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1957 In Science Fiction
The year 1957 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events. Births and deaths Births *Roger MacBride Allen *John Barnes (author), John Barnes *Stephen Baxter (author), Stephen Baxter *Joël Champetier (d. 2015) *Jean-Claude Dunyach *John M. Ford (d. 2006) *C. S. Friedman *Elizabeth Hand *John Meaney *Jeff Noon *Jerry Oltion *Jerry Ordway *Wildy Petoud *Sharon Shinn *Shumil *Michael Stackpole *Tad Williams Deaths *Ray Cummings (b. 1887) *Alfred Döblin (b. 1878) Literary releases Serialized novels * ''A Planet for Texans'' by Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire, ''Fantastic Universe'' (March). First editions * ''Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale'' by Ivan Yefremov (in Russian), a futuristic communist utopia where a starship crew navigates challenges and cultural dynamics. * ''Big Planet'' by Jack Vance, explores a rogue planet's diverse societies and political intrigue. * ''The Black Cloud'' by Fred Hoyle, a sentient cloud from space threatens Earth, pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space exploration, time travel, Parallel universes in fiction, parallel universes, and extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial life. The genre often explores human responses to the consequences of projected or imagined scientific advances. Science fiction is related to fantasy (together abbreviated wikt:SF&F, SF&F), Horror fiction, horror, and superhero fiction, and it contains many #Subgenres, subgenres. The genre's precise Definitions of science fiction, definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Major subgenres include hard science fiction, ''hard'' science fiction, which emphasizes scientific accuracy, and soft science fiction, ''soft'' science fiction, which focuses on social sciences. Other no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Cummings
Ray Cummings (born Raymond King Cummings) (August 30, 1887 – January 23, 1957) was an American author of science fiction literature and comic books. Early life Cummings was born in New York City in 1887. He worked with Thomas Edison as a personal assistant from 1914 to 1919, where he arranged phonograph record albums and wrote labels for Edison Records. Facsimiles of his signature appear on many of the labels. Literary career Cummings is identified as one of the "founding fathers" of the science fiction genre. His most highly regarded fictional work was the novel '' The Girl in the Golden Atom'' published in 1922, which was a consolidation of a short story by the same name published in 1919 (where Cummings combined the idea of Fitz James O'Brien's ''The Diamond Lens'' with H. G. Wells's ''The Time Machine'') and a sequel, ''The People of the Golden Atom'', published in 1920. Before taking book form, several of Cummings's stories appeared serialized in pulp magazines. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip K
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include List of kings of Macedonia, kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has #Philip in other languages, many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips (surname), Phillips. The original Greek spelling includes two Ps as seen in Philippides (other), Philippides and Philippos, which is possible due to the Greek endings following the two Ps. To end a word with such a double consonant—in Greek or in English—would, however, be incorrect. It has many diminutive (or even hypocorism, hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly (other)#People, Philly, Phillie, Lip (other), Lip, and Pip (other), Pip. There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cosmic Puppets
''The Cosmic Puppets'' (original title: ''A Glass of Darkness'') is a science fiction novel by American author Philip K. Dick, published in 1957. It is a novelization of a short story initially published in the December 1956 issue of '' Satellite Science Fiction''. ''The Cosmic Puppets'' was first published as a novel by Ace Books as one half of Ace Double D-249, bound dos-à-dos with '' Sargasso of Space'' by Andrew North (better known as Andre Norton). Plot summary Ted Barton, having left Millgate, Virginia several years ago, returns with his wife Peg to find his hometown strangely transformed. Street names and landmarks do not exist as he remembers them, and the inhabitants of the town are similarly oblivious to their contradictory past. Peg proves intolerant of her husband's interest and abandons him while he explores the town. While in Millgate, Barton meets three sympathetic locals: Doctor Meade, a family physician; his daughter, Mary; and William Christopher, a town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Hoyle
Sir Fred Hoyle (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper, B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory (a term coined by him on BBC Radio) in favor of the "steady-state model", and his promotion of panspermia as the origin of life on Earth. He spent most of his working life at St John's College, Cambridge and served as the founding director of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, Institute of Theoretical Astronomy at Cambridge. Hoyle also wrote science fiction novels, short stories and radio plays, co-created television serials, and co-authored twelve books with his son, Geoffrey Hoyle. Biography Early life Hoyle was born near Bingley in Gilstead, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. His father Ben Hoyle was a violinist and worked in the wool trade in Bradford, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Black Cloud
