Picture of author.

James Blish (1921–1975)

Author of A Case of Conscience

240+ Works 21,386 Members 368 Reviews 17 Favorited

About the Author

James Benjamin Blish was born on May 23, 1921 in East Orange, N.J. Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942 - 1944 as a medical technician in the United States Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first show more published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer. From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute. Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish wrote authorized short story collections based upon the 1960s TV series Star Trek. He wrote 11 volumes adapting episodes of the series. He died midway through writing Star Trek 12. Perhaps Blish's most famous works were the "Okies" stories, known collectively as Cities in Flight, published in the science-fiction digest magazine Astounding Science Fiction. Some of James Blish's other works include The Vanished Jet, And All the Stars a Stage, The Quincunx of Time, and Flight of Eagles. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Series

Works by James Blish

A Case of Conscience (1958) 1,793 copies
Cities in Flight (1970) 1,738 copies
Spock Must Die! (1970) — Author — 783 copies
Star Trek 1 (1967) — Author — 642 copies
Star Trek 2 (1968) — Author — 636 copies
Star Trek 5 (1972) — Author — 601 copies
Star Trek 3 (1969) — Author — 601 copies
Star Trek 10 (1974) — Author — 568 copies
Star Trek 9 (1973) — Author — 565 copies
Star Trek 4 (1971) — Author — 560 copies
Star Trek 7 (1972) — Author — 559 copies
Star Trek 8 (1972) — Author — 552 copies
Star Trek 6 (1972) — Author — 548 copies
The Seedling Stars (1957) 475 copies
They Shall Have Stars (1956) 471 copies
Star Trek 11 (1975) — Author — 468 copies
Star Trek 12 (1977) — Author — 412 copies
Earthman, Come Home (1955) 411 copies
Black Easter (1968) 359 copies
And All the Stars a Stage (1971) 353 copies
A Clash of Cymbals (1956) 350 copies
A Life for the Stars (1962) 342 copies
Jack of Eagles (1952) — Author — 341 copies
The Devil's Day (1968) 315 copies
Doctor Mirabilis (1964) 310 copies
The Classic Episodes 1 (1991) 280 copies
Galactic Cluster {Signet} (1953) 278 copies
A Torrent of Faces (1967) 240 copies
The Star Dwellers (1961) 240 copies
The Classic Episodes 2 (1991) 235 copies
VOR (1958) 233 copies
The Classic Episodes 3 (1991) 230 copies
The Day After Judgement (1971) 228 copies
The Quincunx of Time (1953) — Author — 216 copies
The Star Trek Reader [omnibus] (1976) — Author — 210 copies
Three for Tomorrow (1969) 199 copies
The Frozen Year (1957) 179 copies
Anywhen (1971) 178 copies
Midsummer Century [novella] (1972) 174 copies
The Star Trek Reader II (1977) 166 copies
The duplicated man (1953) — Author — 161 copies
The Star Trek Reader IV (1978) 151 copies
The Night Shapes (1962) — Author — 147 copies
Star Trek: The Classic Episodes (2016) — Author — 146 copies
Nebula Award Stories Five (1970) — Editor — 144 copies
The Star Trek Reader III (1978) 140 copies
Titan's Daughter (1961) 130 copies
Welcome to Mars (1966) — Author — 130 copies
Midsummer Century (1974) 127 copies
The Best of James Blish (1979) — Author — 126 copies
The Warriors of Day (1953) — Author — 117 copies
Mission to the Heart Stars (1965) 115 copies
Star Trek [Amereon ed.] (1967) — Author — 106 copies
Backdrop of Stars (1968) — Contributor — 88 copies
The Issue at Hand (1964) 74 copies
Cities in Flight, Vol. 1 (1991) — Author — 73 copies
New Dreams This Morning (1966) — Editor; Author — 69 copies
So close to home (1961) 67 copies
After Such Knowledge (1991) 56 copies
Cities In Flight, Vol. 2 (1991) — Author — 52 copies
Works of Art (1993) 40 copies
The Thing in the Attic (2010) 31 copies
Surface Tension (1952) 25 copies
One-Shot (2009) 24 copies
Common Time [short story] (1953) 17 copies
Tale That Wags the God (1987) 15 copies
Spock läuft Amok (1986) — Author — 15 copies
Tales of a Monster Hunter (1977) 15 copies
Beep (1954) 12 copies
Der unwirkliche MacCoy (1985) — Author — 12 copies
Tomb Tapper (2013) 11 copies
Witches Three (1952) — Author — 11 copies
A work of art [short story] (1956) 11 copies
Das Silikonmonster (1986) — Author — 10 copies
Der Doppelgänger (1987) — Author — 10 copies
Het testament van Andros (1972) 10 copies
Das Paradies-Syndrom (1987) — Author — 10 copies
Ein kleiner Privatkrieg (1988) — Author — 10 copies
We All Die Naked (2014) 10 copies
How Beautiful With Banners (1966) 10 copies
There Shall Be No Darkness (1950) 10 copies
Jenseits der Sterne (1989) — Author — 9 copies
Flights of Eagles (2009) 9 copies
Die Lichter von Zhetar (1987) — Author — 9 copies
Strafplanet Tantalus (1986) — Author — 8 copies
Der Tag der Taube (1988) — Author — 8 copies
Rückkehr zum Morgen (1988) — Author — 8 copies
Star Trek: Příběhy kosmické lodi Enterprise (1991) — Author — 7 copies
Watershed 7 copies
Der Asylplanet (1986) 6 copies
Bridge 6 copies
Earth of Hours 6 copies
Nor Iron Bars 6 copies
Jenseits der Sterne/Klingonen-Gambit (1995) — Contributor — 5 copies
Spock muß sterben! (1988) — Author — 5 copies
Doutor Mirabilis 1 (1994) 4 copies
Enterprise 1 (1972) — Author — 4 copies
Enterprise 2 (1972) — Author — 4 copies
Getting Along — Author — 4 copies
Doutor Mirabilis 2 (1994) 4 copies
Enterprise 12 (1972) — Author — 4 copies
The Oath 4 copies
Die Enterprise im Orbit (1978) — Author — 3 copies
The Box (1949) 3 copies
Introducing James Branch Cabell (1970) — Author — 3 copies
Enterprise 8 (1972) — Author — 3 copies
Enterprise 11 (1972) — Author — 3 copies
Enterprise 3 (1972) 3 copies
Enterprise 10 (1972) — Author — 3 copies
Enterprise 4 (1972) — Author — 3 copies
Okie [novelette] (1950) 3 copies
The Masks 2 copies
Enterprise 5 (1972) — Author — 2 copies
A Dusk of Idols (1961) 2 copies
Skysign (Novelette) (1968) 2 copies
Knock out 1 copy
The Gulch {short story} — Author — 1 copy
Grupo galactico (1964) 1 copy
Enterprise 6 (1972) 1 copy
Enterprise 13 (1972) — Author — 1 copy
FYI 1 copy

