by Victoria Silverwolf It's déjà vu all over again. — attributed to Yogi Berra A couple of months ago the first issue of Worlds of Tomorrow offered half of an enjoyable, if juvenile, novel by Arthur C. Clarke, half a dozen poor-to-fair stories as filler, and one excellent work of literature. The second issue is … Continue reading [April 15, 1963] Second Time Around (June 1963 Worlds of Tomorrow)
[If you live in Southern California, you can see the Journey LIVE at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego, 2 p.m. on February 17!] by Gideon Marcus I've complained from time to time about the general decline in quality of some of the science fiction digests, namely Analog and Fantasy and Science Fiction. On the … Continue reading [February 6, 1963] Up and Coming (March 1963 IF Science Fiction)
[if you’re new to the Journey, read this to see what we’re all about!] by Gideon Marcus Behold the picture of contentment. I sit in my La-Z-Boy, feet crossed on an ottoman, a Julie London album on the phonograph, and my tummy stuffed to the utmost with stuffing, turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes… the whole megillah. … Continue reading [November 27, 1962] Turkeys and Gravy (December 1962 Analog)
by Victoria Silverwolf America's present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality. I'm a Kennedy liberal, so goodness knows I wouldn't … Continue reading [November 22, 1962] Return to Normalcy (December 1962 Fantastic)
[if you’re new to the Journey, read this to see what we’re all about!] by Gideon Marcus Another month, another load of science fiction digests delivered to my door. Normally, they arrive staggered over several weeks (the various publishers know not to step on each other's toes – the field is now pretty uncrowded, so … Continue reading [October 9, 1962] Middlin' middle sibling (November 1962 IF Science Fiction)
[if you’re new to the Journey, read this to see what we’re all about!] by Gideon Marcus Thirteen years ago this month, amidst the post-war boom of science fiction digests, Galaxy Science Fiction was born. Its editor, H.L. Gold, intended his brainchild to stand above and apart from the dozens of lesser mags (remember those … Continue reading [Sep. 10, 1962] Leading by Example (the terrific October 1962 Galaxy)
[if you’re new to the Journey, read this to see what we’re all about!] by Gideon Marcus It's a hot, doldrumy summer. My wife and I are hard at work. Our daughter has headed to the North for a vacation. There's hardly anything in the news but sordid details of the Sol Estes case (if … Continue reading [August 6, 1962] Bookkends (September 1962 IF Worlds of Science Fiction)
by Gideon Marcus I've said before that IF Worlds of Science Fiction is sort of a poor sister to Galaxy Science Fiction. Since 1959, they've been owned and run by the same team; IF pays its writers less; the quality used to be markedly lower on average (with occasional stand-outs). We seem to be entering … Continue reading [June 10, 1962] A star shall rise (July 1962 IF Science Fiction)
by Gideon Marcus The measure of a story's quality, good or bad, is how well it sticks in your memory. The sublime and the stinkers are told and retold, the mediocre just fades away. If you ever wonder how I rate the science fiction I read, memorability is a big component. This month's IF has … Continue reading [April 10, 1962] All the Difference (May 1962 IF Science Fiction)
by Gideon Marcus If "no news is good news," then this has been a very good week, indeed! The Studebaker UAW strike ended on the 7th. The Congo is no more restive than usual. Laos seems to be holding a tenuous peace in its three-cornered civil war. The coup is over in the Dominican Republic, … Continue reading [Feb. 10, 1962] Here is the News (March 1962 IF)