Author | C. M. Kornbluth |
---|---|
Illustrator | Jack Faragasso |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Ballantine Books |
Publication date | 1954 |
Media type | Print (paperback) |
Pages | 145 |
OCLC | 1870118 |
The Explorers is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer C. M. Kornbluth, originally published in paperback by Ballantine Books in 1954. Ballantine reissued the collection, which was Kornbluth's first, in 1963. [1] While no further editions of the collection were published, six of its nine stories were included in Ballantine's 1977 The Best of C. M. Kornbluth , [2] and all the stories are contained in NESFA's 1997 His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth. [3]
"Thirteen O'Clock" was originally published under the Cecil Corwin byline. [4] "The Rocket of 1955" first appeared in 1939 in Escape, an amateur magazine published by one of Kornbluth's friends. [5]
Writing in The New York Times Book Review . J. Francis McComas said "I know of no better introduction to [Kornbluth's] remarkable work than this collection of his more recent short stories". He praised Kornbluth's "gift with language" and "his future worlds postulated with an ironic appreciation of human frailty [and] his deadpan extension of ridiculous present-day institutions to their ultimate idiocy". [6]
Anthony Boucher declared that "Kornbluth's sharp observation is everywhere present, and in most of the stories his bitter insight into the hearts and souls of future men (and by implication, into our own)". [7] Damon Knight noted that all the stories were "written with distinction" and that even though several stories "explore a dangerous dead end in science fiction", each "represents the triumph of a master technician over an inappropriate form". [8] Groff Conklin concluded that "Kornbluth's first short story collection is a distinguished one throughout". [9] P. Schuyler Miller recommended the collection, singling out "With These Hands" for "projecting the plight of the creative artist in a wholly mechanized world". [10]
Cyril M. Kornbluth was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond, and Scott Mariner. The "M" in Kornbluth's name may have been in tribute to his wife, Mary Byers; Kornbluth's colleague and collaborator Frederik Pohl confirmed Kornbluth's lack of any actual middle name in at least one interview.
Judith Josephine Grossman, who took the pen-name Judith Merril around 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist, and one of the first women to be widely influential in those roles.
Adventures in Time and Space is an American anthology of science fiction stories edited by Raymond J. Healy and J. Francis McComas and published in 1946 by Random House. A second edition was also published in 1946 that eliminated the last five stories. A Modern Library edition was issued in 1957. When it was re-released in 1975 by Ballantine Books, Analog book reviewer Lester del Rey referred to it as a book he often gave to people in order to turn them onto the genre. It is now once again out of print.
Immodest Proposals is a collection of 33 science fiction stories by British-American writer William Tenn, the first of two volumes presenting Tenn's complete body of science fiction writings. It features an introduction by Connie Willis. Tenn provides afterwords to each story, describing how they came to be written.
In Search of Wonder: Essays on Modern Science Fiction is a collection of critical essays by American writer Damon Knight. Most of the material in the original version of the book was originally published between 1952 and 1955 in various science fiction magazines including Infinity Science Fiction, Original SF Stories, and Future SF. The essays were highly influential, and contributed to Knight's stature as the foremost critic of science fiction of his generation. The book also constitutes an informal record of the "Boom Years" of science fiction from 1950-1955.
Ahead of Time is a collection of science fiction stories by the American writer Henry Kuttner, first published in hardcover by Ballantine Books in 1953, with a paperback edition shortly afterwards. A British hardcover appeared in 1954, with a paperback following in 1961. Paperback reissues of both the UK and US editions appeared in the mid-1960s. A French translation appeared in 1962 and an Italian translation in 1971.
Of All Possible Worlds is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer William Tenn. It was published in hardcover by Ballantine Books in 1955, with a cover by Richard Powers. Ballantine issued paperback editions in 1955, 1960, and 1968; a British hardcover appeared in 1956 with a paperback following in 1963. It was Tenn's first collection.
Children of Wonder is an anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories edited by William Tenn, published in hardcover by Simon & Schuster in 1953. It was reprinted in paperback in 1954 by Permabooks, under the title Outsiders: Children of Wonder. The only anthology edited by Tenn, its stories feature children with superhuman or supernatural talents.