Associated Works

Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice (1919) — Introduction, some editions — 994 copies
Again, Dangerous Visions (1972) — Contributor — 969 copies
Alchemy and Academe (1970) — Contributor — 572 copies
The Science Fiction Century (1997) — Contributor — 525 copies
The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories (1992) — Contributor — 437 copies
Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century (2001) — Contributor — 437 copies
100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories (1978) — Contributor — 403 copies
The Big Book of Science Fiction (2016) — Contributor — 400 copies
The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF (1994) — Contributor — 390 copies
Galactic Empires, Volume Two (1976) — Contributor — 387 copies
Where Do We Go from Here? (1971) — Contributor, some editions — 309 copies
The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus (1973) — Contributor — 245 copies
Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder (1987) — Author — 244 copies
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Treasury (1988) — Contributor — 243 copies
The Hastur Cycle (1993) — Contributor — 206 copies
The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction (1980) — Contributor — 193 copies
American Science Fiction : Five Classic Novels 1956-58 (2012) — Contributor — 192 copies
The Fantasy Hall of Fame (1998) — Contributor — 190 copies
Mutants : Eleven Stories of Science Fiction (1974) — Contributor — 165 copies
Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 3 (1941) (1980) — Contributor — 150 copies
The Mammoth Book of Mindblowing SF (2009) — Contributor — 146 copies
Blood and Iron (1984) — Contributor — 146 copies
A Science Fiction Omnibus (1973) — Contributor — 143 copies
Worlds to Come (1942) 141 copies
My Favorite Science Fiction Story (1999) — Contributor — 133 copies
A Treasury of Modern Fantasy (1981) — Contributor — 128 copies
Analog: The Best of Science Fiction (1982) — Author — 126 copies
Galactic Empires {complete} (1976) — Contributor — 122 copies
The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: 5th Series (1956) — Contributor — 117 copies
The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: 12th Series (1963) — Contributor — 116 copies
Spectrum 2 (1962) — Contributor — 116 copies
The Worlds of Science Fiction (1963) — Contributor — 112 copies
Science Fiction of the 50's (1971) — Contributor — 108 copies
American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s (2012) — Contributor — 100 copies
Science Fiction Showcase (1959) — Contributor — 99 copies
Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 (1953) — Contributor — 99 copies
Orbit 1 (1966) — Contributor — 95 copies
7th Annual Edition: The Year's Best S-F (1962) — Contributor — 90 copies
Heinlein in Dimension, a Critical Analysis. (1968) — Introduction — 90 copies
The Science Fictional Solar System (1951) — Contributor — 89 copies
Best SF: 1971 (1972) — Contributor — 84 copies
The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: 7th Series (1958) — Contributor — 84 copies
The Hastur Cycle, Second Revised Edition (1997) — Contributor — 84 copies
Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future (2002) — Contributor — 84 copies
Skylife: Space Habitats in Story and Science (2000) — Contributor — 83 copies
Beyond Control (1972) — Contributor — 81 copies
The Dark Side (1965) — Contributor — 79 copies
Best SF (1955) — Contributor — 76 copies
Cities of wonder (1967) — Contributor — 76 copies
Werewolf! A Chrestomathy of Lycanthropy (1979) — Contributor — 73 copies
Best SF: 1967 (1968) — Foreword — 68 copies
