Science Fiction/Fantasy

[December 26, 1969] A Wreath of Stars (the best science fiction of 1969!)

15 Comments

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


by Gideon Marcus

We at the Journey have a special treat for you this holiday season.  Look beneath all the discarded paper and shed pine needles and gelt wrappers—why, it's a complete list of The Best Science Fiction (and Fantasy) of 1969!  With SFnal output on the rise, there's a good chance you haven't been able to keep up.

Don't worry; we've got you covered.  Anything on this list is worth reading/watching.  Just peruse the Journey library, settle into your coziest chair, and enjoy the week before New Year's!

Full-page magazine advertisement for a reclining chair. It shows a woman with short black hair, dressed in comfortable pink clothes, sitting with her legs extended horizontally, supported by the reclining chair. She has a white cat on her lap. Next to her is a small bear-shaped sculpture that holds a bouquet of flowers in a raised paw and a tray of fruit on the other paw. The reclining chair is placed on a rug made of a polar bear skin. The illustration has the text: The Soft Life. Additional text below the illustration says: With a Stratolounger reclining chair... stain-protected by Scotchgard Repeller. The Stratolounger life is a whole new way of life. Relax,lean back, put your feet up on the ottoman that pops out. Watch TV or read while having a snack. Lean further back—enjoy The Soft Life! If you spill—just blot. Liquid spills, even oily ones, come right up. Scotchgard Brand Stain Repeller protects the Stratolounger's decorator fabrics. If a stain is ever forced into the weave, it will spot clean and generally, there's no ring. See these and other handsome Stratoloungers in a host of fabrics protected with Scotchgard Repeller at leading furniture and department stores. Below this text are photographs of three varieties of reclining chair. The first one is light brown. Next to it, the text says: Mediterranean Reclining Chair—sleek, cane sliding, richly finished wood, luxuriously reversible seat cushion. Approximately 170 dollars. There is an asterisk at the end of this text. The second photograph is of a light orange reclining chair. Next to it, the text says: Traditional Reclining Chair—richly tufted back, luxurious loose-cushion seat, tapered walnut finish wood legs with casters for easy movement. Approximately 170 dollars. There is an asterisk at the end of this text. The third photograph is of a dark green reclining chair. Next to it, the text says: Club Lounge Reclining Chair—sumptuously proportioned deep back; smartly tailored; easy-roll brass ball casters. Approximately 170 dollars. There is an asterisk at the end of this text. At the bottom left corner of the illustration is the page number 90 and a note with an asterisk that says: Price may vary depending upon location and fabric selection. At the bottom right corner of the illustration is the magazine title HOUSE AND GARDEN.

——
Best Poetry
——

Black-and-white photograph of a woman with short hair talking to two men at a social gathering.
Joanna Russ at last year's Baycon, Harlan Ellison trying to steal her thunder in the background

A Short and Happy Life, by Joanna Russ

Twin Sisters, by Doris Pitkin Buck

Transplant, by Langdon Jones

The Hiroshima Dream, by George MacBeth

Space Miner, by Leslie Norris

Overture I, by John Moat

Tea in a Space-ship, by James Kirkup

–

It used to be that poetry abounded in professional science fiction.  You can still find it in the fanzines (particularly a lot of cloying, 'I love Spock' stuff in the trekzines), but it's largely died out in the mags for sale.  Luckily, this year we had a compendium of pro-poetry in the form of Frontier of Going: An Anthology of Space Poetry, which provided the last three entries above.

The standout was Joanna Russ' poem, and when you read it, you'll see why.

——
Best Vignettes (1-8 pages)
——

Photograph of a landed airplane seen from the rear right side. The logo on the airplane's tail says PAN-AM over a blue circle crisscrossed with white curved lines.

The Last Flight of Dr. Ain, by James Tiptree, Jr.

A doctor decides the world is too sick to survive… and he makes sure of it by personally spreading disease across the globe.
ㅤ
Pennies, Off a Dead Man's Eyes, by Harlan Ellison

Love knows no allegiance to race…human or otherwise.

