Schlobin Selections #9: Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card at Life, the Universe, & Everything at Brigham Young University, 2008.

Over the past several weeks, we have been highlighting a select number of titles and authors from the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection. Established in 2004 by East Carolina University English Professor Roger C. Schlobin, the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection provides scholarly materials to researchers and students interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy literature. The collection consists of over 3,700 individual books, mostly primary literature in the form of novels, and collected short narratives with some additional secondary literature and scholarly criticism related to the various genres that are represented. The James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection also has a related manuscripts collection which consists of nearly 5 cubic feet of materials which can be accessed here.

Orson Scott Card was born on August 24, 1951, in Richland, Washington to Willard and Peggy Card. The third of six children, Card is a descendant of many leaders and significant figures from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including Brigham Young who served as the first Governor of the Utah Territory and also helped establish the University of Utah and Brigham Young University (BYU). As a child, Card’s parents moved their family several times across Arizona, California, Utah, and Washington, often in search of employment opportunities or higher education for Willard Card, Orson’s father. From a young age, Card showed a particular talent for school and proved to be a gifted writer. After completing high school, Card enrolled at BYU where he eventually majored in theater arts. During his studies, Card produced a number of original play scripts based on the history and teachings of the Mormon Church. After completing his missionary service for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Card graduated from BYU in 1975, followed up by a master’s degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981.

After finishing his studies at BYU, Card accepted a position as the assistant editor for Ensign, a magazine published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was during this time that Card published his first fictional short story, titled Gert Fram, under the pen name Byron Walley. Eventually, Card decided to write and publish science fiction short stories which resulted in his famous work Ender’s Game being first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact in August 1977. Card would later expand his 1977 short story into his 1985 novel of the same name. With the success of his science fiction short stories, Card left his position at Ensign and began his career as a professional writer. By the end of 1979, Card has published eighteen individual short stories as well as his first three books, “Listen, Mom and Dad…”: Young Adults Look Back on Their Upbringing, Hot Sleep, and A Planet Called Treason.

As Card’s career progressed, he would continue to publish both science fiction short stories as well as full-length novels. By the 1990s, Card began to branch out and wrote content for both video games and comic books/graphic novels, even having the opportunity to write a short miniseries of comics centered around the Iron Man character for Marvel Comics. In total, Card has written over fifty full-length novels, over 45 short stories, a number of comic books/graphic novels, and newspaper columns, and has worked on several feature films that are based on his work. Across all of Card’s work, his background as a playwright has helped his works be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Critics and fans of Card’s work often point to his overuse of the “child-genius savior” theme that resonates throughout many of his most famous works. Another critique of Card’s work is his consistent use of “Messiah figures” who serve as the antagonists of many of his stories. Scholars have argued that this is influenced by Card’s personal religious beliefs which are often reflected in his own work.

Throughout his career, Card has been consistently recognized by the science fiction/fantasy writing community for his work and his contributions to the genres. Over the years, Card has had several of his titles nominated for various awards and recognitions and he has been lucky enough to win many of these awards including:

The Hugo Award three times for Ender’s Game (1986), Speaker for the Dead (1987), and How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (1991)
The Nebula Award three times for Ender’s Game (1986), Speaker for the Dead (1987), and “Eye for Eye” (1988)
The Locus Award three times for Speaker for the Dead (1987), Seventh Son (1988), Red Prophet (1989), and Alvin Journeyman (1996).

To date, Card is the only author to win both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award in consecutive years.

Currently, the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection contains sixty-three titles from Orson Scott Card’s bibliography. A complete list of the Card’s titles that are available in the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection can be seen by visiting the Joyner Library catalog here.

: Seventh Son (1988)

: Speaker for the Dead (1992)

: Ender’s Game (2002)

: Earthborn (1995)

: Ender in Exile (2008)

: Earth Unaware (2012)

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

“Hatrack River – the Official Web Site of Orson Scott Card.” Hatrack River – The Official Web Site of Orson Scott Card, n.d. http://www.hatrack.com/.
Orson Scott Card papers, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
“Orson Scott Card.” Literary Worlds: Illumination of the Mind. Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20160302035150/http://exhibits.lib.byu.edu/literaryworlds/card/.