Novelets of Science Fiction (1963) — Contributor — 67 copies
Get Out of My Sky (1960) — Contributor — 67 copies
The Best Science Fiction Stories (1977) — Author, some editions — 65 copies
Dark Stars (1969) — Contributor — 64 copies
Thirteen o'Clock and Other Zero Hours (1970) — Editor — 63 copies
Masters of Fantasy (1992) — Contributor — 63 copies
6 Great Short Novels of Science Fiction (1954) — Contributor — 63 copies
Alpha 1 (1970) — Contributor — 62 copies
Men and Machines (1968) — Contributor — 60 copies
Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers (2019) — Contributor — 59 copies
100 Astounding Little Alien Stories (1996) — Contributor — 59 copies
Alpha 4 (1973) — Contributor — 58 copies
Antigrav (1975) — Contributor — 55 copies
The Best of John W. Campbell (1973) — Foreword — 55 copies
Beyond Human Ken (1952) — Contributor — 54 copies
The Second Science Fiction Megapack (2011) — Author — 53 copies
Science Against Man (1970) — Contributor — 52 copies
Beyond Tomorrow: Anthology of Modern Science Fiction (1976) — Contributor — 50 copies
Alpha 8 (1977) — Contributor — 50 copies
Classic Science Fiction (1995) — Contributor — 50 copies
Science Fiction Contemporary Mythology (1978) — Contributor — 47 copies
Turning Points: Essays on the Art of Science Fiction (1977) — Contributor — 46 copies
Afterlives (1986) — Contributor — 46 copies
Tomorrow Bites (1995) — Contributor — 44 copies
Ten Tomorrows (1972) — Contributor — 43 copies
The Shape of Things (1965) — Contributor — 42 copies
Four for the Future (1969) — Contributor — 40 copies
SF: Authors' Choice (1968) — Contributor — 38 copies
Portals of Tomorrow (1954) — Author — 36 copies
Human Machines: An Anthology of Stories about Cyborgs (1975) — Contributor — 30 copies
Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction (2011) — Contributor — 29 copies
Berserkers (1973) — Contributor — 27 copies
The Old Masters (1970) — Contributor — 25 copies
The Best of Xero (2004) — Contributor — 21 copies
Shared tomorrows: Science fiction in collaboration (1979) — Contributor — 18 copies
We, Robots (2010) — Contributor — 18 copies
Born of the Sun: Adventures in Our Solar System (2020) — Contributor — 17 copies
Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact: Vol. LXXXI, No. 3 (May 1968) (1968) — Contributor, some editions — 16 copies
Science fiction verhalen [1969] — Contributor, some editions — 13 copies
Alfa Vier: SF-Verhalen (1976) 12 copies
Galaxy Science Fiction 1969 July, Vol. 28, No. 5 (1969) — Contributor — 11 copies
Astounding Science Fiction 1950 12 (1950) — Contributor — 11 copies
Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953 (1953) — Contributor — 11 copies
Die besten Science Fiction Geschichten (1962) — Author, some editions — 11 copies
Astounding Science Fiction 1954 05 (1954) — Contributor — 9 copies
Titan XIII. (1979) — Contributor, some editions — 8 copies
Space Police (1956) — Contributor — 8 copies
Welten der Zukunft 10 (1986) — Contributor — 7 copies
Astounding Science Fiction 1957 01 (1957) — Contributor — 7 copies
Astounding Science Fiction 1950 04 (1950) — Contributor — 7 copies
To The Stars: Eight Stories of Science Fiction (1971) — Contributor — 7 copies
Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1949 — Contributor — 3 copies
Amazing Stories Vol. 34, No. 11 [November 1960] (1960) — Author — 2 copies
Kaleidoskop I — Author, some editions — 2 copies
Den ¤elektriske myre og andre science fiction-fortællinger (1984) — Author, some editions — 2 copies
Kalki : Studies in James Branch Cabell — Editor, some editions; Contributor, some editions — 1 copy
Kaleidoskop II — Author, some editions — 1 copy

