What mad universe (1949)

Very fun and breezy. Just moved right along. Sets up an interesting world and does a really nice job with the exposition. Never got any sense of a foundation for the grand romance, which made some of his decisions just seem stupid, but that was the only quibble. ( )

"Recursive science fiction" is defined as science fiction that takes as its subject matter, at least partially, all the various themes, personages and history of the genre itself. ...But Brown's stroke of genius lay in constructing a deliberately shoddy universe that actually mimicked pulp cliches but that was absolutely real to its inhabitants. -- Paul Di Filippo