Got the Crud
12. Nov, 2009 
5 Comments
I don’t know exactly what I have – chills, muscle & joint aches, a persistent cough (not dry, fortunately), general malaise and extreme mental confusion (not to mention irritability that Karen will be more than happy to attest to).
I suspect that it was brought on by the exhaustion caused by the move (which still has a few trips remaining – 1 x dump, 2 x storage unit, 1 x new apartment) and general exposure to the public in a country that extols the virtues of nearly useless deoderant but won’t be caught dead wearing a surgical mask in public (and thinks a bidet is for washing socks…)l. Yes, truly we live in the greatest country on Earth.
On the other hand, I have been in bed for a day and have gotten some reading done – mostly of anthologies and critiques from the late forties through the 60s. (Very interesting to read a survey of the field by folks who were contemporaries of Wells.)
Something has clearly happened to the field between then and now. Knight, in his introductory pieces in Science Fiction of the Thirties, discusses how much crap was produced during that decade and then praises the Sturgeonesque exceptions as still having meaning and value to the field (in 1964) – providing plenty of examples that deal with so-called modern themes, offer writing that is literature and etc.
Harry Bates, in his introduction to A Requiem for Astounding discusses the up-turned noses of academia and then catalogs giants in the field (of literature) who have found it necessary and desireable to utilize SF to explore certain themes (in 1964).
Healy & McComas discuss “modern” science fiction (in 1946) and run through every single one of the major themes.
There’s more: Moskowitz in Seekers of the Infinite, Lundwall from the early 70s – all of them expressing satisfaction, praise and boundless enthusiasm for the field when “hundreds” of SF titles can be found on the shelves of any bookstore across the nation.
I’m looking into this very deeply and have already developed a few theories on the change (the audience has changed – 30%+ of Astounding’s reader’s were in the technical and scientific fields – is the same true today? We’ve lost most of the folks who shaped the genre for 40+ years: did they unconciously create a joint vision of the field that has now been lost?)
And along the way I’m gathering stories that aren’t “old” or “dated” or “irrelevant” for a survey of the field that I hope might provide an anchor for anyone wishing to bother to find out where it all came from.
Heh. If I’m lucky I’ll stay sick for a week or so and get a heck of a lot of reading done.
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You read all that in a day, while you were sick? Wow. That’s impressive. I haven’t read Healy & McComas in a long time, but have it handy on the shelf. I wish I read faster, or had more time, or something. Yet I have about as much reading time as anyone could ask for, being retired.
I’m looking forward to your comments on all this.
Oh, and get well soon!
While you’re at it, why not read THE BLACK STAR PASSES and see what you think?
Richard,
have done so multiple times – Mightiest Machine, Wade, Morey, Alcott, JWC at his space operatic best – though my all-time fave from that period is The Moon is Hell.
That’s a good one too. Yep.