The Black Star Passes

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The Black Star Passes
Black star passes.jpg
Dust-jacket from the first edition
Author John W. Campbell Jr.
Cover artistRic Binkley
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesArcot, Morey and Wade
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Fantasy Press
Publication date
1953
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages254
OCLC 1138567
Followed by Islands of Space  

The Black Star Passes is a fixup of science fiction short stories by American author John W. Campbell Jr. It was first published in 1953 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 2,951 copies. The book is the first in Campbell's Arcot, Morey and Wade series, and is followed by the novels Islands of Space and Invaders from the Infinite . The stories originally appeared in the magazines Amazing Stories and Amazing Stories Quarterly, and were "extensively edited" for book publication, with Campbell's approval, by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach. [1]

Contents

Galaxy reviewer Groff Conklin described the stories as "three creaking classics . . . fun to read, [but] rococo antiques [without] believable characters, human relations, even logical plots." [2] Boucher and McComas dismissed the book as "a hopelessly outdated set of novelets . . . of concern only to those who wish to observe the awkward larval stage of a major figure in science fiction." [3] P. Schuyler Miller described the stories as "old-fashioned fun which [Campbell] no longer takes any more seriously than you need to." [4]

The anthology has been described as representing a more "mainline" (classic science-fiction) treatment of Venus, compared to the planetary romance genre, in which it featured prominently at that time. [5]

Contents

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<i>Cloak of Aesir</i> Book by John W. Campbell

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<i>After 12,000 Years</i> 1929 novel by Stanton A. Coblentz

After 12,000 Years is a science fiction novel by American writer Stanton A. Coblentz. It was first published in book form in 1950 by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. (FPCI) in an edition of 1,000 copies, of which 750 were hardback. Lloyd Arthur Eshbach regarded this as one of the stronger titles published by FPCI. Considered one of the author's most bizarre and most interesting futuristic fantasies, the novel originally appeared in the Spring 1929 issue of the magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly. The novel was abridged for the FPCI publication. E. F. Bleiler considered the unabridged version to be superior.

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References

  1. Everett F. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years , Kent State University Press, 1998, p.52
  2. "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf", Galaxy Science Fiction , April 1954, p.120
  3. "Recommended Reading," F&SF , February 1954, p.95.
  4. "The Reference Library", Astounding Science Fiction , March 1954, p.156
  5. Martin, George R. R.; Dozois, Gardner (2015-03-03). Old Venus: A Collection of Stories. Random House Publishing Group. pp. xi–xvii. ISBN   978-0-8041-7985-0.

Sources