Cory Panshin

Kind of a curio now, like a lot of 'early' sf review collections. This is a fix-up of reviews and other articles from the early '80s, obsesses with science fiction and how it had changed since the early 60s and even 30s, times as distant from the writing of this book as it is from now. Worth reading, though the predictions of the future of sf are pretty hard to evaluate at this date because so much has happened. Still, coverage of Heinlein's unfortunate The Number of the Beast is good, and show more they blame it for killing sf (not in so direct a way, but still). If you're interested in the history of sf, from a writer who clearly knows his stuff, it's a worthy read. (Panshin passed away, alas, as I was reading his Heinlein book shortly before I read this one.) show less

How I wish Panshin had finished the Villiers series instead of wandering off into this. Perhaps Villiers could only be written when he was young. I can't even remember what was in this book - I'm not sure I finished it, even, though I probably did; but the Villiers series, and Rite of Passage, I've read over and over again.

“An unbelievably wonderful book” —Isaac Asimov
“This IS the history of science fiction...My only real complaint is that it ended too soon”—Science Fiction Chronicle
“Painstaking research and wealth of fascinating detail.”—The Washington Post
The World Beyond the Hill is a unique book—a story about stories. It tells not only where science fiction came from and how it got that way, but what science fiction means.
Science fiction has been the myth of modern times. The World show more Beyond the Hill is the tale of that myth from Frankenstein to Galactic Empire.
Hugo Winner show less

Great kings keep wizards. Morca kept a wizard.