BRAIN PLUCKER

Here’s a reposting I did from the Science Fiction Oral History Association (SFOHA.org) website:

One of Science Fiction’s master short story writers, Phil Klass, passed away Sunday, February 7, 2010 at age 89. Phil Klass, who may be better known by the pseudonym William Tenn, wrote more than 60 SF stories. Connie Willis in her introduction to the book Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume 1
wrote:

Tenn’s stories are witty, clever, thought-provoking, ironic, intensely intelligent, touching, and hilarious. And too few and far between. Most of the stories in this collection were written in the fifties and sixties, and, until now, have been hard to find. I’m overjoyed that they will all be in print again and all in one place (though it’s also delightful to come across one in an anthology when you least expect it, and have him seduce or surprise or swindle you all over again), But I wish there were more of them.

He was named Author Emeritus by SFWA in 1999. Some of his more famous short stories (and this list is by no means complete) are:

• Brooklyn Project (1948)
• Venus and the Seven Sexes (1949)
• Down Among the Dead Men (1954)
• The Liberation of Earth (1953)
• Time in Advance (1956)

There is an excellent interview (well really it’s a monologue) with Phil Glass AKA William Tenn at Pulpnet.com. It was recorded at PulpCon 35 in 2006. Phil talks about working with John W. Campbell, Horace Gold and Fred Pohl among many others. He certainly had the gift of gab. If you feel saddened at his passing as I do, this recording will bring smile to your face.

Also there’s an another excellent interview from 2004 when he was on WNYC’s Spinning On Air. Which also has him reading his short story On Venus, Have We Got A Rabbi! [via: SFFaudio]

If you have any recordings of William Tenn, we’d love to post them here. Please contact us.

What classic SF audio drama actually adapted contemporary stories from great science fiction authors like:
Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Robert Sheckley, Robert Bloch, Fredric Brown, Ray Bradbury, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber, and Philip K. Dick to name several? Well, that would be X Minus 1. The show started as Dimension X in 1950-51 for NBC Radio with stories adapted from Astounding Stories. But continued as X Minus 1 in 1955 and adapted their stories from Galaxy Science Fiction. There were also original scripts by George Lefferts & Ernest Kinoy which hold their own against the SF greats. There’s a total of 126 episodes.

The Flash Player below doesn’t show the playlist. There’s a better a one at Internet Archive. Plus, if you wish, you can download the shows there.

Three new eBooks from Wonder Publishing Group. I really like the art on these covers. But I’m the designer so I might be biased.

The High Ones and Other Stories by Poul Anderson

FICTIONWISE | AMAZON KINDLE

THE HIGH ONES AND OTHER STORIES by POUL ANDERSON

Now was Eben Holbrook’s chance to play hero—and win his lady love.
Eben Holbrook was not much of a spaceman; he was just a simple nucleonics engineer, not even close to being a scientist. Yet a rare burst of inspiration on his part was what saved them from harm … or maybe just the thought that his dear Ekaterina was in danger.
After having landed on a planet which had the makings of a new Earth, Rurik’s troop discovered that someone else beat them to it. The Zolotoyans—a more highly intelligent race—started an arbitrary attack, which forced an investigation into the reason for their hostility.
Holbrook, Ekaterina and Grushenko were assigned to the task, and set out for Zolotoy. Much to their surprise, the natives did not attack them once they landed; in fact, they seemed altogether indifferent to their guests’ presence, though they were required to stay indefinitely. Holbrook knew that the atmosphere and environment weren’t conducive for humans, and sought immediately to escape, but Grushenko insisted on trying to reason with the Zolotoyans no matter what the cost.

From a Science Fiction Grand Master comes ten exciting stories from the 1950s. Over 100,000 words of the future from the past.

Also includes the stories: OUT OF THE IRON WOMB!, TURNING POINT, THE APPRENTICE WOBBLER, STAR SHIP, THE CORKSCREW OF SPACE, LORD OF A THOUSAND SUNS, THE SOLDIER FROM THE STARS, SWORDSMAN OF LOST TERRA, THE CHAPTER ENDS

Woman's World and Other Stories by Evan Hunter

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WOMAN’S WORLD AND OTHER STORIES by EVAN HUNTER

Classic Science Fiction from the 1950s by S.A. Lombino who most famously wrote under the pen names Evan Hunter and Ed McBain.

Damion couldn’t believe his eyes—the universe’s most beautiful women in one single planet, and they were all GIANTS!
But he shouldn’t let that fact overwhelm nor deter him. That trip to planet Krinn was crucial—their alliance to the Federation would mean the alliance of all other planets left in the System. He would have to find a way to somehow convince the beautiful Queen Alidia that being a member of the Federation will be to her kingdom’s best interests.
Together with his long-time partner and friend, Konars, they formulate an agenda that at first glance seems devious, except that the tables are turned on them. For a lot of what happens next aren’t part of the original plan: becoming the Giant Queen’s court jester, war between the larger females and the relatively smaller males, the Daxonians’ involvement—and falling in love.