Honorable Mention

How I Take Their Measure, by K. M. O'Donnell

Drool, by Vance Aandahl

Are You There, Mr. Jones?, by Stanisław Lem

The Anxiety in the Eyes of the Cricket, by James Sallis

The Schematic Man, by Frederick Pohl

The Killing Ground, by J. G. Ballard

—

A lot of range and a lot of magazines this time around, from F&SF to New Worlds to Playboy, though both winners were in Galaxy, and it wasn't close.

——
Best Short Stories (9-19 pages)
——

Drawing of a young woman looking upward. A cloud emerges from her partially open lips and floats up in the air. Under her face is a drawing of a wolf. Behind the wolf's front left paw is a little black box. There is a city skyline in the background. The drawing is done on sepia paper.

The Snows Are Melted, the Snows Are Gone, by James Tiptree, Jr.

The answer to Harlan Ellison's A Boy and His Dog (q.v. below), starring a handicapped young woman.

Richmond, Late September, by Fritz Leiber

Edgar Allen Poe meets Baudelaire's twin sister.  Maudlin foretelling of the future ensues.  It's better than it sounds.

Not Long Before the End, by Larry Niven

The fantasy story to end all fantasy stories… literally.  Who knew "nuts-and-bolts" Niven could do magic?

The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde, by Norman Spinrad

The most chaotic appearance of Jerry Cornelius yet.  He fiddles while a mock-Vegas in the Gobi burns. 

Honorable Mention

Black Snowstorm, by D. F. Jones

Entropy, by Thomas Pynchon

Saboteur, by Ted White

The Ballad of Luna Lil, by Sydney J. Bounds

An Affair with Genius, by Joseph Green

The Place with No Name, by Harlan Ellison

Surface If You Can, by Terry Champagne

To Kill a World, by Irwin Ross

Prisoner in the Ice , by Brian Stableford

Nine Lives, by Ursula K. Le Guin
–

We've got more entries this year, in part because the venues are so disparate, catering to different tastes.  Not all of us loved all of the stories here, but at least one person did, which means a chunk of our readers will too!

——
Best Novelettes (20-40 pages)
——

Illustration for the story A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison. It shows two partial photographs of a human face; the first face is right-side-up, and the second face is upside-down and partially superimposed over the bottom of the first face.

A Boy and His Dog, by Harlan Ellison

An after-the-bomb story with a twist.  With a name like that, how could there not be?

The Holland of the Mind, by Pamela Zoline

Not terribly SFnal, but too well-crafted to leave out.

Honorable Mention

The Steel General, by Roger Zelazny

Down in the Black Gang, by Philip José Farmer

Creatures of Darkness, by Roger Zelazny

For the Sake of Grace, by Suzette Haden Elgin

When They Openly Walk, by Fritz Leiber

The Timesweepers, by Keith Laumer

Report from Linelos, by Vincent King

The Big Flash, by Norman Spinrad

A Science Fiction Story for Joni Mitchell, by Maxim Jakubowski

Bye, Bye, Banana Bird, by Sonya Dorman

–

As with the short story section, there were only two stories a lot of people truly enjoyed, but all of these are good reads.  It is notable that this is the first category that we see women (at least, women writing under female names—one never knows!) coming to the fore.  This is a contrast to prior years when women would often be stronger in shorter lengths, largely because F&SF was the one mag that consistently published women.

——
Best Novella (40+ pages)
——

Illustration for the story The Organleggers by Larry Niven. It shows an emaciated man with a tortured expression on his face, lying down in an empty room, with a tube connected to the top of his head. The illustration is done on sepia paper.

The Organleggers, by Larry Niven

An exquisite murder mystery set two centuries from now.  Tremendous detail, a compelling hero, and a tight plot despite the length.

Blood Brother, by James White

A case of mistaken intention pits incomprehensible aliens vs. the medical corps of Sector General.  If you like this series, you'll love this installment.

We All Die Naked, by James Blish

The world is drowning, and only a handful can be saved by fleeing to the Moon.  As Brian put it:

"Would mankind be able to survive without our possessions, and even our waste?  Would we be able to bury Shakespeare, or even personal items which possess only sentimental value, for the sake of the race’s survival?  Blish supposes we wouldn’t."