Schlobin Selections #8: Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe ( Bolland: een roman van gekromde ruimten en uitdijend heelal) by Dionys Burger, Translated by Cornelie J. Rheinboldt

Over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting a select number of titles and authors from the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection. Established in 2004 by East Carolina University English Professor Roger C. Schlobin, the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection provides scholarly materials to researchers and students interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy literature. The collection consists of over 3,700 individual books, mostly primary literature in the form of novels, and collected short narratives with some additional secondary literature and scholarly criticism related to the various genres that are represented. The James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection also has a related manuscripts collection which consists of nearly 5 cubic feet of materials which can be accessed here.

Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe by Dionys Burger, translated by Cornelie J. Rheinboldt. This copy also includes a printing of Edwin A. Abbott’s Flatland.

Title: Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe ( Bolland: een roman van gekromde ruimten en uitdijend heelal)
Author: Dionys Burger
Translated by: Cornelie J. Rheinboldt
Publisher: Barnes & Noble books
Publication Date: 1983
Page Count: 208
Call Number: QA699 .B813 1983

Originally published by Dutch author Dionys Burger (1892-1987) in 1957, Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe (translated from the original title Bolland: een roman van gekromde ruimten en uitdijend heelal) was first translated to English by Cornelie J. Rheinboldt and republished in 1965. Intended to be a sequel to Edwin Abbott Abbott’s 1884 work Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Sphereland builds upon the social and mathematical work that Flatland was initially based upon. In Sphereland, the circles that reside in the fictional world speak out against A Square’s (A Square is the pen name that Abbott wrote his 1884 work and it is also the main character of the Flatland title) findings related to the third dimension. Due to the Circles status in society, A Square is criticized by his fellow citizens of Flatland and comes to be considered an outcast of society. Similarly, when a prominent member of Flatland identifies a Triangle that is greater than 180 degrees, he is also criticized, eventually losing his job since his findings go against the findings of Euclidean geometry, which is viewed by the citizens of Flatland as a sort of religion.

Eventually, the discoverer of the Triangle begins to work with A Hexagon, the grandson of A Square, and together they develop a theory that argues that they and the rest of Flatland actually live on a large sphere, explaining the unusual measurements found by A Square and the two of them. Despite being able to prove their theory correct, the scientific community of Flatland refuses to accept this new concept. It does not allow the rest of the citizens of Flatland to be enlightened about this new finding. Despite this censorship by the scientific community, the Flatland society continues to progress, eventually developing space travel. Using their newfound knowledge, the two characters are able to discover that the universe that Flatland exists within is expanding. Armed with the new information, A Hexagon does as his grandfather had done previously and writes a book that contains all of their new findings and discoveries. Once done, A Hexagon decides that this book will not be opened until the citizens of Flatland widely accept the discovery of the expanding universe.

Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott

White Sphereland did not receive much attention from critics of the science fiction genre upon its initial release or the release of the transcribed version; scholars, particularly those in the field of mathematics, have criticized Burger’s work much more harshly in recent years. Some of these critiques include saying the story lacks any real substance and that its use of scientific understanding has been described by some as “rudimentary at best.” Others have labeled it as boring and repetitive at times in a way that will ultimately confuse the readers while offering no new insights into the mathematical studies, instead simply repeating information that is already widely known. Despite this criticism, Burger’s Sphereland was the inspiration for the 2012 animated film Flatland 2: Sphereland, a sequel to the 2007 film Flatland: The Movie.

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

Kasman, Alex. “Sphereland: A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe .” Mathematical Fiction, n.d. https://kasmana.people.cofc.edu/MATHFICT/mfview.php?callnumber=mf11.
“Sphereland: A Fantasy about Curved Spaces and an Expanding Universe by Dionys Burger.” LibraryThing.com, n.d. https://www.librarything.com/work/322693.

Schlobin Selections #7: The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

Title: The Snow Queen
Author: Joan D. Vinge
Illustrated by: Lea and Diane Dillon and Michael Whelan
Publisher: The Dial Press
Publication Date: 1980
Page Count: 471
Call Number: PS3572.I53 S596 1980

Originally published in 1980, Joan D. Vinge’s (1978- ) The Snow Queen is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 fairytale of the same name and is the first of four titles that make up her The Snow Queen Cycle series. Set on the fictional planet Tiamat, society has been divided into two clans, the Winters and the Summers. Each clan has control of the government for 150 years with the Winters’ Snow Queen and the Summers’ Summer Queen being recognized as the sovereign ruler during this time. At the end of the 150-year cycle, the ruling monarch is ceremoniously executed and the opposite clan ascends to power. This all takes place during a multi-day festival referred to as the Change. At the opening of Vinge’s story, the current Snow Queen Arienrhood has been secretly working to extend her rule beyond her scheduled execution by implanting clones of herself within several women from the Summer clan. Of these clones, the only one able to survive is Moon Dawntreader Summer. Moon eventually develops a romantic relationship with her cousin, a Summer named Sparks, and she also becomes a sibyl. For the Summers, sibyls are individuals who possess great influence due to their ability to answer any questions presented to them. Jealous of Moon, Sparks travels to the capital city Carbuncle where he is captured by the Snow Queen Arienrhood and becomes both the commander of her military as well as her consort.

