#4: Clement/Herbert/Dick/Lem/Ballard/Anderson/Haldeman/Vonnegut

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Science Fiction Visionaries: #4

With today's set of authors, we see how science fiction matured as the Golden Age wound down. Leaps and bounds were made in subject matter not usually tackled in traditional stories via the "New Wave", and there was a deliberate effort on the part of some to take a more literary approach to the genre. The result was the penning of perennial classics that gained a life even in mainstream fiction. Here are just a few of them.



HAL CLEMENT (1922-2003)

Harry Clement Stubbs, better known to fans as Hal Clement, was one of the leading writers of hard science fiction, striving for technical accuracy in his works, as close to known science as possible. The result was a body of work unique in its rigorous construction, the best known being the novel Mission of Gravity, set on the planet Mesklin where the gravity reaches up to 700 times that of the Earth, recounting a native expedition to retrieve a human scientific probe from the dangerous polar regions. Much beloved by science fiction fans as a demonstration in worldbuilding, the novel would receive a sequel in Star Light and further extrapolation in the stories "Under" and "Lecture Demonstration."

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Clement)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/clement_hal)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hal-Clement)
The Independent – Obituary of Hal Clement (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/hal-clement-37380.html)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/HalClement)
Tor.com – Creator of Worlds: Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement (https://www.tor.com/2018/02/15/creator-of-worlds-mission-of-gravity-by-hal-clement/)
Black Gate – Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement (https://www.blackgate.com/2017/03/28/mission-of-gravity-by-hal-clement/)



FRANK HERBERT (1920-1986)

Born to a poor home environment, Frank Herbert pursued newspaper journalism and photography primarily while writing for the pulps in the mid-1940's through the 1950's, earning notice as a novelist for The Dragon in the Sea, a tale of 21st-century submarine warfare. By 1965, however, he had written what would be an indisputable landmark in science fiction: Dune, a work of epic scope and complexity concerned with human evolution, ecology, religion, and politics, set on the arid desert planet of Arrakis, where a ducal heir, deposed by a rival noble house, integrates himself into the native culture and finds himself becoming a messianic superman destined to bring jihad to the galaxy. It has been cited as the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, an ur-text of literary worldbuilding, and a key text in the softer sciences; while not an immediate bestseller, it co-won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1966 as well as the inaugural equivalent Nebula Award. Other notable novels would follow, such as The Green Brain, The Santaroga Barrier, The White Plague, and Hellstrom's Hive, as well as five Dune sequels, although none would reach the critical acclaim of the original.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/herbert_frank)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frank-Herbert)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/FrankHerbert)
O'Reilly – Study of Frank Herbert (https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/)
The New Yorker – "Dune" Endures (https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/dune-endures)
The Guardian – Dune, 50 Years On: How a Science Fiction Novel Changed the World (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world)
Tor.com – In League with the Future: Frank Herbert's Dune (https://www.tor.com/2011/01/12/in-league-with-the-future-frank-herberts-dune/)
Tor.com – Rereading Frank Herbert's Dune (https://www.tor.com/series/rereading-frank-herberts-dune/)
Black Gate – Dune by Frank Herbert (https://www.blackgate.com/2017/08/01/dune-by-frank-herbert/)



PHILIP K. DICK (1928-1982)

There are few authors that are more influential in speculative fiction than Philip K. Dick, whose oeuvre covered philosophical and metaphysical themes mixed with recurring motifs of paranoia, the illusion of reality, corporate domination, and altered states of consciousness. His original stories found little success until 1962, with the publication of The Man in the High Castle, an alternate history in which the Axis won WWII and a search is undertaken for a man who has written a book in which the Allies have won; the metafictional classic won the Hugo Award in 1963 and kicked off a creative period which produced other renown titles such as Martian Time-Slip, The Simulacra, The Penultimate Truth, Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We All Got Along After the Bomb, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Now Wait for Last Year, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik, A Maze of Death, and Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. By 1974, due to perceived paranormal experiences and strange hallucinations, his metaphysical interests increased, leading to further works such as  A Scanner Darkly, VALIS, and The Divine Invasion; by 1982, he passed away due to a series of strokes, leaving his last novel, The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, to be posthumously published.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dick_philip_k)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-K-Dick)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/PhilipKDick)
The New York Times – Obituary of Philip K. Dick (https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/03/obituaries/philip-k-dick-won-awards-for-science-fiction-works.html)
The New York Times – Philip K. Dick: Sci-Fi Philosopher, Part 1 (https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/philip-k-dick-sci-fi-philosopher-part-1/?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDick%2C%20Philip%20K.&mtrref=www.nytimes.com)
The New York Times – Philip K. Dick: Sci-Fi Philosopher, Part 2 (https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/philip-k-dick-sci-fi-philosopher-part-2/?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDick%2C%20Philip%20K.&mtrref=www.nytimes.com)
The New York Times – Philip K. Dick: Sci-Fi Philosopher, Part 3 (https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/philip-k-dick-sci-fi-philosopher-part-3/?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FDick%2C%20Philip%20K.&mtrref=www.nytimes.com)
Science Fiction Studies – Philip K. Dick: A Visionary Among the Charlatans (https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/5/lem5art.htm)
The New Yorker – Blows Against the Empire: The Return of Philip K. Dick (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/08/20/blows-against-the-empire)
The Irish Times – Just Because You're Paranoid...: Philip K. Dick's Troubled Life (https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/just-because-you-re-paranoid-philip-k-dick-s-troubled-life-1.3243976)
Tor.com – The One Book That's Tattooed on Both My Arms (https://www.tor.com/2017/05/15/the-one-book-thats-tattooed-on-both-my-arms/)
Tor.com – An Alternate History Primer: The Man in the High Castle (https://www.tor.com/2015/11/18/the-man-in-the-high-castle-primer-philip-k-dick/)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 12: Philip K. Dick and Sydney Brenner (https://www.tor.com/2019/06/20/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-12-philip-k-dick-and-sydney-brenner/)



STANISŁAW LEM (1921-2006)

Despite having a low opinion of American science fiction and subsequently coming under attack from the SFWA, Stanisław Lem remains one of the most highly esteemed science fiction writers, whose work, given the opportunity to flourish after the de-Stalinization of his native Poland, addressed such complex issues as communication between species, the future of technology, and human significance. Some of his top-rated works include novels such as Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, Return from the Stars, The Invincible, His Master's Voice, The Futurological Congress, and Fiasco; he also wrote significant short story collections like The Star Diaries (which introduced recurring character Ijon Tichy), The Invasion from Aldebaran, The Cyberiad, and Tales of Pirx the Pilot. His best known work is the novel Solaris, in which a team of scientists attempt to communicate with the sentient ocean of an alien world and subsequently face psychological trauma; part of its renown comes both from being adapted into film three times and from being inaccurately translated (in Lem's opinion) into English from a French translation of the original Polish.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanisław_Lem)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/lem_stanislaw)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanislaw-Lem)
Official website (https://lem.pl/)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/StanislawLem)
The Independent – Obituary of Stanisław Lem (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/stanislaw-lem-6105099.html)
The New Yorker – The Beautiful Mind-Bending of Stanisław Lem (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-beautiful-mind-bending-of-stanislaw-lem)
The Guardian – Obituary of Stanisław Lem (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/apr/08/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries)
The Paris Review – The Future According to Stanisław Lem (https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/09/12/the-future-according-to-stanislaw-lem/)
The Village Voice – On Both Page and Screen, Polish Master Stanisław Lem Makes You Question Reality (https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/11/04/on-both-page-and-screen-polish-master-stanislaw-lem-makes-you-question-reality/)



J. G. BALLARD (1930-2009)

James Graham Ballard was once held with his parents in a Japanese internment camp in Shanghai during WWII, which profoundly affected his outlook and would be immortalized in his semi-autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun. After the end of the war, upon returning to England, he would later abandon his medical studies to commit to writing, which tended toward the avant-garde; novels such as The Drowned World, The Burning World (retitled The Drought), and The Crystal World would lead critics to position him as one of the leading voices of sci-fi's New Wave, while experimental fix-ups like The Atrocity Exhibition represented his more transgressive side. Further surrealistic stories include Crash, Concrete Island, High Rise, The Unlimited Dream Company, and The Day of Creation, giving rise to the term "Ballardian" to describe bleak dystopic landscapes and the psychological effects of social, technological, and environmental stimuli.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._G._Ballard)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=ballard_j_g)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/ballard_j_g)
The New Yorker – J. G. Ballard by Macy Halford (https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/j-g-ballard)
The Paris Review – The Art of Fiction, No. 85: J. G. Ballard (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/2929/j-g-ballard-the-art-of-fiction-no-85-j-g-ballard)
CityJournal.org – The Marriage of Reason and Nightmare (https://www.city-journal.org/html/marriage-reason-and-nightmare-13076.html)
British Council: Literature – J. G. Ballard (https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/j-g-ballard)
The Times – Obituary of J. G. Ballard (https://web.archive.org/web/20121014094835/http://announcements.thetimes.co.uk/obituaries/timesonline-uk/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=126412054)
The Independent – Obituary of J. G. Ballard (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jg-ballard-writer-whose-dystopian-visions-helped-shape-our-view-of-the-modern-world-1671634.html)
The New York Times – Obituary of J. G. Ballard (https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/books/21ballard.html)
Tor.com – On the Origins of Modern Biology and the Fantastic, Part 11: J. G. Ballard and the Birth of Biotech (https://www.tor.com/2019/05/09/on-the-origins-of-modern-biology-and-the-fantastic-part-11-j-g-ballard-and-the-birth-of-biotech/)



POUL ANDERSON (1926-2001)

Poul Anderson was praised as one of the best storytellers in science fiction, whose works were filled with grand yet introspective characters, adherence to personal liberty, and a firm grounding in plausible science, perhaps informed by his specialization in physics. His overarching Psychotechnic League and Technic History series depict a vast space opera with dashing intelligence agents and adventurous businessmen who operate in morally grey areas; outstanding single novels include award winners and classics such as Brain Wave, The Enemy Stars, The High Crusade, The Corridors of Time, The Star Fox, Tau Zero, There Will Be Time, Fire Time, The Avatar, The Boat of a Million Years, and Genesis. Winner of seven Hugos and three Nebulas, among others, he served as the sixth President of the SFWA beginning in 1972 and became the sixteenth Grand Master in 1998.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poul_Anderson)
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=anderson_poul)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/anderson_poul)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Poul-Anderson)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/PoulAnderson)
The Guardian – Obituary of Poul Anderson (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/aug/04/guardianobituaries.books)
The Independent – Obituary of Poul Anderson (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/poul-anderson-9146094.html)
Tor.com – What Is Living For?: Poul Anderson's The Corridors of Time (https://www.tor.com/2012/05/11/what-is-living-for-poul-andersons-the-corridors-of-time/)
Tor.com – Really Good Fun: Poul Anderson's The High Crusade (https://www.tor.com/2010/09/07/really-good-fun-poul-andersons-lemgthe-high-crusadelemg/)
Tor.com – Myths of the Spaceways: Poul Anderson's Worlds Without Stars (https://www.tor.com/2012/07/24/myths-of-the-spaceways-poul-andersons-world-without-stars/)
Tor.com – Oops, Wrong Spacedrive! Poul Anderson's The Long Way Home (https://www.tor.com/2012/10/05/oops-wrong-spacedrive-poul-andersons-the-long-way-home/)
Tor.com – Hornblower in Space: Flandry of Terra by Poul Anderson (https://www.tor.com/2016/11/04/hornblower-in-space-flandry-of-terra-by-poul-anderson/)
Tor.com – Air War in the Stone Age: Poul Anderson's The Man Who Counts (https://www.tor.com/2010/11/22/air-war-in-the-stone-age-poul-andersons-the-man-who-counts/)
Tor.com – Worldbuilding and the Promise of SF: The Enemy Stars by Poul Anderson (https://www.tor.com/2017/10/10/worldbuilding-and-the-promise-of-sf-the-enemy-stars-by-poul-anderson/)
Black Gate – Trader to the Stars by Poul Anderson (https://www.blackgate.com/2017/05/02/trader-to-the-stars-by-poul-anderson/)
Black Gate – "On Thud and Blunder": Thirty Years Later (https://www.blackgate.com/2008/12/05/on-thud-and-blunder-thirty-years-later/)
Black Gate – From Poul Anderson's Vault of the Ages to the End of All Things (https://www.blackgate.com/2015/02/18/from-poul-andersons-vault-of-the-ages-to-the-end-of-all-things/)



JOE HALDEMAN (1943- )

Immediate after completing his education, Joe Haldeman was drafted into the Vietnam War, where he served as a combat engineer until wounded, after which he received a Purple Heart. This episode of his life would inform much of his fiction, particular his best-known work, the Hugo and Nebula winning novel The Forever War, a seminal military sci-fi tale in which  soldiers are sent across great gaps of space to other worlds during an interstellar war but find themselves increasingly isolated from civilization due to time dilation made during space jumps. Further works include Mindbridge, All My Sins Remembered, The Hemingway Hoax, The Coming, Camouflage, and The Accidental Time Machine, as well as two follow-ups to his legendary second novel – the loosely related Forever Peace and the direct sequel Forever Free. A jack-of-all-trades in his own words, Haldeman was selected as the SFWA's 27th Grand Master in 2009 and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2012.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Haldeman)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/haldeman_joe)
Official website (http://www.joehaldeman.com/)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/JoeHaldeman)
The Guardian – Back to the Hugos: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/apr/14/back-to-the-hugos-joe-haldeman)
Tor.com – Relativity, Sociology, and a Sweet Love Story: Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (https://www.tor.com/2011/02/03/relativity-sociology-and-a-sweet-love-story-joe-haldemans-the-forever-war/)
Tor.com – Future Shock: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (https://www.tor.com/2012/01/17/future-shock-the-forever-war-by-joe-haldeman/)
Tor.com – Talkin' 'Bout My Generation: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (https://www.tor.com/2017/05/01/talkin-bout-my-generation-the-forever-war-by-joe-haldeman/)
Tor.com – The Profound Emptiness of Battle: The Forever War (https://www.tor.com/2016/01/20/the-profound-emptiness-of-battle-the-forever-war/)



KURT VONNEGUT (1922-2007)

One of the most respected figures in American letters is Kurt Vonnegut, whose blackly comic works, told in a deadpan, idiosyncratic style, provided an engaging mirror of the nation's foibles; his novels and short stories have remained in print constantly and are warmly praised in the mainstream. Despite his ambivalence about it, most of his early works and some of the later use science fiction motifs and are considered by many to be genuine classics in the genre, encompassing themes like class warfare in the midst of rampant automation (Player Piano), free will and human purpose (The Sirens of Titan), nuclear catastrophe (Cat's Cradle), and evolutionary intelligence (Galápagos). His breakthrough work and most famous novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, is an anti-war satire inspired by the firebombing of Dresden (in which Vonnegut took part in), where an American soldier becomes "unstuck" in time and begins living his life in a non-linear fashion, eventually making the acquaintance of a bizarre race of aliens who will eventually be responsible for the death of the universe. In the years since his death, Vonnegut remains a much beloved figure by readers and writers across all spectrums.

Offsite resources:

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut)
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/vonnegut_kurt_jr)
Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kurt-Vonnegut)
TV Tropes (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/KurtVonnegut)
The Paris Review – The Art of Fiction, No. 64: Kurt Vonnegut (https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3605/kurt-vonnegut-the-art-of-fiction-no-64-kurt-vonnegut)
The New York Time – The Moral Clarity of "Slaughterhouse-Five" at 50 (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/books/review/kevin-powers-kurt-vonnegut-slaughterhouse-five.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FVonnegut%2C%20Kurt)
The New York Times – From Dresden on the 50th Anniversary of "Slaughterhouse-Five" (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/books/kurt-vonnegut-dresden-anniversary.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FVonnegut%2C%20Kurt)
Tor.com – Genre in the Mainstream: The Kurt Vonnegut Question (https://www.tor.com/2011/05/31/genre-in-the-mainstream-the-kurt-vonnegut-question/)
Tor.com – Labeling Kurt Vonnegut: From Science Fiction Writer to Pornographer (https://www.tor.com/2013/09/27/banned-books-week-vonnegut-slaughterhouse-five/)
Tor.com – The One Book That Changed Everything (https://www.tor.com/2017/02/09/the-one-book-that-changed-everything/)



Those are some really important names, to be sure, but there are others as well, so next time, we'll be filling in some of the blanks. In the meantime, leave any thoughts or comments if you have them and check out the forum post found here: http://www.lostpathway.com/index.php/topic,221.0.html#forum