James Nicoll Reviews

Monica Hughes’ 1978 The Tomorrow City is a stand-alone juvenile science fiction novel.

Joe Henderson what he believes will be a cure for the many ills that plague his home city of Thompsonville. He has invented a supercomputer. The City Central Computer — C3 for short — is the most powerful machine of its sort on Earth. Under its guidance, Thompsonville will enjoy efficient governance unmatched anywhere else on Earth.

The first sign of trouble is a malfunctioning elevator.

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Zenna Henderson’s 1965 The Anything Box is a collection of short speculative fiction stories.

Henderson is best remembered for her People stories, since collected in NESFA Press’s Ingathering. The People sequence formed only a fraction of Henderson’s work. The Anything Box collects a cross-section of her non-People work.

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Isaac Asimov’s 1968 Asimov’s Mysteries is a mystery collection — mostly but not entirely science fiction — containing only stories written by Isaac Asimov himself.

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1973’s High Deryni is the third and final volume in Katherine Kurtz’s Ruritanian historical fantasy series, The Chronicles of the Deryni. High Deryni is by no means the final Deryni book.

The reign of young King Kelson of Gwynedd may be as short-lived as Kelson is young. Kelson is beset by racist rabble-rousers, fanatical priests, and what amounts to an evil wizard/warlord. Also, recent revelations about Kelson’s heritage suggest that the boy king is as terrible as some of his enemies claim.

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1980’s Beyond Rejection is the first volume in Justin Leiber’s Beyond trilogy.

Had Ismael Forth perished in the barbaric 20^th century, no doubt he would have remained entirely dead. Thanks to 22^nd century mind-recording technology, he has a chance to live again…

But only a chance.

Spoilers may abound. The book is long out of print and the author is dead. I don’t think anyone should mind.

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Eric Frank Russell’s 1965 The Mindwarpers is a stand-alone science fiction thriller. The Mindwarpers previously appeared in 1964 as With a Strange Device.

In a world divided between allies of the United States of America and certain unnamed enemies, security is mission one. The research facility that employs master metallurgist Richard Bransome imposes the most stringent security measures possible. Yet the facility is helpless to prevent the loss of its top minds through an insidious process about which federal agents like Henderson can do nothing.

Why would America’s most talented men suddenly resign their positions to disappear into obscurity?

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Ross Rocklynne’s 1973 The Men and the Mirror is a collection of hard-SF puzzle stories. The stories were first published between 1936 and 1946; most of them appeared between 1936 and 1940.

Pirate Edward Deverel flees across the Solar System, pursued by Interplanetary Police Force Lieutenant Jack Colbie. On Mars, Deverel had stolen fortunes from wealthy travelers. Now he must face justice… but only if Colbie can catch Deverel and having caught him, can keep him.

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John Boyd’s 1968 The Last Starship from Earth is a satirical science fiction novel.

Haldane IV is doomed the moment he first sees Helix and her seductive swaying walk.

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Joan Samson’s 1975 The Auctioneer is a stand-alone social horror novel.

Although they do not suspect it, John and Mim Moore’s life is doomed as soon as local cop Bob Gore arrives with news and a request. An out-of-towner named Perly Dunsmore has bought the Fawkes farm. A former small-town boy himself, Perly has plans for Harlow, New Hampshire. Step one, an auction of donated goods, over which experienced auctioneer Perly will preside.

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Terry Carr’s 1979 The Best Science Fiction Novellas of The Year 1 is the first volume in his The Best Science Fiction Novellas of The Year anthology series.

Frustrated that page count limits precluded including many noteworthy novellas in his Best Science Fiction of the Year anthologies, Carr resolved to provide novellas with their own anthology series.

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