After learning about what happened to Sparks, Moon sets off for Carbuncle despite sibyls not being permitted to enter the city. During her travels, she is abducted by smugglers and taken offworld, a trip that usually results in individuals not being permitted to return to Tiamat. Learning of Moon’s kidnapping, Arienrhood is outraged as she had planned to lure Moon to the capital to influence her to brush aside the ways and beliefs of the Summers before implanting her as the next Summer Queen, thus continuing her rule by proxy. Unable to move forward with her original scheme, Arienrhood sets into motion a plan that would kill most of the Summer population, allowing the planet to stay under the control of the Winters.

During all of this, Moon has been taken to the nearby planet Kharemough where she learns that the social issues and tension that divides the Winters and Summers are all fabricated to ensure that the political structure of the Hegemony, the remnants of the former Galactic Empire, can remain in place without opposition. Armed with this new information and determined to save Sparks, Moon returns to Tiamat to confront the Snow Queen and foils her plot of planet-wide genocide. Moon is ultimately chosen as the next Summer Queen and takes it upon herself to guide her people and the planet through the next 150 years.

Upon its initial release, Vinge’s The Snow Queen was well-received by readers and critics of the fantasy/science fiction genres. Praised for her extensive world-building that allowed her readers to be transported into the story, Vinge’s efforts were rewarded with the 1981 Hugo Award for Best Novel as well as the 1981 Locus Award for Best Novel. The Snow Queen was also nominated for the 1981 Nebula Award for Best Novel but the award ultimately went to Timescape by Gregory Benford.

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

Aragona, Mark. “Book Review: The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge.” Digital Science Fiction, August 23, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20140113174926/http://digitalsciencefiction.com/book-review-the-snow-queen-by-joan-d-vinge/.
Mansouri, Tia. “Judging a Book by Its Cover: The Snow Queen”. Fantasy Matters, University of Minnesota.
“The Snow Queen Series.” TV Tropes, n.d. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheSnowQueenSeries.

Schlobin Selections #6 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Schlobin Selections #6 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Title: A Wizard of Earthsea
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Illustrated by Ruth Robbins
Publisher: Bantam Books
Publication Date: 1975
Page Count: 256
Call Number: PS3562.E42 W59 1975B

Originally published in 1968, Ursula K. Le Guin’s (1928-2018) A Wizard of Earthsea is the first book in the Earthsea series. Set on the fictional archipelago known as Earthsea, Le Guin’s work follows the story of Duny, a young boy from the fictional island of Gont who is found to possess the ability to use magic at a young age. After helping his fellow villagers fight off an attack from a group of raiders with his magic, Duny is taken as an apprentice by the powerful wizard named Ogion who not only works to teach young boys how to control and use his powers, but he also gives him his “true name,” christening the child Ged. After endangering himself by attempting to study on his own, Ogion sends the young boy off to enroll in a school for wizards located on a neighboring island.

Once at the school, Ged gains the attention of his teachers and fellow students with his magical abilities surpassing those of his peers. After getting into a confrontation with a fellow student at a school festival, Ged accidentally releases a powerful shadow creature during a duel that turns on him and attacks the boy, leaving his face permanently scarred. After recovering from his injuries, Ged is informed that the shadow creature is the remnants of an ancient evil that seeks to possess the powerful wizard and that it will continue to hunt and torment the child until it is able to do so. After completing his studies and receiving his wizard’s staff, Ged sets out to use his magic to help the residents of Earthsea, ultimately settling in the Ninety Isles where he protects the residents of the village from dragons. Still being terrorized by the shadow creature, Ged is forced to find a way to deal with both dangers as he knows he is unable to properly guard himself and the people against both dangerous forces. Ged is eventually to get the dragon to agree to leave the people of the village alone after correctly guessing the dragon’s name, thus gaining control over the being.

