Brian Aldiss

click to enlarge Brian Aldiss "Ahead" (also as "The Failed Men") © Science-Fantasy # 18, 1956 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ cool time sf story "Time impresses itself upon man as evolution"... Various interesting thoughts on the nature of time, the language is both complex and fascinating — traits typical of an Aldiss story texture. This piece is considered a minor classic. review: 26-Jul-06 (read in 2002) ---------------------------------------------- "The Airs Of Earth" (coll) (also as "Starswarm") © 1963, Ballantine Books / Faber --/ third place sf collection --/ wonder award --/ style award "All the World's Tears" © Nebula Stories, May 1957 The Canopy of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, 1960 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award --/ style award ---------------------------------------------- "Amen and Out" © New Worlds, Aug 1966 The Book of Brian Aldiss, 1972 I found this tale boring, with many recycled elements from other stories: men worship computers and keep immortal virtual minds in a kind of prison - to generate ideas... as you can see, very predictable. review: 18-Jul-06 (read in 1986) ---------------------------------------------- "Another Little Boy" © New Worlds, Sep 1966 Best SF Stories of Brian W. Aldiss, 1971 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award Solid SF story with a great Cold War paranoid feel and a wicked sense of humour. An over-populated future Earth has adopted total birth control (all girls are given biological treatment, and only a central computer can "undo it" to allow birth). Some nations has completely disappeared from the face of the Earth. Blocks of super-powers threaten each other with mighty (and henceforth absurd) bombs. All this is standard SF fare. But here comes the rub: over-populated conditions have de-sensitized humans to the point that... on the centennial of the Hiroshima bombing, the population wants to be entertained, so they make the ultimate fireworks by dropping another "vintage" atomic bomb from a "vintage" heavy bomber. And then a second one (for an encore!) on Nagasaki. A biting tale, characteristically wild for "New Worlds" of that period. review: 11-Sep-06 (read in 2001) ---------------------------------------------- "An Apollo Asteroid" (also as "A Matter Of Mathematics") © Moon Shots, ed. P. Crowther, 1999 Supertoys Last All Summer Long, 2000 --short story : 2000 Locus /18 (tie) --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award "Are You An Android?" © 1959, Science Fantasy "The Ascent of Humbelstein" © SF Blues Programme Book, 1987 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Basis For Negotiation" © New Worlds, 1962 The Airs Of Earth, 1963 --/ cool sf story "The Big Question" © Punch, Dec 1986 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Bill Carter Takes Over" (also as "Oh, For a Closer Brush with God") © 20 Houses of the Zodiac, ed. M. Jakubowski, 1979 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Billion Year Spree" (nf) © 1973, Gollancz --special award : 1974 British SF W --/ cool nf book "Blighted Profile" © Science Fantasy, Feb 1958 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ cool apocalyptic sf story "Bow Down to Nul" (nv) (exp. from "X for Exploitation") (also as "The Interpreter" UK) © New Worlds, Mar 1960 book : Ace Double, 1960 --/ cool sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "But Who Can Replace A Man?" (also as "Who Can Replace A Man?") © Infinity Science Fiction, Jun 1958 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ third place robot sf story --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale --/ idea award --/ emotion award "The Canopy of Time" (coll) (also as part of "Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand" coll.) © Faber and Faber, 1959 --/ fourth place sf collection --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale --/ idea award "The Captain's Analysis" (revised into "Journey to the Goat Star") © Quarto Magazine, Jul/Aug 1982 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Carrion Country" (Planetary Ecological Survey Team series) © New Worlds, Nov 1958 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ cool sf story "Castle Scene with Penitents" © Orbit # 12, 1973 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Confluence" © Punch, Aug 1967 Moment of Eclipse, 1970 --story: Best SF 1968 list --/ cool sf story --/ idea award: alien dictionary --/ style award --/ humour award --/ rare find "Criminal Record" © Science Fantasy, Sep 1954 