Science-Fiction Adventures in Dimension
Encyclopedia
Science-Fiction Adventures in Dimension is an anthology of science fiction stories edited by Groff Conklin
, first published by Vanguard Press
in hardcover
in 1953. An abridged edition was issued by Grayson & Grayson in the UK, and an abridged paperback edition, with a different selection of stories from the original, was issued by Berkley Books
; both abridgments carried unhyphenated titles.
"Castaway" originally carried the byline "George Whitley". "The Flight That Failed" was originally credited to Hull alone. "Endowment Policy" originally carried the "Lewis Padgett
" byline. "Peter Cartur" and "Roger Flint Young" were pseudonyms of Peter Grainger.
found Conklin to be "at his very best form" in compiling this volume, which he termed "the top anthology of 1953."
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin was a leading science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories , wrote books on home improvement and was a freelance writer on scientific subjects as well as a published poet...
, first published by Vanguard Press
Vanguard Press
The Vanguard Press was a United States publishing house established with a $100,000 grant from the left wing American Fund for Public Service, better known as the Garland Fund. Throughout the 1920s, Vanguard Press issued an array of books on radical topics, including studies of the Soviet Union,...
in hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
in 1953. An abridged edition was issued by Grayson & Grayson in the UK, and an abridged paperback edition, with a different selection of stories from the original, was issued by Berkley Books
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
; both abridgments carried unhyphenated titles.
Contents
- "Introduction", Groff Conklin
- "Yesterday Was Monday", Theodore SturgeonTheodore SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
(UnknownUnknown (magazine)Unknown was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. Unknown was a companion to Street & Smith's science fiction pulp, Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and...
1941) - "Ambition", William L. Bade (GalaxyGalaxy Science FictionGalaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
1951) - "The Middle of the Week After Next", Murray LeinsterMurray LeinsterMurray Leinster was a nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an award-winning American writer of science fiction and alternate history...
(Thrilling Wonder Stories 1952) - "And It Comes Out Here", Lester del ReyLester del ReyLester del Rey was an American science fiction author and editor. Del Rey was the author of many of the Winston Science Fiction juvenile SF series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction branch of Ballantine Books, along with his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey.-Birth...
(Galaxy 1951) - "Castaway", A. Bertram ChandlerA. Bertram ChandlerArthur Bertram Chandler was a British-Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M....
(Weird TalesWeird TalesWeird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
1947) - "The Good Provider", Marion Gross (F&SF 1952)
- "Reverse Phylogeny", Amelia Reynolds LongAmelia Reynolds LongAmelia Reynolds Long was an American detective fiction and science fiction writer and novelist. Her story, "The Thought-Monster" was made into the 1958 film Fiend Without a Face. She co wrote the 1936 novel Behind the Evidence with William L. Crawford under the combined pseudonym Peter Reynolds....
(Astounding 1937) - "Other Tracks", William Sell (Astounding 1938)
- "What So Proudly We Hail...", Day Keene (ImaginationImagination (magazine)Imagination was an American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in October 1950 by Raymond Palmer's Clark Publishing Company. The magazine was sold almost immediately to Greenleaf Publishing Company, owned by William Hamling, who published and edited it from the third issue,...
1950) - "Night Meeting", Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
(The Martian ChroniclesThe Martian ChroniclesThe Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists...
1950) - "Perfect Murder", Horace L. Gold (Thrilling Wonder Stories 1940)
- "The Flight That Failed," A. E. van VogtA. E. van VogtAlfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century: the "Golden Age" of the genre....
and E. Mayne Hull (Astounding 1942) - "Endowment Policy, Henry KuttnerHenry KuttnerHenry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...
and C. L. MooreC. L. MooreCatherine Lucille Moore was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, as C. L. Moore. She was one of the first women to write in the genre, and paved the way for many other female writers in speculative fiction....
(Astounding 1943) - "Pete Can Fix It", Raymond F. JonesRaymond F. JonesRaymond Fisher Jones was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel, This Island Earth, which was adapted into the 1955 film This Island Earth.-Career:...
(Astounding 1947) - "The Mist", Peter Cartur (F&SF 1952)
- "The Gostak and the Doshes", Miles J. BreuerMiles J. BreuerMiles John Breuer was an American physician and science fiction writer. He was part of the first generation of writers to appear regularly in the pulp science fiction magazines, publishing his first story, "The Man with the Strange Head", in the January 1927 issue of Amazing Stories...
(AmazingAmazing StoriesAmazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
1930) - "What If...", Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
(FantasticFantastic StoriesFantastic Stories is a collection of six short stories written by Soviet author Andrei Sinyavsky under the pseudonym Abram Tertz between 1955 and 1961. The stories are titled: At the Circus, The Graphomaniacs, The Tenants, You and I, The Icicle and Phkents...
1952) - "Ring Around the Redhead", John D. MacDonaldJohn D. MacDonaldJohn Dann MacDonald was an American crime and suspense novelist and short story writer.MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many of them set in his adopted home of Florida...
(Startling StoriesStartling StoriesStartling Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of Thrilling Wonder Stories, Standard's other science fiction title. Startling ran a lead novel in every issue;...
1948) - "Tiger by the Tail", Alan E. NourseAlan E. NourseAlan Edward Nourse was an American science fiction author and physician. He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science. His SF works generally focused on medicine and/or psionics.-Biography:Alan Nourse was born August 11, 1928 to...
(Galaxy 1951) - "Way of Escape", William F. TempleWilliam F. TempleWilliam Frederick Temple was a British science fiction writer. He was a member of the British Interplanetary Society and involved in science fiction fandom before writing. His best known work might be the novel which formed the basis for the film Four Sided Triangle, a novel which Groff Conklin...
(Thrilling Wonder Stories 1948) - "Suburban Frontiers", Roger Flint Young (Astounding 1950)
- "Business of Killing", Fritz LeiberFritz LeiberFritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
(Astounding 1944) - "To Follow Knowledge", Frank Belknap LongFrank Belknap LongFrank Belknap Long was a prolific American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including early contributions to...
(Astounding 1942)
"Castaway" originally carried the byline "George Whitley". "The Flight That Failed" was originally credited to Hull alone. "Endowment Policy" originally carried the "Lewis Padgett
Lewis Padgett
Lewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C. H...
" byline. "Peter Cartur" and "Roger Flint Young" were pseudonyms of Peter Grainger.
Reception
P. Schuyler MillerP. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
found Conklin to be "at his very best form" in compiling this volume, which he termed "the top anthology of 1953."