After securing the safety of the villagers, Ged sets out to defeat the shadow creature once and for all. After securing the stone of Terrenon, Ged returns to his home island of Gony and meets with his former teacher, Ogion. Once there, Ogion explains that to defeat the shadow creature, Ged must seek it out and confront it. Armed with this information, Ged sets out to confront the creature that has plagued him for so many years, discovering that now it is the creature that flees from Ged. After reuniting with a friend from his time in school, Ged forges a path eastward beyond the last charted lands to face off with the shadow creature one final time.

Upon its initial release, Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea was considered by many to be children’s literature, thus it did not receive the attention and praise of the fantasy literature community. It was not until years after its initial release that scholars began criticizing the “children’s literature” classification that Le Guin’s work had been given. Instead, it was argued that her work, much like many of the other prominent authors of the time, could be enjoyed by children, young adults, and adult readers alike. Once Le Guin’s work did finally receive the attention it was warranted, the recognition and accolades for A Wizard of Earthsea shortly followed. In 1969, it won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award as well as the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1979. In 1987, Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field ranked A Wizard of Earthsea as third on its “All-Time Best Fantasy Novels” list. A 2014 list distributed by Pringle has Le Guin’s work ranked 39 out of 100 in its best of modern fantasy category.

Ursula K. Le Guin, August 1995. Photo by Marian Wood Kolisch

Along with the numerous accolades that Le Guin’s book has garnered over the years, its influence on later authors and titles is just as significant. Often compared to the works of authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien and L. Frank Baum, A Wizard Of Earthsea has inspired others to delve into stories that touch on young protagonists who are forced to come to grasp not only the limitations of their powers but also the dangers these powers can bring to themselves and those around them. Perhaps the most successful titles that took influence from Le. Guin and her writings are J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter titles which also focused on a powerful young wizard who is enrolled in a school for magic and is forced to find the courage to face a dangerous enemy who is set on destruction. In a 2005 interview with The Guardian, Le Guin stated that she harbored no ill will against Rowling for her work but she wished that critics who were praising the Harry Potter story had realized that it was not an original idea.

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

Craig, Amanda. “Classic of the Month: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, September 24, 2003. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/sep/24/buildingachildrenslibrary.booksforchildrenandteenagers.
Jaggi, Maya. “The Magician.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, December 17, 2005. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/dec/17/booksforchildrenandteenagers.shopping.
Kuznets, Lois R. “‘High Fantasy’ in America: A Study of Lloyd Alexander, Ursula Leguin, and Susan Cooper.” The Lion and the Unicorn 9, no. 1 (1985): 19–35. https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.0.0075.

Schlobin Selections #5: Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

Title: Wild Seed
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Publisher: Pocket Books, New York
Publication Date: 1981
Page Count: 256
Call Number: PS3552.U827 W54 1981

Originally published in 1980, Octavia E. Butler’s Wild Seed is the fifth and final book in her five-part Patternist series. Despite Wild Seed being the final book published in the influential series, the story actually takes place before the other four books chronologically as it serves as an origin story for much of what takes place in the other four titles. Wild Seed tells the story of Doro and Anyanwu, two immortal Africans who become linked together due to their extraordinary powers. Doro is described as a spirit who has the ability to inhabit the bodies of others and will kill anyone or anything that gets in the way of his end goal with no remorse. On the other hand, Anyanwu is the main female character who has the ability to heal others and can shapeshift into any human or animal she desires. Upon meeting one another, Doro attempts to lure Anynwu to the New World so that he can add her to one of the “seed villages” he has created where he desires to breed humans with extraordinary abilities to inhabit the world. Doro is able to convince Anyanwu to join him in the New World by promising to give her children and that these children will never die. Unbeknownst to Anyanwu, Doro plans to not only impregnate her himself but he will also force her to have children with his son Issac, another super-powered human.

Upon arriving in the New World, Doro becomes fearful of the strength of Anyanwu’s powers, especially when she shapeshifts into an animal, and begins questioning whether he can actually control her as he desires. This is also the first time that Anyanwu sees Doro for who he really is as she witnesses his horrendous treatment and disregard for the lives that he claimed to be protecting. Despite this, Anyanwu is still married to Issac and told to bear his children, as well as the children of anyone else Doro orders her to. Eventually, fifty years pass, and Doro finally returns to his “seed village” to collect Anyanwu’s adult daughter Nweke who has reached the age where she is coming into her own extraordinary powers. Tragedy strikes, resulting in Issac being killed. Knowing that Issac was the only thing stopping Doro from killing her, Anyanwu flees in animal form. The story picks up again one hundred years later with Anyanwu now living on a plantation in Louisiana with her own colony of people she protects. Doro is eventually able to track her down once more and his arrival brings chaos and death to the peaceful colony. Realizing that she will never be able to escape Doro and the pain that he brings upon her, Anyanwu plans to end her own life. This results in a drastic change for Doro, who in a moment of desperation, agrees to change his ways in exchange for her life.

