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James Tiptree, Jr.



Pen-name of Alice B. Sheldon
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James Tiptree, Jr.
"And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side"

© F&SF, Mar 1972
Ten Thousand Light-Years From Home, 1973
--short story : 1972 Nebula
--short story : 1973 Hugo
--short story : 1973 Locus
--/ third place space sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ style award
--/ emotion award
--/ shock value

The way how humans get plastered over some aliens, and fall head-over-heals in love (or lust) spells disaster for humanity's self-esteem and erodes its soul... This is a sad, shining, bittersweet, irresistible tale, the true masterpiece of story-within-a-story narration and simply gorgeous alien / spaceship visions. I am in awe of Alice Sheldon - one of the best space adventure / space romance writers ever to grace the face of the Earth.

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

"And So On, And So On"
© Phantasmicon, Jun 1971
Star Songs of an Old Primate, 1978
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ rare find

"Beam Us Home"
© Galaxy, Apr 1969
10,000 Light Years From Home, 1973
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award

"Faithful To Thee, Terra, In Our Fashion"
(also as "Parimutuel Planet")
© Galaxy, Jan 1969
10,000 Light Years From Home, 1973
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award

"The Girl Who Was Plugged In"
© New Dimensions # 3, 1973
Warm Worlds And Otherwise, 1975
--novella : 1974 Hugo W
--novelette : 1974 Nebula
--short fiction : 1974 Locus /4
--novelette : 1974 Jupiter
--novelette : 1999 Locus All-Time Poll /24 (tie)

--/ fourth place sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ style award
--/ emotion award


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



"Houston, Houston, Do You Read?"
© Aurora: Beyond Equality, ed. V. McIntyre, 1976
Star Songs Of An Old Primate, 1978
--novella : 1977 Hugo W (tie)
--novella : 1977 Nebula W
--novella : 1977 Locus /3
--novella : 1977 Jupiter W
--novella : 1999 Locus All-Time Poll /6 (tie)

--/ fourth place sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ style award
--/ emotion award


"The Battle of the Sexes" has a predictable winner in this brilliant novella (predictable, because we know that James Tiptree is the male pseudonym of a woman writer). Surprisingly, the science fiction community did not guess the author's true identity even after this tounge-in-cheek feminist tale. (You can read a great summary on Wikipedia here) The story initially deals with the fate of a crew of three male astronauts falling toward the Sun. Then it develops a familiar feminine domination sub-plot ("I woke up in the future, the only male left in a society of women") I seem to remember there was a popular Polish movie along these lines (IMDB lists is as "Seksmisja" (engl. as "Sexmission"), shown in some countries as "The New Amazons". It was quite an engrossing movie, and I recommended it) The female space-travellers in this story turn out to be wacky clones of a remnant human population from the freshly nuked Earth. They decide to keep the astronauts as male specimens, which could spell a bliss or a curse for them, depending on how you look at it.
review: 26-Oct-06 (read in 1998)

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"In Midst Of Life"
© F&SF, Nov 1987
Crown Of Stars, 1988
--short story : 1988 Locus /4
--/ cool sf story
--/ style award

"The Last Flight Of Dr. Ain"
© Galaxy, Mar 1969
Warm Worlds And Otherwise, 1975
--short story : 1970 Nebula
--/ fourth place sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ style award


"Lirios: A Tale Of The Quintana Roo"
© IASFM, Sep 1981
--novelette : 1982 Nebula
--novelette : 1982 Locus /9

--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ style award


"The Man Who Walked Home"
© Amazing, May 1972
10,000 Light Years From Home, 1973
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award

"The Milk Of Paradise"
© Again, Dangerous Visions, 1972
Warm Worlds And Otherwise, 1975
--short fiction : 1973 Locus /18 (tie)
--/ fourth place sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ style award
--/ emotion award


"Mother in the Sky with Diamonds"
© Galaxy, Mar 1971
Ten Thousand Light-Years From Home, 1973
--novella : 1972 Best SF
--/ second place space sf novella
--/ wonder award
--/ adventure award
--/ emotion award
--/ romance award
--/ style award
--/ shock value
--/ awesome scale
--/ rare find

"The Only Neat Thing To Do"
(The Starry Rift series)
© F&SF, Oct 1985
The Starry Rift, 1986
--novella : 1986 Hugo
--novella : 1986 Nebula
--novella : 1986 Locus W
--novella : 1986 SF Chronicle W
--foreign short fiction : 1988 Seiun W

--/ second place space sf novella
--/ wonder award
--/ awesome scale
--/ adventure award
--/ idea award
--/ style award
--/ emotion award


"Parimutuel Planet"
(also as "Faithful To Thee, Terra, In Our Fashion")
© Galaxy, Jan 1969
10,000 Light Years From Home, 1973
--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award

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



"The Psychologist Who Would Not
Do Awful Things To Rats"
© New Dimensions # 6, 1976
Star Songs Of An Old Primate, 1978
--novelette : 1977 Locus /6
--/ cool sf story

More than the simple future "animal rights" story. Tiptree is a woman, yes (Alice B. Sheldon's pen-name), but every time fools the audience. She served in the Army Intelligence and Air Corps, in the psych lab she and her colleagues had used rats as subjects, a form of unquestioned power relationship that can be disturbing as seen in this story.
review: 18-Jul-06 (read in 1987)

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

"The Screwfly Solution"
(as by Racoona Sheldon)
© Analog, Jun 1977
Out of the Everywhere, 1981
--novelette : 1978 Hugo
--novelette : 1978 Nebula W
--short fiction : 1978 Locus /2
--novelette : 1999 Locus All-Time Poll /23

--/ cool sf story
--/ style award

"A Source Of Innocent Merriment"
© Universe # 10, 1980
Out of the Everywhere, 1981
--/ cool sf story

"The Women Men Don't See"
© F&SF, Dec 1973
Warm Worlds And Otherwise, 1975
--short fiction : 1974 Locus /18
--novelette : 1975 Jupiter
--novelette : 1999 Locus All-Time Poll /17 (tie)

--/ cool sf story
--/ wonder award
--/ emotion award


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

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