A case for anthologies edited by Groff Conklin

Bud Webster would have us believe that no science fiction bookshelf can be complete without anthologies edited by Groff Conklin.

Includes some information on Conklin that I didn't know before. I personally have read only one of his anthologies, though I have a couple of others lying around. May be I'll pick up one of these soon.

Related: "Best of" lists.

Bud Webster's tribute to Hal Clement

At Grantville Gazette.

Article itself is undated, but I think it's relatively new; Webster's series was to move to GG after JBU shut shop last month.

He spends quite some time on "Mission of Gravity", perhaps the best known work of Clement. But he doesn't even mention my favorite Clement short fiction, from among the 2 dozen odd I've read: "Dust Rag", "Longline", & "Bulge" - among the coolest science fiction you'll ever see by anyone (assuming you're Clement type reader).

For less than well known fiction publishers: he has an interesting anecdote regarding "Half Life" about how to get the best talent writing for you.
PS: Last week has seen some reporting of new speculation about possibility of life on Titan, based presumably on new data. "Half-Life" is precisely about that - looking for "pre-life" on Titan.

Related: Stories of Hal Clement.

Bud Webster's "Past Masters" archive

One of the better sf columns on the web has been unusually unlucky - Helix where the column originally appeared shut down; now JBU, its new home, is shutting down too.

Bud tells us that all his previous columns now have an archive at Galactic Central.

Bud Webster's tribute to William Tenn

In JBU, #24 (April 2010).
Note: This is the last issue for JBU. I'm not sure how long this article will stay online at link above, but I suppose it'll be there for at least 2 months that a typical JBU issue stays current?

Noteworthy parts:

1. Some stories named.
   
   Of the ones I've read among the ones he names, two are especially good: "Child's Play" (download MP3) is in a sort of tribute to Henry Kuttner & C L Moore, & "Down Among the Dead Men" (download text scans as part of a larger package) is an interesting team building story for managers.
2. I used to think that "Of Men & Monsters" was his only novel. Webster lists another one too, "A Lamp For Medusa".
3. A few authors named. I've read all except Goulart - had not even heard his name; Webster says he was a humorist.
   
   PS: Robert Sheckley is often described as a humorist but only one of his half dozen odd stories I've read - "Hunting Problem" (download) - has actually worked for me. Anyone care to suggest a few really funny titles? (I've read that famous story about TV reality show where a man has to escape his own staged killers - that one didn't work for me).
4. There is a Tenn bibliography at end.

Related: Stories of William Tenn.

A tribute to Eric Frank Russell

By Bud Webster at JBU, #20 (August 2009).

While I'm a fan of Russell, I don't exactly share tastes about his "best" with Webster - I found "Sinister Barrier" boring except for early parts, & "Men, Martians, and Machines" ok but nowhere close to best of Russell. On "Dear Devil", though, I'll go with him.

The article includes many tidbits about Russell.

Related: Annotated & ranked list of Russell's stories (with download links).

Bud Webster on Henry Kuttner & C L Moore

At JBU, #19 (June 2009).

Whole of his post is not free access, but all the main text is; what's behind paid access is bibliography - something you can probably find at a lot of other sources.

Tragedy of their last writing days is something I only had a vague inkling of. There are some other tidbits also that I didn't know of.

Bud Webster's "Past Masters" series moves to Jim Baen's Universe

From now closed Helix SF. And remains accessible without login at new location.

His is one of the more interesting columns appearing in online sf world - introduction to the works of one forgotten master in each column for those who were not reading sf a generation back.

I tend to look only for recommended readings - so his columns tends to appear too long. But they often do contain good recommendations.

Unfortunately, my featured posts feed cannot pick his columns up automatically since the JBU Columns feed is buggy. I guess Past Masters should be appearing once every two months at JBU.

His February 2009 post is about C M Kornbluth. Not many recommended readings I didn't know about (only "The Remorseful"), but he gives a long Kornbluth bibliography at end.

Helix magazine, #7 (Winter 2008): Annotated partial table of contents & review

I picked this up seeing the word "SF" in url, & was in for a pleasant surprise. It's by far the most interesting online genre magazine I've seen to date. Almost all stories are science fiction; fantasy & non-genre content is very limited. While stories are nowhere near Analog in class, they generally aren't bad either.

