The Golden Age of Science Fiction

by Kingsley Amis

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 009145770X
• ISBN13: 9780091457709
• Release Date: October 1981
• Publisher: Arrow (A Division of Random House Group)
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Not Free SF Reader

An interesting introduction, with a note first talking about what SF is. Amis suggests that the New Wave was on a whole deleterious, Ballard's characters not doing much, Spinrad being good at swearing, and a couple of yanks in there too, etc. Things like Zoline's Heat Death of the Universe, much liked by Aldiss he says, but is no fan of such writing tricksiness with science fictional trimmings, being basically a story about a common woman in California that isn't SF at all. I'm with you on that one, Kingsley. Also talks about people like Asimov moving more into non-fiction as possibly having run out of stuff. He also says (talking of Peter Nicholls suggesting much genre blending is a great thign": "There are usually good reasons for the existence of barriers, and this specimen has always been permeable by individuals on both sides of it. Breaking it down altogether would at the best of times be likely to have the same result as, say, the amalgamation of Lake Victoria with the Indian Ocean." He dedicates the book to Edmund Crispin, who did a Best SF series, that was not a Year's Best series. I stumbled across this name in a library catalogue just last week, actually, and here he is talking about the man. One for the list. An average of 3.59, but enough interesting intro stuff to boost it into 3.75+ish round to 4 range. This book is from 1981, and Amis concludes his intro on page 27 with "Science fiction has lost its innocence, a quality notoriously hard to recapture." Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Quest for Saint Aquin - Anthony Boucher Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Xi Effect - Philip Latham Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Tunnel Under the World - Frederik Pohl Golden Age of Science Fiction : Old Hundredth - Brian W. Aldiss Golden Age of Science Fiction : A Work of Art - James Blish Golden Age of Science Fiction : Harrison Bergeron - Kurt Vonnegut Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Voices of Time - J. G. Ballard Golden Age of Science Fiction : Specialist - Robert Sheckley Golden Age of Science Fiction : He Walked Around the Horses - H. Beam Piper Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Game of Rat and Dragon - Cordwainer Smith Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Nine Billion Names of G0d - Arthur C. Clarke Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Streets of Ashkelon - Harry Harrison Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Country of the Kind - Damon Knight Golden Age of Science Fiction : The Machine That Won the War - Isaac Asimov Golden Age of Science Fiction : Student Body - Floyd L. Wallace Golden Age of Science Fiction : Its a Good Life - Jerome Bixby Golden Age of Science Fiction : Sister Planet - Poul Anderson Robotheology aims. 3 out of 5 Spectrum shrinking supremely serious. 4 out of 5 Brain capacity reduction circuit. (maybe a 3.25) 3 out of 5 Bear shoulda got it. 2.5 out of 5 Composer impression. 4 out of 5 Handicap gravity uplift termination. 4 out of 5 Galactic goodbye. 3.5 out of 5 Need a new Pu