Tue 20 May 2025
SF Diany Review: IF SCIENCE FICTION October 1967.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Magazines , Science Fiction & Fantasy[14] Comments
IF SCIENCE FICTION. October 1967. Editor: Frederik Pohl. Cover artist: Hector Castellon. Overall rating: **½.
HAL CLEMENT “Ocean on Top.” Serial, part 1 of 3. Review to appear after my reading of the full story.
LARRY EISENBERG “Conqueror.” A short but terribly important story of how sex can humiliate the proudest conqueror. (5)
A. E. van VOGT “Enemy of the Silies.” Novelette. More incomprehensible adventures of the Silkies, attacked this time by the Nijjians. Cemp’s only weapon if his Logic of Levels, whatever that might be. You gotta admire van Vogt, if he understands this stuff. (0)
C. C. MacAPP “Winter of the Llangs.” Novelette. An intelligent cattle-like people trapped by the weather are harassed by creatures which might be wolves. Solid alien characterization. (3)
DONALD J. WALSH “Mu Panther,” First story. A hunting party goes after a mutant panther which has more than size going for it, (2)
JAMES BLISH “Faust Aleph-Null.” Serial, part 3 of 3. To be reviewed separately soon.
May 20th, 2025 at 10:09 pm
Never read the Clement, but I really liked most of his stuff, although he could sometimes get bogged down qith details (he was a high school science teacher). I always found Blish to blow hot or cold; he could be very,very hot or almost unreadable; this time around, I found him in the latter category. Early van Vogt was almost always worthwhile; later van Vogt was tiresome, especially in the case of the Silkies. Eisenberg was a truly underrated writer, almost always enjoyable; his stories deserve resurgence. I usually give MacApp a C or C-plus rating. I’m not familiar with the Walsh.
On the whole, I think you gave the issue half a star too much.
May 21st, 2025 at 12:08 pm
i agree with you as to Blish. Hot or cold for me too, about 50-50. I think he and I just weren’t in sync. Walsh wrote a couple other stories, but that was it. Both in a heroic fantasy vein, as I’ve just learned, checking him out.
May 21st, 2025 at 7:56 am
I enjoyed Faust-Aleph Null. It was half of a complete novel, and later published in a book as Black Easter, taking as its premise that demonology rested on true principles and actually worked.
SPOILER
The second half, The Day After Judgment, ends up with the Devil himself turning up and making a long speech in Miltonic blank verse.
May 21st, 2025 at 12:10 pm
I haven’t read my review of the Blish serial yet, but I think I liked it. It’s in a genre I probably wouldn’t read now, but back then I was convinced that if I bought a magazine to read, I ought to read it all.
May 21st, 2025 at 9:11 am
Frederik Pohl defeated by aggressive spel-chequer yet again, I fear, in your credit here. I have also enjoyed Eisenberg’s stories in the past, and might have to seek this one out, online. Did read the Blish fantasy novels decades back in their book form.
May 21st, 2025 at 12:04 pm
I’ve fixed the Frederik. Didn’t notice it until you pointed it out. No excuses. Just missed it. Thanks!
I don’t remember the Eisenberg story, so can’t be any more informative as to why I gave it a 5 than what you see here. If you go looking, you might find it online, but it’s also in a collection of his stories called “The Best Laid Schemes,” reprinted in paperback from Collier. I know I owned the book at one time. I wonder if I still do. I will have to look.
May 23rd, 2025 at 10:38 am
I actually bought and read this issue of IF back in 1967! I read James Blish’s STAR TREK books. Like you, he’s a 50-50 writer for me, too.
May 23rd, 2025 at 11:32 am
Almost 58 years ago. I’m starting to feel old, George.
May 23rd, 2025 at 11:35 am
And as far as STAR TREK was concerned, I watched a few, but I never became a big fan. When Blish’s TREK books came out, I passed on them, wondering why he was stooping so low. Little did I know!
May 25th, 2025 at 10:38 am
Steve, it’s all about the money…
May 25th, 2025 at 10:47 am
Quite right.
May 26th, 2025 at 1:50 pm
And, as Damon Knight noted in THE FUTURIANS, which I read when it and I were newish in 1978 and still somehow took away the notion that a writing life was for me, Blish for the first time in his career was receiving fan mail in any quantity when he took up the ST prose version tasks…never much cared for those, versus his best more original work.
May 26th, 2025 at 2:16 pm
And of course Blish, as forgotten as greatly as he is now, is remembered more for the TREK books than anything else he did. Looking back now, I say good for him.
May 26th, 2025 at 2:16 pm
No post should have exactly 13 comments.