James Nicoll Reviews

Ann Maxwell’s 1979 A Dead God Dancing is a science fiction novel set in her Concord universe.

The Concord takes a hand-off approach to pre-spaceflight cultures, monitoring from afar but not interfering. Tal-Lith will be an exception. The unfortunate planet is about to be scoured clear of life by its misbehaving sun. If the inhabitants are to be saved, the Concord must act now.

The impending deadline forces the Concord to use agents who are available if not suitable. Tov Ryth Lhar, Nevin lo Skewml, T’Mero Verial Silariaoen, Skandiri-Li, and Syza Zomal are dispatched to Tal-Lith to prepare its people for the coming evacuation.

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Galileo, July 1979 was the thirteenth of sixteen published issues of Charles C. Ryan’s Galileo Magazine.

Galileo is not much mentioned these days, but a mere forty-one years ago it was one of my go-to SF magazines. I would have rated it higher than Bova’s Analog (much higher than Schmidt’s), but not as high as Baen’s Galaxy.

How does it stand up, you ask?

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Keith Laumer’s 1976 The Best of Keith Laumer is a collection of science fiction stories. 

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Spider Robinson’s 1977 Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon is the first of ten Callahan and Callahan-related books. 

Callahan’s! A Long Island bar where damaged people come to drink and recover in company. Widower Jake Stonebender washed up at Callahan’s after killing his wife and child thanks to his inept car repair. He narrates the tales that follow.

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Norman Spinrad’s 1980 Songs from the Stars is a standalone science fiction novel. 

Centuries ago, the black sorcery of the industrial age ended with the Smash. Much of the planet is a poisoned wasteland. West Coast Aquaria may be the sole exception. Relying solely on White Science of muscle, sun, wind and water, the people of Aquaria live karmically pure lives unsullied by the black sciences, living by the Clear Blue Way/ 

Or so they tell themselves. It’s a lie.

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Jessica Amanda Salmonson’s 1979 Amazons! is an anthology of fantasy stories. Special ones. Each story features a woman protagonist who is not support staff or arm candy for the hero. Almost but not all of the stories are by women. The anthology won the 1980 World Fantasy Award, as well as nominations for both the Locus and the coveted Balrog.

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Jerome Bixby’s 1964 Space by the Tale is a collection of … you’ve guessed it, short stories and novelettes. 

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Andrew J. Offutt’s 1973 The Galactic Rejects is a standalone SF novel.

The starship Brunner, having been ambushed by the alien Azuli, is doomed. The crew of the Brunner, hoping to prevent panic, assure their passengers that there enough spacepods for all. This is a lie, but it doesn’t convince the telepath Rinegar. He commandeers a spacepod and escapes.

The spacepod lands on the nearest world, which just happens to be conveniently habitable. The pod can’t take off again; Rinegar is marooned. With him are two strangers, fellow veterans of the Terran-Azuli war: flighty teen Corisande and twenty-something delinquent Berneson. 

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Alfred Coppel’s 1960 Dark December is a standalone post-apocalyptic novel.

Major Kenneth Gavin survived World War Three, protected in the Unimak Island Titan missile base. Over the course of the war, he and his fellow missilemen lobbed salvo after salvo of thermonuclear weapons at the Soviet Union. The United States prevailed; the Soviets have capitulated. Major Gavin is free to go home to his wife Sue and daughter Pam.

If they are still alive and if he can reach them.

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Roger Zelazny’s 1969 Creatures of Light and Darkness is a standalone science fantasy novel.

For a thousand years, a nameless servant has served Anubis in the House of the Dead. His reward is a personal name and a task. To the nameless servant’s surprise, the name Anubis gives him is not his former name, which would grant him access to his former self, but a new one, Wakim.

His task? Find and kill the Prince Who Was A Thousand.

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