All posts by Kris Vyas-Myall

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[May 10, 1970] Fever Pitch (New Writings in S-F 17 & Vortex)

May 10, 2025 Kris Vyas-Myall Leave a comment

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

The World Cup starts later this month in Mexico and excitement in England is palpable. Winning four years ago at Wembley has raised expectations significantly, and there is a real hope that England can repeat the success Brazil had in the early 60s, to win two years-on-the-trot.

Possibly one of the strangest ways this has manifested is in a new album, sung by the Current World Cup Squad!

In its special circular football sleeve, you can discover what it sounds like to have Bobby Moore singing Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da or Gordon Banks covering Lovey-Dovey. (From what I have heard of it on the radio, consider my curiosity fully sated).

Off the pitch, there is once again an international competition for my attention in the anthology releases. With Carnell leading his team for another round of New Writings facing off against new fiction from the Soviet Union. Three years ago, the two countries faced off in one of my articles, now let’s see how each of these new seven stories matchup:

New Writings in SF-17

In his introduction Carnell notes how much the world has changed in his lifetime and says that continued technological change is the theme of this issue.

More Things in Heaven and Earth by H. A. Hargreaves

Alan Hamilton is Senior Lecturer at University Television Central, a Tri-Vid system linking universities. The performances of Shakespeare are broadcast for 60,000 Students who watch together and can chime in. This is then edited and sent out to a further 180,000 home viewers. They are preparing to have the process opened up for a public view, when they discover they have a telepath on the course, who is communicating with people using Alan’s voice.

I have heard other people cite this story as one of the most interesting SF pieces of recent years and worth the price of entry alone. As such, it seems inevitable that I would disagree. I found it slight, dull, overly long and a chore to get through. It is just over 50 pages long but took me almost 3 days to read. It is not offensive to me as much as just forgettable.

Two Stars

Aspect of Environment by L. Davison

I could find no information on this author. Could it even be one of those rarest of species, a woman writing for a British publication? Anyone with more information, please write to us at the Journey.

On their way back to earth on an unsuccessful mission, Brandt overrides the ship’s computer to follow a trail of radiation. Even though the other two scientists, Spengler and Olga, are not entirely happy with the plan, they follow along until they discover its origin as a tiny planet. Once a computer bug causes the ship to crash-land, they go in search of the source. It turns out to be one of the strangest results of evolution, an organic computer.

This whole story felt a bit dull and pat to me. It seems to want to make some kind of grand point on the nature of chance in our lives and the shaping of the universe but it rings hollow. There is also a weird situation where Brandt spends a lot of time ogling Olga which just stretches a thin tale even further.

Two Stars

Soul Survivors by Lee Harding

One of my favourite Australian writers gives us an SF take on the Christmas ghost story. Elliot Westerman's wife and two children were killed in a Transmat accident. He now lives in his empty old house, reliving his time with them on the Home Memories equipment, which projects old scenes in perfect detail. However, his deceased family have begun appearing outside of their programmed settings. Is it a technical fault, a delusion, or could something have survived beyond death?

A very effective little mystery based around a touching exploration of grief. This might have been a better tale to have read in December rather than when we are reaching the full bloom of summer. One I will have to remember to revisit towards the end of 1970.

Four Stars

Death and the Sensperience Poet by Joseph Green

Alistair McAlistair was a Sensperience Poet (creators of sensory experiences for humans to relax to) of some success. However, after his wife Carolyn killed herself, he found himself unable to create anything. As such he signed up for a tour of space. On the planet Achernar, crew members begin mysteriously disappearing, whilst Alistair starts to see visions of Carolyn.

There are a number of similarities here to the previous story, but there are also enough differences that they actually work well together as companion pieces. They both explore grief but whilst Elliot has trapped himself in a cycle of memory, Alistair is trying to live again.

Four Stars

Two Rivers by R. W. Mackelworth

For five generations people have lived in a utopian agricultural life inside the dome. An automated power plant and factory the only interruptions to this pastoral idyll. Outside a deadly airborne virus had raged and kept the community in isolation. Jon is now to be among first to leave for a hundred years to assess the world beyond its protection. But his older brother Bruno who leads the expedition knows a series of secrets that will change all their lives.

This is a very evocative tale, with something of Blackwood’s The Willows about it. And whilst it is not always entirely surprising, it had enough original elements to keep me intrigued throughout.

A high four stars

The Hero by Ernest Hill

Aston Wainwright was injured in the crash of the Daedalus II, proclaimed Hero of the Western World and given a series of commendations and medals. But this is small comfort forty-two years later when he is just another blind arthritic beggar on the streets.

German Veteran on the streets in 1923

This is a depressing but unfortunately ever-relevant story of how heroes of one generation are soon discarded by the next. In my own youth I recall the homeless former soldiers of the Great War on the streets of London, and I have no doubt that, in another generation, injured Vietnam veterans will be all over America. So it is honestly not hard to imagine Neil Armstrong in the year 2000 injured in a plane crash and living in poverty. At only 8 pages it cannot go particularly in depth, but it still hits its mark.

Four Stars

The True Worth of Ruth Villiers by Michael G. Coney

Since 2012, Britain social services were replaced by a system of credit worthiness. If you want to access any state services such as medical, you will be granted a loan based on this that you will pay back from your salary once you are back to work. If the required loan exceeds your creditworthiness plus personal savings, you will be ineligible. Friends or family helping each other out in these situations is a punishable offence.

Six months ago, Mr. Archer was happy in his role evaluating people’s credit worthiness for the Department of Social Value. That is until he has to assess Ruth Villiers who has fallen down an abandoned mineshaft. At every step it seems that being able to save her is just out of reach but neither is her credit low enough to completely abandon her. What are they to do?

It is an interesting take on the facelessness of bureaucracies. In some ways it feels like it fits into the mold of Asimov’s Robot Stories, where you take a system that appears solid and then explore how it can fail in edge cases. Not astounding but a reasonable way to finish things off.

A high three stars

So, it is a slow start for England, but they rallied in the middle to show a performance they can be proud of. But how will their Soviet counterparts fare?

Vortex: New Soviet Science Fiction

Introduction: At the Frontier of the Present Age by Ariadne Gromova

After a short preface by the editor, Gromova gives us a 20 page essay on the relationship between science and art, mass psychology, the scientific method and how “Nauchnaya Fantastika” looks in the USSR. Amazingly it doesn’t ramble and is one I will think on for a while.

Five Stars, along with a sense of disappointment none of her fiction appears in this collection.

The Time Scale by Alexander Abramov and Sergei Abramov

Wačlaw, a journalist at UNO meets with Leszczyski, former Princeton professor known for his discredited theory of discreet time. He shows Wačlaw a device that proves his theories are true, one that allows for a person to jump between different parallel times to decide which take they wish to use. This proves useful for Wačlaw, as he soon finds himself in the midst of a battle between two opposing factions.

This is the kind of thriller that does not particularly appeal to me, but I will admit it is well structured and I like the way it made use of time travel and different realities to add to the tension.

Three Stars for me; maybe add one more if you enjoy James Bond.

Futility by Andrei Gorbovskii

Space traders arrive at the planet Earth to discover it has no evidence of advanced civilization. Captain believes they must have degraded and disappeared, whilst Vamp thinks they may be looking in the wrong places.

A reasonable vignette about how our own biases may be inhibiting the search of extra-terrestrial intelligence. I do wonder how an alien species knows how to play draughts though….

Three Stars

(As a side note, in this translation they have chosen to render the Cyrillic ий as ii as opposed to the more common y, so if some familiar names look a little different, this may be why)

The Test by Artur Mirer

A giant automated factory is created to produce napalm for the army. To oversee the operation an artificial brain is installed. However, it decides it would much rather create jam and its resists all attempts to turn it off. A human named Philip is brought in by the robotic control centre, in the hopes he can help learn how to make more of its kind.

Whilst the portions with Philip were less interesting than I had hoped, I was utterly charmed by the concept of the story: that an intelligence would decide that it didn’t want to be a killer and would choose to make a sweet treat instead.

Three Stars

The Old Road by Artur Mirer

This story continues on from his previous instalment. Philip is now travelling with his pregnant wife Maria along the transcontinental highways, looking for a Doctor to assist in the birth. To his surprise he finds himself back at the artificial jam factory. The centre is extremely insistent on helping with the birth but not every part of the building seems to agree.

Regular readers will know I do not tend to connect as much with car-based tales as others do, so this may be part of why I felt less interested in this sequel. However, I also think that once you get past the initial cute concept, it becomes a bit of a standard tale of robot logic. Not something that is particularly original or memorable.

Two Stars

The Silent Procession by Boris Smagin

Herman and Andrei were once great friends but fell out due to differences of opinion. Andrei receives a letter from Herman asking him to come visit him quickly. What could this be about?

This is an odd vignette. The concept is something right out of the 30s, but the style is closer to that of a fairy tale.

Three Stars

He Will Wake in Two Hundred Years by Andrei Gorbovskii

Andrei believes he is destined for more than organising dictionaries, so decides to freeze himself for 200 years

Yes, this is another Sleeper Wakes style tale, albeit one with a bit more of a comic lean than most. Reasonable but forgettable.

A Low Three Stars

The Second Martian Invasion by Arkadii Strugatskii and Boris Strugatskii

Easily the largest story in this collection. This novella by the already famous brothers concerns Mr. Apollo who observes from his small town a possible major disaster happening over the horizon. However, he concludes the most logical response is to stay in their isolated settlement and get on with their lives. As such, whilst the bigger cities are being levelled by Martians, we get a glimpse of small town life at a time like this, such as debates over the use of stadium building funds and the creation of new stamps.

What really appeals to me is the cynicism of the narrator and the whole silliness with which events proceed. If you had told me this was actually a Brian Aldiss tale, I would have believed you.

A Solid Four Stars

Will the World Beaters Defeat the People’s Champions?

Soviet & English World Cup squads

The scores of these two publications are so close together, I will call the whole thing a draw. New Writings was more mixed whilst Vortex performed reasonably well throughout.

Whatever happens it definitely seems that the country has caught World Cup fever, where the events in Mexico will be dissected in every public house and I will be hearing Back Home blaring out of every radio for the foreseeable future.

[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

Follow on BlueSky

No comments Leave A Comment

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[April 28, 1970] A Strange Case of Vulgarity & Violence (Vision of Tomorrow #8)

April 28, 2025 Kris Vyas-Myall Leave a comment

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

There has been a steady rise in complaints about the state of current TV in the liberal society. It is commonly held up as the cause of declining moral standards and a crude form of entertainment. The Times decided to look into this and had a team watch through and analyse the 284 hours of television in the first week of April. Of these almost 60% of them contained no hint of violence, vulgarity or sexual content.

Looking at the violent content 19 of the hours are from the news, documentary or sport. And others include such broad definitions as children’s fairy tale containing a threat of “losing your head”. Among the remaining violent content, it is predominantly American films and television, in particular Westerns. If the Western was the cause of growing societal violence, it would be declining from its domination of large and small screens.

Jackanory, source of violence?

On the other-hand vulgarity tends to come from British comedies in later evening and these are on the milder side of expletives. It tries to make headlines out of 47 uses of the word “bloody” in one week, but this is skewed by the fact that Braden’s Week ran an episode discussing if the word was still offensive.

Braden’s Week: Too vulgar for TV?

Finally, nudity and sexual content is barely present. There are a couple of bedroom scenes and double-entendres, but full nudity or sexual acts are absent. The closest is in a cigar commercial where a woman emerges from the sea in a wet t-shirt.

Are Manikin’s Cigars causing a breakdown of Britain’s morals?

If that is the case, then where should we look for the riding tide of sex and violence? One MP has a theory, witchcraft! Gwilym Roberts MP has been calling on the Home Secretary to introduce legislation against anyone who claims to practice witchcraft as it leads to drugs and blackmail. This will certainly be news to most of the witches I know.

Malcolm Leigh’s recent “documentary”

Whatever the cause, the panic over the current changes in society continues apace. It also seems highly present in the short SF of Britain, as its sole surviving magazine is certainly not limiting their bloodshed:

Vision of Tomorrow #8

Cover illustration by Kevin Cullen

Editorial: Full Circle by Philip Harbottle

Once again, Gillings’ sorting through his archives unearthed an unpublished story from John Russel Fearn. This one was incomplete, as it was meant to be the first part of a round robin story intended for Future Fiction. At the same time the cover illustration came in unsolicited which, coincidentally, worked very well for the Fearn story. As such Bounds has used both the text and image to complete the tale.