Honorable Mention

Witch Hunt, by James E. Gunn

The Communicants, by John Sladek

–

Novellas are an odd duck, length-wise, so we are often starved for choice.  This year, however, though the options were fewer, the quality was pretty darned high.

——
Best Novel/Serial
——

Paperback cover of the book Slaughterhouse-Five. The background of the cover is a very pale yellow. Text at the top of the cover shows the name of the publisher, Delta, and the price: 1.95 dollars in the US and 2.35 dollars in Canada. The title of the novel is shown in big serif letters in an arced shape. Inside the arc is the text: or The Children's Crusade, A New Novel by... and under the arc is the name Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Text at the bottom of the cover quotes a line attributed to The New York Times: an extraordinary success, between quotation marks.

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The story of an American POW during World War 2, culminating in the Dresden firebombing.  Vaguely SFnal, such trappings are really there so the author could approach the traumatic material at a distance.  Big for a reason.

The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin

An unique setting and an unique problem; a message piece for today aimed at the sexists of tomorrow.

Ubik, by Philip K. Dick

One of Dick's less comprehensible and yet somehow more compelling works, combining a grab-bag of innovations, commentaries on commercialism, and questionings of reality.

The Jagged Orbit, by John Brunner

A novel of worsening race relations in the early 21st Century, told in Brunner's inimitable avante garde style.

The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton

A "scientific thriller" about a mystery plague, and the efforts of five scientists to understand its origin and impact.

Honorable Mention

Isle of the Dead, by Roger Zelazny

The Face in the Frost, by John Bellairs

Operation Changeling, by Poul Anderson

Heiros Gamos, by Josephine Saxton

A Sweet Sweet Summer, by Jane Gaskell

Seahorse in the Sky, by Edmund Cooper

The Unicorn Girl, by Kurland, Michael

Macroscope, by Piers Anthony

—

We've got it all: fantasy, science fiction, satire, psychedelia.  And more sex than ever.  There's nothing really "conventional" or "traditional" here.  Even the Anderson is more outré than usual.

——
Best Science Fact
——

Illustration on sepia paper. Inside a rectangle with a think black outline is the word CREDO in uppercase letters. Underneath it, additional text says: by Lester del Rey. To the right of these words is a profile drawing of a middle-aged man's head. He is partially bald and is wearing glasses. Text underneath the drawing says the name WILLY LEY in uppercase cursive letters. Additional text under the rectangle says, The First Citizen of the Moon.

Uncertain, Coy, and Hard to Please , by Isaac Asimov

Dr. Isaac Asimov: feminist.  This is a fascinating piece on the second-class history of women in society.  How does a fellow with a troublesome "handsy" problem produce such a brilliant piece on sexism?  I guess we all contain multitudes.

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

An explanation of Ballard's technique—and thus, behind the scenes of the New Wave as a whole.

Honorable Mention

"On a Gold Vesta … ", by Robert S. Richardson

Salvador Dali: The Innocent As Paranoid, by J. G. Ballard

For Your Information: The Island of Brazil, by Willy Ley

For Your Information: Max Valier and the Rocket-Propelled Airplane, by Willy Ley

Credo: Willy Ley: The First Citizen of the Moon (obituary), by Lester del Rey

—

It is a sad, yet fitting epitaph for science writer Willy Ley that there are three pieces concerning him this year—two by him, and one about him.  Rest in peace, my friend.

——
Best Magazine/Collection
——

Cover of the magazine New Writings in SF, number 15. The background of the cover is composed of abstract geometrical shapes composed in pointillism, printed in pink. The bottom half of the cover has a semitransparent green rectangle where these names appear in black letters: Joseph Green, Christopher Priest, Michael G. Coney, Arthur Sellings, Keith Roberts, Vincent King. Further down is the line: Edited by John Carnell. At the bottom of the green rectangle is the line: Dobson Science Fiction.