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 "Comic Inferno" © Galaxy, Feb 1963 The Book Of B. Aldiss, 1972 ---------------------------------------------- "Conviction" © New Worlds, Sep 1956 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 ---------------------------------------------- "Creatures of Apogee" © Last Orders, 1977 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Danger: Religion!" (also as "Matrix") © Science Fantasy, Apr 1962 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award "The Dark Soul Of The Night" © The Ides of Tomorrow, ed. T. Carr, 1976 --/ fourth place sf story --/ idea award "Day Of The Doomed King" (Vukasan series) © Science Fantasy, 1965 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "The Day We Embarked For Cythera" © Moment of Eclipse, 1970 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Dumb Show" © Nebula Stories, Dec 1956 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award "Earthworks" (nv) © 1965, Faber / Doubleday --/ fourth place apocalyptic sf novel --/ wonder award "The Eighty-Minute Hour" (nv) © Jonathan Cape, 1974 "End Game" © IASFM, Sep 1981 "Equator" (nv) (also as "Vanguard from Alpha") © New Worlds, Sep 1958 novel: Digit books / Ace books --/ cool sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "Evergreen" (Hothouse series) © F&SF, Dec 1961 The Long Afternoon of Earth, 1962 --short fiction : 1962 Hugo W --/ second place sf series --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "The Expensive Delicate Ship" © Nova # 3, 1973 Last Orders and Other Stories, 1989 "The Eye-Opener" © Interzone, Nov 1995 --fiction : 1995 Interzone Poll --/ cool humour sf story --/ humour award --/ emotion award --/ rare find ---------------------------------------------- "The Failed Men" (also as "Ahead") © Science-Fantasy # 18, 1956 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ cool time sf story "Time impresses itself upon man as evolution"... Various interesting thoughts on the nature of time, complex and fascinating (typically Aldiss)story texture. Considered a minor classic. review: 26-Jul-06 (read in 2002) ---------------------------------------------- "Full Sun" © Orbit # 2, 1967 --/ cool sf story "Frankenstein Unbound" (nv) © Fantastic, Mar 1974 book: 1974, Berkley --international sf : 1975 Ditmar --/ cool sf novel --/ style award --/ idea award "The Future On A Chipped Plate" (nf) © New Worlds Quarterly # 5, 1973 "Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand" (coll) (also as part of "The Canopy Of Time" coll.) © Signet Books, 1960 --/ fourth place sf collection --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale --/ idea award "The Game of God" (also as "Segregation") (Planetary Ecological Survey Team) © New Worlds, Jul 1958 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ cool sf story "The Game with the Big Heavy Ball" © New Writings in SF # 30, 1977 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Gene-Hive" (also as "Journey to the Interior") © Nebula Stories, Apr 1958 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ third place sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ adventure award --/ awesome scale --/ rare find "Gesture of Farewell" © New Worlds, Jul 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ fourth place space sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award: world building --/ awesome scale "Girl and Robot with Flowers" © New Worlds, Sep 1965 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 --/ cool sf story --/ style award "The Girl Who Sang" (Helliconia) © 1982, Lands Of Never also in - Bestsellers # 3, 1983 Seasons In Flight, 1984 "The Gods In Flight" © Interzone, 1984 Seasons In Flight, 1984 --short story : 1985 Locus /24 --/ cool sf story "Have Your Hatreds Ready" (also as "Secret of a Mighty City") © F&SF, May 1958 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ cool city sf story --/ wonder award "Hearts And Engines" (also as "Soldiers Running") (also as "How To Be A Soldier") © New Worlds, Jun 1960 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ cool sf story ---------------------------------------------- "Heresies Of The Huge God" © Galaxy, Aug 1966 Moment of Eclipse, 1970 --/ cool sf story --/ idea award The title is certainly worthy of Sixties era... the story is quite unusual in SF. Here is the summary I found on the net: "Really large alien craft or a being --we're talking continent-sized--lands on Earth. Massive seismic and climactic changes ensue. The ship just sits there--no one comes out, there's no attempt at