- Witzke, Dawn, ed.
Planetary: Earth.
Narara, NSW, Australia: Superversive Press, 2018.
ISBN 978-1-925645-24-8.
-
This is the fourth book in the publisher's Planetary
Anthology series. Each volume contain stories set on,
or figuring in the plot, the named planet. Previous collections
have featured Mercury, Venus, and Mars. This installment
contains stories related in some way to Earth, although in
several none of the action occurs on that planet.
Back the day (1930s through 1980s) monthly science fiction
magazines were a major venue for the genre and the primary
path for aspiring authors to break into print. Sold on
newsstands for the price of a few comic books, they were the
way generations of young readers (including this one) discovered
the limitless universe of science fiction. A typical issue
might contain five or six short stories, a longer piece
(novella or novelette), and a multi-month serialisation of
a novel, usually by an established author known to the
readers. For example, Frank Herbert's
Dune
was serialised in two long runs in
Analog
in 1963 and 1965 before its hardcover publication in 1965. In
addition, there were often book reviews, a column about
science fact (Fantasy and Science Fiction published
a monthly science column by Isaac Asimov which ran from 1958 until
shortly before his death in 1992—a total of 399 in all), a
lively letters to the editor section, and an editorial. All
of the major science fiction monthlies welcomed unsolicited
manuscripts from unpublished authors, and each issue was likely
to contain one or two stories from the
“slush pile”
which the editor decided made the cut for the magazine. Most
of the outstanding authors of the era broke into the field this
way, and some editors such as John W. Campbell of Astounding
(later Analog) invested much time and effort in
mentoring promising talents and developing them into a reliable
stable of writers to fill the pages of their magazines.
By the 1990s, monthly science fiction magazines were in decline,
and the explosion of science fiction novel publication had
reduced the market for short fiction. By the year 2000, only
three remained in the U.S., and their circulations continued to
erode. Various attempts to revive a medium for short fiction
have been tried, including Web magazines. This collection is
an example of another genre: the original anthology. While most
anthologies published in book form in the heyday of the
magazines had previously been published in the magazines (authors
usually only sold the magazine “first North American serial
rights” and retained the right to subsequently sell the
story to the publisher of an anthology), original anthologies
contain never-before-published stories, usually collected
around a theme such as the planet Earth here.
I got this book (I say “got” as opposed to “bought”
because the Kindle edition is free to
Kindle Unlimited subscribers and I “borrowed” it as
one of the ten titles I can check out for reading at a given time)
because it contained the short story, “The Hidden Conquest”,
by Hans G. Schantz, author of the superb Hidden Truth series
of novels
(1, 2, 3), which was
said to be a revealing prequel to the story in the books. It is,
and it is excellent, although you probably won't appreciate how
much of a reveal it is unless you've read the books, especially
2018's The Brave and the Bold.
The rest of the stories are…uneven: about what you'd
expect from a science fiction magazine in the 1950s or '60s.
Some are gimmick stories, others are shoot-em-up action tales,
while still others are just disappointing and probably should
have remained in the slush pile or returned to their authors
with a note attached to the rejection slip offering a few
suggestions and encouragement to try again. Copy editing is
sloppy, complete with a sprinkling of idiot
“its/it's” plus the obligatory “pulled hard on
the reigns” “miniscule”, and
take your “breathe” away.
But hey, if you got it from Kindle Unlimited, you can hardly say
you didn't get your money's worth, and you're perfectly free to
borrow it, read the Hans Schantz story, and return it same day.
I would not pay the US$4 to buy the Kindle edition outright,
and fifteen bucks for a paperback is right out.
June 2019 