New Writings 14-15: 3.7 stars, 3 Star nominees, (two anthologies)

F&SF: 3.1 stars, 11 Star nominees (12 issues)

IF: 3.1 stars, 5 Star nominees (11 issues)

New Worlds: 3 stars, 5 Star nominees (11 issues)

Galaxy: 3 stars, 12 Star nominees (11 issues)

Vision of Tomorrow: 2.9 stars, 2 Star nominees (3 issues)

Venture: 2.8 stars, 0 Star nominees (3 issues)

Analog: 2.7 stars, 1 Star nominee (12 issues)

Fantastic: 2.6 stars, 1 Star nominee (six issues)

Amazing: 2.6 stars, 0 Star nominees (six issues)

Orbit 5: 2.6 stars, 1 Star nominee, (one anthology)

Famous Science Fiction 1.9 stars, 0 Star nominees (one issue)

Frontier of Going: An Anthology of Space Poetry 3 star nominees (one anthology)

—

The main conclusions we draw from this line-up are:

  1. New Writings really pushes Kris' buttons!  (I generally rate the stories therein about one star less than Kris does, but Kris is more enamored of the new style than me).
  2. F&SF is living up to its reputation (it won the Hugo this year).
  3. Analog really needs a new editor.

——
Best Publisher
——

Paperback cover of the book The Jagged Orbit by John Brunner. Text at the top of the cover says: An Ace Science Fiction Special, followed by the number 38120 and the price, 95 cents. The cover illustration shows three hooded figures in close-quarters combat. Their bodies are painted in a cubist style, as is the reddish background skyline.

Ace: 3 Star nominees

Hodder & Stoughton 2 Star nominees

Knopf: 2 Star nominees

Doubleday: 1 Star nominee

Delacorte 1 Star nominee

MacMillan 1 Star nominee

F&SF 1 Star nominee

Ballantine 1 Star nominee

Pyramid 1 Star nominee

Avon 1 Star nominee

—

My friend, Tom Purdom, said this of Ace a few years ago:

"Ace is an attractive beginner’s market because you just have to satisfy two requirements. You have to create a good action-adventure plot and you have to set it in a colorful, interesting future. The editor of Ace Books, Donald A. Wollheim, has been a science fiction fan since was a teenager in the 1930s. He grew up reading the science fiction pulps and sometimes argues that science fiction is a branch of children’s literature—a genre whose core audience consisted of bright teenage boys. He doesn’t object if your novel includes things like good prose, interesting characters, and an original view of the future. But anybody who understands science fiction and its history can look at the covers of a rack full of Ace Doubles and know what the basic requirements are."

And so, Ace combines action, adventure and (often) solid writing—and a lot of ouput.  A recipe for sweeping this category every year!

——
Best Artist
——

Paperback cover of the book Conan of Cimmeria. Text at the top of the cover says the names: Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter. Additional text says, The mighty barbarian in his blaze of youth braves dark weird demons in time-lost lands. Under this text is the book's title in big pink letters. The bottom two-thirds of the cover are a painting of three men in armor and winter clothes fighting on a snowy slope. There is a white mountain in the background. Small text at the top left corner of this illustration says the line: Lancer Books, the numbers 75-072, and the price, 95 cents.

Paperback cover of the book Bran Mak Morn. At the top left corner of the cover is the name of the publisher, Dell, the number 0774, and the price, 60 cents. Text at the center top says in white letters: Savage! Furious! Thrilling! The mightiest adventures of the greatest hero of them all. Under this text is the book's title in big yellow letters. Text at the bottom center of the cover says: by Robert E. Howard, famous creator of Conan. The cover illustration shows a male humanoid character carrying a short sword and a shield, and almost no clothes, leading a horde of similar creatures who are carrying severed heads impaled on spikes.

Cover for Eerie magazine, number 23. The title of the magazine is written in big purple letters with white rugged outlines. Under the title is the line: What deathless secrets fill the catacombs—beyond Nefera's Tomb? See Page 5. At the bottom right corner of the cover is the line, Rey Collector Comics, and the price, 50 cents. The cover illustration shows a woman in minimal clothes reclining against a big column of orange stone. Standing around her, partially obscured by shadows, are a leopard and two men who are carrying ancient weaponry.