''The Black Cloud'' is a 1957 science fiction novel by British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle. It details the arrival of an enormous cloud of gas that enters the Solar System and appears about to destroy most of the life on Earth by blocking the Sun's radiation. Plot summary In 1964, astrophysicists on Earth became aware of a cloud of gas and dust, initially thought to be a Bok globule, that is heading for the Solar System. The cloud, if interposed between the Sun and the Earth, could wipe out most of the life on Earth by blocking solar radiation, thus the name "The Black Cloud". A cadre of astronomers and other scientists is drawn together in Nortonstowe, England, to study the cloud and report to the British government about the consequences of its presence. The cloud unexpectedly decelerates as it approaches and comes to rest around the Sun, causing disastrous climatic changes on Earth and immense mortality and suffering for the human race. As the behaviour of the cloud proves to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. He also wrote several mystery novels under pen names, including Ellery Queen. Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984, and he was a Guest of Honor at the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 15th SFWA Grand Master, Grand Master in 1997, and the EMP Museum#Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001, its sixth class of two deceased and two living writers. His most notable awards included Hugo Awards in 1963 for ''The Dragon Masters'', in 1967 for ''The Last Castle (novella), The Last Castle'', and in 2010 for his memoir ''This Is Me, Jack Vance!''; the Nebula Award in 1966, also for ''The Last Castle''; the Jupiter Award (science fiction award), Jupiter Award in 1975 and the World Fantasy Award in 1990 for ''Lyonesse: M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Planet
''Big Planet'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Jack Vance. It is the first novel (the other being '' Showboat World'') sharing the same setting, an immense, but metal-poor and backward world called Big Planet. ''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. Plot summary Big Planet had been colonized hundreds of years prior to the start of the novel by misfits, faddists, cultists and anti-government advocates from Earth. The environment is Earth-like, including the surface gravity; even though the planet is much larger than Earth (hence the name), it is much less dense, resulting from a scarcity of metal. As a result, a large number of technologically backward societies have developed, many of them ruled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Yefremov
Ivan Antonovich (Antipovich) Yefremov, sometimes Efremov (; 23 April 1908 – 5 October 1972) was a Soviet paleontologist, science-fiction author and social thinker. He founded taphonomy, the study of fossilization patterns. Biography He was born in the village of Vyritsa in Saint Petersburg Governorate on 23 April 1908. His parents divorced during the Russian Revolution. His mother married a Red Army commander and left the children in Kherson to be cared for by an aunt who soon died of typhus. Yefremov survived on his own for some time, after which he joined a Red Army unit as a "son of the regiment" and went to Perekop with it. In 1921, he was discharged and went to Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) to study. He completed his education there while combining his studies with a variety of odd jobs. He later commented that "the Revolution was also my own liberation from philistinism" (). Academic career In 1956, due to the influence of academician Petr Sushkin, he bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Space-Age Tale
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version is often written in one of two forms: the double-storey and single-storey . The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English, '' a'' is the indefinite article, with the alternative form ''an''. Name In English, the name of the letter is the ''long A'' sound, pronounced . Its name in most other languages matches the letter's pronunciation in open syllables. History The earliest known ancestor of A is ''aleph''—the first letter of the Phoenician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantastic Universe
''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishing in the 1950s in the United States, and was moderately successful, outlasting almost all of its competitors. The main editors were Leo Margulies (1954–1956) and Hans Stefan Santesson (1956–1960). The magazine is not highly regarded by science fiction historians, but some well-received stories appeared, including "Who?", by Algis Budrys, which formed the basis for Budrys's novel of that name, and several stories of Robert E. Howard's, rewritten by L. Sprague de Camp to feature Howard's character Conan the Barbarian. Under Santesson's tenure the quality declined somewhat, and the magazine became known for printing much UFO-related material. A collection of stories from the magazine, edited by Santesson, appeared in 1960 from Prenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Joseph McGuire
John Joseph McGuire (August 25, 1917, in Altoona, Pennsylvania – August 1, 1981) was an American author of science fiction. He frequently wrote with H. Beam Piper Henry Beam Piper (March 23, 1904 – ) was an American science fiction writer. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" al .... Selected works Short stories * "Hunter Patrol" (Amazing May 1959) * " The Return" (Astounding January 1954) ''Note: an expanded version of this story can be found in "The Science Fictional Sherlock Holmes" (Council of Four, 1960)'' * "The Queen's Messenger" (Astounding May 1957) * "Trap for the Bleeder" (Fantastic Universe March 1959) * "To Catch an Alien" in ''Star Science Fiction #6'' (Ballantine Books 1959) * "Take The Reason Prisoner" (Analog November 1963) * "Testing" (Fantastic Stories June 1964) Novels * ''Null-ABC'' (Astounding February and March 1953) ''N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
