The Garbage Chronicles - Being an Account of the Adventures of Tom Javik and Wizzy Malloy in the Faraway Land of Catapulted Garbage is a science fiction comedy novel written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, first published on January 1, 1985 by Berkley Books.
In the consumer society of the future, in order to cope with economic problems, recycling and repairing is made illegal, and all damaged goods and garbage are launched into outer space. The protagonist gets a job of tracking criminals who collect garbage on another planet. [1] [2]
The author wrote that a dramatic scene in the novel originated in a part of his then unpublished satirical science fiction short story "Earth Games" which was set in an alien world where earthling prisoners were forced to take part in mortal competitions in hotrod fighter cars called "Road Rage", "based on an ancient Earth highway ritual". "Earth Games" was published a year later in his collection Dangerous Worlds. [3]
Neil Gaiman reviewed The Garbage Chronicles for Imagine magazine, and stated that "one of the worst books I've read in years - it may have been meant to be funny, but I could well be wrong - and should be avoided as you would a rabid dog with a Cruise missile." [4]
A reviewer noticed an insider joke: among the trash depicted on the book dust cover there is a catalog of the Andromeda Books, a sci-fi bookstore. [2]
Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and the novels Good Omens, Stardust, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He co-created the TV series adaptations of Good Omens and The Sandman.
Raphael Aloysius "R. A." Lafferty was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, Lafferty also wrote a set of four autobiographical novels, a history book, and several novels of historical fiction.
Skeleton Crew is a short story collection by American writer Stephen King, published by Putnam in June 1985. A limited edition of a thousand copies was published by Scream/Press in October 1985 (ISBN 978-0910489126), illustrated by J. K. Potter, containing an additional short story, "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", which had originally appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, and was later incorporated into King's 1987 novel The Tommyknockers. The original title of this book was Night Moves.
Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966. It is the first installment of the Dune Chronicles. It is one of the world's best-selling science fiction novels.
Robots and Empire is a science fiction novel by the American author Isaac Asimov, published by Doubleday Books in 1985. It is part of Asimov's Robot series, which consists of many short stories and five novels.
Gilgamesh the King is a 1984 historical novel by American writer Robert Silverberg, presenting the Epic of Gilgamesh as a novel. In the afterword the author wrote "at all times I have attempted to interpret the fanciful and fantastic events of these poems in a realistic way, that is, to tell the story of Gilgamesh as though he were writing his own memoirs, and to that end I have introduced many interpretations of my own devising which for better or for worse are in no way to be ascribed to the scholars".
Tik-Tok is a 1983 science fiction novel by American writer John Sladek. It received a 1983 British Science Fiction Association Award.
Dune is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. Dune is frequently described as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. It won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award in 1966 and was later adapted into a 1984 film, a 2000 television miniseries, and a two-part film series with the first film in 2021 and a sequel in 2024. Herbert wrote five sequels, the first two of which were concomitantly adapted as a 2003 miniseries. Dune has also inspired tabletop games and a series of video games. Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.
The Dune Encyclopedia is a 1984 collection of essays written by Willis E. McNelly and multiple other contributors as a companion to Frank Herbert's Dune series of science fiction novels.
Charles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha, and comic-strip artist Hal Foster, among others. Vess has won several awards for his illustrations. Vess' studio, Green Man Press, is located in Abingdon, VA.
The Geffen Award is an annual literary award given by the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy since 1999, and presented at the ICon festival, the annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, It is named in honour of editor and translator Amos Geffen, who was one of the society's founders.
The Damnation Game is a 1985 horror novel by English writer Clive Barker. It was Barker's first novel.
The Dragon Waiting: A Masque of History is a 1983 historical fantasy novel by American writer John M. Ford. It won the 1984 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. This book, set in an alternate history, contains such plot elements as vampirism, the House of Medici, and the convoluted English politics surrounding Edward IV and Richard III. It also deals with the fate of the Princes in the Tower.
Ghastly Beyond Belief is a book by British writers Neil Gaiman and Kim Newman published in 1985.
Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, An English-Language Selection, 1949–1984 is a nonfiction book by David Pringle, published by Xanadu in 1985 with a foreword by Michael Moorcock. Primarily, the book comprises 100 short essays on the selected works, covered in order of publication, without any ranking. It is considered an important critical summary of the science fiction field.
Helliconia Summer is a novel by Brian Aldiss published in 1983.
Helliconia Winter is a novel by Brian W. Aldiss published in 1985.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a 2013 novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The work was first published on 18 June 2013 through William Morrow and Company and follows an unnamed man who returns to his hometown for a funeral and remembers events that began forty years earlier. The illustrated edition of the work was published on 5 November 2019, featuring the artwork of Australian fine artist Elise Hurst.
Top Science Fiction: The Authors' Choice is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Josh Pachter, the second in his series of "Authors' Choice" anthologies. It was first published in hardcover by J. M. Dent in July 1984, with a trade paperback edition issued by the same publisher in 1985. The book has also been published in translation in the Netherlands, Argentina, Germany and Finland.