Frank Frazetta

Cover for Galaxy magazine, October 1969. It announces the stories Truly Human by Damon Knight, God of Cool by J. W. Schutz, The Soul Machine by A. Bertram Chandler, and Tomorrow Cum Laude, advertised with the line: Hayden Howard's novella about the future's deadly campus combat! The cover illustration is a collage of a male head drawn in red, a Black woman in a flower dress dancing, a sculpture of a naked Greek soldier, a model of an atom nucleus enclosed in a metallic cage, and a policeman carrying a lantern and a machine gun. The background of the illustration is composed of many intersecting colored circles.

Gray Morrow

Paperback cover of the book The Shadow People. At the top left corner of the cover is the name of the publisher, Dell, and the number 7820. At the top right corner of the cover is the price, 60 cents. Text in uppercase says: They came from the underearth to take over the world. Next to it is the book's title in big yellow letters. At the bottom of the cover is the author's name, Margaret St. Clair. The cover illustration is a painting of a half-naked muscular man holding a sword aloft with both arms. The background is reddish-orange.

Jeff Jones

Paperback cover of the book The Phoenix and the Mirror by Avram Davidson. Text at the top of the cover says the line: An Ace Science Fiction Special, the number 66100, and the price, 75 cents. The cover illustration shows a man in a black robe working in a chemical laboratory with assorted jars, tubes, and bottles. He is reading a thick book. There is a woman's face in the shadows behind him.

Leo & Diane Dillon

Honorable Mention

Cover of the magazine Analog, March 1969. Next to the magazine's title at the top left corner of the cover are the lines: Science Fiction, Science Fact. Text at the top right corner shows the price, 60 cents. The cover announces the story Trap by Christopher Anvil, The cover illustration shows a male humanoid creature with pointed ears, a long tail and hair all over his body, standing next to a window. He's wearing a holster for a revolver. Through the window, six humanoid creatures with crocodile heads are carrying various pointy weapons.

Frank Kelly Freas

Two-page black-and-white illustration showing a big war tank of curved shapes next to a man carrying a futuristic square-shaped gun. The text at the bottom left says the lines: A Relic of War, Illustrated by Vincent diFate.

Vincent diFate

Black-and-white illustration of two men seen from behind, wearing astronaut suits without helmets, looking at a floating metallic head with no mouth. Two very thin metallic arms are attached to the sides of the floating head.

Gerard Quinn

Colorful illustration of a black woman and a white man sitting inside a bus. At the top half of the image, the metallic bars inside the bus transform into concentric curved lines in an abstract landscape, where a statue of a naked woman can be seen.

Ron Walotsky

–

This list keeps growing every year.  The recent paperback boom is partly responsible, but also, we're seeing each magazine develop its own stable of promising artists.  Interestingly, perennial Schoennherr didn't make the list. Jack Gaughan, a favorite of everyone else, never seems to make much impression on the Journey staff.

——
Best Dramatic Presentation
——

Black-and-white still frame from the TV series Doctor Who. It shows a man's scared face repeated five times.

Doctor Who: The War Games

The final chapter for the Second Doctor is a tour de fource.  A bit like Fred Hoyle's book, October the First is Too Late!.

Star Trek: All Our Yesterdays

Another time travel episode, and another opportunity for Spock to smile…but this one is so beautifully done, it doesn't belabor the clichés.

What A Lovely War!

Satirical and sharp as it is minimal, it is the perfect anti-war piece for our times.

Head

Is it science fiction?  Well, it's something—and as a swan song for The Monkees, it can't be beat.  I guess if it's SFnal, its closest analog would be New Worlds magazine.

Honorable Mention

Out of the Unknown: The Last Lonely Man

Change of Mind

Star Trek: Whom Gods Destroy

–

We didn't get a lot of good choices this year.  As Kris observed, it's easier to crank out million-dollar kitchen-sink films and hope for a 100x return rather than produce a $10 million film and hope for a 10x return, even if the profits are roughly the same, all told.

