Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n publisher and critic in the fields of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
.
He studied journalism, English and history at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. In addition, he produced a number of translations into German of leading science fiction authors, including
Herbert W. Franke
Herbert W. Franke (14 May 1927 – 16 July 2022) was an Austrian scientist and writer. ''Die Zeit'' calls him "the most prominent German writing Science Fiction author".
He is also one of the important early computer artists (and collectors), cr ...
,
Stanislaw Lem Stanislav and variants may refer to:
People
*Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.)
Places
* Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine
* Stanislaus County, Cali ...
Abe Kōbō
Abe or ABE may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Shinzo Abe (1954–2022), former Prime Minister of Japan
* Abe (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
* Abe (surname), a list of people and ...
,
Cordwainer Smith
Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (July 11, 1913 – August 6, 1966), better known by his pen-name Cordwainer Smith, was an American author known for his science fiction works. Linebarger was a US Army officer, a noted East Asia scholar, and a ...
, Brian W. Aldiss and the Strugatski brothers.
In 1973 his anthology of science fiction ''View From Another Shore'', published in the US by Seabury Press, introduced a number of European authors to the English-reading public. Selected authors included Stanislaw Lem, Josef Nesvadba,
Gerard Klein
Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...
, Lino Aldani and Jean-Pierre Andrevon.
The year 1975 saw the start of his series ''Die phantastischen Romane''. For seven years it re-published works of both lesser- and better-known writers as well as new ones, ending with a total of 28 volumes. In the years 1979-1985 he brought out translations of
Olaf Stapledon
William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) – known as Olaf Stapledon – was a British philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures ...
,
Karel Čapek
Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal ...
or
Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
."''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature A Checklist, 1700-1974 : with Contemporary Science Fiction Authors II'' Robert Reginald, Douglas Menville, Mary A. Burgess
Detroit - Gale Research Company.
(p.1056) Rottensteiner described
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...
as producing "travesties of fiction"
and stated " Asimov is a typical non-writer, and Heinlein and
Anderson
Anderson or Andersson may refer to:
Companies
* Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910
* Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car
* Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer
* Anderson ...
are just banal". However, Rottensteiner praised Philip K. Dick, listing him as one of
"the greatest SF writers".
From 1980 through 1998 he was advisor for Suhrkamp Verlag's ''Phantastische Bibliothek'', which brought out some three hundred books. In all, he has edited about fifty anthologies, produced two illustrated books (' (1975) und ' (1978)) as well as working on numerous reference works on science fiction.
His close association with and promotion of Lem until 1995 was a factor in the recognition of the latter in the United States.
Rottensteiner has been the editor of '' Quarber Merkur'', the leading German language critical journal of science fiction, since 1963. In 2004, on the occasion of the hundredth number of this journal, he was awarded a special Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis.
References
Further reading
* "Recent Writings on German Science Fiction," ''Science Fiction Studies'', Vol. 28, No. 2 (Jul., 2001), pp. 284–290.
*Franz Rottensteiner and Todd C. Hanlin (Translator) ''The Best of Austrian Science Fiction''. (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought. Translation Series. (Aug., 2001)
* "SF in Germany: A Short Survey," ''Science Fiction Studies'', Vol. 27, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 118–123.
*"Science Fiction: Eine Einführung." ''Insel Almanach auf das Jahr'' (1972): 5-21.