May 2025 – A Deep Look by Dave Hook
6 posts published by Dave Hook during May 2025| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
6 posts published by Dave Hook during May 2025| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
1 post published by Dave Hook during August 2025| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
In good weather and good health, I ride my road bike weekly, usually about two hours out from suburban San Jose into the rural back roads of the South end of Santa Clara County. I love being out on…| 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: I read 10 single author collections of speculative fiction published in 1949. My favorites among them were The Thirty-First of February, by Nelson S. Bond, 1949 Gnome Press, and The Wheels of If, and Other Science Fiction, by L. Sprague de Camp, 1949 Shasta, both rated at “Very good”, and The Fox Woman […]| 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
5 posts published by Dave Hook during July 2025| 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, and two science fiction stories. It was never reprinted, and many of the stories were never reprinted again. My favorite stories […]| 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 story “The Lottery“, The New Yorker, June 26, 1948. Depending upon how you categorize, there are between one and six genre stories here […]| 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 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, the stories I enjoyed the most were both “Very good”, the short stories “The People of the Pit” (which I think […]| 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 “The Gnarly Man“, a novelette, Unknown June 1939. My overall average rating is 3.64, or “Very good”. The contents […]| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I just read the latest of Neil Clarke’s Best Science fiction of the Year series, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 8, 2024 Night Shade Books. Along with his very generou…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I read the Frank Belknap Long collection John Carstairs: Space Detective, 1949 Frederick Fell, for my project of reading 1949 SFF. Frank Belknap Long has written some wonderful science f…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: With John O’Neill’s help, I finished reading The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, and Other Stories, Donald A. Wollheim editor, 1949 Avon. It’s the first anthology of origina…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: The Other Side of the Moon, August Derleth editor, 1949 Pellegrini & Cudahy, includes 20 stories and an introduction by August Derleth. While I think Derleth’s definition of sc…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I read Invasion from Mars: Interplanetary Stories, Orson Welles “editor”, 1949 Dell (there is controversy about the actual editor). Including the 1938 “Invasion from Ma…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently read Atomsk: A Novel of Suspense by Cordwainer Smith, 1949 Duell, Sloan and Pearce. It’s not SF, but today it would be called a techno-thriller, with an engaging story o…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently read Burning Brightly: 50 Years of Novacon, Ian Whates editor, 2021 NewCon Press. My favorite story is “The Ships of Aleph”, a novelette by Jaine Fenn, rated 4.1/5…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently reread one of my favorite SF anthologies as a much younger person, A Treasury of Great Science Fiction, Volume One and Volume Two, Anthony Boucher editor, 1959 Doubleday/1960 …| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
I was thinking about two of my favorite authors of speculative fiction, Cordwainer Smith and James Tiptree, Jr. I have included the cover of Fantasy Book #6 January 1950, where Cordwainer SmithR…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I just finished reading Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams editors, 2023 Random House. I am not typically a fan of horror, but I re…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently read “The Experience Arcade and Other Stories” by James Van Pelt, 2017 Fairwood Press. It includes 24 short stories, an Introduction by Patrick Swenson, an Afterwo…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I recently read the Nalo Hopkinson collection Falling in Love with Hominids, 2015 Tachyon Publications. I loved her Foreword and the story introductions, and most of the stories. While I…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I was recently thinking about co-written, co-authored or collaborative short SFF with more than one author. Here is a direct link to my favorite 10 short speculative fiction works. My fa…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
The Short: I loved Volume 2 (1953-1957) first. This lead me to read “Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women (1958-1963)” (Volume 1), Gideon Marcus managing editor, 2019 Journey Press, wh…| A Deep Look by Dave Hook