Tagged

20th century (117) aliens (91) anthology (2,466) CabellJurgen (93) collection (231) ebook (183) fantasy (712) fantasy etc (92) fiction (3,119) hardcover (190) horror (161) James Blish (163) James Branch Cabell (105) mmpb (122) novel (373) novelization (210) omnibus (83) own (92) paperback (392) PB (128) read (325) religion (92) science fiction (8,650) Science Fiction/Fantasy (179) series (186) sf (2,314) SF Masterworks (82) sff (537) short fiction (78) short stories (1,650) space opera (94) speculative fiction (129) Star Trek (2,621) Star Trek: The Original Series (347) stories (105) television (314) to-read (844) TOS (195) tv tie-in (233) unread (314)

Common Knowledge

Members

Discussions

Black Easter from Centipede Press in Fine Press Forum (February 2022)

Reviews

A sequel to Black Easter, which follows on directly from the events of that book. The four men, priest, black magician, arms dealer and the latter's sidekick go their disparate ways to try to deal with the situation that now exists after nuclear weapons have destroyed many great cities and demons are loose on the earth. Eventually they will be drawn back to a common destination to confront their destiny. At times reminiscent of the film Doctor Strangelove, this comes across as darkly humourous in parts. The ending where Satan is revealed to be devastated at having to assume God's role in his mysterious absence or death was a bit confusing, as I wasn't sure, when the infernal city of Discussion disappeared and Death Valley was restored to normal whether this applied to the rest of the earth.

Read as part of the After Such Knowledge omnibus and posted as an individual review as all the other GR reviews are under the individual books.

… (more)
 
Flagged
kitsune_reader | 3 other reviews | Nov 23, 2023 |
Given that the other reviews of the books within this omnibus have been posted under the individual novels, I have done likewise.

Doctor Mirabilis
Black Easter
The Day after Judgement
rel="nofollow" target="_top">A Case of Conscience

Apart from Doctor Mirabilis, which I rated as four stars, I gave these books three stars each, hence my rating for the omnibus as a whole.… (more)
 
Flagged
kitsune_reader | Nov 23, 2023 |
A book literally of two halves, the first and better being originally published as a 1953 novella, and the second added to expand it to novel length in 1959, when it won the prestigious Hugo award. In Part 1, we have a setup rather like that in Black Easter, volume 2 of the After Such Knowledge sequence, of which A Case of Conscience forms the fourth and final part. Four men have been sent to Lithia, a planet 50 light years from Earth, to investigate and deliver a report to the United Nations as to how the planet should be exploited or whether it should be closed to humans. As in Black Easter, one of the men is a Catholic priest, a Jesuit, and also a biologist. Up to now, he has been an enthusiastic supporter of the planet and its sentient species, 12 foot tall marsupial reptiles, though puzzled as to how they maintain a society free of crime or conflict. Because of planetary differences, such as a lack of iron, the Lithians lack certain aspects of human technology and scientific knowledge, although they are far in advance with others, such as genetics.

