More than 10,000 books and stories rated and reviewed! - About this site

Writers: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
reviews of books and stories by author names and pen names

SF&F Timeline! 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000-Now
retrospective look at sf&f year-by-year
Best SF&F Lists! Recommended Reading
by genre, topic and length category
The Ultimate Guide to New SF&F Writers (from 1990 till now)


->

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Year

Best!
















































->

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Year

Best!

J. Harvey Haggard



Great early "sense-of-wonder" author!
ISFDB entry

----------------------------------------------



"At the Crater's Core"
(Cosmos Series)
© Science Fiction Digest, Jul 1932
Fantasy Magazine, Dec 1934

Perry Rhodan, Ace Books
--/ fourth place space sf series
--/ wonder award
--/ awesome scale
--/ rare find

Unreal... This is simply the most unique event in history of science fiction, the collaboration between the brightest stars in the field, some at the beginning of their career, some at the peak of their powers. The list of writers is a shining "all-star" galaxy in itself. The fiction is... well, it's certainly big-scale, brimming with grand conflict, ridiculous science, unpronounceable names and places, and more BANG that you ever encountered between soft book covers - testing, in fact, the limits of reader's imagination and believability. Impossibly hard to find today, "Cosmos" spanned the issues of "Science Fiction Digest", and then "Fantasy Magazine" (the installments were not printed in the issues themselves but as a separately-bound supplements).

Personally I liked the "Last Poet" part of the serial and the crazy, absolutely delirious space battle extravaganza contributed by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach. A multi-dimensional "Wrongness of Space" anomaly attacks our system; a bunch of alien menaces and mad scientists pop out of every wrinkle of time and space, flying around (some may say chaotically) and driving the serial to its bang-up finish - good old Edmond Hamilton destroying planets Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus with an atomic disintegrator ray in his "Armageddon in Space". In other words, "The Cosmos" series is well worth searching out, it's a monumental literary artifact from the "wonder pulps" era, quite enjoyable even to this day.

----------------------------------------------

"The Atombomb Clue"
© 10-Story Detective, Nov 1946

"Children Of The Ray"
© 1933, Wonder Stories
--/ cool sf novella
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


"He Who Masters Time"
© 1937, Thrilling Wonder Stories
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find


----------------------------------------------



"Messenger To Infinity"
© Science Fiction Quarterly, Win 1942
--/ fourth place space sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ awesome scale
--/ rare find


J. Harvey Haggard writes with a highly visual style, which really shines in this short planetary tale. Great alien landscapes, infinite time vistas, and general sense of awesomeness prevail here, so do not look for much of the dialog, or much of the plot. The fairy godmother of obscurity took a special liking of this wonderful "robot-explorer and life-progenitor" vignette, so its nearly impossible to find. Tasty little morsel, indeed.

----------------------------------------------

"The Metal Raider"
© Fantasy Digest, 1939 Aug-Sept
--/ cool space sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ adventure award: Han Solo's chase thru the asteroids
--/ super rare find

----------------------------------------------


Click to go to "Dark Roasted Blend" site

COMMENTS:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

LATEST POSTS:

Collecting Pulp Magazines

Ephemera Interview with Avi Abrams

Enchanting Victorian Fairy Tale Art

"Then world behind and home ahead..."

Exceptional British Scifi Artwork from the 1950s

Space Pulp Art by Ron Turner and other British artists

Pulp Pleasures: Eando Binder

Great space adventure fiction from the 1930s
"Where Eternity Ends" and other rare gems

Also read recent posts:
Author's Pen Names - Most Complete List Ever
The Wonder Timeline: SF&F Restrospective
Space Adventure Article


SEE OUR MAIN PAGE FOR MORE!


EXPLANATION OF THE RATING SYSTEM:

"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews!

Most reviews are written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. Reviews also appear on our unique historical retrospective page Wonder Timeline of Science Fiction. Feel free to submit your own review, if a particular story is not listed here.


All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE
("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only)

Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE:
--/ first place :
--/ second place :
--/ third place :

--/ fourth place :

--/ cool : (equal to fifth place)
ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE

These awards are given in the following categories:
- novel :
- series :
- novella :
- story :
- collection :

Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the story's content and the lasting impression on the reader:

--/ wonder award
sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness

--/ idea award
originality of idea / concept

--/ adventure award
exhilarating plot, excitement / action

--/ style award
outstanding literary qualities, inimitable style

--/ romance award
intense and beautiful love / relationships

--/ humour award
funny and cool

--/ emotion award
touching, lasting impression, sensitivity

--/ shock value
altogether wild

--/ awesome scale
mind-boggling; further enhances sense-of-wonder

--/ rare find
very hard to locate, mostly from old pulps, never reprinted, etc.

Again, please feel free to leave your own review or comment under every writer's entry; also recommend us other stories you liked.