Octavia E. Butler signing a copy of her book Fledgling, 2015.

Touching on themes of gender roles, power struggles, eugenics, and patriarchy, Butler’s work was well received upon its initial release. Critics praised Butler’s ability to blend fantasy and reality, pointing to the historical backdrop that the story of Doro and Anyanwu progresses through during their story. It is also important to note that upon its release, Wild Seed was considered groundbreaking by many scholars because not only did it buck the trendy Second Wave “future utopia” that was dominating fantasy and science fiction works of the time, but it also was one of the first works to highlight the struggle that female characters must endure when living in a male-dominated society. Wild Seed would also be one of the first fantasy titles published that included an African viewpoint as well as African protagonists and antagonists. In 2019, it was announced that Butler’s Wild Seed would be adopted as a film for Amazon’s Prime Video service.

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

Duchamp, L. Timmel, and Nisi Shawl. “Sun Woman’ or ‘Wild Seed’? How a Young Feminist Writer Found Alternatives to White Bourgeois Narrative Models in the Early Novels of Octavia Butler.” Essay. In Strange Matings: Science Fiction, Feminism, African American Voices, and Octavia E. Butler, edited by Rebecca J. Holden, 82–95. Seattle, WA: Anueduct Press, 2013.
Martinez, Hezra. “Octavia Butler’s ‘Wild Seed’ to Be Adapted for the Small Screen.” theportalist.com, April 3, 2019. https://theportalist.com/wild-seed-butler-adaptation.
Starosta, Stuart. “Wild Seed: Two African Immortals Battle for Supremacy in Early America.” Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews, n.d. https://fantasyliterature.com/reviews/wild-seed/.
“Wild Seed.” Maine Humanities Council, May 6, 2022. https://www.mainehumanities.org/books/wild-seed/.

Schlobin Selections #4: Samuel R. “Chip” Delany, Jr.

Samuel R. “Chip” Delany, Jr. reading at The Kitchen for an event for Volume 2 of the Encyclopedia Project. June 7, 2011. Photo by Alex Lozupone

Born in 1942 in Harlem, New York, Samuel R. “Chip” Delany, Jr. is recognized as one of the most influential African American science fiction writers of the 20th century. Born into a family of prominent African American business owners, civil rights leaders, and religious officials, Delany graduated from the prestigious Bronx High School of Science before enrolling in the City College of New York. After dropping out of college shortly after completing just one semester, Delany would publish his first novel, The Jewels of Aptor, in 1962 at the age of 20, a feat that made many consider the young author a writing prodigy. Delany quickly followed up his first novel with several more works, including The Fall of the Towers trilogy (1963-1965), Empire Star (1966), and Babel-17 (1966) which gave him his first of four Nebula awards. In 1979, Delany introduced readers to his Return to Nevèrÿon series, an eleven-part story that encompassed four volumes published between 1979 and 1987. In total, Delany has written twenty-six novels/novellas as well as a number of other short stories, graphic novels, anthologies, and countless more works of non-fiction. Scholars of the science fiction genre routinely recognized Delany’s works as being part of the “New Wave of Science Fiction” due to his stories “emphasizing cultural speculation, the soft sciences, and mythology, as opposed to technology and the hard sciences.”

Throughout his career, several of Delany’s works have been recognized as award-winning titles. In total, Delany has won the Nebula Award four times, the Hugo and Lambda Awards twice, as well as the Stonewall Book Award, the Brudner Prize, the Inkpot Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Along with these individual awards for various titles, Delany has consistently been praised for his contribution to the science fiction genre and related academic fields throughout his career, In 1997, Delany was given the Kessler Award in recognition of his contributions to LGBTQ Studies. In 2010, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Libraries awarded him the third J. Lloyd Eaton Lifetime Achievement Award in Science Fiction and in 2013, Delany was named the 30th SFWA Grand Master by the Science fiction Writers of America. Delany was also inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame in 1016 and was presented with the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. Along with his writing career, Delany also served as a member of the faculty at SUNY Buffalo, SUny Albany, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Temple University up until he finally retired from the classroom in 2015.