Science-Fiction Adventures in Dimension is an anthology of science fiction stories edited by Groff Conklin, first published by Vanguard Press in hardcover in 1953. An abridged edition was issued by Grayson & Grayson in the UK, and an abridged paperback edition, with a different selection of stories from the original, was issued by Berkley Books; both abridgments carried unhyphenated titles.
Science Fiction Adventures in Mutation is a theme anthology of science fiction stories edited by American anthologist Groff Conklin, published in hardcover by Vanguard Press in 1955. An abridged paperback edition was issued by Berkley Books in 1965.
Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories is the first collection of short works by Alan E. Nourse, issued in hardcover by publisher Donald McKay in 1961. It was reprinted in paperback by MacFadden Books in 1964 and 1968. A British hardcover edition was published by Dennis Dobson in 1962, with a paperback reprint, retitled Beyond Infinity, following from Corgi Books in 1964.
Science Fiction Inventions is a reprint anthology of science fiction stories, edited by Damon Knight and published by Lancer Books as an original paperback in 1967.
Assignment in Tomorrow is an anthology of science fiction stories edited by American writer Frederik Pohl. Originally published in hardcover by Hanover House in 1954 with jacket art by Richard M. Powers, it was reprinted in paperback by Lancer Books in 1972.
Another Kind is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Chad Oliver. It was issued in hardcover and paperback by Ballantine Books in 1955 and a German translation was issued in 1965. It was Oliver's first collection.
Cosmic Stories and Stirring Science Stories were two American pulp science fiction magazines that published a total of seven issues in 1941 and 1942. Both Cosmic and Stirring were edited by Donald A. Wollheim and launched by the same publisher, appearing in alternate months. Wollheim had no budget at all for fiction, so he solicited stories from his friends among the Futurians, a group of young science fiction fans including James Blish and C. M. Kornbluth. Isaac Asimov contributed a story, but later insisted on payment after hearing that F. Orlin Tremaine, the editor of the competing science fiction magazine Comet, was irate at the idea of a magazine that might "siphon readership from magazines that paid", and thought that authors who contributed should be blacklisted. Kornbluth was the most prolific contributor, under several pseudonyms; one of his stories, "Thirteen O'Clock", published under the pseudonym "Cecil Corwin", was very successful, and helped to make his reputation in the field. The magazines ceased publication in late 1941, but Wollheim was able to find a publisher for one further issue of Stirring Science Stories in March 1942 before war restrictions forced it to close again.
Eight Fantasms and Magics is a collection of science fiction and fantasy stories by Jack Vance. It was originally published by Macmillan in 1969 and reprinted in paperback by Collier Books in 1970. No further editions have been issued.
A Mile Beyond the Moon is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer C. M. Kornbluth, originally published as a Doubleday hardcover in 1958, shortly after Kornbluth's death. A Science Fiction Book Club edition appeared in 1959, with an abridged paperback edition following from Macfadden Books in 1962. Macfadden reissued the collection in 1966 and, as Manor Books, in 1972 and 1976. A German translation appeared in 1974, and an Italian translation in 1987. While no further editions of the collection were published, all the stories are contained in NESFA's 1997 His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth.
The Marching Morons is a collection of stories by Cyril M. Kornbluth, originally published in paperback by Ballantine Books in 1959. Ballantine reissued the collection in 1963. A Spanish translation, Desfile de Cretines, appeared in 1964. In 1972, the novella from which the collection takes its name was selected by SFWA members as one of the ten best novellas published in the genre before 1966.
Alpha 2 is a science fiction anthology edited by Robert Silverberg, first published as a paperback original by Ballantine Books in November 1977. No further editions have been issued. .
The Best of C. M. Kornbluth is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories by American author C. M. Kornbluth, edited by Frederik Pohl. It was first published in hardback by Nelson Doubleday in October 1976 and in paperback by Ballantine Books in January 1977 as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction. A second hardcover edition was issued by Taplinger in November 1977, and an ebook edition by Faded Page in December 2017.