Lost in Translation by Peter Cave

Illustration by Eddie Jones

The sole survivor of the Newtonian recounts what happened to the other 18 members on the Delta 4 expedition. They discovered a chain of planets that give off no spectroscopic readings and contains a form of life that does not seem to resemble any known form of matter.

This is a perfectly reasonable, but ultimately forgettable, first contact story. If you had told me it was a 20 year old reprint, I would have believed you.

A low Three Stars

Finally, Readers’ Poll results for Issue #3. I personally would have put Stableford as my top choice and not have had Nixhill Monsters in my top 4, but not too far off my own selection.

The Custodian by Lee Harding

Photo illustration by Lee Harding

Asian war lords launched a series of bacteriological missiles. When the fallout mutated a virus, it destroyed much of the world’s population and drove many of the survivors insane. In the aftermath, Carl Bleeker meets Deidre Ashton, a young woman, in an abandoned house in the mountains. Bleeker wants to keep it as a repository of knowledge, whilst Ashton wants to find other survivors. Together they try to work out how to live in this strange new world.

In the introduction we are told that Harding set out to create a story that is entirely derived from the history and culture of Australia. Initially I didn’t see much difference between this and one of the many mid-western post-nuclear survival stories Americans seem so fond of, but as it goes on it becomes much more about the relationship between the coastal settler population and the interior Aboriginal people.

Bleeker and Ashton are interesting characters. Firstly, I was expecting this to follow the standard Silverbergian format where the old-grizzled man sleeps with the innocent young woman but this is not the nature of their relationship. What they both want and need is friendship. Also, Ashton counters our expectations as to how she will be described:

This was no fey young girl but a capable woman already versed in the grim techniques of survival.

She was dressed for travel: a heavy maroon sweater and dark gray slacks made her sex ambiguous from a distance…Once she might have been petite; now her small frame verged on skinny…But underneath this fragile exterior he could detect uncommon strength.

Yet they are not meant to be paragons of virtue. We see they have their own problems and prejudices to overcome, in particular regarding the indigenous peoples.

It is not an easy tale to read but certainly a worthwhile one.

A high Four Stars

Fantasy Review

Kathryn Buckley gives a positive review to Thorns by Robert Silverberg whilst feeling that Hauser’s Memory by Curt Siodmak is good on science but poor on art. John Foyster reviews the Wollheim collection Two Dozen Dragon Eggs, saying it is not amazing but still worthwhile, and Donald Malcolm heaps praise on The World Jones Made by Philip K. Dick (declaring it “a minor classic”) and The Journal of Paraphysics, an odd choice given it is full of subjects such UFO-ology, Arthurian mysticism and psi-powers.

Transference by K. W. Eaton

Illustration by Eddie Jones

Dr. Martin Lewis, an English psychiatrist, has been selected by the Capellans, controllers of the Federation, for an unusual task. The Shurans, the oldest and wisest race in the galaxy, are afflicted with some kind of species-wide neurosis. In interviewing a Shuran geologist, Teremen, Dr. Lewis must work out what has happened to them.

Once again this is a darker and deeper tale than it first appears, however it is one that I don’t think that can be done justice in a vignette. Probably a novelette would be more suitable.

Three Stars

Fixed Image by Philip E. High

Illustration by James Cawthorn

When Jim Bowls is first brought into the mental institution after taking an unusual cocktail of drugs, he seems like a standard delusional patient, believing himself to be a dog. It turns out to be more complex, as he can:

1) Spread his delusion to other patients
2) Physically transform himself if he so wishes

For the sake of both science and mankind, M’Guire and Saranac must work out what is really happening here.

I feel like drugs and mental institutions have become to recent British Publications what spaceships and time machines were to 30s American magazines. This another reasonable tale in a familiar mode.

Three Stars

The Scales of Friendship by Kenneth Bulmer

Illustration by Eddie Jones

This story marks the return of Bulmer’s “Galactic Bum” Fletcher Cullen. Here he wakes up in damp and dark alley near Klank, a Rolphollan (a species that looks like a bone dustbin with a large single eye on the side). They have both had their drinks spiked and had all their money taken. They must try to avoid those people trying to kill them and uncover the conspiracy behind it.

This is a little better. The alien races created are more interesting, there are some great little touches hinting at the wider universe, and the story is action-packed. The problem remains though that it is all a little thin and I have no interest in reading about Cullen. By the end I was glad it was over.

Two Stars

The Ghost Sun by John Russell Fearn & Sydney J. Bounds

Illustration by Eddie Jones

In a distant galaxy, the Elders of the Tormah find an Earth ship approaching from the direction of the Ghost Sun. These insectoid beings go inside the TERRA to find all the humans dead and attempt to translate their last words to discover their fate.

The weakness of this story is actually stated in the Harbottle’s introduction, this was intended to be the first part of a round-robin serial, so it doesn’t really go anywhere. The aliens just discover the last moments of the Earth crew and then leave.

And (despite what Harbottle may believe) Fearn is not an interesting or important enough author for an uncompleted scrap to be worth our time reading it. JRF has produced worse work but this could have been written by any reasonably talented SF author for Astounding in the 40s.

Two Stars

The Impatient Dreamers: The Way of the Prophet by Walter Gillings

Illustration for John Russell Fearn story Death at the Observatory

In the final part of Gillings’ excellent series, he concludes by tying off some loose ends, talking about what HG Wells was up to (and how much he disliked John Russell Fearn being described as HG Wells II), another short-lived magazine Modern Wonder, and a meeting between members of The Worlds Says ltd. and the Science Fiction Association on a new magazine called New Worlds.

Next week the story will be taken up by another attendee of that meeting and the next big editor in British publishing, the young Mr. John Carnell.

This does feel a bit of a fragmentary conclusion to the series, but still very insightful and, overall, it has been easily the highlight of Visions. I only hope Carnell can keep up its high quality.

Four Stars

The Planet of Great Extremes by David A. Hardy

Illustration by David A. Hardy

David Hardy’s tour of the solar system continues with Mercury.

This is much the same as the last issue: dryly rattled off facts and figures more like another encyclopedia entry rather than a piece of genuine insight, but it probably achieves the objective of giving the uninitiated a feel for what it might be like to visit Mercury.

Three Stars

Quite the Horror Show

Outside of The Custodian there is little in the way of memorable content here. A couple of months ago I thought this was the best publication on the market, it has now slipped back into the doldrums.

I don't think this is to do with the level of violence or not in these tales. It is that Harbottle is in love with the SF of 20-30 years ago so much, it feels like he is not only repeating that era in much of what he selects but that he is also repeating himself.

I do imagine though that this would shock Mary Whitehouse and The National viewers and Listeners Association. Will they start running an SF readers branch soon too?

[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

Follow on BlueSky

No comments Leave A Comment

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[March 18, 1970] Future Cities and Past Visions (Vision of Tomorrow #7)

March 18, 2025 Kris Vyas-Myall 2 Comments

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

My area of the UK (considered either the Northern Home Counties or Southern Midlands depending on who you speak to) is not a particularly densely populated region. Even with commuter growth since the War, there are only two towns within 50 miles that contain over 100,000 people. This is all set to change with a new government plan.

Plan for new town (red dot is where I live)

The £700m plan for a new town has been approved. Called Milton Keynes (from a small village on part of the site) it is set to house 250,000 people before the end of the century and to be one of the biggest experiments in urban planning in British history.

Example housing estate plan

First off, the city is designed to appeal to both ends of the social spectrum. For the upwardly mobile it is designed with the car-driving homeowner in mind. As many as half of properties are to be for sale rather than rented and with a density of 10 people per acre, to ensure that the managerial class don’t feel squeezed in. Also, the road system is designed on a grid to ease congestion with places of employment spread throughout the city, to stop rush hour traffic.

Zoning masterplan. Yellow is residential, purple employment, red commercial, blue education, green is for parks

For those less well off, there will be wide walkways for the handicapped to travel on easily and the development of a “dial-a-bus” service, ensuring that a bus will pick you up only a short walk from your house in a short period of time.

I could spend an entire article and not get close to all the experimentation to take place in Milton Keynes. The city of the future is coming soon!

Back in the magazines though, things seem to be heading in the opposite direction, as Vision of Tomorrow takes a turn towards the past:

Vision of Tomorrow #7

Cover Illustration: Jupiter as seen from Callisto by David A. Hardy

Editorial: Something Old, Something New by Philip Harbottle

Harbottle is back in the editorial space but for good reason. He wants to explain that the previously unpublished John Russell Fearn story in this issue came about due to the Impatient Dreamers articles. In digging through his old files on Tales of Wonder, Gillings found that Fearn had never requested its return and JRF’s widow gave permission for its reprinting here.

Rejection Syndrome by Douglas R. Mason

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

Martin Almond goes in to hospital and accidentally gets fitted with the cybernetic leg of Agent Hazard, an assassin.

At times it seemed like it was going to be similar to We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, but it ended up being more pedestrian with some outdated statements about women.

Two Stars

Zwoppover by Jack Wodhams

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

Zwopp is a planet where travel to and from is banned. This is because the predominant species, the Zwoppova, have the ability to swap bodies, leaving trails of mischief in their wake. When one arrives on Earth, it is up to Jodell to track it down.

Oh, another Wodhams comedy! What joy! And one that goes on for 13 pages. Obviously, someone must like these as they appear with such regularity, but I am always glad when they are finally over.

One Star

Rebirth by Lee Harding

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

At some time in the remote past, mankind spread out from the lost first world. Now the controllers are working their way backwards repopulating the lost planets of man with synthetic beings. However, on this particular world, their creations are ignoring their programming.

It is surprising to see such an old-fashioned tale from Lee Harding. This feels like it should have come out thirty years ago and, even then, it would probably have been considered forgettable.

Two Stars

Moons of Jupiter by David A. Hardy

A new science fact section for the magazine. This one giving us a quick rundown of Jupiter’s satellites.

Fine for what it is, but at only a single page it doesn’t feel that different from what I would read in an encyclopedia or children’s comic book.

Three Stars

Into the Unknown by John Russell Fearn

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

As is noted in the introduction, this is a previously unreleased story from Harbottle’s favourite writer. Dr. Cassell Turman has developed his own form of Time Machine. Time cannot be travelled on as a dimension but rather the forces of “progress” can be sent backwards, reversing time for inanimate objects and plants but leaving animals unaffected. Unfortunately, he fails to set up the forcefields correctly. The whole human race is tumbled back in time with there being no way of turning off the machine (as it no longer exists once progress has started).

This is a pulp-era take on the Counter-Clock World idea, but unfortunately not a very interesting one. Long conversations and over-descriptions accompany people plodding around the Earth until its birth (and their death). The best that could be said is it may teach some people facts about geology, but nothing I didn’t already know.

One Star

The Impatient Dreamers: Something Old, Something New by Walter Gillings

Reproduction of the cover of the first issue of Fantasy showing Menace of the Metal Men. Illustrated by S. R. Drigin.

Gillings continues his journey through the early British SF magazines, comparing the contents of magazines Tales of Wonder and Fantasy before the Second World War’s paper rationing cut short their publications.

This section gets a bit too far into the weeds for my liking, but it is still good and may well appeal more to other fans. Of particular interest are the aims of the two magazines. Wonder believed the British public wasn’t ready for more imaginative science fiction, whilst Fantasy wanted to push the boundaries to be able to compete with American magazines.

Four Stars

Fantasy Review

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

Katheryn Buckley reviews William Temple’s The Fleshpots of Sanasto, which she felt worked well as traditional science fiction but has criticism of some sections, particularly his depiction of Autism. John Foyster reviews Jirel of Joiry by CL Moore, for which he has high praise, but is less impressed with Science Fiction Yearbook Number 3, criticizing it for containing a poor selection of tales compared with the prior volumes.

Limbo Rider by Sydney J. Bounds

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

In order to colonise the galaxy, the Space-Time Shunt is developed, allowing ships to drop out of normal space into “Limbo” and then reappear across the galaxy. Although most of the bugs have now been worked out of the system the ghosts of those lost still reach out when in Limbo. As such, only schizophrenics are allowed to fly the colonist ships as they can survive repeated trips without losing their minds. Larry Comber is one such person piloting the starship Ganges, but he finds himself struggling to resist the siren call of Limbo.

A not very original tale, I was particularly reminded of the Out of the Unknown episode Lambda 1, but it is neatly told for a vignette.