Currently, the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection contains six of Delany’s novels as well as a copy of his anthology Quark/4 which he published alongside his ex-wife Marilyn Hacker. The six titles include; The Einstein Intersection (1967), The Jewels of Aptor (1968), Dhalgren (1975), Tales of Nevèrÿon (1979), Nevèrÿon (1983), and Flight from Nevèrÿon (1985).

: The Einstein Intersection (1967)

: The Jewels of Aptor (1968)

: Dhalgren (1975)

: Tales of Nevèrÿon (1979)

: Nevèrÿon (1983)

: Flight from Nevèrÿon (1985)

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

“Empmuseum.Org – EXHIBITIONS – SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME – Science Fiction Hall Of Fame”. 2023. Web.Archive.Org. https://web.archive.org/web/20120722083740/http://www.empmuseum.org/exhibitions/index.asp?articleID=929.
“Samuel R. Delany By K. Leslie Steiner”. 2023. Pseudopodium.Org. http://www.pseudopodium.org/repress/KLeslieSteiner-SamuelRDelany.html.
“Samuel R. Delany”. 2023. Web.Archive.Org. https://web.archive.org/web/20050121053217/http://www.pcc.com/~jay/delany/

Schlobin Selections #3: The Sand of Mars by Sir Arthur C. (Charles) Clarke

The Sands of Mars by Sir Arthur C. Clarke

Title: The Sand of Mars
Author: Sir Arthur C. (Charles) Clarke
Publisher: Gnome Press, Inc.
Publication Date: 1952
Page Count: 216
Call Number: PR6005.L36 S3 1952

Initially published in 1951, The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. (Charles) Clarke (1917-2008) is the author’s first published novel and helped Clarke go on to become one of the genre’s most distinguished writers. Set on the planet Mars, which has been colonized by humans prior to the beginning of the novel, Clarke’s work follows famed science fiction author Martin Gibson who has been invited to make the journey from Earth to the research station on Mars. During his trip, Gibson is introduced to Jimmy Spencer, a young astronaut in training who has been assigned to educate Gibson about space flight during their travels. The two quickly become friends and Gibson passes the time during the 3-month trip by opening up to the young man about the personal and professional troubles that have plagued his life up to this point.

Once the group reaches Mars, Gibson is introduced to the research station’s leadership team, Warren Hadfield, who serves as the Chief Executive of Mars, and Mayor Whittaker. Hadfield and Whittaker explain that their goal is to make the Mars colony completely self-sufficient and invite Gibson to explore the surrounding research stations with them. During their travels, Gibson observes the animal life, vegetation, and geography of Mars. It is also revealed to Gibson during this excursion that the Mars research station is not completely transparent with their Earth counterparts in regards to the work being done on the Red Planet as scientists are working on enriching the oxygen content of Mars by cultivating the planet’s vegetation. Gibson is also told about the research station’s work on “Project Dawn” which involves converting Mars’ moon Phobos into a second sun for the planet, with the goal of making the planet more suitable for human life

Sir Arthur C. Clarke on the set of filming for “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Image Credit: ITU Pictures

and existence. On top of all these revelations, Gibson is also shocked to discover a previously unknown family tie to the Mars colony that forces him to reconsider his relationship with both Earth and the growing secondary planet. This discovery of family, along with the revelations about the work that Hadfield and the team of scientists are undertaking convinces Gibson of the importance of the Mars colony and the need for it to be self-sufficient, just as Hadfield and Whittaker desire. In the end, after applying for permission to stay on Mars, Gibson is invited to become the colony’s public relations officer and is tasked with “selling” the Mars colony to other potential settlers.

Upon its initial publishing, much of what is described as the planet Mars in Clarke’s work comes from the limited knowledge of the planet at the time mixed with the vivid imitation of space travel and space exploration in the leading up to the space race. Overall, the reception for Clarke’s The Sands of Mars was good as the book helped distinguish him amongst the best science fiction writers of his time. Eventually, Clarke, alongside fellow writers Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, would come to be recognized as one of the “Big Three” writers in the science fiction genre. Following The Sands of Mars, Clarke would write other notable and award-winning works such as Childhood’s End (1953), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Rendezvous with Rama (1973), and The Fountains of Paradise (1979).