Also contains the stories: THE PLAGIARIST FROM RIGEL IV, SILENT PARTNER, and A PLANET NAMED JOE

Gateway to Darkness by Fredric Brown

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GATEWAY TO DARKNESS by FREDRIC BROWN

Crag was a no good drunk and deviant, now facing life in prison. But the good judge Jon Olliver offers him his freedom—plus a million credits!—in exchange for a small favor: steal a harmless tool from a rich scientist in Mars. Crag suspects a catch, but he finds it so hard to resist … especially when he knows that Olliver’s beautiful wife, Evadne, will be joining them in the adventure!

A great 1940s novella from a master of the form.

I mentioned our goal of 100 eBook releases for 2010. Well here’s Wonder Publishing Group first entry for the year, and it’s a good one.

The Jewels of Aptor [MultiFormat]
eBook by Samuel R. Delany

The Jewels of Aptor by Samuel R. Delaney

QUEST AMID FUTURITY’S RUINS What was the strange impetus that drove a group of four widely different humans to embark on a fear-filled journey across a forbidden sea to a legendary land? This was Earth still, but the Earth of a future terribly changed after a planet-searing disaster, a planet of weird cults, mutated beasts, and people who were not always entirely human. As for the four who made up that questing party, they included a woman who was either a goddess, a witch, or both, a four-armed boy whose humanity was open to question, and two more men with equally “wild” talents. The story of their voyage, of the power-wielding “jewels” they sought, of the atomic and post-atomic terrors they encountered, is a remarkable science-fiction Odyssey of the days to come.

FICTIONWISE | AMAZON KINDLE

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Bold Rider [MultiFormat]
eBook by Luke Short

Bold Rider by Luke Short

Getting the gold was easy–as easy as riding his horse up that mountain. But getting down again was another story. Set up by his partner, ambushed by his ally, left for dead in an avalanche, Poco St. Vrain had a long trail ahead. He had to recover the gold and clear his name. To do that meant tracking down not one gang of desperadoes but two. It would take a good horse, a fast gun, and the steady nerve of a … BOLD RIDER!

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A Matter of Faith [MultiFormat]
eBook by Robert A.W. Lowndes

A Matter of Faith by Robert W. Lowndes

Among an infinite multitude of worlds, almost any type of culture is possible. But all science requires that cause and effect be related. To the fellahin culture of the worlds of Ein, no real science was possible. There was only the will of Ein. Yet Dondyke found that both their religion and their peculiar science could be horribly effective!

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Skip A Beat [MultiFormat]
eBook by Henry Kane

Skip a Beat by Henry Kane

One of the great men of the country, Adam Woodward, has just hired Peter Chambers to be his bodyguard. Woodward, a famous newspaper columnist, is about to expose someone as a Communist. But before can start to do his job, Woodward is gunned down in the street. And Chambers is the only witness to the murder. The solution to Woodward’s murder was carefully written down–but Woodward had hidden it where Peter Chambers couldn’t find it. A Peter Chambers mystery by Noir Master, Henry Kane.

FICTIONWISE | AMAZON KINDLE

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Bodyguard and Other Stories [MultiFormat]
eBook by Evelyn Smith

Bodyguard and Other Stories by Evelyn E. Smith

Gabe Lockard had it all–a beautiful wife, lots of money, social connections, and most of all, a great face in a great body. Only problem was, inside that body wasn’t Gabe Lockard. The real Gabe Lockard was a wanderer, a dutchman–a zarquil addict, who regularly plays the galaxy’s most dangerous tournament just to be encased in another man’s anatomy. But even that was a lie. For the truth was that Gabe Lockard wanted his body back. He followed it to the ends of the earth and outer space, playing zarquil to exchange dying bodies for new ones, just so he can make sure no harm comes to it. And so that, when the right moment comes, he can maneuver the impostor into joining him for another deadly game– Also contains the stories, BODYGUARD, MAN’S BEST FRIEND, WOMAN’S TOUCH, THE MAN OUTSIDE, ONCE A GREECH, TERAGRAM

FICTIONWISE | AMAZON KINDLE

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Transient [MultiFormat]
eBook by Ward Moore

Transient by Ward Moore

How does one react when he’s been to hell and back–and doesn’t even know it? Governor Almon Lampley doesn’t know what’s going on. It started out as an innocent business trip, but when he decides to spend the rest of the day–and night–in an out-of-the-way hotel, things begin to go horribly wrong. While it’s almost always true that nothing is always as it seems, Lampley is finding it extremely difficult to separate truth from reality in this kind of place!

FICTIONWISE | AMAZON KINDLE

Why do Earthmen think that blue humanoid aliens are such an easy mark? They’re just ripe for exploitation, appearently. Even back in the 50s Earthmen were trying to exploit the native.

Earthman's Exploitation of Blue Alien

This cover did not illustrate a story, but was used like a single panel comic strip. There’s so many things wrong with this cover.