A low three stars

Vision’s Australian Personalities and Contributors

And we finish with a photo collage of some regular contributors to the magazine. Strong beard representation here.

Neither economical nor poetic

Whilst Milton Keynes may evoke the names of a famous Poet and Economist, the same cannot be said for the contents of this issue of Vision of Tomorrow. After seeming like it was finally getting a handle on producing great modern science fiction, I felt as though I was back reading issues of Famous.

Looking at next month’s contents I am nervous at the return of Ken Bulmer and another John Russell Fearn story. Hopefully my fears are unfounded and Harbottle can build a truly modern city in these pages, rather than being the kind of forgotten footnote a new Gillings will write about in forty years.

[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

Follow on BlueSky

2 Comments Leave A Comment

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[March 12, 1970] It’s A Dog’s Life (Orbit 6)

March 12, 2025 Kris Vyas-Myall Leave a comment

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

In 1889, Oscar Wilde wrote “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life”. This month, London has proved that.

In the 1949 film Passport to Pimlico, a small area of London declares independence and it ends with the British government forced to negotiate to get them back. Actual negotiations for reintegration of the Isle of Dogs concluded on Monday.

Post-War Reconstruction taking place in Isle of Dogs

The Isle of Dogs is not a true island, but rather a low-lying peninsula that marks a massive bend in the Thames. As such in the Victorian era it became a part of the London Docklands. However, as ship size increased more ships were moved further down the river. The railway lines were closed and the area was devastated in the blitz.

In the last decade a large project of council flat building took place in the region, with 97% of the population in government housing. However, amenities did not keep up with the rise in the population Schools, hospitals and shopping areas were not included in the plans, yet only one bus route services the entire region.

Joint Prime Ministers of the new republic, Ray Padgett and John Westfallen

In order to bring awareness to their situation, on the 1st March around 1,000 residents of the Isle of Dogs, led by Fred Johns (their representative on the borough council), blocked the swing bridges to the rest of London. They announced that a Unilteral Declaration of Independence would be forthcoming if their demands were not met and taxes would not be paid.

Area map of the short-lived republic (orange are those buildings owned by Port of London Authority)

On the 9th March the official declaration of independence came with the setting up of a citizen’s council and two Prime Ministers to run each side of the island. They issued a demand to return taxes that they said belonged to the islanders, and started on plans to setup their own street market and turn a disused building into a school. This drove headlines all over the world, with even Pravda from the USSR sending in a reporter.

After meeting with the Prime Minister, a plan was announced by Tower Hamlets Council for resolving the issues raised by the Islanders with a full consultation. The council, however, denied that this protest had anything to do with the timing of this announcement. Whatever the cause, the Republic of the Isle of Dogs has achieved its goals, so it seems that entry permits will no longer be required to travel in and out of the region.

Back in the world of SF publishing, we have our own odd little affair. That of Orbit 6, which contains some good, some bad and many just plain confusing tales:

Orbit 6

Cover illustration by Paul Lehr

The Second Inquisition by Joanna Russ

In 1925, Bess’ family play host to an unusual guest. A coloured woman who is unusually tall, does not appear to have the social propriety of the era and is more than happy to share secrets with Bess. Is she a time traveller? Or just a teller of tall-tales from the circus?

Like many of these ambiguous tales that touch on the new-wave, this can be read in multiple ways. As such it is not the easiest story to get through or understand but one well worth exploring.

Four Stars

Remembrance to Come by Gene Wolfe

I am often not a huge fan of Wolfe’s style, but even putting that aside I am confused by this whole story. It seems to have something to do with a commentary on academic life, riffing on Proust and some kind of hooded figure haunting campuses that may be the lead character as well.

If it has a point, it is lost on me.

One Star

How the Whip Came Back by Gene Wolfe

I guess Wolfes really do travel in packs as we get a second story from him straight afterwards.

Miss Bushnan is an observer at the United Nations Conference on Human Value along with her robot servant Sal. She suddenly finds herself wined and dined by various delegates, as they wish to reinforce their proposition by having delegates vote on the motion: that of allowing the international buying and selling of imprisoned humans as slaves. Bushnan finds herself in discussion with The Pope on what she should do.

Scene from I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

Anyone who has watched American cinema is probably familiar with how the Thirteenth Amendment in the United States has been used to allow for unpaid penal labour. Even though it seems to be in decline at the moment, there is no reason why it could not rise again. The idea that the widespread use of robots could allow people to get comfortable with slavery again is an interesting one.

Unfortunately, I feel that the idea is all this story has going for it. It is pages of long didactic conversations that are so boring I considered giving up halfway through. Add on to that Wolfe’s habit of putting in disparaging remarks about women for no apparent reason (such as that the Soviet delegate only got to her position by sleeping with the party secretary) and this was another swing and a miss from Wolfe.

A Low Two Stars

Goslin Day by Avram Davidson

I am afraid this is another story where I cannot explain the plot. It has something to do with terrible nature of today’s youth and the Kabbalah, with run-on-sentences so verbose and confusing it would make James Joyce blush. Per example:

In the agglutantive obscenities which interrupted the bang-crashes of the yuckels emptying eggshells orangerinds coffeegrounds there was (this morning, different from all other mornings) something unlike their mere brute pleasure in waking the dead.

One Star until someone can explain it to me.

Maybe Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck, Was a Little Bit Right by Robin S. Scott

After the end of the world, a Moon Ship of three people returns to the desolate Earth to rebuild humanity. They are led by a Lamarckian biologist called Calder who is determined to ensure the widest genetic diversity possible.

A disturbing tale of sex and violence, with discussion of murder, familial rape and pedophilia. It is all supposed to have something to do with the Lamarckism but seems to me to be a story trying to just be shocking for the sake of it. I don’t consider myself a prude, but I was truly disgusted by the experience of reading it.

One Star

The Chosen by Kate Wilhelm

What is an Orbit without a Wilhelm story?

Lorin and Jan are sent into the empty Earth of the future to see what minerals and food production could be used to help the resource poor present. However, Lorin doesn’t want to go back.

This is a tough one to review for two inter-connected reasons. Firstly, there is a massive shift in the final third that changes your perspective on the story. Secondly, there seems like there is meant to be some point to it all, but I am not sure what it is. The only thing I can devise from it is that maybe modern life is cruel, but even that doesn’t feel right.

Still Wilhelm style is good, and I enjoyed whilst reading it, even if I am still left scratching my head.

A Low Three stars

Entire and Perfect Chrysolite by R. A. Lafferty

There is only one World-Island, the Ecumene. All rumours of islands and other continents have been conclusively proven to be false. Sailing on the True Believer, six people, led by Shackleton and Boyle, conduct a séance, to see if they conjure up the legendary continent of Africa that exists below Libya.

17th Century map of the Greek conception of the world resembling the description of Ecumene

People that are familiar with my reviews know I am not Lafferty’s biggest fan (although given how often he appears in this series, I suspect Knight might be) so I may not be the best person to give my review on this. It is a reasonable yarn except I cannot see the point of it.

There are a bunch of curious touches: The leaders of the expedition are (presumably) named after famous Anglo-Irish people, and therefore from a country that cannot exist; the description of the world resembles some old maps; the suggestion they may just be a group of white people in our world on holiday in Africa that are high on dope. But it all seems to just come down to oddness for oddness’ sake.

Two Stars

Sunburst by Roderick Thorp

Johnny Loughlin is woken by his wife Cynthia to tell him that all television programmes have been replaced by the news. A wave of violence seems to be spreading around the world without an obvious cause.

This is a new author, at least to me, which is always nice to see. Unfortunately, this isn’t an auspicious start. It seems to just be another case of random violence for the sake of shock value. I am also miffed it equated an uprising against apartheid with someone committing arson for fun.

One Star

The Creation of Bennie Good by James Sallis

A surreal vignette involving a man offering a woman his foot.

Sallis has been one of the most reliable of Knight’s regular crew up until now. There is some delightful imagery, but it just feels like a subpar New Worlds reject to me.

Two Stars

The End by Ursula K. Le Guin

Lif was a bricklayer, but with the end of the world coming, no one wants anything built or repaired. What is he to do with all his old stock? How about building an underwater road?

Le Guin is one of the most exciting authors writing today, and this further cements her reputation. It still has the surreality of much of the rest of this anthology, but she mixes it with heart and melancholy to build something special.

A solidly constructed four stars

A Cold Dark Night with Snow by Kate Wilhelm

To answer my previous question “What is an Orbit without a Wilhelm story?”, it turns out to be an Orbit with two!

This is an experiment in fragmented narrative, telling the story of Maiya and her social ambitions, intersecting with former hippy Hank and his desire to concentrate on building something great.

The content is middling and only barely SFnal but the style is interesting enough to keep me engaged.

Three Stars

Fame by Jean Cox

Major Ralph Cargill travels out on the first solo interstellar voyage. By the time he returns to Earth over 100 years have passed. However, fame is a fickle thing, and his return may not be what he expected.

It has been 3 years since we saw Cox in an Science Fiction publication and here he delivers another solid story. Particularly good is the sense of isolation we get during Gilbert’s travels. The ending feels a little weak to me, but the journey is a good one.

A High Three Stars

Debut by Carol Emshwiller

A princess, kept blind by a mask, is led around by her sisters.

This is a another barely SFnal piece (there are mentions of fantastic elements, but they don’t seem to be key to the story) and I am not convinced by much of it. Some nice descriptions going on but that is all I can say it has going for it.

Two Stars

Where No Sun Shines by Gardner Dozois

Robinson drives across a US in the midst of a civil war. He sees scenes of horrible brutality as society breaks down.

Dozois was an If First four years ago but I haven’t seen him since. Much like Cox, this represents a solid return. The concepts in this story are hardly new but it is evocatively told.

A High Three Stars

The Asian Shore by Thomas M. Disch

John Benedict Harris is an American visiting Istanbul, to explore his thesis on the arbitrary nature of life. However, he keeps being mistaken for a Turkish man named Yavuz.

It is a curious tale that I am still not sure entirely how I feel about. At first it seems like it is going to be similar to Zoline’s The Holland of the Mind exploring the nature of a marital breakdown against a foreign city. But then it takes a darker turn towards transformation, as a person with prejudice finds himself becoming what he dislikes. I am still not sure how effective it really is. Perhaps one I need to chew on for longer.

A High Three Stars

It’s All Gone To The Dogs

In the 60s it seemed like anthologies were going to be the solution to the problem of magazines filled with mediocre short fiction. However, as their number has increased Sturgeon’s Law has come into play and we are already seeing many of these hardcovers filled with 90% crud.

Of all the original anthologies over the last 12 months, I would say only New Writings 15 and The New SF are better than the median issue of F&SF and so justify the higher price tag. However, as my old nan always says, Where There’s Muck, There’s Brass, and it's also true there are still those 10% of good stories to dig out.

A similar logic can also be applied to the Republic of the Isle of Dogs. Some may have considered the protest all a big joke, but if it made a difference to the residents does it matter. As former Prime Minister Ray Padget said:

I don’t care if people think I am silly. I’ll wear a red nose and a clown’s hat providing that the message about our complaints gets over.

If what you want is the higher average score per penny spent, then anthologies are generally not better than magazines. But if you are looking for that one story that makes you sit up and think, then maybe all the silliness around it is worthwhile?

[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

Follow on BlueSky

No comments Leave A Comment

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[February 16, 1970] Unassailable Fortresses? A Full-Five pair of issues: (Vision of Tomorrow #6)

February 16, 2025 Kris Vyas-Myall 1 Comment

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

We are only in the second month of the new decade, but one thing seems to be clear. Women are no longer willing to be silent.

In Leeds, hundreds of women textile workers have walked out on unofficial strike. They are opposing the pay deal struck between their union and employer, claiming it is unfair that women will be getting smaller pay increases than their male co-workers.

At the other end of the social scale, the hallowed halls of Oxford is set to host the “Women’s Weekend”. Tired of being ignored and shouted down by men at other meetings, this will be an all-women conference to discuss women’s history and their current position in the world.

In a more literal sense, a woman’s voice can now be heard on British Pop Radio. After hiring an all-male team from Pirate Radio and Radio Luxembourg to start Radio 1, the BBC have finally branched out and employed their first woman DJ. Annie Nightingale is only thirty but has already had an impressive career, including working as a journalist, presenting numerous music television programmes, having a modelling career and running her own fashion boutique.

