I was on a panel at Seattle Wordcon 2025 on “1949: Books and Stories Worth Remembering”. I was probably part of the reason for this panel, suggesting it to Seattle’s Programming team as an option to remember and enjoy fiction from the year that would have been selected for the Retro Hugo Awards if Seattle […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
My favorites for 1949 SFF, with links to my essays on each area. Novels (see link to full essay): I read, or considered reading, 19 novels published in 1949. My favorites were the two classics, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Secker & Warburg/Harcourt, Brace & Company, Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, Random House/Gollancz, and the superlative What Mad Universe, […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I have been reading speculative fiction for the 1949 panel at the 2025 Seattle Worldcon. My favorites include superlative short stories “The Long Watch“, by Robert A. Heinlein, and “The Martian” (AKA “Impossible”), of The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury, superlative novelettes “Opening Doors“, by Wilmar H. Shiras, and “The Witches of Karres“, […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: The Last Space Ship, a collection by Murray Leinster, 1949 Frederick Fell, includes three Kim Rendell stories. My average rating for the three stories included was an anemic 2.9/5, or &#…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: The Man Who Ate the Phoenix, Lord Dunsany, 1949 Jarrolds, was his 21st collection. It includes 40 short stories and one novella, of fantasy, non-genre fiction, a few that are more horror…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I read or attempted to read, the contents of the first Shirley Jackson collection, The Lottery, or, The Adventures of James Harris, 1949 Farrar, Straus. My favorite is the classic short …| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I just read a Nelson S. Bond collection, The Thirty-First of February, 1949 Gnome Press. My favorite of the 13 stories included is “The Monster from Nowhere”, a science ficti…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Jeep got its start as a military workhorse, but it has become one of the most favored SUVs for the modern suburban mom. Most people think that transformation began in the 1970’s, but they…| J. P.'s Blog
The Short: The Fox Woman and Other Stories, A. Merritt, 1949 Avon Publishing Co., is his first collection, published six years after his death in 1943. Although no clear favorites jumped out at me,…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I reread my copy of The Wheels of If, and Other Science Fiction, the second collection by L. Sprague de Camp, 1949 Shasta. It’s a tough choice, but my favorite is the very good …| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
US cover UK & Aust cover St. Louis is a big city, a cold one, and it has a population of 800,000…Working men and women, lots of Negroes, it’s the city of 100,000 Negroes. The Missis…| This Reading Life