If you are someone primarily interested in science fiction, & get bugged even by Asimov's because of its mostly fantasy leanings, this one probably won't disappoint. Assuming this is a typical issue, I will very likely be looking out for more issues.

They don't seem to provide a permalink for current issue (it's available only for back issues)! It's currently at their home page; I suppose there will be links to it there even when new content replaces it on their home page.

List below is of all stories, plus a non-fiction article I found interesting - ranked by quality (best first). My rating is in brackets (A = time well spent; C = don't bother).

1. [non fiction] Bud Webster's "Past Masters" (A); download: An introduction to works of H Beam Piper. I've only read his "Omnilingual"; so cannot comment on content. But I found it very readable.
2. [ss] Laura J Underwood's "Drooling Wizards" (B); download; fantasy, humor: Position of an Idiot has fallen vacant in a village, & applications are welcome! Clod Hopper is interested in the job. Amid some magic spells between a warring wizard & witch, village will end up getting two Idiots.
3. [ss] David W Goldman's "The Last Man's First Year on Earth" (B); download: Somewhat dark story. A future earth of very long lived humans who cannot physically develop beyond puberty because that is the only time you can get longevity treatment; & that effectively freezes physical development, but not mental maturity. We get a glimpse of the society through the eyes of a single physical adult who happens to have been thrown here by an accident.
4. [ss] Maya Bohnhoff's "Seraphim" (B); download: Fast moving & very readable story of investigative journalism, government conspiracy, & invention of a machine that will give US military advantage over its enemies. But this story is may be a century too late; it would have been far more interesting if it were published during Rudyard Kipling era.
5. [ss] Selina Rosen's "Salvager's Gold" (B); download: Colorful but mundane story of a human Salvager - kind of street sweeper - aboard a space habitat called "Gamma Station" that also is home to aliens, & in whose dock spaceships from all over are seen. But the dream of every Salvager is to locate "The Big Trash" - an abandoned alien habitat at an unknown location in space awaiting looting of its valuable booty. After a murder, chase, & escape, our hero is on his way to claim the loot.
6. [ss] Vaughan Stanger's "Family Tree" (B); download: A retired school teacher finds a new career in teaching - by founding the first school in the budding colony on moon. Story contains much distraction in the form of a very complicated device called "memory garden" - something that looks like a pot of indoor plants; you rub a leaf & inhale the resulting aroma to trigger specific old memories; but you need to teach this machine your memories first.
7. [ss] Charlie Anders' "Suicide Drive" (C); download: Some people believe that environmental problems threaten humanity, & they must find a new home among the stars. A European ends up becoming the effective dictator of the world, & forces funding the development of a star drive, diverting funds from other programs. Star ship is gone with some crew, dictator became so unpopular that he will likely be lynched, ... Now his son is hiding in a bunker somewhere on earth, fearing mobs because rest of earth is in a mess & also because he is son of this dictator. Story is told via interactions of this son with a journalist.
8. [ss] Adam-Troy Castro's "Night of the Living POTUS" (C); download; fantasy, humor: If you are from US, you might see the humor & enjoy it more - it has some jokes related to recent & past US Presidents. Didn't work for me.
   

Legend: ss = short story.

Update, 17 January 2007.

1. Looks like my conclusions about the Helix's inclinations towards science fiction are wrong - the mix in this issue is just one off. Editor, William Sanders, clarifies it here. There is more in his post regarding my remarks, & even more in the entire thread linked from there.
2. A note for Mr Adam-Troy Castro (he initiated the thread containing Mr Sanders' remarks): I suppose it was thoughtless of me using strong language against your story; I've dropped the opening remark (my readers should still get the sentiment right). If it might repair some of the anguish I might have caused, I actually did like your earlier "Sunday Night Yams at Minnie & Earl's" (except for ending - sorry, I am a bit tough to please customer). And there is a brighter side - how many bloggers put your stories in the same list that also includes Henry Kuttner, Eric Frank Russell, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, H Beam Piper, Jules Verne, ...? Sunday Night currently ranks among the top 40% in my all time list (& would have been in top 20% but for ending). It's admittedly not a huge list still, but growing everyday.
   
3. A clarification in case someone is brooding conspiracy theories regarding this post & another recent one that seems to have caused some consternation: I am just a reader of fiction. I am not a writer, agent, script writer, publisher, retailer, or in anyway associated with the act of entertaining.