Whether this will lead to changes in British science fiction publishing remains to be seen. The Current Issue of Vision of Tomorrow’s only female representation is in its review columnists. Maybe we need to organize our own flying pickets?

However, maybe some of this atmosphere is affecting our writers, as all these stories are, in one way or another, about people trying to break out of their social circumstances. So, let’s walk through the stench of cigar smoke in this gentleman’s club and check out the contents:

Vision of Tomorrow #6

Cover Art by David A. Hardy

Whither SF? by Rev. John Clay

I would like to thank Philip Harbottle for realizing that he has run out of things to say and inviting in guest writers to open the magazine. Take note American publishers!

I was quite taken with this first installment, with the Reverend John Clay discussing the theological underpinnings of recent SF, q.v. Sheckley & Leiber, and going on to talk about how imagination is undervalued in our modern society.

Full-Five by E.C. Tubb

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

In the 21st Century there exists an incredibly powerful illicit drug called full-five. This has the power to give a sense of perfection to all five senses, for a short period of time. It is not chemically addictive, but it makes the real world seem like a nightmare in comparison.

When a chemist secretly making the drug is murdered, we follow how this impacts four different groups of people: his criminal associates; a rich customer and his dealer; a prize fighter; and the police investigating the case.

Given how well received his other works in Vision have been (including by yours truly) it is perhaps unsurprising Tubb would be allowed to take up a large portion of this month’s magazine. And he puts it to great use. Even with 16 pages at his disposal, it is not easy to create a fully visualized world, populated with solid characters. A lot of writers cannot even manage it in a novel.

I was worried at times it was going to be a case of an old man yelling at the young kids, but it is actually quite measured. It does get a touch didactic at points but this is necessary to give the different perspectives on full-five’s effect on society.

Even though I imagine others will question if I am taking something myself. I am giving this story a Full-Five Stars.

The Impatient Dreamers: Blast-Off

Reproduction of Issue 1 of Tales of Wonder. Cover by Nick

As the title suggests we now get into the real meat of things. With the British market finally starting to get its own specialist magazine titles in the mid-30s, there were some willing to take a chance on SF. This piece primarily focuses on the publication of Gillings’ Tales of Wonder and publisher Newnes’ plans for Fantasy.

Once again full of great detail, even more enhanced by the fact that he is now directly involved behind the scenes of both magazines. Possibly the most interesting part for me was the original guidelines Newnes put out for soliciting stories for Fantasy:

– No implausible flights of fancy, no weird fiction, no spiritual or ghost stories, no gore or sex, no animals with human attributes, no interplanetary travel, no medical or biological themes, and no time travel

– Stories particularly welcome are those envisaging new developments of existing technology, such as flight and television, or on future developments in warfare.

As you can probably imagine, Gillings was unimpressed by these limitations.

Continuing to cruise high at Five Stars

Fifth Commandment by John Brunner

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

The prolific John Brunner seems to have generally moved away from short fiction to the more lucrative book market, this being only his second new short story in the last 12 months.

Grumman lives in Retirement, a self-contained community providing all the needs of the elderly. But why does that make him feel so dissatisfied? And why does no one in Retirement have any children?

Not the most original story but fulfills its purpose well.

Three Stars

The Phoenix People by Richard A. Gordon

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

An expedition comes to visit an ancient planet called by its inhabitants “Earth”. The sentient population represent the longest recorded continual chain of evolution in the known universe, yet they seem to lack technological progress and are unresponsive to any queries. Just as the expedition is close to giving up, they discover an ancient buried spaceship, more advanced than any they have seen anywhere. What is it doing here?

I found this a fairly obvious tale, padded out with a level of verbosity that puts even me to shame. It is not bad as such, just rather dull and pointless.

Two Stars

The Visitors by Frank Bryning

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

Alien visitors are watching a galley sail across an inland sea. When one of the passengers goes overboard, they pick him up to investigate the species further.

This comes with a special “Vision Vignette” logo. Unfortunately, the contents are lacking in any superlative qualities. It is the kind of tale that would have been considered old hat a decade ago. However, it is short and reasonably written, which saves it from the bottom rung of the ranking ladder.

Two Stars

The Star-Mutants by Damien Broderick

Illustrated by Eddie Jones, who I believe has excelled himself in this issue

The generation starship Man’s Dream set off from Earth a century ago. Fifteen years into the voyage, an outbreak of psychosis infected those born on Earth, whilst the children born on the ship were unaffected. With the help of the computer system, the space-born quarantine the Earth-born and try to provide them with help. However, space radiation mutates their children and a conflict between the two emerges.

Now, a hundred years later, the Space-Born are being slowly pushed back to a smaller section of the ship. The Space-Mutants live in a jungle (an outgrowth of untended hydroponics plants) where they raid into the Space-Born territory. Captain Van of the Space-Born realizes the time has come to make a decision that is contrary to their programming. Either forgo their mission and integrate into Space-Mutant society, or wipe out the mutants completely.

At first glance this may seem to be just another variation on Aldiss’ Non-Stop, but it possesses some elements that raise it up. Firstly, this is quite a dark, mature story where our narrator is faced with an unwinnable scenario, whatever he does something will be lost. Secondly, it is very fast paced and action-packed, making it a very easy read in spite of the heavy subject matter.

Whilst there may be more mention of breasts than is strictly necessary in the story, women are present throughout and have varied pivotal roles. Lady Violence in particular lives up to her name and I would willingly read a novel of her future adventures.

Four Stars

Fantasy Review

Katheryn Buckley reviews Barefoot in the Head by Brian W. Aldiss and has more praise for it than we had for the original short stories in New Worlds. Don Malcolm spends some time covering the innumerable flaws in Chariot of the Gods? by Erich von Daniken but still advises readers to try it and make up their own minds.

Finally, Robert Conquest writes another attempt to take down the new wave in his “review” of The New SF. The quote marks are mine as he barely mentions the stories inside, instead choosing to decry experimentation, get angry that the initials “SF” can mean something other than science fiction, and making rambling references to the 1920s.

The belated poll results for issue #2. Apart from the high positioning of Moonchip I don’t particularly disagree with these rankings.

A Great Escape

Marianne Faithful in Girl on a Motorcycle. Not quite as good a role as Steve McQueen got.

So, overall a pretty good selection of tales in this issue of Vision of Tomorrow, and a worthy diversion from your troubles for an hour or so. No stories are truly bad and a couple are very good indeed.

Just like the characters above, let us hope that society progresses enough that women can break out of their social confines and allow their voices to be heard just as loudly as men. Imagine if one day we could pick up a magazine to be surprised to find there are no women featured in an issue, rather than when one turns up.

[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

Follow on BlueSky

1 Comment Leave A Comment

Movies, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Uncategorized

[February 6, 1970] All We Are Saying Is Give The Peace Game A Chance (The Peace Game, AKA The Gladiators)

February 6, 2025 Kris Vyas-Myall Leave a comment

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

When reading my morning paper, it can feel like the whole world is determined to blow itself up.

Vietnamese peace talks are going nowhere, with American “help” possibly reaching its nadir when a US helicopter killed friendly South Vietnamese forces by mistake. Israel is once again fighting its Arab neighbours with both Communists and Capitalist countries pouring in military aid to their favoured sides. There is not even goodwill within their respective camps, with the Soviets and Communist China continuing to sabre rattle over the border. And this doesn’t even count the civil wars going on in places like Rhodesia.

Closer to home, British troops in Northern Ireland’s attempts to keep the peace so far seem to be counter-productive. Whilst we are also learning more of the atrocities committed by British troops during the so-called “Malayan Emergency” from the official enquiry.

With all this violence going on, it makes you wonder if there could be another way. Well Peter Watkins has come up with one, albeit not necessarily the most pleasant option:

Peace in Our Time

Even if it only got a limited film-run instead of the planned television broadcast, Peter Watkins’ The War Game still had a massive impact on British popular culture. As well as getting a Galactic Star, it won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award. At the same time, it gave a big shot in the arm to the peace movement.

One interesting crystallization of that can be seen in an interview with John Lennon on his Bed In for Peace:

a letter we got from a guy called Peter Watkins who made a film called The War Game. It was a very long letter stating just what's happening – how the media is really controlled, how it's all run, and everything else that people really know deep down. He said 'People in your position have a responsibility to use the media for world peace'.

It seems he was already thinking about putting these ideas on film, because this is really going to form the basis of his pseudo-sequel to The War Game, The Peace Game (called The Gladiators in some other countries).

Year of the Peace Olympics

Not long-ago, the United Nations and Communist Countries agreed to the creation of The International Peace Games, based on the gladiatorial combat of Ancient Rome. In doing so they would divert the natural aggressive nature of humanity and ensure the survival of the human race.

Ten participants are chosen for each side, all young people in their twenties. The actual game we see has a simple format. The Western team has two hours to capture the control room, which leads to their instant victory. The red team have to stop them, getting rid of all opponents, by any means they so choose, which leads to their instant victory. If neither is completed in the two hours, points are awarded based on “strength” (e.g. taking prisoners) and deducted for “weakness” (e.g. hesitation). They are even given paths of different difficulty they can choose to take, as if they are on a ski slope.

Today’s Peace Game, #256 in the current series, is played in a castle near Stockholm. It seems to be being held between USSR, Communist China, East Germany and North Vietnam on the one side, and UK, France, West Germany & USA on the other. (There are Nigerian and Indian generals present but they appear to be there purely as observers).

This is not just a private affair between the participants involved. It has in fact become the most popular programme on television in NATO countries. This is broadcast for 2 hours on a Saturday in a regular slot, so they need to work on a schedule to keep the sponsors happy. Remember this point, as it is going to be important for understanding what happens later.

Let the games begin

It opens in Peter Watkins’ documentarian style, with musicless shots of little details of the various scenes. Generals walk to the ceremony silently, whilst the soldiers are interviewed about the game. We hear different people talking about the different reasons they come here. Volunteers and draftees. True believers and those without purpose.

Right from the start, we are encouraged to see the gap between the generals and controllers, and the ordinary people forced to participate in the system. The twenty-something soldiers are all sitting in the cold, whilst old generals are in a mansion in good spirits sipping tea and joking with their opposite numbers. As the Western team hides in a hole from an artillery barrage, one general says to another, "We will be able to enjoy ourselves like chess players, no matter the outcome".

In fact, it goes even further. If things get boring the generals can start to fire artillery on their own teams to get them moving. And whilst the teams have phones to call up support, these are only dummy phones and do not connect at all.

There is also a third player in all of this. The Machine. This is a giant computer, which analyzes and awards points throughout the game. Yet there seems a kind of masochistic nature to it. When ordered to put in more violence it thanks the generals for it. In addition, it constantly broadcasts a signal beyond human hearing, to increase the pressure on the participants.

We predominantly follow the Western team as they attempt to proceed to the command center. Going through the various traps we see them constantly forced into doing whatever the system wants. Even when a Black American soldier gets sick of the condescension of his teammates and declares he is leaving, the general is able to convince him to “use his hate” and keep going (shortly after which he is killed).

What the system cannot account for, though, is basic human decency. When a Communist Chinese soldier is captured, one of the British soldiers takes pity on her and they talk. This action is seen as “collaboration”; this does not mean fighting to destroy the system, but basic empathy. The game is declared a tie so both teams can “eliminate these two subversive young perverts” together. Attempting to avoid their fate, the two young people decide to escape, in spite of the fact that both sides, The Machine and the Swedish police are after them. Needless to say, it does not end well. Our final scene is the generals posing for a picture to celebrate a successful game, as the two aforementioned soldiers are seen being bloodily beaten in a series of black and white photographs.

Journey to the Near Side of the Sun

There are many delicious elements that can be analysed from this film but I will just touch on a couple.

One complaint I can imagine emerging from some in the SF community is that it doesn’t try to update the technology and fashion for the future, But I believe this actually makes it more powerful. This is meant to be a microcosm of our world. Shots of the teams regularly look like images I have seen from Vietnam, only inside of a building instead of a jungle.

At the same time, we are given statistics related to our current world. For example, during the World Wars, it costs $60,000 to kill one man. With the use of nuclear weapons, it costs $50 to kill one man. During the 1960s the world spent on their arms system £23 million pounds each second.

As such, we are called on to ask two questions:

1. How far away is our reality from this?
2. Is this better or worse than our current system?

The second point particularly is an interesting one. It feels horrific watching this play out but that is because it is controlled and sanitized. Is it better to send hundreds of young people across the world to decide someone else’s system of government? Or to have a few people die for televisual entertainment?

