American Science Fiction: Four Classic Novels 1968-1969 (LOA #322): Past Master / Picnic on Paradise / Nova / Emphyrio

by R. A. Lafferty (Auteur)

Other authorsSamuel R. Delany (Auteur), Jack Vance (Auteur), Joanna Russ (Auteur), Gary K. Wolfe (Sous la direction de)
Hardcover, 2019

Status

Available

Call number

PS648.S3 A51554

Publication

Library of America (2019), 762 pages

Description

"In this second volume of a two-volume set gathering the best American science fiction from the tumultuous 1960s, R. A. Lafferty's quirky and utterly original Past Master, an unjustly neglected classic, imagines Sir Thomas More transported to the colony Astrobe in the year 2535, where he is made president of a future Utopia. In Picnic on Paradise, Joanna Russ presents her indelible heroine, Alyx, who is hired to protect a group of tourists in a hostile alien world. Samuel R. Delany's proto-cyberpunk space opera Nova, reprinted here for the first time in a text corrected by the author, combines the pacing of a revenge story with the arc of a grail-quest legend. Jack Vance's dystopian thriller Emphyrio is the coming-of-age story of Ghyl, who has been raised in a world barring the use of automation but has a strong sense of subversive individualism. The novel has been restored to the author's original text, without later editorial interventions."--Provided by publisher.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member nmele
These four novels are all considered classics of science fiction, or at least landmark books. I had never read either Lafferty's or Russ's. I found Past Master a bit of a let down, despite being very interested in both Thomas More and R.A. Lafferty. Picnic on Paradise was very good and has stood
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the test of time except for the fact that in today's context, it doesn't seem revolutionary to have a capable female protagonist. Nova was a reread for me and confirmed my memory of Delany's excellent. The same is true for Emphyrio.
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LibraryThing member walterhistory
In this LOA volume, Mr Wolfe introduces 4 sci fi novels which he believes to be the best of sci fi writing near the end of the 1960s. Unfortunately, these stories faded away unable to sustain the attention of readers. Historically, they were deeply influenced by the times the stories were. Perhaps
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it is what makes the stories more compelling and interesting.
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Language

Original publication date

2019

Physical description

762 p.; 8.17 inches

ISBN

1598535021 / 9781598535020
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