Tue 10 Nov 2020
Diary Review: STARTLING STORIES, September 1952.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Magazines , Science Fiction & Fantasy[10] Comments
STARTLING STORIES, September 1952. Overall Rating: 1½ stars.
JACK VANCE “Big Planet.†Complete novel [92 pages]. A long and tedious account of the adventures of a commission from Earth as they make their way from their wrecked spaceship to their Enclave on Big Planet. Vance does a good job in describing the numerous cultures on this heterogeneous planet, but the effect is lost under the weight of so many. An adventure story only. (1½)
Comment: This was expanded (perhaps) and published in hardcover by Avalon Books (1957), then in paperback as half of an Ace Double (D-295; 1958). Reprinted in novel form several times since. I am aware that many readers consider this a minor classic, and I knew so even at the time, but it just didn’t click for me.
ROGER DEE “The Obligation.†Novelet. A fairly interesting story of Man’s first meeting with Alien, taking place during a wild storm on Venus. Ending tries to make up fo a lack of solid characterization. (3)
Comment: Reprinted in Adventures on Other Planets, edited by Donald A. Wollheim (Ace, paperback, 1955).
R. J. McGREGOR “The Perfect Gentleman.†An effort to show the effects of being lost in space on a woman’s repressed sexuality. (1)
CHARLES E. FRITCH “Night Talk.†Obvious parallel to Christmas story on Mars. (1)
Comment: Collected in Crazy Mixed-Up Planet (Powell, paperback, 1969).
November 10th, 2020 at 12:16 am
Based on some Googling, I have discovered the following:
From Wikipedia:
“Big Planet was first published in Startling Stories (vol. 27 no. 2, September 1952), then cut and reissued in 1957 by Avalon Books. It was later issued as part of Ace double novel D-295, paired with Vance’s Slaves of the Klau. It was further cut in 1958. The text was restored in 1978.”
So much for my original thought that the story was expanded when it was first published in book form.
The date that Wikipedia gives for the first restored publication, 1978, matches that of the Underwood-Miller hardcover of that date.
November 10th, 2020 at 7:51 am
I like the policy that Startling Stories had of publishing long complete novels but sometimes the novels are too long and not outstanding. I found this to be the case with Big Planet also.
November 10th, 2020 at 8:47 pm
Big Planet certainly took up a Big Chunk of this issue, 92 of a total of 118 fiction pages. I can see the idea appealing to an editor, but as a reader, not nearly as much.
November 10th, 2020 at 7:51 pm
Not my favorite Vance, though I always admire his way with prose in anything. I always thought some of the reputation of BIG PLANET is that was ERB rewritten as Campbellian SF.
November 10th, 2020 at 8:43 pm
You could easily be right about that. This was written too far in the past for me to say more about this story, but after thinking about it overnight, my general feeling is that Vance’s prose was better than his plotting. Heresy to his many fans, I know, and I’m more than willing to be outvoted on the very idea.
November 10th, 2020 at 8:59 pm
Naw you got my vote: prose over plotting.
I always read Vance farther than I really want to because of the beauty of his writing.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:17 am
I found BIG PLANET mildly entertaining. I liked THE DEMON PRINCES series much more. Matthew Hughes has written a “sequel” to THE DEMON PRINCES tentatively titled BARBARIANS FROM THE VOID that’s supposed to be published sometime in 2021.
November 11th, 2020 at 12:00 pm
I’ve read several of Hughes’ novelettes and short stories in F&SF and found them very entertaining even though not having a lot of depth. Sometimes that’s exactly what I want to read. Definitely in a Vancean mode.
November 11th, 2020 at 1:32 pm
I reread the five novels in the Demon Princes series and consider them among his best work. The SF book club published the five novels in one book and copies are available on abebooks.com.
November 11th, 2020 at 6:24 pm
I’ll have to try his middle and later works. It was his early stuff that left me cold….