The Not-So Great Society

Another interesting element is that we see how everyone is coopted into this system, even those who are ostensibly against this. In neutral Sweden, those who cannot be convinced of the value of the system are used in their own way. They are kept in a kind of hippy camp to tempt the attacking team away from their purpose and lose points.

We also have a French Student who has come to provide his thoughts but does not fight. As the unnamed documentarian says “Do you not think the system is using you?”. Even though he actually makes it further than anyone else, as he learns more he elects to join the machine’s controllers.

During these sections, it should be noted, it all takes place in Swedish and French. From context and my mid-level French I believe I have understood what is happening but there is probably some more detail I have missed.

After the Guns Have Stopped

This is the best piece of SF cinema I have seen since, well, The War Game. I don’t know if this is where we are headed but it does what truly great science fiction is meant to do: Present a picture of the now through a speculation of what could be whilst still making it feel disturbingly believable.

So, watch out Doctor Who! The Peace Game Olympics may soon supplant you as the nation’s favourite Saturday evening family television show.

Five stars.

No comments Leave A Comment

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[January 16, 1970] Strange Reports (Vision of Tomorrow #5 and New Writings SF-16)

January 16, 2025 Kris Vyas-Myall 2 Comments

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

The news to start this decade seems to be unrelentingly gloomy. The crisis in Biafra is only worsening, Mainland China and the USSR are at each other’s throats, and, at home, the government appears paralyzed on how to deal with inflation or the Unions.

But I want to take a break from grim reality and talk briefly about one of my favourite new TV programmes of recent months, Strange Report.

It stars the unlikely team of Anthony Quayle (regular star of war films) as retired police detective Adam Strange; Kaz Garas (relative newcomer) as student and jack-of-all-trades Hamlyn Gynt; and Anneke Wills (Polly from Doctor Who) as model and artist Evelyn McClean.

Together the trio solve unusual crimes together. These have included such cases as a kidnapped Chinese diplomat, murders by witchcraft and the killing of a student demonstrator behind the Iron Curtain.

There are several reasons this appeals to me, and would to other SF fans I imagine. Firstly, even though it never becomes SFnal, the cases work from a viewpoint that feels very scientific. That no matter how odd things may seem, they will always have a rational explanation.

Secondly, the cases are willing to address complicated issues, without attempting to preach. Even in dealing with some clearly despicable characters, there is an attempt made to understand their point of view and give both sides of the argument. To me it feels like the writers have their own ideas but don’t want to patronise the viewer, we are encouraged to make up our own minds.

Finally, is the dynamic between our triumvirate of heroes. Much like in Star Trek, you get the sense that, in spite of their different viewpoints they all clearly care for and respect each other. It would have been easy to have Strange constantly belittling Evelyn and her trying to show that women could do things for themselves. But, instead, there is a respect and a willingness to listen. Perhaps that is what the terrible world outside our windows really needs?

Back in the pages of SF publications, we have our own strange reports. One coming in from Vision of Tomorrow and the other from New Writings:

Vision of Tomorrow #5

Cover by Gerard Alfo Quinn

The only point of interest in the introduction is it labelling itself as Britain’s only original SF magazine. I guess it is a point of debate if New Worlds still counts as science fiction or not.

Dinner of Herbs by Douglas R. Mason

Illustration by Jeeves

Fenella, a thought chandler at a dianetics lab, has gone to a villa to have a tryst with engineer Gordon Reid. Also staying with them is their domestic servant, a former psychologist android. But is three a crowd?

A darker and more complex tale than it first appeared. However, I think it would benefit from toning down the descriptive prose and upping the character work.

Three Stars

Technical Wizard by Philip E. High

Illustration by Alan Vince

Two empires in space have come into contact, the more technically advanced human empire and another larger one, populated by fox-like creatures. A single human is sent into the fox people’s empire on a broken-down old ship to warn them. A parapsychic plague has spread through the human empire almost destroying society. Gelthru and Feen have to determine if the human is telling the truth, or if it is all a magic trick to keep them from invading.

An interesting concept and I enjoyed how it made the human the other and the fox-people the protagonists. However, I feel like it needed some more editing to rise above the pack.

Three Stars

Flanagan's Law by Dan Morgan

Illustration by Jeeves

Capt. Terence Hartigan of the freighter Ladybug is finally given clearance to leave Calpryn, a planet where the main occupation, and entertainment, is lawsuits. However, five hours before blast-off O’Mara goes missing. Hartigan sets off to find him before they find themselves in more legal hot water, but the captain quickly becomes entangled in the planet’s labyrinthine bureaucracy.

I have previously failed to find Morgan’s satires either poignant or funny. This continues that trend but with the addition of some questionable Irish stereotyping.

One Star

Fantasy Review

Uncredited illustration

Kathryn Buckley reviews New Writings in SF-15, which she liked but not as much as I did, and John Foyster gives praise to The Black Flame by Stanley G. Weinbaum, Outlaws of the Moon by Edmond Hamilton, Kavin’s World by David Mason and Needle by Hal Clement.

One of the Family by Sydney J. Bounds

Illustration by Alan Vince

Having completed the terraforming of Phoebe-Four, Richard Daniels takes his wife Jane and son Kenny to the neighboring Phoebe-Five for a holiday. Whilst it is meant to be uninhabited they find an intelligent alien, who they call Alan. He quickly becomes like one of the family, but Dick finds his presence both annoying and a cause for concern.

A bit of an old-fashioned tale, but well-told and with a reasonable twist. Wouldn’t have looked out of place as an episode of The Outer Limits.

Three Stars

On Greatgrandfather's Knee by Jack Wodhams

Illustration by Dick Howett

Six-G GFM Frank (that is Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather on your mother’s side) tells Furn tales of early space travel. But with longevity meaning all the kids having over a hundred great relatives, these tales of adventure are a dull chore.

Whilst Wodhams captures well the boredom of kids having to visit older relatives, I am not sure what the point of it all is.

Two Stars

The Impatient Dreamers: Hands Across the Sea by Walter Gillings

Insignia of Gernsbeck’s Science Fiction League, designed by Frank R. Paul

This month Gillings discusses Gernsbeck’s Science Fiction League’s branches in England, the early days of New Worlds, fanzine Scientifiction and Gillings' talks with publishers to get a new British SF magazine off the ground.

I continue to adore this series.

Five Stars

Incubation by Damien Broderick

Illustration by Eddie Jones

Clive Soame notices a strange ad in the personals and concocts a scheme to sleep with a rich woman and take her money. However, the assignation Rogel and Silver were communicating about was much more complicated than he first thought.

Whilst not revolutionary, an interesting enough take on the lecherous man and alien conspiracy genre. Surprisingly, more than the science-fictional elements, I found myself enjoying the descriptions of Sydney. Very well painted.

Three Stars

Life of the Party by William F. Temple

Illustration by Eddie Jones

In San Remo, business magnate Mannheim and reporter Don both notice a jet disappear in mid-air. Following its route, they find themselves on a strange coastline, with a giant white cube standing alone by a desert. Entering the cube, they discover a translucent liquid wall leading to a kind of theatre-cum-hotel. The missing jet passengers are there but aged and confused. Don and Manny assume it will be simple to escape, but some force is determined to keep the visitors from leaving.

Taking up over a quarter of the magazine, this is easily the longest piece here, but it makes good use of its length, creating an eerie sense of the uncanny. However, the story is a pretty old one (at times I was recalling The Odyssey) and I was disappointed with the way the women characters were written.

Evens out at Three Stars

After Ragnarok by Robert Bowden

Illustrated by Gerard Alfo Quinn

The final piece is from an author who I believe is new (at the very least I have not seen him covered by my GJ comrades). After Ragnarok, the world lays shattered. Ottar and Ragnar sail the seas in their ship powered by the ancient technology of the diesel engine. There is a rumour that long ago, some of the gods escaped across the Bifrost, also called Orbit. But could it be possible they are returning? And what will that mean for the world?

Yes, it is another piece of post-apocalyptic-medieval-futurism (try saying that after a few drinks!) However, it has a good style and I have a soft spot for this type of story. The level of cynicism involved also makes it appeal to me.

Four Stars

Tomorrow’s Disasters by Christopher Priest

Instead of our usual preview of next issue’s contents, Priest gives us a short review of Three For Tomorrow. Needless to say, he adores it.

So that is it for the relative newcomer to the scene, but what about the old hand?

New Writings in SF-16, ed. by John Carnell

Even if we accept the contention that Vision of Tomorrow is the only British SF magazine, New Writings still helps keep up the national side with its regular doses of Carnellian science fiction. According to John Carnell, all the stories in this issue deal with problems that are galactic in scope. Let us see if that makes them Galactic Star worthy.

Getaway from Getawehi by Colin Kapp

Things don't get off to a great start with the return of Colin Kapp's Unorthodox Engineers. Here they are hired to help rescue a construction crew from Getawehi, a planet with an impossible orbit, where gravity is not perpendicular to the surface and 1+1=1.5079.

At almost fifty pages, reading through this was a major slog. These tales must have their fans, but I was personally glad when they disappeared from New Writings a few years back. According to our more learned editor, the concept is very, very, broadly viable, which raises it just above rock bottom for me.

A very low Two Stars

All Done by Mirrors by Douglas R. Mason

George Exton has developed a method of producing mirror images of himself, able to independently work on multiple tasks with the same degree of knowledge and skill as the original. But what is the cost to someone of doing this?

A well-worn trail is being beaten here, and not particularly effectively either.

Two Stars

Throwback by Sydney J. Bounds

Since the Great Change all humans have had the ability to connect via ESP. All that is, except for one person who is completely opaque to all psychic phenomena. Out of pity he is made the keeper of the Museum of Language, with access to all the books and knowledge of the world. Even though he gives weekly lectures, few care about anything other than the present. But when strange lights appear in the sky, only he can save the planet from total panic.

A tightly-told little tale. A bit obvious but enjoyable nonetheless.

Three Stars

The Perihelion Man by Christopher Priest

Capt. Farrell is grounded after an accident near Venus dulls his senses. Whilst pondering what to do with his life now, he is offered a unique opportunity to go back into space. 250 old nuclear satellites have been stolen and are now orbiting the sun, and Farrell may be the only person who can get them back.

This is Priest’s most impressive work to date. He has managed to skillfully produce an exciting adventure story that also has some interesting political elements. That is not to say it is as deep as a New Worlds piece, but it is a fun ride.

Four Stars

R26/5/PSY and I by Michael G. Coney

Hugo Johnson is an agoraphobe who has not left his apartment in two months and is believed to be at risk of killing himself. As such his psychoanalyst provides him with a roommate, robot R/26/5/PSY, or Bob for short. However, Bob is not designed to make Johnson’s life easier, not at all….

An interesting little psychological short. It felt like a combination of I, Robot, a Zola story, and The Odd Couple.

Four Stars

Meatball by James White

And we finish off with the return of White's Sector General and, as the name suggests, their continued explorations of the planet Drambo, nicknamed "Meatball". With the Drambons brought to the hospital station, they must now learn to interact with the numerous other species on board. At the same time Conway has to work out how to deal with the nuclear destruction taking place on the planet below.

It is possible that my memory is cheating me, but I don’t recall other Sector General tales focusing on a single case so much before. Maybe it is planned to be a novel fix-up? This piece definitely has the feel of a staging section, it spends a lot of time recapping earlier events and ends abruptly. Still rather interesting but does not stand alone or feel complete by the end.

Three Stars

Strange Brew, Read What’s Inside Of You

Evelyn and Strange ponder what we have just read

Whether on the page or the screen, it seems that if you put a group of talented people together and ask them to deal with imaginative scenarios, they can often strike gold…or at least silver. Even if there is little here that is likely to win a Galactic Star, there is plenty worth checking out.

Here's to many more years of Vision, New Writings, and Strange Report. The seventies may not be looking much like a decade of peace and harmony, but it can at least be one of good solid entertainment.

[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

Follow on BlueSky

2 Comments Leave A Comment

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[December 12, 1969] A More Liberal Society? (Vision of Tomorrow #4)

December 12, 2024 Kris Vyas-Myall Leave a comment

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

Just some of the many brands of sex you can enjoy at your local ~~tobacconist~~ theatre

It seems the final death knell for Capital Punishment in the UK will be sounded soon. There is a vote soon in the House of Lords, widely expected to pass, to make the trial period for the abolition of the death penalty permanent. Over the last few years we have seen a raft of reforms, removing Victorian laws and decriminalizing a number of controversial practices. At the same time, censorship is being removed so you can see nudity on the West End or watch young women discussing sex in the cinema. This would seem to be placing Britain into a more permissive society.

