The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
On Jan 29, 2024, James Nicoll wrote
(in article <up8pug$i2p$1@reader1.panix.com>):
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
Hmm.
Tv tie-ins: Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, Voyage to the Bottom of the >Sea
Enid Blyton: her books were set in a not-quite-parallel universe
W.E. Johns: his books were in a somewhat different not-quite-parallel >universe; he also perpetuated a few books where the protags accidentally let >a kitten loose on Mars and it Grew. And was quite annoying.
Burroughs’ Mars and Venus books
RAH’s juvies, starting with Between Planets, Space Cadet, and The Rolling >Stones
Asimov’s robot and Foundation books.
A lot of Clarke, and Chandler, and E.E. Smith.
A ton of Tom Swift, by ‘Victor Appleton’ and ‘Victor Appleton II’; >the nuclear powered submarine helicopter made anything in Joe 90 and Captain >Scarlet look tame.
On 1/29/24 10:14, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
I actually have no idea what I was reading when I was 12. Probably the
Hardy Boys. I had not yet seen 2001, but was watching Star Trek.
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
On 2024-01-29, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
Looking at the ISFDB top reviewed list for 1968 (I turned 12), I have
read 41 of the top 50, and 74 of the top 100. But that says
almost nothing about what I read when I was 12!
I have no memory of having read any of them when I was 12. In all likelihood I read 2 or 3 since the librarian would put aside any new SF for me, but
that happened rarely. This was a small town library in the middle of
nowhere (South Dakota) with a 4-5 shelf SF section.
I was pretty completely oblivious to science fiction authors; SF was
my favorite genre but I never ran into enough by any author for that
to be important. I remember I had a favorite publisher though: Avalon
books. There were a couple dozen Avalon SF books in the library and they always had lists of more SF books at the end of each.
Fantasy children's books were shelved with general children's books so
I at least recognized some authors for their series. Lofting (Dr. Dolittle) and Travers (Mary Poppins). Before age 12 I had read the fantasy that my dad had around: _The Hobbit_ and _Lord of the Rings_ (which now surprise me that he had) and _Gulliver's Travels_ and _Le Morte D'Arthur_.
My "Golden Age" would probably be ages 14 - 16 when I would go out to
Tulsa, OK for the summer and buy used SF books at 10 cents to 20 cents
each at the huge weekly flea market and used book stores (100+ books
per summer). That's when I would have read more of the 1968 books.
Chris
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr. Popper's
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
Penguins, probably some others that had originally been my mother's books.
On 2024-01-29, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:They say ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, and I'd say my science
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
[..] Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" when I was in
third grade; I moved on from there to other Verne stories and
H.G. Wells. By the time I was 12 I was probably well into the actual SF Golden Age, reading Asimov and the like. Dune and LotR in 8th grade or
so, and finally getting into 90s science fiction by late high school.
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr. Popper's
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
Penguins, probably some others that had originally been my mother's books. >>
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I first discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the detailed memories of others in this thread.
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
_20000 leagues_,
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr. Popper's
of/
Penguins, probably some others that had originally been my mother's books.
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I first discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the detailed memories of others in this thread.
In article <up8pug$i2p$1@reader1.panix.com>,
jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
My year was 1962. I think I have read about 30 of the top 100, almost
all years later. The only one that I might had read in 1962 was
_Triumph_ (I think I read a serialization of it in Saturday Evening
Post).
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr. Popper's
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
Penguins, probably some others that had originally been my mother's books. >>
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I first >discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the detailed >memories of others in this thread.
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
Paul S Person wrote:or story with Sinbad in the title.) Maybe you made do with some standard Sinbad or Arabian Nights book.
On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 16:12:06 +1300, Titus G <no...@nowhere.com> wrote:
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr. Popper's
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
Penguins, probably some others that had originally been my mother's books.
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I first
discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the detailed
memories of others in this thread.
Well, either that or extensive records.
I'm not sure what I was reading back then either. Perhaps still Hardy
Boys and similar series. Perhaps Heinlein juveniles. Perhaps Classics
Illustrated.
