Today, the Little Man and I headed up to a Wonder Books in Frederick, MD where I purchased a complete set of the 1947 Astounding Science Fiction from their collectibles case. This is the year that, according to Barry N. Malzberg, Astounding is at the top of its game with Campbell publishing some of the finest stories of the Golden Age. I am currently 86 weeks away from the January 1947 issue, however I could not pass up a complete set, in pretty good condition, and at a terrific price.
Also, I’m going to cheat slightly. Barry has insisted that I read T. L. Sherred’s”E For Effort” in the May 1947 issue at once. So I’m going to take an hour or so right now, sit in my office chair and with a bottle of Sam Adams, read Sherred’s story.
And just as I was finishing up this post, the mailman stopped by to deliver the January 1941 issue with Part 1 of Anson MacDonald’s (Robert Heinlein) serial, “Sixth Column”.
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E for Effort is a great and nasty one – the template for taking a SF concept and fearlessly running it through all its implications no matter how unpleasant that journey may be.
It was a remarkable read, particularly after reading many stories from 1939 and then jumping ahead. What a difference 8 years makes!
A big reason for the difference is that in those 8 years, the gold standard for SF switched from E.E. “Doc” Smith to Robert A. Heinlein — and your vacation will track that change.
That is part of what makes this so much fun. 🙂