land 1961 (Hugo award 1961, Uncut version published 1990)
Glory Road 1963 Serialized F&SF Jul-Aug-Sep 1963, Hugo nominee)
Farnham's Freehold 1964 (Serialized Worlds of If Jul-Aug-Oct 1964)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress 1966 (Serialized Worlds of If Dec 1965-Apr 1966 Hugo award 1966)
I Will Fear No Evil 1970 (Serialized Galaxy Jul-Aug-Oct-Dec 1970)
Time Enough for Love 1973
The Number of the Beast 1979 (Serialized Omni Oct-Nov 1979
Friday 1982)
Job: A Comedy of Justice 1984
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls 1985
To Sail Beyond the Sunset 1987
For Us, The Living Written 1938, Published 2004
Juvenile Novels
Rocket Ship Galileo 1947
Space Cadet 1948
Red Planet 1949
Farmer in the Sky 1950 (Serialized Boy's Life Aug-Nov 1950)
Between Planets 1951 (Serialized Blue Book Sep-Oct 1951)
The Rolling Stones 1952 (Serialized Boy's Life Sep-Dec 1952)
Starman Jones 1953
The Star Beast 1954 (Serialized F&SF May-Jul 1954)
Tunnel in the Sky 1955
Time for the Stars 1956
Citizen of the Galaxy 1957 (Serialized ASF Sep-Dec 1957)
Have Space Suit - Will Travel 1958 Serialized F&SF Aug-Oct 1958 Hugo nominee)
Podkayne of Mars 1963 Serialized Worlds of If Dec 1962-Mar 1963 Uncut version published 1990)
My ex-h has it - I get it next! :-)
Nope, I meant your post. It was a good one. Re: RAH's initials, we know what you mean!
I recall the "bet" being published by Campbell in an editorial slamming Hubbard for his founding of a "fraudulent" religion and it was there that Van Vogt was cited as one of those in the discussion. It may have been a "round table" discussion in which Hubbard made the claim that he COULD create a religion.
I loved "Slan", "The Weapon Shops of Isher" and "The worlds of Null-A" (null A meaning Non-aristotelean thinking) series. One little noticed gem is "The Voyage of the Space Beagle." Except for the Weapon Shop series, Van Vogt'w works seemed to show that he was convinced that mankind was "perfectable" and his works tended toward that idea. The Weapon Shop series is a must read for anyone who thinks the 2nd Amendment IS important.
I wrote short stories that I have lost, I wish I would have submitted them to SF magazines.
Boy, great thread. I noted half a dozen Heilein books I have to get now. Loved Troopers and Moon.
I highly recommend Forever War (Haldeman) and Star Diaries (Lem). Different but both delightful.
When I read the first novel listed above, Sixth Column, it was a paperback I bought in the '60s under a different title. I believe it was called, 'The Day After Tomorrow'.
FYI
The Science Fiction Book Club is still around, there is a website somewhere
I wrote about 100 short stories before i sold my first.
I think it was under "The Day After Tomorrow" title when published under the psuedonym of Anson MacDonald...
Hey. That reminds me of a story I wrote and lost (many many), of course I never considered publishing anything.
My story started in 1989 and a police car chase ends badly. One of the officers is secretly kept alive by a medical scientist in a sort of suspended animation. The system is powered by a nuclear battery.
Revived almost a hundred and fifty years later. This causes a new kind of radiation (hey I was young) that he spreads. For some people it does nothing, they become carriers after coming into contact.
and yes, I had aircars and that sort of thing too, just like Heinlein in his 'lost' story. POST 59.
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