I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to go back and read through all my issues of SCIENCE FICTION AGE during 2007. Well, yesterday I started with Volume 1, Issue 1, the premier issue. I’m reading the whole thing, cover-to-cover, not just the fiction, and so far, I love it! When I first subscribed to SF AGE, I was still in college, and didn’t have much time to read for fun and so I only managed to read a fraction of what was in the magazine, but I’m trying to make up for that now.
In a way, some of it is amusing, reading it retroactively as I am. When I first started reading it, I liked science fiction but my exposure to it had been limited to a handful of writers, not necessarily even the more popular ones. Now, 14 years later, I like to think I have a pretty good knowledge of science fiction and am far better read within the genre. Looking at the book reviews in the first issue, therefore, makes me smile. It just so happens that I did read the first book to be reviewed, Damon Knight’s Why Do Birds. I found that I enjoyed it, but that it was bizarre. I don’t remember much of it, but I’ll tell you, reading that review made me want to go back and re-read the book. (And why not, it was before I started keeping my reading lists, so I can get the book on my list “officially”.) The review of Connie Willis’ Doomsday Book was also fascinating for its insights, especially considering that book ended up an award-winner.
The movie column was also interesting. I talked about the production of a movie based on Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. Fourteen years later, I have not seen any movie come out. It reminds me of Asimov’s First Law of Hollywood. (The same column also comments on the fact that just after Isaac Asimov died, the FOUNDATION series was optioned for film for more than $1 million. Again, 14 years later, no film.)
I enjoyed the science column on time travel and paradoxes. And, of course, the fiction is outstanding. As I make my way through these magazines, I’ll be posting about what I read from time-to-time. I won’t be commenting on each of the 273 stories that appeared in the magazine, but I will comment on those that interest me or move me in some way. For those interested in following along on these thoughts as I ramble through SCIENCE FICTION AGE, I will be tagging the posts with “sfage.2007”. You can therefore view all of the posts together at:
http://jamietr.livejournal.com/tag/sfage.2007
One small problem I have discovered: trying to keep the magazines in good condition as I go through them. I have a complete set and I noticed myself trying to be extra careful with the premier issue as I read it on the train ride home this afternoon.
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