One problem is a certain ... jumbling ... of my memory timeline. Thus,
I am tempted to list the book version of /Sinbad and the Eye of the
Tiger/, but I was, in fact, 31 when the film came out!
Yeah, 13, not 31!
Although,,, going back 19 years, the first Harryhausen Sinbad movie came out in 1958.
IsfDb doesn't list a novelization under either "Seventh Voyage" or "7th Voyage", and the entry for "Eye of the Tiger" doesn't have it as part of a series. (As you know, though, Harryhausen's Sinbad movies make no more of a series than any other movie
On Jan 29, 2024, Titus G wrote (in articleof/
<up9peb$r5ah$1@dont-email.me>):
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-
I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr.
Popper's Penguins, probably some others that had originally been
my mother's books.
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I
first discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the
detailed memories of others in this thread.
The local library had several shelves of Tom Swifts, Blyton, and
Johns. And lots of RAH, the very first RAH I read was Between
Planets, from the library. I spent lots of afternoons and weekends in
the library. And I was inspired to get my own.
I have no idea what I read in 1972. I can barely remember what I read >yesterday (Jumper). Probably a bunch of Heinleins, Asimovs, and
Nortons. Maybe some Tom Swift Jr, Hardy Boys, etc.
I too am amazed that people can remember what they read 50+ years ago.
Paul S Person wrote:or story with Sinbad in the title.) Maybe you made do with some standard Sinbad or Arabian Nights book.
On Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:05:01 -0800 (PST), Jack Bohn
<jack....@gmail.com> wrote:
Paul S Person wrote:
One problem is a certain ... jumbling ... of my memory timeline. Thus, >> >> I am tempted to list the book version of /Sinbad and the Eye of the
Tiger/, but I was, in fact, 31 when the film came out!
Yeah, 13, not 31!
Although,,, going back 19 years, the first Harryhausen Sinbad movie came out in 1958.
IsfDb doesn't list a novelization under either "Seventh Voyage" or "7th Voyage", and the entry for "Eye of the Tiger" doesn't have it as part of a series. (As you know, though, Harryhausen's Sinbad movies make no more of a series than any other movie
The problem is that I remember this book, or perhaps comic, as very
much including the Greek professor and his daughter and the Minoton.
Which is pretty specific to /Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger/.
It either fell out of a time-traveling Delorean, or you have to fall back on the example of Doc Brown and say you felt like a boy again reading it!
On 1/29/2024 12:14 PM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
I have no idea what I read in 1972. I can barely remember what I read yesterday (Jumper). Probably a bunch of Heinleins, Asimovs, and
Nortons. Maybe some Tom Swift Jr, Hardy Boys, etc.
I too am amazed that people can remember what they read 50+ years ago.
On 31/01/24 03:17, WolfFan wrote:
On Jan 29, 2024, Titus G wrote (in article
<up9peb$r5ah$1@dont-email.me>):
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
of/https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinkin
g-
I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr.
Popper's Penguins, probably some others that had originally been
my mother's books.
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I
first discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the detailed memories of others in this thread.
The local library had several shelves of Tom Swifts, Blyton, and
Johns. And lots of RAH, the very first RAH I read was Between
Planets, from the library. I spent lots of afternoons and weekends in
the library. And I was inspired to get my own.
I think my favourite books when 12 were _Robin Hood_ and _The Three Musketeers_ and I had read many Secret Seven and Famous Five by Enid
Blyton but don't remember at what age. What did you mean by set in a "not-quite-parallel universe”?
On Jan 31, 2024, Titus G wrote
(in article <upep2u$1oc9h$1@dont-email.me>):
On 31/01/24 03:17, WolfFan wrote:
On Jan 29, 2024, Titus G wrote (in articleof/
<up9peb$r5ah$1@dont-email.me>):
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-
I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr.
Popper's Penguins, probably some others that had originally been
my mother's books.
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I
first discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the
detailed memories of others in this thread.
