- Hardcover: 410 pages
- Publisher: Liverpool University Press (May 30 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0853237697
- ISBN-13: 978-0853237693
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 748 g
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Ashley's study of hacks pounding away at typewriters, bullying editors and money-pinching publishers is a rich mine of information. . . . His trilogy will undoubtedly form the definitive history of science fiction from the pulp to the paperback."
(P.D. Smith The Guardian )"This is a marvelous work, this history, and the man who does it deserves all our thanks."
(James Sallis Fantasy & Science Fiction )
Book Description
When we think of science fiction, we think primarily of movies and television shows, but this assumption belies the fact that the genre's initial rise to prominence came in pulp magazines. With lurid covers and titles like Galaxy, If, and Thrilling Wonder Stories, the science fiction pulp magazines created the visual and thematic vocabulary that continues to animate today's science fiction blockbusters.
In Transformations, the second volume in his acclaimed three-volume history of science fiction magazines, science fiction historian Mike Ashley brings his unparalleled knowledge to bear on the period from the beginning of the Cold War through the end of the 1960s, an era of tremendous change in the writing of and the marketplace for science fiction.
Ashley begins his story with the decline of the pulp magazines at the end of the 1940s and their replacement by new digest-sized and glossy magazines. That switch, and the increased respectability that came with it, coincided with a true golden age of science fiction writing in the early 1950s, with such giants of the genre as Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, and Harlan Ellison all publishing regularly in a wide range of such magazines.
As Ashley shows, by the end of the decade, sales had slumped, all but six of the science fiction magazines had folded, and the future looked bleak—until the surprising rebirth of the genre through the work of British writers Michael Moorcock and J. G. Ballard. Ashley also considers how the popularity of Star Trek and the movie version of 2001: A Space Odyssey influenced the future of the science fiction magazine.
For fans of science fiction seeking to understand how their favorite genre evolved from Amazing Stories to Babylon 5, Transformations will be essential reading.
(20050430)
In Transformations, the second volume in his acclaimed three-volume history of science fiction magazines, science fiction historian Mike Ashley brings his unparalleled knowledge to bear on the period from the beginning of the Cold War through the end of the 1960s, an era of tremendous change in the writing of and the marketplace for science fiction.
Ashley begins his story with the decline of the pulp magazines at the end of the 1940s and their replacement by new digest-sized and glossy magazines. That switch, and the increased respectability that came with it, coincided with a true golden age of science fiction writing in the early 1950s, with such giants of the genre as Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, and Harlan Ellison all publishing regularly in a wide range of such magazines.
As Ashley shows, by the end of the decade, sales had slumped, all but six of the science fiction magazines had folded, and the future looked bleak—until the surprising rebirth of the genre through the work of British writers Michael Moorcock and J. G. Ballard. Ashley also considers how the popularity of Star Trek and the movie version of 2001: A Space Odyssey influenced the future of the science fiction magazine.
For fans of science fiction seeking to understand how their favorite genre evolved from Amazing Stories to Babylon 5, Transformations will be essential reading.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, Aug 13 2005
By K. Bunker "KBunker" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Transformations: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970 (Paperback)
I really can't add much to Michael Samerdyke's fine review. This book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of science fiction.One semi-complaint: Since cover art played a large part in the story of these magazines (and is often mentioned in this book), I was disappointed that there were no illustrations. But I suppose including color images would have increased the cost of book a lot. My solution was to read Transformations with SciFiList --a website gallery of SF magazine covers--open on my computer. This is a massive online collection of SF magazine covers. Whenever a cover was mentioned in the book, I would look it up on SciFiList and it was usually there.
I'm eagerly waiting for volume 3 of this history, "Gateways to Forever."
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even Better Than the First Volume, May 31 2005
By Michael Samerdyke - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Transformations: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970 (Paperback)
Transformations, the second volume in Ashley's three volume history of the science fiction magazine, is even better than the first volume, The Time Machines. He makes a very convincing case that this era (1950-70) was the most vibrant and creative in the history of the magazines.What I appreciated most about this book was that Ashley brought new facts and interpretations to light. I never knew that the controversy over horror comics hurt the science fiction magazines, nor was I aware of a similar flap over UFO stories in the late 50s. Also, Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If, which went out of business in the '70s, were only names to me, but Ashley shows how important they were in earlier decades.
Ashley is not the world's most elegant writer, but he knows his material and brings an enthusiasm that sweeps the reader along. Anyone interested in the history of science fiction would learn much by reading this book.
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