communication, and so on. Every now and then it takes some arbitrary action such as moving a little or extending some new piece of itself. But that's about it. Decades go by. Humanity has to cope with the presence of this strange invader. Religious orders arise to explain it in spiritual terms. Eventually, the ship just leaves, still with no explanation or communication. The departure of the ship once more throws the world into climactic upheaval and threatens to end all life on Earth. The tale is written by a monk of some sort just after the ship has left, and relates all that has happened to date in almost allegorical terms." review: 21-Jul-06 (read in 1995) ---------------------------------------------- "Hothouse" (Hothouse series) © F&SF, Feb 1961 The Long Afternoon of Earth, 1962 --short fiction : 1962 Hugo W --third place : SF series --/ second place sf series --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "The House That Jules Built" (nf) © Best SF: 1968, 1968 "How An Inner Door Opened To My Heart" © F&SF, Apr 1988 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "How To Be A Soldier" (also as "Soldiers Running") (also as "Hearts And Engines") © New Worlds, Jun 1960 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ cool sf story "The Hunter At His Ease" © Science Against Man, ed. A. Cheetham, 1970 "Igur And The Mountain" © 1983, Christmas Feast Seasons In Flight, 1984 "Incentive" © New Worlds, Dec 1958 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ fourth place space sf story --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale "The Interpreter" (nv) (also as "Bow Down to Nul") (exp. from "X for Exploitation") © New Worlds, Mar 1960 book : Ace Double, 1960 --/ cool sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "Into The Tunnel!" © IASFM, Apr 1995 --short story : 1996 Locus /13 "Journey to the Goat Star" (rev. from "The Captain's Analysis") © Quarto Magazine, Jul 1982 also in - Something Else, Spr 1984 A Romance Of The Equator, 1983 --/ cool sf story "Journey to the Interior" (also as "Gene-Hive") © Nebula Stories, Apr 1958 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ third place sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award --/ adventure award --/ awesome scale --/ rare find "Judas Danced" © Star SF Magazine, Jan 1958 The Canopy of Time, 1959 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 "Juniper" © Seasons In Flight, 1984 "Just Back From Java" (also as "The Man Who Saw Cliff Richard") © Something Else, Win 1980 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "A Kind of Artistry" © F&SF, Oct 1962 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ fourth place sf story --/ idea award --/ wonder award --/ style award "Legends of Smith's Burst" © Nebula Stories, Apr 1959 Starswarm, 1964 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 --/ cool sf story --/ idea : antimatter starlight "Let's Be Frank" © Science Fantasy, Nov 1957 "Lies!" © All the Devils Are Here, ed. D. Deyo, 1986 A Romance of the Equator, 1989 --/ fourth place sf story --/ idea award "The Lonely Habit" © Ellery Quinn Mystery Magazine, Jun 1966 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 "Long Afternoon of Earth" (coll) (also as "Hothouse") (Hothouse series) © Signet Books, 1962 --/ second place sf collection --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ awesome scale "The Malacia Tapestry" (nv) © 1977, Faber & Faber --/ cool f novel --/ style award "The Man Who Saw Cliff Richard" (also as "Just Back From Java") © Something Else, Win 1980 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Matrix" (also as "Danger: Religion!") © Science Fantasy, Apr 1962 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award "The Moment Of Eclipse" © New Worlds, May 1969 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "My Lady of the Psychiatric Sorrows" © Universe # 7, 1977 --/ cool sf story "Near Earth Object" © Mars Probes, ed. P. Crowther, 2002 "The New Father Christmas" © F&SF, Jan 1958 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 "The Night That All Time Broke Out" © Dangerous Visions, ed. H.Ellison, 1967 russ. as "V Potope Vremeni" --/ cool time sf story --/ idea award "No Time Like Tomorrow" (coll) (also as part of "Space, Time & Nathaniel" coll.) © Signet Books, 1959 --/ fourth place sf collection --/ wonder award "Nomansland" (Hothouse series) © F&SF, Jul 1962 The Long Afternoon of Earth, 1962 --short fiction : 1962 Hugo W --third place : SF series --/ second place sf series --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "Non-Stop" (nv) © Science