The local library had several shelves of Tom Swifts, Blyton, and
Johns. And lots of RAH, the very first RAH I read was Between
Planets, from the library. I spent lots of afternoons and weekends in
the library. And I was inspired to get my own.
I think my favourite books when 12 were _Robin Hood_ and _The Three
Musketeers_ and I had read many Secret Seven and Famous Five by Enid
Blyton but don't remember at what age. What did you mean by set in a
"not-quite-parallel universe”?
Enid Blyton’s England was... related to, but not quite the same, as the >real England. The real England wasn’t nearly as English as Blyton’s >England.
On Jan 31, 2024, Titus G wrote
(in article <upep2u$1oc9h$1@dont-email.me>):
On 31/01/24 03:17, WolfFan wrote:
On Jan 29, 2024, Titus G wrote (in articleof/
<up9peb$r5ah$1@dont-email.me>):
On 30/01/24 10:51, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 1/29/2024 10:14 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinkin
g-
I don't remember. Likely the original Baum Oz books, Mr.
Popper's Penguins, probably some others that had originally been
my mother's books.
I don't remember either but it wasn't science fiction because I
first discovered Gollanz in the library when 13. I am amazed at the
detailed memories of others in this thread.
The local library had several shelves of Tom Swifts, Blyton, and
Johns. And lots of RAH, the very first RAH I read was Between
Planets, from the library. I spent lots of afternoons and weekends in
the library. And I was inspired to get my own.
I think my favourite books when 12 were _Robin Hood_ and _The Three
Musketeers_ and I had read many Secret Seven and Famous Five by Enid
Blyton but don't remember at what age. What did you mean by set in a
"not-quite-parallel universe”?
Enid Blyton’s England was... related to, but not quite the same, as the real England. The real England wasn’t nearly as English as Blyton’s England.
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
On Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 5:31:29 PM UTC-5, Robert Carnegie wrote:
On 29/01/2024 19:59, WolfFan wrote:
On Jan 29, 2024, James Nicoll wrote
(in article <up8pug$i2p$1...@reader1.panix.com>):
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
accidentally let
Hmm.
Tv tie-ins: Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, Voyage to the Bottom of the >> > Sea
Enid Blyton: her books were set in a not-quite-parallel universe
W.E. Johns: his books were in a somewhat different not-quite-parallel
universe; he also perpetuated a few books where the protags
a kitten loose on Mars and it Grew. And was quite annoying._Captain Scarlet_ was run from a permanently airborne
Burroughs’ Mars and Venus books
RAH’s juvies, starting with Between Planets, Space Cadet, and The Rolling
Stones
Asimov’s robot and Foundation books.
A lot of Clarke, and Chandler, and E.E. Smith.
A ton of Tom Swift, by ‘Victor Appleton’ and ‘Victor Appleton II’; >> > the nuclear powered submarine helicopter made anything in Joe 90 and >Captain
Scarlet look tame.
aircraft carrier. In the 2000s or so, there was one
in _Doctor Who_, exactly as a tribute to that, I assume.
The CS one was 2 years behind the S.H.I.E.L.D, Helicarrier.
https://www.comics.org/issue/19382/
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Strange-Tales-1951/Issue-135?id=33247#12
August, 1965 issue, on sale in May
Not to take anything away from Cloudbase, which was pretty fab.
https://www.spectrum-headquarters.com/cloudbase.html later
https://www.spectrum-headquarters.com/skybase_central/skybase.htm
I was already familiar with the Sky City of the Hawkmen of Mongo, from watching
the "Flash Gordon" serials on kids' afternoon TV, shown in the early
1960s. WPIX,
Ch 11, transmitted those on shows hosted by the late Chuck McCann.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/obituaries/chuck-mccann-zany-comic-in-early-childrens-tv-dies-at-83.html
Re: 12, 13 or even 14:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/10/14/golden-age/
My Golden Age would have been the tail end of 1968 and most of 1969.