——
Best Comic Book
——

Inner page of a comic book. It is composed of six panels. In the top left panel, a monstrous red bird flies over a line of soldiers on a stone bridge over seawater. Narrator text says: Suddenly... One of the soldiers says: Aaaaaah! Look! In the top right panel, three more monstrous birds appear and fly toward the soldiers, who start running. Narrator text says: Scarlet wings flashed in the sunlight, as a cloud of flying monsters dived to the attack! In the middle panel, which spans the page's full width, the birds are snatching the men with their claws and dropping them into the sea. Narrator text says: Half of the Caton guards fled back the way they had come... and it was they who suffered! In the bottom left panel, a soldier is talking to a man wearing an ancient-style helmet. Narrator text says: It was soon over. From the shelter of the trees, Trigo and the rest saw the winged terrors fly away. The soldier says: Half of my men wiped out! But we still outnumber you by more than two to one, Trigo! The bottom middle panel shows a landscape of snowy mountains. Narrator text says: The party pressed on. The following evening, the jungle thinned... and presently they were standing spellbound before a towering mountain range. The bottom right panel shows two older soldiers and a man in an ancient-style helmet. Narrator text says: Trigo's voice was hushed with awe. One of the older soldiers says: When we stand on that highest crest, we shall look down into a secret valley, and see the lost city of Dorana!

Trigan Empire (Look & Learn)

Cover of X-Men magazine, number 58. The illustration shows the superheroes Iceman, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Angel and Beast trapped inside a hemispherical glass dome. Their figures are enclosed in concentric orange lines and the orange silhouette of a screaming man wearing a helmet. Text at the bottom right corner of the cover says: Enter... the man called Havok!

X-Men (Marvel)

Honorable Mention

Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel)
Captain America (Marvel)
Doctor Strange (Marvel)
Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD (Marvel)
Night Master (Showcase)
Tiny Tania In Space (Sally)
Valerian & Laureline (Dargaud)

–

A nice mix of Marvel titles and stuff from overseas.  National (D.C.) is conspicuously absent.  They're pretty bad this year.

——
Best Fanzine
——

Title banner for the fanzine Science Fiction Times, Number 465, April 1969. Over a background of a starry sky and a thin, wiry spaceship, the tagline says in elegant cursive letters: The World of Tomorrow Today.

Science Fiction Times
Cosmos
Riverside Quarterly
Speculation
Yandro
Trumpet
T-Negative
Inside Star Trek

–

I have some reservations about giving SFT the crown since it stopped publication in April, but it got the most votes.  Trumpet is noteworthy for including Niven's "Down in Flames", which reveals The Truth behind his Known Space stories.  The last two 'zines are both put out by Ruth Berman, the former of which is a particularly literate trekfiction mag.

And that's that for this year!  Season's Greetings to all, and here's to another year of terrific science fiction!

Vinyl record jacket, titled Switched on Santa! The merriest Moog synthesizer plays Christmas favorites. Text at the bottom right corner says: Featuring Sy Mann on the Moog synthesizer! Under this line, the text announces the songs White Christmas, Tijuana Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy, My Favorite Things, When Christmas Comes, Angels We Have Heard On High, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, What Child Is This, Joy to the World, Silent Night, Christmas Bells, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The image on the record jacket is a photograph of Santa Claus sitting next to specialized equipment in a sound recording studio, holding an end of a headphone diadem next to his right ear.

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


Follow on BlueSky

15 Comments Leave A Comment

15 thoughts on “[December 26, 1969] A Wreath of Stars (the best science fiction of 1969!)”

  1. This year was definitely Tiptree's breakthrough, winning two galactic stars! I also liked one of his that DIDN'T get a star, "Beam Us Home." Hope to see more good work from him in the coming years. (I also appreciate you quoting my review of the Blish story, as I do feel I'm allowed to feel flattered sometimes.)

    Reply

    1. It was in the running, but no one nominated it.  Victoria Silverwolf, who reviewed it, didn't pick it as one of her Top Three books–and the rest of us never got a chance to read it in our busy reading schedule!  This is one of the problems with so much SFF coming out every year; you inevitably get edge cases like this.