“Sandwiches, blimey! Whatever did I give the wife?” – Monty Python’s Flying Circus

But that does not seem to be true in all areas. The crackdown on the use of illicit drugs continues apace, with heavy-handed tactics of the police being widely reported. Meanwhile, the Northern Irish MP Bernadette Devlin is currently appealing against a six-month sentence of “inciting persons unknown to commit the offence of riotous behavior” for encouraging resistance to police during the so-called Battle of the Bogside.

As such, it appears this liberalism has its limits. Actors can get their kit off in front of the public but not smoke cannabis in their own homes. Women can get access to the contraceptive pill and abortions (assuming their GP agrees) but they still cannot get a mortgage without a male guarantor. People from more different backgrounds are becoming MPs but political activity outside of official parameters is still viewed with suspicion.

This sense I have of British society also reflects what I am seeing in Visions of Tomorrow. It seems to be throwing off some of its earlier conservatism but has not become a second New Worlds either. Instead, the contents of this issue would not be out of place in Dangerous Visions.

Vision of Tomorrow #4

Cover illustration by Eddie Jones

Now back on its regular monthly schedule, the editor gives us an incredibly dull introduction, discussing whether SF has become a mainstream genre. No more insight is given than the hundred other editorials on the subject for the past 30 years.

The Ill Wind by Jack Wodhams

Illustrated by Dick Howett

Gongi Wackerman stinks and has been going through many experiments to see if he can be rid of his noxious odour. However, one such test concludes his scent has a psychedelic effect on people and they want to employ him to help mental patients.

Wodhams is not an author I have particularly enjoyed in the past and this continues that trend. It is so silly and dull, it makes his Undercover Weapon, seem like a work of high literature.

One star, only because I can’t go any lower.

Trojan Horse by E. C. Tubb

G. Alfo Quinn gives us an illustration that seems more at home in New Worlds

In the future, laws and self-censorship have been abolished. People are free to act on their own choices. Even murder is allowed, but classes are taught to ensure that people are smart with their actions as a means of self-defence.

Marlo French is contacted by Ed Whalen, High Boss of Chicago Chemicals. Whalen’s daughter Naomi has stolen their new compound and is hiding out in the impenetrable Staysafe Apartments. As a discreet freelancer, French is tasked with getting back the pills by any means necessary.

Marlo discovers that Naomi has a penchant for Mannikins, robotic male blow-up dolls, and so proposes to impersonate one in order to get inside her flat. But this case may not be as simple as he believes.

This is a much darker and more complicated tale than I expected from these pages or Ol’ Edwin. He posits a world without laws or morality but makes it feel real and vivid, not a cardboard cutout for a simple point. The case itself has a great atmosphere and consists of the kind of twists and double-crosses you would expect from hard-boiled detective fiction. I hope we get more exploration of this future, as it is more fascinating to me than Raynolds’ People’s Capitalism or Anderson’s space navy tales.

I am not sure if he is getting better, or if I am getting more tolerant as I age through my thirties, but I found this to be his second exemplary tale in as many months.

A High Four Stars

Ward 13: A Tale of the first Martian by Sydney J. Bounds

Illustrated by Dick Howett

In City Seven Hospital, Dr. Kirby is part of a team that collects on scene organ donations before they are stolen by illegal freeze-wagons. One night, on his way home, he finds one of his nurses under attack by a gang. In attempting to rescue her, he is kidnapped and put to a surprising purpose.

I don’t think it was just me grooving to a Zappa record that meant I had trouble concentrating, I found it over-described and dull. Also these kind of panicky stories about organ transplants and population explosions have become so common they already feel more cliched than ray guns and flying saucers.

A moderately interesting twist in the tail keeps it just off the bottom rating.

A Low Two Stars

Breeding Ground by Christopher Priest

Illustrated by Dick Howett

Luke Caston, a space salvager, comes across the wreck of the Merchant Princess, a lost ship fabled to carry tons of gems. However, the ship is infested with Space-Mites, three-inch hairy coils that reproduce at an extraordinary rate when they find a source of electrical energy. They also happen to be Caston’s biggest fear.

A reasonable story, reasonably told. Not revolutionary but atmospheric and enjoyable.

Three Stars

Trieste: SF Film Festival by John Carnell

Whilst much of the rest of the SF community were eagerly watching the Apollo 11 mission in July, the New Writings editor John Carnell was attending an SF film festival in Trieste, Italy. The award winners were as follows:

Best Film: The Last Man (France)
Best Actress: Taja Markus – The Time of Roses (Finland)*
Best Actor: Tobias Engel – You Imagine Robinson (France)
Animated Short Film: Cosmic Zoom (Canada)

Others he calls out of note include The Illustrated Man, Mr. Freedom and Windows of Time, whilst pouring scorn on the British entry The Body Stealers and giving a mixed review of an Italian adaptation of The Tunnel Under The World.

An interesting look at films that might otherwise pass us by. I will certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for showings at the BFI.

Four Stars

*Luna fanzine gives the winner as a different actress from the same film, Ritva Vespa. I have not been able to ascertain which report is accurate.

The Impatient Dreamers 4: Science Fiction Weakly by Walter Gillings

Reproduction of a cover from Britain’s short-lived attempt to get into the SF game. Artist unknown.

The recitations of Gillings’ memories of SF yesteryear reaches 1934. He tells us of the short-lived weekly magazine Scoops, his own early attempts to get an SF magazine off the ground, and serialisations of Burroughs and Conan-Doyle.

By this point you know what to expect from Gillings, and this untold history continues to impress me.

Five Stars

Time-Slip by Eric Harris

Illustrated by Dick Howett

Constable Paul goes with an Arunta tracker called Nungajiri to try to find a family lost in the outback. Whilst four of the party are found, the baby remains unaccounted for. Even though the rest of the police think he is crazy, Paul and Nungajiri are determined to see if they can bring the child home.

This is a strange kind of tale. It starts of as a standard mystery story and evolves into one involving geometry, nodal-points in the timestream and the concept of Dreamtime. It felt to me like a cross between Picnic at Hanging Rock and an early HP Lovecraft story. One that I am not sure I understood but I am pretty sure I am not supposed to either.

I am afraid I am not particularly familiar with depictions of aboriginal Australians (having never visited the country myself and I have no familiarity with the Arunta religion) and as such I do not feel particularly qualified to comment on it. I will say this felt somewhat cliched to me but not meanspirited, although that is only a personal sense.

A tentative Four Stars, at least until someone with more knowledge than me can fill in the gaps.

Psycho-Land by Philip E. High

Illustrated by Dick Howett

Peter Carton, a sufferer of dementia praecox, has taken control of a machine that makes people in range subject to paranoia and irrational anger. With thirty thousand lives in jeopardy, the government is forced to call on William Charles Hopwood, a noble prize-winning physicist and ardent pacifist, as possibly the only person qualified to both resist the impulses and turn off the machine.

Devices affecting brain waves have become a common feature of SF recently, but this manages to elevate itself above the pack in a few different ways. Firstly, the atmosphere. As it indeed says in the text, High makes a small city seem like an alien world. Secondly, pacificists rarely have an active role in SF stories, so it was fascinating to see how this concept could be used. Finally, the twist in the tail is a good one, I will be thinking about it for some time.

A High Four Stars

Takeover by Harold G. Nye

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

Charlie Adams is a grumpy hypochondriac who finds himself in the midst of a plan by television sets to destroy humanity.

I am reliably informed this is a pseudonym of Lee Harding, an unprolific but solid writer. As a piece of satire on modern society and religion it is more subjective than most pieces. The silliness didn’t land for me but may appeal more to others.

Two Stars

Prime Order by Peter Cave

Illustrated by Dick Howett

On a routine mining expedition, one of the team caught space fever and then proceeded to murder the crew and destroy the ship. In order to avoid another such incident, Martin Stone at Amalgamated Electronics is asked to design one of the most intelligent and powerful robots ever. It also has one significant difference to all prior models. Asimov’s first law of robotics:

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Is replaced with:

The Robot must be able to protect the majority of the party at all or any cost.

The result is Robot R.E.D. 197, who appears to work perfectly in testing. However, when he and a mining crew crash land on an uncharted planet, his logic circuits are pushed to their limit.

At first glance this seems a more traditional tale that would fit snugly into Analog’s pages. However, it is lifted up by the cynicism of the people involved and the darkness of the ending.

A high three stars

Fantasy Review

Illustration by Jeeves

Ken Slater reviews John Brunner’s Quicksand, which he highly recommends, Peter Weston raves about Larry Niven’s collection Neutron Star and Kathryn Buckley praises Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight (with the caveat of allowances for being a newcomer to novels). Meanwhile, John Foyster has mixed feelings about the contents of Carr & Wollheim’s latest World’s Best SF, Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and the multi-authored Conan of Cimmeria, but is full of praise for Harry Warner, Jr.’s All Our Yesterdays.

A New Era?

Preview illustration by Eddie Jones for next month’s short novel, Life of the Party

So, this marks a slight change of direction for Vision of Tomorrow. Gone are the Kenneth Bulmer swashbucklers—in their place are atmospheric tales of ambiguous morality. The kind of pieces Harlan Ellison would probably be happy with.

Whether this trend continues or reverses into the 70s will probably be a reflection of where British society heads. On the one hand, all the recent court cases and laws on censorship have been on the side of more liberality. On the other, there are prominent voices that decry the current obsession with “pills and pot” in the media.

Last night, BBC2 went with more traditional fare: This Happy Breed to celebrate Noel Coward's 70th Birthday

Anyway, there will be many years ahead to worry about that. For now, I wish you all the joy of the season and, if I don't see you sooner, a happy new year!

[New to the Journey? Read this for a brief introduction!]

Follow on BlueSky

No comments Leave A Comment

Fashion, music, politics, sports, Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[November 14, 1969] To Experiment or Not To Experiment, That is the Question. (The New S. F. & Vision of Tomorrow #2)

November 14, 2024 Kris Vyas-Myall Leave a comment

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

Among musicians right now, there seems to be a split around whether to look towards an experimental future or an idealized past for their inspiration.

Both in pop music and SF, nudity and sex remain sources of controversy.

The most explicit examples of Futurism come from two recent singles, Zager and Evans’ In the Year 2525 and David Bowie’s Space Oddity. But there is also the debut album from King Crimson, featuring the song 21st Century Schizoid Man, The Moody Blues’ space inspired LP, and Pink Floyd performed a new piece recently in honour of the Moon Landing. In addition, the music industry is pushing what is acceptable sexually whether that be in artwork, such as the Blind Faith cover above, or interesting choices of sounds on pop songs.

Did the Kinks have a point about preserving village greens?

On the other hand, at this time last month 4 of the top 5 singles were all country influenced songs, from Bobbie Gentry, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. Now, there has always been some country influence in the charts (as shown by Jim Reeves having 7 posthumous top 20 singles and counting) but it is certainly reaching a new level when the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones are both trying it out. In addition, folk is also growing, often with a nostalgic edge, in such songs as Fairport Convention’s Who Knows Where the Time Goes or Donovan’s Atlantis.

These differences can also be seen in SF and, perhaps, there is no clearer division than that which can be observed between the two publications I am reviewing today.

The New S.F., ed. by Langdon Jones

Cover by Colin Mier

An introduction by Michael Moorcock

Who else would you choose but Moorcock to introduce this selection of New Wave authors? Here he talks about how the “new SF writers” or “New Worlds group” have moved beyond spaceships and monsters to do more person-centric poetic pieces.

Fourteen Stations on the Northern Line by Giles Gordon

Fourteen different men observe an unnamed woman to different degrees of lechery as she walks up a hill. She fails to notice them as she has other things on her mind.

If it was not in this collection, it would probably not be considered SF, more akin to a Joyce than a Gernsback, only approaching the latter with the surrealism of the mind.

Moorcock’s introduction notes this as an example of a “compacted novel”, one that could be extended to a traditional novel but that would blunt the impact significantly. I cannot determine if I wanted this to be longer, shorter or reworked, but something is amiss. The metaphor, though obvious, is a good one (what passenger on a train pays attention to the small commuter stations?) and the difference in the inner lives of the observer and observed make a solid basis. But it left me wanting something better from it.