That coincided with my being given access to the adult stacks in my
local; public library. Prior to `67 or `68 I was confined to the
Children's Room,
which did have some juvenile SF, such as the Heinleins, Nortons, "Paul >French" Asimovs, John Christophers, etc. I remember reading SF in my >brother's copies of "Boys Life," the Scouting magazine.
See:
https://file770.com/finding-heinlein-in-boy%E2%80%99s-life/
for links, in both the article and the comments.
My comic book reading was heavily canted towards DC's "Superman"
family of mags, and the Julius Schwartz - edited superhero and SF titles: >FLASH, GREEN LANTERN, HAWKMAN, ATOM, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA,
and MYSTERY IN SPACE featuring "Adam Strange."† That strip didn't last >through
1966, but by 1969 The Man of Two Worlds was appearing in reprinted form in, >aptly, STRANGE ADVENTURES. There were new stories in #222, and #226, the >last being a Gardner Fox text story, with illustrations by Murphy Anderson.
https://thedorkreview.blogspot.com/2012/01/adam-stranges-magic-maker-of-rann.html
Should this be added to Fox's isfdb page?
† Adam is a 1960s Gulliver Jones or John Carter, though his Mars is
the planet Rann
in, originally, the Alpha Centauri system. Alanna, super-hot daughter
of scientist Sardath
is his Dejah Thoris. Instead of astral projection, he visits Rann via >trans-luminal teleport-
ray - the Zeta-Beam. Sleek art by Carmine (The Flash) Infantino.
--
Kevin R
My comic book reading was heavily canted towards DC's "Superman"
family of mags, and the Julius Schwartz - edited superhero and SF titles: FLASH, GREEN LANTERN, HAWKMAN, ATOM, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA,
and MYSTERY IN SPACE featuring "Adam Strange."† That strip didn't last through
1966, but by 1969 The Man of Two Worlds was appearing in reprinted form in, aptly, STRANGE ADVENTURES. There were new stories in #222, and #226, the last being a Gardner Fox text story, with illustrations by Murphy Anderson.
https://thedorkreview.blogspot.com/2012/01/adam-stranges-magic-maker-of-rann.html
Should this be added to Fox's isfdb page? [snip]
On Monday, January 29, 2024 at 11:14:45 AM UTC-7, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
OK, I lurk here once in a while, and I haven't posted in a decade or two, but this one I couldn't resist.
I'm pretty sure I read snip and the Gormenghast books
for the first time that year, but I didn't reread them that much.
On Friday, February 2, 2024 at 8:30:00?PM UTC-7, Titus G wrote:
On 2/02/24 18:23, Jerry Friedman wrote:
On Monday, January 29, 2024 at 11:14:45?AM UTC-7, James Nicoll wrote:snip
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
OK, I lurk here once in a while, and I haven't posted in a decade or two, but
this one I couldn't resist.
You have an impressive reading list for that age. I didn't read the
I'm pretty sure I read snip and the Gormenghast books
for the first time that year, but I didn't reread them that much.
Gormenghast trilogy until I was early twenties and have re-read the
first two often, not the third as I didn't understand it until a decade
or so ago after web searching reviews. At 12 and older, I doubt whether
I would have been able to enjoy Peake's long descriptive almost poetic
passages so wouldn't have completed a chapter.
At that age I read everything, whether I understood it or not. I think I >also skipped more than I realized at the time. For instance, it was not
my first or second time through LotR that I realized Rohan and the
Riddermark were the same country. Maybe not the third.
I kind of guessed you liked the Gormenghast books.
Hm. I'll bet I read /The Worm Ouroboros/ that year and wasn't as
horrified by the ending as I was when I reread it twenty or so years
later.
On 1/29/24 10:14, James Nicoll wrote:
The Golden Age of SF (But Not the One You're Thinking Of)
What were you reading when you were 12?
https://reactormag.com/the-golden-age-of-sf-but-not-the-one-youre-thinking-of/
I actually have no idea what I was reading when I was 12. Probably the
Hardy Boys. I had not yet seen 2001, but was watching Star Trek.
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