Let me spin an interpretation: Here is a coat of dead animals that I will trade for your services and/or precious resources. Never mind that the climate is mild and you will never need this coat. And these animals gave up their lives all for the sake of my “big score” with you. Let me appeal to your materialism and take you away from the peaceful utopia and corrupt your culture. With my knowing wink (which makes me look deformed), I shall conquer you and then your world!

Okay, I’m having a bit of fun. Overall I like the cover just fine. The artist is Mel Hunter who was stronger with depictions of outer space and desolate alien landscape. But this cover does not speak to the 21st like it did in 1956.

I came across a posting on the possible sources for the movie Avatar. Which set my mind upon the possibilities. There really so many possibilities because the ideas are rather trite, as far as the SF goes. But that’s okay in my mind. It’s the treatment of the ideas and characterization that matters to me. Although I don’t want to write a review, I have to put in my little snippet, or is that snipe, on the movie. For technical visual achievement, this movie set a new standard. For characterization it’s shallow. The central pivotal point of the plot is if the main protagonist will join with the native Na’Vi or remain loyal to the corporation.  Did I say corporation? I meant evil corporation. There’s no dilemma, it’s a no-brainer for the protagonist to turn to the side of the natives. The shallow black and whiteness of the characters was a major disappointment. But for the visuals’ sake, makes the movies worth seeing. I feel dirty for saying that. I have a friend that told me of a movie he highly recommended. He said it was great except for the plot. I thought: bad plot equals bad movie. Well I feel I’m saying the same thing about Avatar, except for saying bad plot, I’m saying shallow characterization.

A new year and new goals for 2010. The top thing on my list is to publish 100 eBook titles this year. That’s two a week, so you can expect to see two new releases every week. That’s pretty ambitious since this is basically a two person operation, working part-time at that (actually working a full-time job in addition to WPG is more accurate).  There is me and my wonderful freelancing proofreader (Hi, Junelle!). Why are we called Wonder Publishing Group if there’s only two people? WPG started as Wonder Audiobooks, then we started publishing eBooks, and print books; so you see, there’s a whole group of kinds of books. And speaking of print books and audiobooks, there will be more of those published this year as well.

There hasn’t been many posting here of late. But that was because I had to jump-start the year with getting a lot of titles going in the pipeline. You’ll be seeing a new release posting here tomorrow. Here are some of the titles coming out within the next month:

Death Quotient and Other Stories by John D. MacDonald – Several Science Fiction stories, many before reprinted.

The High Ones and Other Stories by Poul Anderson - Other 100,000 word anthology of 10 great SF stories from the 1950s. I’m planning on releasing a print book version of this title as well.

Double for Death by Rex Stout- A novel by Rex Stout, people. In fact he called it his favorite mystery.

Woman’s World and Other Stories by Evan Hunter – Four great SF stories from this mystery and SF master. BTW, Just watched the movie, The Blackboard Jungle, today. It’s based on Evan Hunter’s novel of the same name. What a great movie. Vic Morrow’s character really scared me.

That’s just a few of the titles in the works. Isn’t this exciting?

And I don’t like to do a posting without a visual. Here’s another future release. Sometimes a cover comes out a little more special than the rest. This one I tried something slightly new visually (new for me, that is). Compare the re-purposed art from the WPG cover to the original from Imagination. The new thing I tried was not erasing the sign behind the lady’s head, but cropping the hand and gun so it looks like it coming out of the picture frame. The art is by Lloyd N. Rognan.

Gateway to Darkness by Fredric Brown

As part of the SFFaudio Challenge, Wonder eBooks offered up the digital text to H.B. Fyfe’s novel, D-99. And I’m happy to report that Jerry Pyle lent his voice talent skills in creating the audiobook. I haven’t listened to it in it’s entirety yet, but Jerry does a very good job of it. The novel is available at LibriVox.org.

If you prefer an eBook version, it available in multiple formats at Fictionwise and at Amazon for the Kindle.

My brother, Doug, has been taking some great wildlife photos for a several years now. He’s got a impressive portfolio of hundreds of birds and other wildlife. Besides skills with the camera, I’m impressed with the patience he must have to get these shots. He lives and photographs in the Saginaw Bay area of Michigan. For lots more photos visit his site at www.webwildlife.org.

Osprey

Canada Warbler

Red-shouldered Hawk

Holy laser blasts! Two brains in jars for the price of one. Came across this site, Webomator, and am greatly impressed. I love retro-future art. And artist, Bradley W. Schenck, totally gets it. He’s working on project called “Thrilling Tales of the Downright Unusual”. Not only is his art a knock-out but even his web design is perfect. Check out his store. I’m gonna have to spend me some Xmas money.

Art by Bradley W. Schenck

The very versatile artist, Ed Emshweller (AKA Emsh), did a series of Christmas covers for Galaxy SF magazine in the 50s and early 60s. They all feature a four-armed Santa. I wonder if the Santa is a cyborg, mutant, or an alien. My vote is for a Mutant. All that mutative radiation from the magic dust.