Three Stars

The Peking Junction by Michael Moorcock

A Jerry Cornelius story from his creator. In this episode, Europe has been devastated by American bombs (of course Europe still supports their allies in this action) and our dandified spy goes to China to deal with a downed American plane. His mission is complicated by the fact that he falls in love with one of the Chinese generals.

One interesting element here is Moorcock explicitly calls out the connection between Cornelius and his other tales:

Having been Elric, Asquiol, Minos, Aquilinus, Clovis Marca, now and forever he was Jerry Cornelius of the noble price, proud prince of ruins, boss of the circuits. Faustaff, Muldoon, the eternal champion…

There was always a suggestion of this previously, and The Blood Red Game (Science Fiction Adventures, 1963) and A Cure for Cancer both feature multiple universes, but I believe this is the first time we get it confirmed that this is not simply a case of repeated motifs.

Looking at it in this manner, we see the biting contemporary satire evolving into a more epic struggle and Moorcock’s other heroes as more than just throwaway fantasy figures. Rather there is a degree of tragedy in them having to deal with these various forces of order and chaos, making horrific choices for, what they hope, is the greater good (which rarely ends well).

A High Four Stars

Fast Car Wash by George MacBeth

A car gets cleaned… that is the entire story.

Moorcock calls this a readymade poem. I am assuming forthcoming are also a transcription of microwave instructions and George MacBeth’s shopping list.

One star

The Anxiety in the Eyes of the Cricket by James Sallis

Another Jerry Cornelius story, who is seemingly becoming to the New Wave what the Cthulhu tales have become to SF horror. This vignette apparently takes place shortly after the end of The Peking Junction (although Moorcock indicates this is better read as an alternative version) as JC returns to England a broken man. He stays in the house of his friend Michael, a man who predicted the apocalyptic future. They spend their time drinking and having sex between watching devastation from their window and discussing the nature of guilt.

A much quieter tale and more introspective than the other Cornelius tales with a good dose of narrative experimentation (if Michael is not surnamed Moorcock, I will eat my hat) added in. It is also incredibly bleak, with cities burning, Britain used as America’s crematorium, and Cornelius a broken man now simply looking for his missing family. But it is all the more powerful for it.

Five Stars

The New Science Fiction: A Conversation between J. G. Ballard & George MacBeth

This is the transcription of part of a discussion on BBC Radio 3 (formerly the Third Programme) last year titled The New Surrealism. In this extract, J. G. Ballard explains why he moved away from linear storytelling.

I missed this on its broadcast and I am very pleased it was reproduced here. Ballard manages to explain eloquently what he is trying to achieve in his stories and it has given me an increased appreciation for his work. Two sections I want to call out here as particularly incisive:

…one has many layers, many levels of experience going on at the same time. On one level might be the world of public events, Cape Kennedy, Vietnam, political life, on another level the immediate personal environment, the rooms we occupy, the postures we assume. On a third level, the inner world of the mind. All these levels are, as far as I can see them, equally fictional, and it is where these levels interact that one gets the only kind of inner reality that in fact exists nowadays.

…Burroughs’s narrative techniques… [are] an immediately recognisable reflection of the way life is actually experienced, that we live in quantified non-linear terms – we switch on television sets, switch them off half an hour later, speak on the telephone, read magazines, dream, and so forth. We don’t live our lives in linear terms in the sense that Victorians did.

Recommended for fans and confused readers alike.

Five Stars

So Far from Prague by Brian W. Aldiss

Another of Aldiss’ tales of Europeans in India. This time Slansky, a Czech filmmaker, is staying in a Das’ hotel outside Delhi when he hears of the Soviet invasion, He wants to get back home to help resist the attack, Das thinks they should be concentrating on their joint film project on the nature of time. Things get even more complicated when Slansky discovers there is a Russian guest in the room below his.

Interestingly, this manages a similar feel to Sallis’ piece even though it is contemporary rather than apocalyptic and could only be considered SFnal in the broadest sense. Here it is an exploration of the age-old argument of whether art can or should be apolitical, with this sense of gloom and despair. An important reminder that worlds are being blown up outside our window, not just in our magazines.

Four Stars

Direction by Charles Platt

An unnamed man has an argument at home. In response he gets drunk in a pub and then wanders around London in an inebriated haze.

Another piece where I am not sure the point of it, nor what it is doing in an SF anthology. There are some interesting writing techniques but that is all I can see to recommend it.

A low two stars

Postatomic by Michael Butterworth

We are told of four impossible beings, who may or may not be the same character across different time periods.

Not sure what its purpose is but it is certainly evocative.

Three Stars

For Thomas Tompion by Michael Moorcock

Moorcock completes his trilogy of entries with a four-line poem, addressed to the father of English clock-making.

Simple but well done for what it is.

Three stars

A Science Fiction Story for Joni Mitchell by Maxim Jakubowski

A science fiction writer has grown dissatisfied with the genre; instead he wants to write neo-psychedelic pop songs and tales of drug journeys. However, he has a deadline to hit, and the adventures of Coit Kid vs. the Subliminal Police don’t write themselves. Anyway, there is no chance of his other ideas intruding on a good old-fashioned science fiction story, is there?

A hilarious take on writing, modern pop music and science fiction cliches. It is done in a series of cut up pieces but logical rather than disparate. The whole exercise is delicious and I am going to be remembering many of the lines for some time.

Five Stars

The Communicants by John Sladek

This novella is a fragmented narrative, telling of a disparate set of people who work at Drum Inc., a technology company which provides a wide variety of services over phone lines and dreams of superseding Bell as the national monopoly.

Members of this organisation include Marilyn, who keeps getting mysterious calls that simply say “Marilyn, he loves you”, Sam Kravon, who is being driven mad by his job in Estimates, Phil Wang, the Art Director who is sure people are questioning his loyalty to the US, Ray, a cripple who is being constantly shuffled between departments, and David, who believes reality is refrangible.

At the same time, there are hints of experiments going on within the company that are of interest to the CIA.

Partially this is an extension of his multiple-choice form tales from New Worlds, with these regularly interrupting the text. And partially this is an experiment of split narratives, with the narrative like a butterfly flitting between different stories with such regularity that I wondered if I could use a flow chart.

Whilst it is an interesting experiment, it goes on for far too long (at almost 70 pages, far longer than anything else in this collection) and the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

Three Stars

Seeking a Suitable Donor by D. M. Thomas

An organ donor before their surgery contemplates his journey to this point.

The strange alignment of the text doesn’t add much to this tale of familiar themes but a perfectly reasonable example.

Three Stars

The Holland of the Mind by Pamela Zoline

Graham, Jessica and their child Rachel take a holiday from the US to Amsterdam in 1963. However, visiting the Venice of the North is not going to help them outrun their problems.

This is a tricky one to review. On the one hand it is beautifully written but shocking look at depression and the breakdown of a marriage, counterpointing the history of the Netherlands with their personal situation.

On the other, it is barely SFnal. There is one moment towards the end which could be taken as such. But it could also be taken as metaphorical and\or natural phenomena. As such I was partially disappointed. It reminded me somewhat of Morris’ travelogue Venice.

However, I adore Morris’ writing. As such I am happy to give it the benefit of the doubt and judge it as a piece of literary short fiction. On those grounds it is brilliant.

Five Stars

Quincunx by Thomas M. Disch

As the name suggests, this is made up of five vignettes:

• Chrysanthemums: Mr. Candolle ponders the meaning of chrysanthemums in hospital rooms
• Representation: The narrator speaks of his lost love Judith
• The Death of Lurleen Wallace: A circular tale of princes, presidential campaigns and books
• Mate: A letter from former lovers which also deals with a correspondence chess match
• The Assumption: Miss Lockesly teaches her class about death

I am not sure though what shape we are meant to form. To some extent they are all about endings in different ways but no consensus is reached nor are they particularly profound.

Two Stars

Thus ends this experiment of a book, one which I have rated all over the place. To change a famous quote, there is a thin line between genius and drivel. This anthology erases it.

Vision of Tomorrow #2

Cover Illustration: Gerard Alfo Quinn

Issue #2 has finally arrived. No explanation is given for the delay other than “circumstances beyond our control”. Whatever the reason, we shall now dive into the contents:

Quarry by E. C. Tubb

Illustrated by Gerard Alfo Quinn

Quelto Daruti is a prisoner of the Federation. he decides to make use of an obscure law. The Quarry-Hunt. He is to be hunted across the harsh landscape of Zen to sanctuary. If he can make it alive, he will be pardoned, but the only person who ever managed it before died of their wounds soon afterwards.

Durati however has two advantages the authorities do not know about. Firstly, he is a telepath. Secondly, the Terran league are very interested in his survival

Yes, it is yet another spin on The Most Dangerous Game, but a pretty good one. Stylistically it can be heavy at times, but this is made up for when it is action packed.

Just sneaks in at four stars.

Strictly Legal by Douglas Fulthorpe

Illustrated by James

The intelligent spider-creatures of Proxima Centauri claim ownership of Earth’s Moon, on the grounds that it detached from one of their planets when it was molten. At first everyone assumes this is a joke. However, it turns out they are in deadly earnest, and the legal implications of the case will have devastating consequences.

This is a slippery slope argument delivered with all the subtlety of a brick through a window. The style is readable enough, but it requires so many “what-ifs” to make the idea work, I am not surprised everyone inside this piece of fiction assumes it is all a joke.

Two Stars

Moonchip by John Rankine

Millenia ago a small piece of metal fell to Earth. It has now been mined and ended up part of a car, one that is involved in a strangely high number of fatal accidents. But that is just coincidence, right?

I found this to be a dull and violent tale with little purpose. Maybe if you enjoy hoary old horror stories or car-based fiction it will appeal to you, but not to me.

One Star

A Judge of Men by Michael G. Coney

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

Scott travels with the trader Bancroft to the planet Karumba, the only source of Shroom (a kind of puff ball that can be woven) in the galaxy. The Shroom harvest is lessening as the planet gets colder and Karumbans may face extinction. However, having seen how humans treat animals in zoos, they refuse to allow any scientific help from humanity. Bancroft is willing to respect the Kamburans' wishes, the young ambitious Scott, however, is determined to solve the mysteries of this world, no matter what anyone else may think.

This did not go in the direction I expected. This started out seeming like it was merely going to be an experiment in xenobiology and the effects of planetary tilt but it went into much deeper territory around what it means to be a person, respect for native belief systems and the responsibility of ethical science.

My only complaint is it was too short to address all of the areas it touched on properly. I would love to see it expanded into one-half of an Ace Double.

A high four stars

Frozen Assets by Dan Morgan

Larry is a used air-car salesman who, with his fiancée Olivia is determined to find a way to get rich quick according to their realist philosophy. The first scheme involves being married to a wealthy divorcee but it turns out the pre-nuptial agreement states that Olivia won’t get any money from accidental death until after five years.

Larry then discovers there is a cure for cirrhosis of the liver, a condition his rich uncle Frank was cryogenically frozen with. He hopes to revive Frank and take control of his estate, however Frank is not quite as witless as Larry supposes.

This is the kind of story I dislike. It requires the setting up of a series of silly rules people follow, explaining them as they go along. In addition, it wends all over the place, barely sticking in one place for more than a moment.

One star

The Impatient Dreamers 2: Aims and Objects by Walter Gillings

Filling in the gap between installments 1 and 3, we learn of Gillings' efforts to show that there is a strong enough market for science fiction in Britain to support a magazine.

This series continues to be excellent and contains a lot of fascinating details. Such as that Britain at this time didn’t have specialist fiction magazines at all and that Len Kippin just would hand out leaflets wherever he saw SF on sale.

Five Stars

Echo by William F. Temple

Illustrated by B. M. Finch

The Saurian Venusians have taken over the body of Richard Gaunt by use of a temporary echo of the personality of Narvel. They intend to steal the secrets of Organic Materials Inc., however, it turns out that being a human is harder than it seems.

I actually covered this last year in Famous, and I was planning to just reprint my review from there. However, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to look for any changes. I was taken aback that it was almost entirely rewritten. The plot remains identical but the prose is almost a complete overhaul. To compare one of the more similar sections:

Famous version:

Being a mammal, without previous experience, was to me a series of surprises, mostly unpleasant.
Gaunt, I knew, had the social habit of drinking whiskey. I first drank whiskey on the Pacific with a couple of engineers from Minneapolis.
After a while, I remarked with some concern. “Darn, it, the grav-motors are failing.”
This sometimes happened on space trips, and until they were repaired everyone had to endure free fall. I’d felt the beginning of free fall coming on; at least, I felt I was beginning to float. And I said so.
The two men looked at me strangely, then at each other.
“One whiskey on the rocks and he’s floating,” laughed one.

