Mining the Genre Asteroid: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
A mysterious source of energy from another universe and the emergence of particles that should not exist according to principles of modern physics and chemistry. And thus, when they decay, they release free, clean energy. Who cares about the motives of the para-men in the parallel universe who are sending the atoms of impossible Plutonium 186 to us in exchange for atoms of Tungsten 186 (equally unstable in their world), right? The Electron Pump is a benefit to both sides, right? Or is it? Is the Electron Pump really that benign, or is it a devilish energy trap designed to foster dependency on it, or worse, be actively harmful to both humans and aliens alike? Once the Pump is in operation, can a source of limitless free energy that threatens the survival of two civilizations even
Mining the Genre Asteroid: Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague De Camp
In late 1930’s Rome, American archaeologist Martin Padway is having a holiday from his dig in Lebanon. Over dinner with his Italian friend Tancredi, a discussion of the nature of time and how a man might change the web of time becomes of eminently practical use when, a few hours later while studying the Pantheon, Martin finds himself cast back in time, to 6th Century Rome. In 535 AD Rome, The Roman Empire is a half century dead, in the West anyway. The Gothic Kingdom rules Rome and Italy. The Byzantines lurk to the East, dreaming of reconquering Italy for the Eastern Roman Empire. Martin himself is a stranger in a strange land, of competing Christian sects and ambitious nobles. Its going to take all of Martin’s wits to not only survive in an alien country, but to forge an even grander scheme. You see, at the cusp of the long slide after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Martin realizes he is at an important moment of history, and as per his old friend, might be able to tackle the greatest challenge of all: To keep the Dark Ages from occurring. Lest Darkness Fall is a classic time travel story by L. Sprague De Camp. In six decades of writing, L. Sprague De Camp, separately and in collaboration, wrote over 100 books and numerous stories. From straight historical novels like Dragon at the Ishtar Gate to time travel stories like Lest Darkness Fall to reconstituting Burroughs like Sword and Planet stories with the Viagens Interplantarias series, De Camp was a seminal figure of early science fiction and fantasy who quietly but inexorably influenced generations of contemporaries and successors. While the conceit and methodology of sending Padway into the past is clearly just a literary device, once Padway finds himself in Rome, the novel goes into a “hard alternate history” sort of mode. No more fantastic elements. Padway struggles with the language; his Latin is rusty, and it gives De Camp a
Mining the Genre Asteroid: The World of Tiers series by Philip José Farmer
Robert Wolff has had a series of hard knocks in his life. He can’t remember anything before the age of twenty, and in fact was fostered and taken care of by a family whose last name he now borrows. He has a wife and is looking to buy a new house, but being on the verge of a nervous breakdown and at his retirement age to boot, not even the end years of his life seem to be set to be peaceful or happy. So, when he discovers a strange inter-dimensional portal in the basement of said house and an invitation to use the aural horn-like key to open it, Wolff doesn’t hesitate. On the other side, he finds a wondrous artificial universe built like the layers of cake, with creatures out of mythology, magical portals, dread forces working against him, and the true secret of who and what he *really* is. Welcome to the World of Tiers.
Book Review: A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
I would normally begin with the fact that the name Lady Isabella Trent is known to every schoolchild and adult of the slightest education, but such assumptions have gotten me into trouble before here at the S&F Herald. While it’s possible that some villagers in far off corners of the world, or even in quiet corners of our own Scirland, have not heard of the life and times of the foremost studier of dragons, I would expect most of our readers to be familiar with her and her work. Breaking conventions of her time in regards to her sex, Lady Isabella Trent’s more salacious and popular accounts of her adventures have no doubt gotten many young boarding school readers into trouble for possessing and passing around. To say nothing of askance looks from one’s social peers to find such volumes on their bookshelf.
Mining the Genre Asteroid: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
“Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come” A portion of that line from Revelations is a code phrase that Colonel Mark Bragg, U.S. Air Force has with his little brother Randolph (Randy Bragg). The scene is 1950’s Florida, the small river town of Fort Repose. A sleepy isolated burg, Mark has sent his wife and children to stay with Randy along with the message. Geopolitical tensions have been rising, from spy satellites to conflict in the Middle East. Events are rapidly moving toward a head. The Missile Gap and technological superiority on the part of the Warsaw Pact means that for the moment, the Soviet Union has an advantage over the United States. This imbalance is a temporary advantage, perhaps one large enough to use. The code phrase’s meaning, then? Nuclear War is nigh.
MINING THE GENRE ASTEROID: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
“What is right for the community is right even unto death for the individual. There is no individual, there is only the community.” In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, in isolated Appalachia, a powerful extended family is determined to survive. Crop failure. Climate change. Ecological and environmental collapse. Pandemic, social upheaval and worse. All of this threatens the end of humanity, and indeed of most animal species in the bargain.This community builds itself a safehold to survive the turbulence and save a remnant of humanity in the bargain. When it turns out the pandemics have left everyone in the extended family infertile, the only solution that presents itself to save humanity is to clone the members of the extended family (and their local livestock as well). The clones can carry humanity ahead a generation or three, and then the ordinary course of marriage and mating can resume the community’s usual social structures. However, once born, the clones have their own