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

“Arthur C Clarke – Official Website”. 2023. Arthurcclarke.Org. http://arthurcclarke.org/#start.
Clarke, Arthur C. Sands of Mars. New York: Gnome Press, 1952.
“Empmuseum.Org – EXHIBITIONS – SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME – Science Fiction Hall Of Fame”. 2023. Web.Archive.Org. https://web.archive.org/web/20120722083938/http://www.empmuseum.org/exhibitions/index.asp?articleID=927.
Tuck, Donald H. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent, 1974.

Schlobin Selections #2: Atlantida: (L’Atlantide) by Pierre Benoit, translated by Mary C. Tongue and Mary Ross

Atlantida: (L’Atlantide) by Pierre Benoit (1886-1962), translated by Mary C. Tongue and Mary Ross

Title: Atlantida: (L’Atlantide)
Author: Pierre Benoit
Translated by: Mary C. Tongue and Mary Ross
Publisher: Duffield & Co.
Publication Date: 1920
Page Count: 192
Call Number: PQ2603.E583 A813 1920

Originally published in France in 1919, Pierre Benoit’s (1886-1962) fantasy novel Atlantida (translated from the French title L’Atlantide) was translated into English by Mary C. Tongue and Mary Ross and republished in 1920. Atlantida is set in the French Sahara in 1896 and tells the story of officers André de Saint-Avit and Jean Morhange. Tasked with investigating the disappearance of several of their fellow officers, Saint-Avit and Morhange are eventually kidnapped by a Cegheir-ben-Cheikh, a Targui warrior who is working for Queen Antinea. Antinea, who is referred to both as the granddaughter of Neptune and Clito, the fabled last Kings of Atlantis, as well as a descendant of Cleopatra VII Philopator of Egypt, has the French officers brought to her royal palace in Atlantis. Benoit describes Atlantis as “a royal palace hidden inside a mountain, overlooking a beautiful palm oasis, itself surrounded by the unbreachable Hoggar mountains.” Upon their arrival, Saint-Avit and Morhange discover an underground mausoleum made of red marble. Inside the chamber is a grand, ornate throne surrounded by 120 alcoves that had been cut into the rock walls. Saint-Avit and Morhange observe that 53 of these alcoves were filled with the bodies of men, all of whom had been labeled, numbered, and preserved forever after being “dipped into a metallic bath of sulfate of orichalcum, the famous, legendary metal of the Atlanteans.” These were the former lovers of Antinea, who after the Queen had become bored of them, willingly ended their lives rather than live without her love. Saint-Avit and Morhange were told that once all 120 of the alcoves were filled with the remnants of her lovers, Antietam would rest on her throne for the rest of eternity.

Upon meeting the Queen of Atlantis, Saint-Avit succumbs to her presence and powers like those before him, but Morhange scorns her attempts at seduction. Spurned by her next potential victim, Antinea orders Saint-Avit to murder his colleague. After unknowingly doing Antinea’s bidding, Saint-Avit escapes the control of Antinea with the help of the Queen’s enslaved servant Tanit-Zerga. Years later, after being suspected of murdering Morhange by military leadership, Saint-Avit shares his story of what really happened in Atlantis with a fellow officer upon assuming command of the small fort of Hassi-Inifel in the Sahara.

Pierre Benoit (1886-1962) on his reception at the Académie française in 1932. Image Source: Agence de presse Meurisse – Bibliothèque nationale de France

Atlantida: (L’Atlantide) was Benoit’s second of his forty-two novels published and is considered by many literary scholars to be the author’s best work. Inspired by both the Berber queen Tin Hinan as well as Benoit’s own experiences, he had resided in both Tunisia and Algeria while his father served in the French military before serving in the French army himself, Atlantida: (L’Atlantide) would go on to win the 1919 Le Grand Prix du Roman, a literary award given annually since 1914 by the Académie Française (French Academy). Atlantida: (L’Atlantide) has also been the inspiration for eight films that are adaptations of Benoit’s work. In 2005, Bison Books republished a facsimile of the 1920 English translation of Benoit’s novel under the new title Queen of Atlantis