And the Vision version:

I became a Tyro mammal among experienced mammals.
My deficiencies first began to show on the spaceship to Earth. On the passenger list I was Richard Gaunt. I was Gaunt, physically. I did my best to act like him personally.
I knew he had this social habit of drinking whisky. I gave it a whirl at the bar with an engineer from Minneapolis.
After two whiskies, I remarked, ‘What’s gone wrong with the grav-motors?’
My companion looked at me strangely.
‘They seem okay to me. Sure I’s not the whisky hitting you? This special space brew is potent, you know, if you’re not used to it.’

Now, the scene being depicted has the same purpose: Narvel giving an example of not being used to certain human situations with impersonating Gaunt by his lack of familiarity with Whisky causing him to think there is an issue with the grav-motors. But the feel is completely changed. The prior version is concentrating on feelings and giving it a more comedic sense. The new version is more cerebral and philosophical about the nature of identity.

I still have a number of problems with the text but the changes make it clearer to me what he is trying to do. As such it jumps up a little bit in my ratings.

A low three stars

Undercover Weapon by Jack Wodhams

Illustrated by James

The Fiberphut fabric disintegrator was developed as a means of removing bandages without damaging the skin underneath. When the army look to test its possible military applications, Lt. Cladwell makes his own duplicate model at home. He and his brother-in-law are determined to make a fortune from this device…along with many amorous encounters along the way.

This is the kind of unfunny sex comedy that seem to be growing in popularity at the cinema these days. I don’t like it there and I don’t like it here. I am a little surprised to see this included given last month’s stated “no pornography” policy, but I guess as nothing is described it is considered “good clean fun” by Harbottle. I, on the other hand, find it lecherous and dull.

One Star

Dancing Gerontius by Lee Harding

Illustrated by A. Vince

The elderly on welfare are generally kept in a dream-like state in specialist facilities. However, annually they participate in Year Day, where a combination of drugs and advanced machinery allow them to participate in a period of bacchanalian hedonism. We follow Berensen’s experiences as he is crowned King for the day.

An evocative piece that did not go in the direction I expected it to. Quite haunting by the end.

Four Stars

Minos by Maurice Whitta

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

The final piece is by a new writer to me. The colony-ship Launcelot crash lands on Amor VII, killing almost ¾ of the occupants, including all the women. Another ship primarily composed of women also makes landfall, but contact is lost. From the Guinevere there start emerging minotaur like creatures that attack the men of Launcelot, what could have happened?

This whole piece is kind of a muddle, smelling to me of new author problems. The concepts are good and the point an interesting one. At the same time the action sequences are well written. The problem is structural. For such a small piece too much time is spent in irrelevant sections and the more poignant parts are rushed.

It is not bad though and I hope that Mr. Whitta can sort the issues out in the future.

A low Three Stars

Story rankings from issue 1, my main surprise is seeing the fascinating Lem below the woeful Coney, but each to their own.

Fantasy Review

Illustrated by Philip Harbottle

Ken Slater reviews Timepiece by Brian N. Ball (which he did not enjoy) and Harry Harrison’s Deathworld 3 (which he did). We then have a new reviewer, Kathryn Buckley, covering Stand on Zanzibar in a highly complementary manner. Perhaps trying to balance coverage of the New Wave along with the Good Old Stuff?

Best of Both Worlds?

Additional illustration by Eddie Jones

In both my SF and my music, I am generally drawn towards the future facing experimental works, preferring Colosseum and Chip Delany over The Band and Edgar Rice Burroughs. But I also appreciate both have their advantages and place.

Doing a Sunday afternoon of gardening is wonderful accompanied by some Neil Young or Townes van Zandt. Just as an adventurous tale of daring-do might not be as accomplished as one of Ballard’s cut up stories, it can be a more fun and easy read.

So, whilst neither is perfect, with both the above publications showing successes and failures, I like to think that science fiction is big enough to have both our swashes buckled and our minds expanded.

No comments Leave A Comment

Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[October 6, 1969] The Rule of a Mediocracy (Vision of Tomorrow #3)

October 6, 2024 Kris Vyas-Myall 2 Comments

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

The Times is running a series of articles where major thinkers elucidate on what they believe life will be like in 1980. The series started with Arthur Koestler (philosopher most known for his Orwellian novel, Darkness at Noon) who predicts that, in the Britain of 1980, Mediocracy will be the order of the day.

Arthur Koestler by David Levine

By this he means that instead of having a meritocratic system, defined by IQ plus effort, the main ingredients of life will be common sense plus inertia. Institutions will continue in modified forms without revolutionary change. Politicians are more likely to be dentists than demagogues. The family structure will continue but divorce and extramarital relationships will be commonplace. Housewives will have “bugs”, small time-saving robots, to do their household tasks, but they will breakdown so frequently the repairman will be a regular guest.

On a more positive note, he foresees the removal of private cars from cities, to be replaced by automated electric vehicles for hire. Office work will be done from home, with tactile simulators introduced to ensure people do not feel deprived of physical contact. Education will begin shortly after birth and young people will be encouraged to engage in more out-there behaviour before settling into mediocre adulthood.

We will have to wait another decade to see if his predictions come true. But, if the latest Vision of Tomorrow is any sign of things to come, mediocrity is certainly on the horizon.

Vision of Tomorrow #3

Cover art by Eddie Jones

Yes, I am also still waiting for issue #2. I am assuming there was some hiccough at the printers.

In his editorial, Harbottle continues to outline his vision for the magazine. Firstly, stories must be “entertaining”, secondly, they should not contain sex. New Worlds this is not!

Let’s see how this translates into prose.

Shapers of Men by Kenneth Bulmer

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

Once again, Mr. Bulmer opens the magazine with an adventure tale. This one, we are told, marks the start of a new series. Fletcher Cullen, “galactic bum”, travels across the stars wherever the loot and action take him. In this opening installment, Cullen’s flier is shot down over Sitasz and he finds himself in the middle of a conflict between the humans and the natives.

Illustrated by Eddie Jones

This is a rather old-fashioned kind of interplanetary tale with some attempts at modern touches. Cullen is an untrustworthy rogue, miles away from Flash Godon or Clark Kent, the Sitazans are a well-constructed alien race and there are attempts to bring in modern frames of reference like LSD.

However, it is really boring to read. Generally each chapter will spend most of the time in overwrought descriptions and dull exposition, then a quick escape, followed by a capture by someone else. Even Bulmer’s amusing similes are like fish and guests, starting to smell off after the third time.

A low two stars

Number 7 by Eric C. Williams

Frederick Hasty, technical overseer of demolitions in London, is called to Number 7, Good Peace Road, in New Cross. Its destruction is a necessary part of the rationalization of London currently taking place. Unfortunately, the property is surrounded by an impregnable invisible barrier.

A reasonable little mystery but one that does not amount to very much.

A low three stars

Science Fiction in Germany by Franz Rottensteiner

A one-page summary of the SF scene in both Germanies, covering Perry Rhodan, Utopia Zukunftsromane, translations, fanzines and conventions.

It does the job it intends to but it is not as good as Cora’s coverage.

Three stars

People Like You by David Rome

Illustrated by B. M. Finch

Gail and Gordon Coulton, and their daughter Dorinda, are staying in a holiday home overlooking Cody Canyon when they notice some of their property has been taken. They suspect it is their neighbour, George Abbot. But what could he want with these items?

I was reminded of The People stories, but Rome is no Henderson. It is enjoyable enough, with a nice twist in the tail, but nothing special.

Three Stars

The Impatient Dreamers Part 3: Shadow of the Master by Walter Gillings

With us still waiting for the intervening issue, we skip to the third of Gillings articles, looking here at the emergence of British SF writers and publications in the 1930s, along with his efforts to establish more SF fan clubs.

This continues to be a brilliant series casting a spotlight on an area of SF development I rarely see discussed.

Five Stars

Pioneers of Science Fantasy

Some special colour reprints and short looks at big names in the history of the genre. A kind of supplement to the prior article.

Fantasy Review

Ken Slater reviews the latest E. C. Tubb interstellar adventure, Escape Into Space. Apparently, it is a disappointment, lacking character and convincing explanations.

Lucifer! by E. C. Tubb

Illustrated by Gerard Alfo Quinn

Speaking of Tubb, this tale tells of Frank Weston, a morgue attendant who manages to get his hands on a ring of The Special People. These rings are a kind of portable time machine, allowing him to reverse time over a short period. Frank uses it to get rich and powerful, but can it really give him everything he desires?

A pretty standard tale of this type, well told. Once again Ted lands straight in the middle.

Three Stars

The Adapters by Philip E. High

Illustrated by Gerard Alfo Quinn

Roger Pryor is a fugitive from The Invaders. Five years ago, people started falling down totally incapacitated when touched by them. They are huge beings invisible except in very specific temperatures and lighting. They continually tell him they are here to help and rescue him, but what can their real agenda be?

A tense and evocative piece. Not the most original but enjoyable enough to bump it above the general chatter.

A low four stars

The Nixhill Monsters by Brian Waters

Whilst travelling across the Australian outback Alice and Graham swerve to avoid a strange creature, like a glowing transparent humanoid. Stopping in the nearby town they are curious to know more, the townspeople however are determined to kill the monster.

This feels to me like a middle-of-the-road episode of The Twilight Zone, overly simple moral and all. Whilst fairly competently constructed it feels strange that everyone here quickly accepts the existence of an alien, but also wants to murder her simply because she looks weird.

Two stars

World to Conquer by Sydney J. Bounds

Illustrated by BM Finch

With the Earth devastated by radiation poisoning, humanity is desperately searching for a new habitable planet to live on. When they finally find the world of Asylum, it is already occupied by the intelligent Fliers. Leo Crane is sent to meet the inhabitants, to discover how easily they can be exterminated.

Whilst some parts of this are very old-fashioned (Marie’s “I’m a woman” speech is particularly excruciating), I found the scientific concepts involved interesting and the question raised about how humanity treats the worlds it finds worth pondering. By the end you want to ask if we would really have the right to survive?

Evens out at a high Three Stars

Prisoner in the Ice by Brian Stableford

Illustrated by BM Finch

After centuries of battling the encroaching ice, the Earth is finally starting to warm up. On one of these ice sheets three men discover a saber-toothed tiger, frozen in mid-leap.

A much more philosophical story than I was expecting from these pages. The tiger and ice melt are really just metaphors, the main thrust of this piece is a discussion about what people become when they fight to survive. Do they become the winners or merely leftovers?

Interesting to compare and contrast with the previous story.

Four Stars

A Dentist’s Waiting Room

An unusual final image from Dick Howett previewing issue #4

So perhaps common sense and inertia are the tools behind Visions of Tomorrow. I feel like little here would be out of place ten years ago, but it is generally competent. Only the Bulmer I found to have any structural flaws.

Whether this middle of the road approach will work in the long run remains to be seen. Being unobjectionable but unremarkable is not necessarily going to get people to drop their 5 shillings for the next issue. As the architect of the NHS Aneurin Bevan said:

We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over!

2 Comments Leave A Comment

Galactic Journey

All posts by Kris Vyas-Myall

[May 10, 1970] Fever Pitch (New Writings in S-F 17 & Vortex)

[April 28, 1970] A Strange Case of Vulgarity & Violence (Vision of Tomorrow #8)

[March 18, 1970] Future Cities and Past Visions (Vision of Tomorrow #7)

[March 12, 1970] It’s A Dog’s Life (Orbit 6)

[February 16, 1970] Unassailable Fortresses? A Full-Five pair of issues: (Vision of Tomorrow #6)

[February 6, 1970] All We Are Saying Is Give The Peace Game A Chance (The Peace Game, AKA The Gladiators)

[January 16, 1970] Strange Reports (Vision of Tomorrow #5 and New Writings SF-16)

[December 12, 1969] A More Liberal Society? (Vision of Tomorrow #4)

[November 14, 1969] To Experiment or Not To Experiment, That is the Question. (The New S. F. & Vision of Tomorrow #2)

[October 6, 1969] The Rule of a Mediocracy (Vision of Tomorrow #3)

55 years ago: Science Fact and Fiction