Fantasy, 1956 novel: Faber and Faber, 1958 --/ cool sf novel --/ adventure award "North Scarning" (also as "The Older Evil") © The Illustrated London News, 1986 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Not for an Age" © The London Observer, Jan 1955 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ cool sf story ---------------------------------------------- "The O in Jose" © Cad, Mar 1966 Impulse, Jul 1966 Seasons In Flight, 1984 Sixties era little nonsense published first in a man's magazine. Harmless fun, reflective of the era review: 10-Jul-06 (read in 1988) ---------------------------------------------- "O Ishrail!" © New Worlds, Apr 1957 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award "O, Moon Of My Delight!" © New Worlds, 1961 The Airs of Earth, 1963 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award "Oh, For a Closer Brush with God" (also as "Bill Carter Takes Over") © 20 Houses of the Zodiac, ed. M. Jakubowski, 1979 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Old Hundredth" © New Worlds, Nov 1960 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ third place sf story --/ style award --/ wonder award --/ emotion award "The Older Evil" (also as "North Scarning") © The Illustrated London News, 1986 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "One Role With Relish" © The Saliva Tree, 1966 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 "The Other Side Of The Lake" © Fiction Magazine, 1984 Seasons In Flight, 1984 "Our Kind Of Knowledge" © New Worlds, Jun 1955 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ cool sf story "Out Of Reach" © Authentic SF Stories, 1957 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale "Outside" © New Worlds, Jan 1955 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ fourth place sf story --/ idea award --/ wonder award "Panel Game" © New Worlds, Dec 1955 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 --/ cool sf story "Paternal Care" © The Saliva Tree, 1966 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 "The Plane, The Endless Plain" © 1984, Minnesota Review Seasons In Flight, 1984 --/ cool sf story --/ idea award "A Pleasure Shared" © Rogue, Dec 1962 Science Fantasy, 1965 The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths, 1966 "Pogsmith" © Authentic SF, 1955 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "Poor Little Warrior!" © F&SF, Apr 1958 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 ---------------------------------------------- "Psyclops" © New Worlds, Jul 1956 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award --/ idea award Very cool story about a man communicating with his unborn son. Written with intensity and style. Recommended. The six-month old child telepathically sends a saving message to a spacebase light-years away, when the father gets trapped on an ice planet. review: 10-Jul-06 (read in 1999) ---------------------------------------------- "Report On Probability A" (nv) © New Worlds, Mar 1963 novel: Faber, 1968 --/ cool sf novel --/ idea award "A Romance Of The Equator" © 1979, Standart also in - IASFM, Jan 1983 Seasons In Flight, 1984 --/ cool sf story "The Saliva Tree" © F&SF, Sep 1965 The Saliva Tree and Other Strange Growths, 1966 --novella : 1966 Nebula W (tie) ----foreign short story : 2001 Seiun --/ second place sf novella --/ wonder award --/ adventure award --/ shock value --/ style award ---------------------------------------------- "The Saliva Tree & Other Strange Growths" (coll) © Faber & Faber, 1966 --/ fourth place sf collection --/ wonder award --/ style award Of course the lead novella is absolutely gorgeous. Other stories round up the collection, but do not approach it anywhere close in quality. This collection is worth seeking out for that Lovecraftian-Wellsian "spaced-out" gem that "The Saliva Tree" novella is. If Aldiss have written nothing else but this novella, he'd secure his place in the genre. Respect. review: 10-Jul-06 (read in 2006) ---------------------------------------------- "Scarfe's World" © Worlds of Tomorrow, Mar 1965 "Science Fiction Art" (nf) © 1975, Bounty Books "Science Fiction On Titanic" (nf) © Best SF: 1975, 1975 "Seasons In Flight" (coll) © 1985, Gollancz --collection : 1985 Locus /14 "The Secret of Holman Hunt and the Crude Death Rate" © New Worlds, Jan 1970 New Worlds 7, 1974 New Worlds # 6 (U.S.), 1975 "Secret of a Mighty City" (also as "Have Your Hatreds Ready") © F&SF, May 1958 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ cool city sf story --/ wonder award "Segregation" (also