Despite his literary fame, Benoit’s life and work were not without controversy. After the release of Atlantida: (L’Atlantide), Benoit was accused of plagiarizing H. Rider Haggard’s 1887 novel She. Insulted by the claim, Benoit sued the author of the accusing article, Henry Magden, for libel. Despite his claims that his work was based on his own research and experiences, as well as his claim that he was unable to read or speak the English language, thus he could not have read Haggard’s work, Benoit lost the libel case. This accusation of plagiarism has continued to taint the legacy of Atlantida: (L’Atlantide) throughout the 21st century, despite no solid evidence that Benoit ever actually did anything wrong. Benoit himself would find his name and legacy impacted once more when he joined the “Groupe Collaboration” during the Nazi Occupation of France between 1940 and 1944. Described by historians as a “pro-Nazi group of artists and intellectuals,” the “Groupe Collaboration” consisted of many influential French artists, writers, and intellectuals who are considered to have been Nazi sympathizers. Because of his involvement in this organization, Benoit was arrested in September 1944, and despite his imprisonment only lasting for six months, his novels and other works were blacklisted by French society for years after the war ended.

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

Flower, John. Historical Dictionary of French Literature. Scarecrow Press, 2013.
“L’Atlantide by Pierre Benoit.” The French World Newton Universe. Accessed February 6, 2023. https://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/atlantide.htm.
Littlejohn, David. The Patriotic Traitors: A History of Collaboration in German-Occupied Europe, 1940-45. London: Heinemann, 1972.
“Queen of Atlantis (L’atlantide), by Pierre Benoit.” Vintage Pop Fictions, October 24, 2011. http://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2011/10/queen-of-atlantis-latlantide-by-pierre.html.

Schlobin Selections #1: A House-Boat on the Styx: Being Some Account of the Divers Doings of the Associated Shades by John Kendrick Bangs

Over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting a select number of titles and authors from the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection. Established in 2004 by East Carolina University English Professor Roger C. Schlobin, the James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection provides materials for scholarly research to researchers and students interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy literature. The collection consists of over 3,700 individual books, mostly primary literature in the form of novels, and collected short narratives with some additional secondary literature and scholarly criticism related to the various genres represented. The James H. and Virginia Schlobin Literature of the Fantastic Collection also has a related manuscripts collection which consists of nearly 5 cubic feet of materials which can be accessed here.

A House-Boat on the Styx: Being Some Account of the Divers Doings of the Associated Shades by John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922).

Title: A House-Boat on the Styx: Being Some Account of the Divers Doings of the Associated Shades
Author: John Kendrick Bangs
Publisher: Harper & Brothers
Publication Date: 1896
Illustrator: Peter Newell
Page Count: 171
Call Number: PS1064.B3 H6 1896

Written in 1895 by John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922), A House-Boat on the Styx: Being Some Account of the Divers Doings of the Associated Shades is the first title in Bangs’s Associated Shades series. Written as a literary experiment to show what would happen if some of history’s most infamous and well-known individuals were placed together upon their death, A House-Boat on the Styx is comprised of 12 short stories set aboard a houseboat, called the Nancy Nox, which is anchored close to the shore of Hades along the river Styx, a body of water from Greek mythology that forms the border between Eart and the Underworld. Aboard the vessel are members of the Associated Shades, a club organized in Hades for “mutual improvement and social benefit.” Amongst the club’s members, readers will recognize Old Adam, Noah, Goliath, Sampson, Nero, Napoleon, George Washington, Charles Darwin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Shakespeare, Robert Burns, Homer, Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, and many more of history’s most famous intellectuals, leaders, and significant figures. Throughout the book, these individuals participate in lively, animated discussions regarding subjects in which they were interested or involved during their past lives. Some of the most humorous conversations in the book center around the true authorship of Shakespeare’s works and the selection of animals that Old Noah took on the ark with P.T. Barnum expressing to everyone that he could have done it better.

“The Melancholy Dane Appeard” is one of Peter Newell’s twenty-three illustrations that can be found in Bangs’s A House-Boat on the Styx.

Despite A House-Boat on the Styx containing no original characters, Bangs’s effort is still recognized by fans and scholars of the fantasy genre as an enjoyable and entertaining work. Publishers Weekly named A House-Boat on the Styx one of the 10 best-selling novels in the United States in 1896. Author Philip José Farmer stated that Banks’s work directly influenced his award-winning Riverworld series. Accompanying Bangs’s writings are twenty-three full-page illustrations drawn by famed American artist and writer Peter Newell.

Read previous entries from Schlobin Selections here.

Sources:

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Styx.” Encyclopedia Britannica, December 23, 2022.
“Book Review: A House-Boat on the Styx. Being Some Account of Divers Doings of the Associated Shades.” Journal of Education 43, no. 3 (January 1896).