      Reply

  3. Emphyrio was included in the Library of America Best SF novels of 1968-69, along with R A Lafferty's Past Master, Joanne Russ' Picnic on Paradise and Samuel Delaney's Nova.

    Reply

    2. I don't think synchronism in viewpoints is the purpose of SF criticism. I, also, couldn't get through Past Master although I appreciate what he was trying to do.

      Reply

  4. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting for an organized read of 1969. My top stories have some overlap and differences, which I ascribe to both personal taste and what I have read lately. I know I loved some of the stories listed that I have not read lately. Here are my top choices, with overlap noted as "both".

    Novels
    I would think the top finishers listed are appropriate, although I would not include "The Andromeda Strain". I have not read any 1969 novels or serials recently enough to be sure here.

    Novella
    I have not read any lately from 1969. Of those listed, I know I loved "The Organleggers" a lot.
    Novelettes
    "Ship of Shadows", a novelette by Fritz Leiber, F&SF July 1969, rated 4.9/5, or "A classic"
    "A Boy and His Dog", a novelette by Harlan Ellison, New Worlds #189 April 1969, rated 4.2/5, or "Superlative" (both)
    "I Sing the Body Electric!", a novelette by Ray Bradbury, McCalls August 1969, rated 4.2/5, or "Superlative"
    "For the Sake of Grace", a Coyote Jones novelette by Suzette Haden Elgin, F&SF May 1969, rated 4/5, or "Great" (both)
    "Party Line", a novelette by Gérard Klein, (trans. of Ligne de partage 1969), Fiction, #183 March 1969, rated 4/5, or "Great"
    "Winter's King", a Hainish novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin, from Orbit , Damon Knight editor, 1969 G. P. Putnam's Sons, rated 4/5, or "Great"
    "Nine Lives", a novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin, Playboy November 1969, rated 3.9/5, or "Great" (both)

    SS
    "The Last Flight of Doctor Ain", a short story by James Tiptree, Jr., Galaxy March 1969, rated 4.3/5, or "Superlative" (both)
    "Sundance, a short story by Robert Silverberg, F&SF June 1969, 4/5, and a Richard Lupoff What If? #3 choice
    "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long", a short story by Brian W.  Aldiss, Harper's Bazaar December 1969, rated 3.9/5, or "Great"
    "The Electric Ant", a short story by Philip K. Dick, F&SF October 1969, rated 3.9/5, or "Great"
    "Beam Us Home", a short story by James Tiptree, Jr., Galaxy April 1969, rated 3.8/5, or "Great"
    “Therapy 2000”, a short story by Keith Roberts, from New Writings in SF. 15, John Carnell editor, 1969 Dennis Dobson, rated 3.8/5, or "Great"

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much for these!  It's always nice to get other views.  I figured if I was riveted enough to finish the Crichton in a single day, it qualified!

      I like the Leiber more in retrospect then in actual experience.  I remember it well, which is saying something.

      Is the Bradbury the same one included in his recent collection?  George didn't enjoy it much.

      I never read Fiction #183—does it have much SFnal content?

      Kris was not overly enamored with "Winter's King".

      I gave "Sundance: 3 stars: "I just found it all a bit hollow and affected, and also confusing.  Not bad, but nowhere near Silverbob's best."

      "Electric Ant's" ending was too pat for me.

      I had the same issue with "Beam us Home"

      Kris quite liked "Therapy 2000" but didn't nominate it, and I couldn't get into it (though I like Roberts).

      And thus, our disagreements! (though they were not vociferous)

      Thanks again!

      Reply

      1. No worries. I love having more stories to check out, as I have not made a focused effort on 1969. I will probably love a lot of the finalists and others.
        On the Gérard Klein "Party Line", I cheated. It was first published in French in Fiction #183, and not in English until 1976 and later. Fiction appears to include horror and SF from the TOC for 183.
        On the Ray Bradbury "I Sing The Body Electric", it was just reprinted in two apparently different volumes by The Library of America in 2022.

        Reply

  5. Kelly Freas — artist, FTW!  Nice listing. Comprehensive. What a superb resource this is for looking back at '69. Happy New Year!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *