Xenograffiti (25 page)

All of this is unbelievable, but Gilman writes with conviction and charm, managing to get her point across: the world would be a better place if left to the sensitivity of women governors. Her strongest message is the women’s perception of themselves as “people”; the brides regard their husbands primarily as “friends.” There is a strong sense of peace and lack of stress in this ideal society, which is perhaps unattainable under the best of circumstances. Gilman paints an idealized portrait which makes us wish it were all possible. Upon completion of her autobiography in 1935, and terminally ill with cancer, Gilman ended her life the way she lived it, with courage and strength of purpose.

—with Mary A. Burgess

Hubin, Allen J.
The Bibliography of Crime Fiction, 1749-1975: Listing All Mystery, Detective, Suspense, Police, and Gothic Fiction in Book Form Published in the English Language
. Del Mar, CA: Publisher’s Inc., 1979.

According to Hubin:

The intent of this bibliography is to list all adult crime fiction in book form in the English language published anywhere in the world through December 31, 1979. Thus included are: 1) novels, hardcover and paperback originals, both those first appearing in English and those published in English translations; 2) plays; and 3) short story collections (not anthologies) in which at least one story is crime fiction. Magazine and dime novel crime fiction is not included. “Crime fiction” is understood to comprise that fiction in which crime or the threat of crime is a principal plot element. Thus included are mystery, detective, police (procedural), suspense, thriller, and gothic (romantic suspense) fiction.

Hubin’s work deserves mention here on several counts. His coverage of gothic and horror fiction includes many books that fall simultaneously into fantastic literature; in addition, he lists many supernatural and SF works with mystery elements. Also, many of the authors he covers later published books in other genres, including SF and fantasy; hence, Hubin’s work provides supplemental listings of those authors’ books for collectors and readers interested in pursuing their favorites further.

And it is clear, even at this early stage, that Hubin’s book will become the standard bibliography of the field. Unlike Ordean Hagen’s
Who Done It?
(Bowker, 1969), Hubin’s volume is well-organized, well-researched, and clearly based on a thorough knowledge of the genre in all its aspects. The author index provides complete names of authors, where known, years of birth and death, and a list of the mystery works published under that name, in alphabetical order by title. Title, publisher, and year of publication are listed. Books by the same author under other names are listed under those pseudonyms, with appropriate and copious cross references. Alternate titles of retitled publications are also given. The title index includes title and author only. There is also a brief series index, listed by character and keyed to the author’s name. The reader must then refer back to the main entry in the author index to find the titles in the series, which are indicated by letter following the publication dates of the books. Supplements are planned for five-year intervals. For all serious collectors and researchers, and for any library worthy of the name, this is an absolutely necessary acquisition. Highly recommended.

Macaulay, David.
Motel of the Mysteries
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1979.

This is simultaneously a spoof on modern civilization and the Tut-Ankh-Amen craze. In the year 4022 all of the ancient country of Usa has been buried under many feet of detritus from an ecological catastrophe that occurred way back in 1985. An amateur archeologist, Howard Carson, falls into a shaft near the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site, and is overjoyed to find what is obviously (judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging on the ancient doorknob) the entrance to a still-sealed and untouched burial chamber. Carson’s incredible discoveries, including the actual remains of two bodies, one of them on a ceremonial bed facing an altar that appears to be a means of communicating with the gods, and the other lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in a separate “Inner Chamber,” permit him to piece together the entire fabric of this extraordinary lost civilization. Macaulay provides dozens of satiric illustrations to go with his text, and the result is a marvelously entertaining exercise in social commentary. The book compares favorably with Robert Nathan’s earlier satire,
The Weans
(1958). Perceptively funny, and highly recommended for all.

Mahr, Kurt.
Between the Galaxies
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1978. Perry Rhodan #119.

Voltz, William.
Killers from Hyperspace
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1978. Perry Rhodan #120.

Darlton, Clark.
Atom Fire on Mechanica
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1978. Perry Rhodan #121.

Brand, Kurt.
Volunteers for Frago
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1978. Perry Rhodan #122.

Mahr, Kurt.
Fortress in Time
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1978. Perry Rhodan #123.

Brand, Kurt.
The Sinister Power
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1978. Perry Rhodan #124.

Voltz, William.
Robots, Bombs, and Mutants
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1979. Perry Rhodan #125.

Scheer, K. H.
The Guns of Everblack
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1979. Perry Rhodan #126.

Darlton, Clark.
Sentinels of Solitude
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1979. Perry Rhodan #127.

Mahr, Kurt.
The Beasts Below
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1979. Perry Rhodan #128.

Brand, Kurt.
Blitzkrieg Galactica
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1979. Perry Rhodan #129.

Brand, Kurt.
Peril Unlimited
. Van Nuys, CA: Master Publications, 1979. Perry Rhodan #130.

The longest-running series in the history of science fiction, Perry Rhodan has reached some 900 weekly numbers in the German original. The first of the American translations appeared in May, 1969, with publication of the first two PR adventures together in one volume,
Enterprise Stardust
. From that beginning, the US series has been edited by Forrest J Ackerman, and the translations produced by Ackerman’s wife, Wendayne, together with Sig Wahrman and Stuart J. Byrne. The Ace Books series began with five two-in-one volumes, then switched to monthly publication in 1971. The new version resembled a paperback magazine, with one Perry Rhodan novel, several short stories, and other continuing features. The format changed again in March, 1977, when the features were reduced, and the books expanded to again include two Perry Rhodan adventures.

At this point Ace apparently failed to reach an agreement with the German publisher to reprint new books in the series, and decided to use up its remaining inventory. The last book in the regular series was #117/118, published in August, 1977. Four more doubles were released during the last third of the year, comprised of five novels in an offshoot series, Atlan, and several miscellaneous novels in the sequence that had originally been skipped by Ackerman because they failed to advance the overall plot line. One final volume, a special double-length feature called
In the Center of the Galaxy
, was published by Ace in January, 1978.

Ackerman has since claimed that Ace negotiated with Artur Moewig Verlag in bad faith, that they failed to notify the Germans that they were terminating their relationship (see Ackerman’s editorial in #127). Other industry sources, however, put the blame on Moewig, saying that they made unreasonable financial demands for continuation of the series, and generally proved obstinate and obdurate. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. In any event, the Ackermans have apparently taken over publication of the series themselves under the name Master Publications, and are releasing six volumes in one batch every three months.

Perry Rhodan is an endless serial, the ultimate space opera of science fiction. The saga is broken into cycles of 50-100 episodes, each being plotted well in advance, individual episodes being assigned to one of twelve house writers. In the first episode, Major Perry Rhodan discovers during a Lunar expedition two members of an alien race, saves them, and with their aid founds the Third Power to stand between the Eastern and Western power blocs. In the third cycle, which includes the twelve books reviewed here, mankind’s stellar empire is threatened by invasion from an extra-galactic race of invisibles. In Germany the series has reached fourteen cycles ending with episode #1000.

This is pulp science fiction, action-oriented stories with minimal characterization and awful dialogue, but relatively complex plot development. The emphasis is always on man’s expanding horizons, the wonder of science and space, and the great destiny of the human race. For relatively unsophisticated readers, and for adolescents in particular, this could be gripping stuff. The books are printed in trade paperback size (5 x 8”) on poor quality paper, stapled through the spine, with two-color covers featuring a Perry Rhodan logo. The type, which runs in two columns throughout, is small but readable. The main appeal of the series will be to those already hooked on Perry Rhodan; however, collections should note that the limited distribution of these books will undoubtedly make them scarce in years to come.

Page, Spider.
Legend in Blue Steel
. New York: Python Books, 1979.

“It struck out of nowhere, a wave of mass murder that spelled wholesale slaughter. New York was panic-stricken. Beneath its reign of terror, the police were helpless. But grimly, out of the list of victims, rose a man—Blue Steel—who vowed to track the master killer to a murder showdown!”

The cover blurb says it all: this is a deliberate pastiche of pulp superhero fiction. Elsevier van Rijn is Blue Steel, a relentless crime fighter who is hated both by New York’s criminal underground and the befuddled cops he’s trying to aid. Van Rijn, a man of a thousand disguises, is assisted by his Indian butler, Tara Khan, his not-too-bright girlfriend, Brenda Morgan, and associate Dustin Ayres, as he tracks down a mastermind of crime. The scientific miracles are kept to a minimum in this potboiler, but the gosh-wow style never lets up. I was reminded of the exploits of Richard Wentworth, the Spider, from the pulp of the same name. For those who like their fiction without any redeeming values.

Resnick, Michael.
The Official Price Guide to Comic & Science Fiction Books, Third Edition
. Orlando, FL: House of Collectibles, 1979.

This is an amalgamation of two books originally published separately as
The Official Guide to Comic Books
and
The Official Guide to Fantastic Literature
(also called on the cover
Official Guide to the Fantastics
), the latter having been published in 1976. Both are reproduced virtually verbatim, with minimal changes in prices, and almost no changes in text. There is no indication in this new edition that the material has been previously published, other than the nebulous tag “Third Edition” on the title page. The science fiction section begins on page 267.

The SF half of the book includes the following sections: introduction, the hero pulps, science fiction and fantasy magazines, general magazines, fanzines, Edgar Rice Burroughs, hardcover books—the specialty publishers and hardcover books—the general publishers, paperback books,
Star Trek
materials, radio and television premiums, and miscellaneous collectibles. Resnick does not attempt to be comprehensive: his avowed intent is to give “a fairly comprehensive cross-section of authors and some of their representative works.” The specialty press section seems to have been derived from Owings and Chalker’s
Index to the Science-Fantasy Publishers
. No bibliographical information is provided to identify editions; prices are listed for books in “good” and “fine” condition. The selection criteria for the section on general publishers are eccentric at best: many relatively obscure books are included, and other, more popular items are left out, for no apparent reason. Many of the modern writers are covered only by brief, all-inclusive statements of dubious authority: “The works of Andre Norton, in first-edition hardcover with dust jackets, are worth about $10 apiece the moment they go out of print. She has about 18 titles in print at this time.” This may well be true, but it provides no help for the reader or librarian or book store owner who is trying to assign a value to a particular item. Generalities, unsupported by any apparent experience in pricing or selling science fiction books, abound. Changes in pricing structure since the 1976 edition are minimal: I compared two pages from the earlier book to the same pages in the new edition, and found only one price revision in each, during a period when inflation drove the prices of OP science fiction books right through the roof. Most of the books listed seem, in comparison to dealers’ catalogs issued by L. W. Currey, Barry R. Levin, or Kaleidoscope Books, greatly undervalued, although some few are overpriced. As a guide to the uninformed, this book is utterly useless. The section on Edgar Rice Burroughs, however, is both comprehensive and accurate, and seems to reflect a personal interest in Burroughsiana by Resnick.
Caveat emptor
.

Sabrina.
Witch Bitch
, bound with
Dance of Love
, by Martine. New York: Pleasure Books, 1979.

Trainor, Sandy.
Future Sex
. New York: Pleasure Books, 1979. Cover byline reads Sharon Taylor.

Trainor, Starr.
Pleasure Planet
. New York: Pleasure Books, 1979. Cover byline reads Sharon Taylor.

Four erotic novels from the sinister hand of Manor Books.
Witch Bitch
starts out as a standard sex novel, but then develops into a rather compelling tale of sexual and moral corruption, as the first-person narrator, Harry, is led with his wife into the bowels of a devil-worshipping cult. It is only at the end, when Satan himself finally appears, that Harry takes the ultimate step, willingly sacrificing his wife at the climax of a black mass, and thereby sacrificing his own identity, as he is renamed Agonaces by his master. Bound with this book is
Dance of Love
, an end-of-the-world tale of the final days on Earth, in which a frantic mankind waits for the Sun to explode. Without the explicit sex scenes, this too could have been compelling fiction. Men struggle to find some way out of their dilemma, but there is no reprieve to this grim narrative, and ultimately even the narrator is incinerated in the flaming denouement.