as "The Game of God" ) (Planetary Ecological Survey Team) © New Worlds, Jul 1958 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ cool sf story "Serpent Burning on an Altar" © Orbit # 12, 1973 "Shards" © F&SF, Apr 1962 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award "The Shubshub Race" © Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 --/ cool sf story "The Small Stones of Tu Fu" © IASFM, Mar 1978 A Romance Of The Equator, 1983 "So Far from Prague" © The New S.F., ed. L. Jones, 1969 A Romance Of The Equator, 1983 "Soldiers Running" (also as "How To Be A Soldier") (also as "Hearts And Engines") © New Worlds, Jun 1960 The Airs of Earth, 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ cool sf story "The Source" © New Worlds, 1965 A Romance Of The Equator, 1983 "Space, Time And Nathaniel" (coll) © 1957, Ballantine Books --/ third place sf collection --/ wonder award --/ style award "Starswarm" (coll) (also as "The Airs of Earth") © Faber / Signet 1963 --/ third place sf collection --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale "Steppenpferd" © F&SF, Feb 2000 --short story : 2001 Locus /33 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award --/ emotion award "Supercity" © Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 --/ cool sf story --/ wonder award "T" © Nebula Stories, Nov 1956 Space, Time and Nathaniel, 1957 No Time Like Tomorrow, 1959 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award ---------------------------------------------- "Ten Million of Them" ©  Constellations, ed. by Peter Crowther, 2005 --/ cool sf story --/ awesome scale "...Provides a Very Big Picture, as a deity on a galactic scale views, in a detached manner, humanity's struggle to survive. As Sol expands, all manner of life take to the seas of the Earth, evolving into aquatic forms. Others have fled to the Kuiper Belt (the ten billion rocks in that Belt accounting for the title), but it is a much smaller being (the humble flu virus) which makes its escape. " via Again, something that did not impress me all that much - but Aldiss can be vastly original and intense... read his short story collections to achieve that sort of reader's gestalt: swimming in the seas of his outrageous concepts and styles, and loving it. review: 22-Feb-09 (read in 2005) ---------------------------------------------- "Ten-Story Jigsaw" © Nebula Stories, Jan 1958 --/ fourth place sf story --/ wonder award --/ rare find "There Is A Tide" © 1956, New Worlds --/ cool sf story "Timberline" (Hothouse series) © F&SF, Jul 1962 The Long Afternoon of Earth, 1962 --short fiction : 1962 Hugo W --/ second place sf series --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "Total Environment" © Galaxy, Feb 1968 --novelette : 1969 Hugo --novelette : 1969 Nebula --/ cool over-population sf novella --/ shock value "Undergrowth" (Hothouse series) © F&SF, Jul 1961 The Long Afternoon of Earth, 1962 --short fiction : 1962 Hugo W --third place : SF series --/ second place sf series --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "The Underprivileged" © New Worlds, May 1963 Starswarm, 1964 --/ cool sf story "Vanguard From Alpha" (nv) (also as "Equator") © New Worlds, Sep 1958 novel: Digit books / Ace books --/ cool sf novel --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "The Village Swindler" © International, Oct 1968 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "Visiting Amoeba" (also as "What Triumphs?") © Authentic Science Fiction, Apr 1957 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ cool sf story --/ awesome scale "What Triumphs?" (also as "Visiting Amoeba") © Authentic Science Fiction, Apr 1957 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ cool sf story --/ awesome scale "Where The Lines Converge" © Galileo, Mar 1977 --/ cool sf novella --/ idea award --/ rare find "Who Can Replace A Man?" (also as "But Who Can Replace A Man?") © Infinity Science Fiction, Jun 1958 The Canopy Of Time, 1959 Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand, 1960 --/ third place robot sf story --/ wonder award --/ awesome scale --/ idea award --/ emotion award "The Worm That Flies" © The Farthest Reaches, ed. J. Elder, 1968 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 "X for Exploitation" (exp. into "Bow Down to Nul") (also as "The Interpreter" UK) © New Worlds, Mar 1960 --/ cool sf novella --/ wonder award --/ adventure award "You Never Asked My Name" © F&SF, Nov 1985 A Romance Of The Equator, 1989 ------------------------------------------

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