Ruiz-Sanchez's colleagues have differing opinions. One, a chemist, admires the peaceful lifestyle of the Lithians and wants to open the planet for mutual trade and knowledge transfer. The geologist has no firm opinion and vacillates between those of his colleagues. The physicist turns out to want to turn the place into a bomb factory, with the Lithians forced into slave labour.

As book 1 develops and these opinions are expressed, Ruis-Sanchez drops a bombshell. For some reason, the revelation by a Lithian friend of his, that they lay eggs into the sea and that various lifeforms around their forested city are immature Lithians, makes him jump to what I found an irrational conclusion - that Satan must have created the planet as a temptation to humans because it seems to show that sentient beings can live harmoniously from pure reason alone, having no faith or religion. Apart from the chauvinism of a view that another world is only valid for its relationship and effect on humans, Lithians don't really live in a Utopia. They lack all creativity including art, writing, even simple story telling, and presumably also the serendipitous leaps of understanding that have led to so many scientific discoveries on Earth. And my own reaction to this revelation was that it demonstrated a callousness to their own young - these have to fend entirely for themselves, in danger from different predators at each stage of the life cycle, so that only the "fittest" survive, which struck me as eugenist and even Nazi in attitude.. For this reason, Father Ruis-Sanchez votes for quarantine, though aware that his recorded decision will land him in big trouble with the Vatican because it is the heresy of Manichaeism imputing equal creative power to Satan as to God. As the Earthmen prepare to leave at the end of Part 1, the priest's Lithian friend presents him with his own son in egg form to be a kind of ambassador.

Part 2 deals with the raising of the Lithian child or rather his misraising, as the Father goes off to Rome to face the music, leaving him with the chemist and a young woman scientist. Due to basic lack of common sense, they do not give him an environment anything like the one required, not even periods of darkness for sleep, and he grows up mentally as well as physically wrong, with no inbuilt moral compass, unlike the other Lithians. Although the chemist can speak Lithian, he doesn't bother to teach the child and gets him accepted as a citizen because he finds him odd and uncomfortable to be around, and wants to shrug off responsibility for him.

Most of Earth has been turned into huge underground shelters because of the now past threat of nuclear war, and as a result, many people are borderline or actual schizophrenics. The young Lithian grows quickly, ends up as a media celebrity and uses his TV show to incite civil disobedience, which rapidly escalates into major riots. He eventually escapes authority by stowing away on a ship back to Lithia despite stating earlier that he had no interest in the place or his people.

Meanwhile, the priest is not excommunicated but is instructed to exorcise Lithia, which he eventually gets a chance to do over a new superduper telescope which shows the planet in real time. The physicist has been backed by the UN to carry out nuclear experiments - and destroy the Lithians unique communications system, illogically -and it seems he ignores a message sent aboard the same ship used by the returning Lithian to stow away on, to warn him of a serious error in his calculations. At least, when the Father performs an exorcism over the telescope, Lithia blows up and it is left open as to the cause,: whether the physicist's faulty equipment did it or whether the priest is right to believe he has destroyed a whole planet which was truly the devil's snare.

Read as part of the After Such Knowledge omnibus and posted as an individual review as all the other GT reviews are under the individual books.
… (more)
 
Flagged
kitsune_reader | 52 other reviews | Nov 23, 2023 |
A disturbing tale of black magic against a background of impending nuclear war, with an extremely downbeat ending. Blish shows his research into mediaeval grimoires perhaps a little too protractedly in the scene where lots of demons are summoned, one after another.

Read as part of the After Such Knowledge omnibus and posted as an individual review as all the other GR reviews are under the individual books.
 
Flagged
kitsune_reader | 8 other reviews | Nov 23, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

J. A. Lawrence Author, Contributor
Robert Silverberg Author, Contributor
Margaret Armen Contributor
Virginia Kidd Author, Introduction
Isaac Asimov Contributor, Author
Damon Knight Contributor, Author
Frederik Pohl Contributor
Frank Herbert Contributor
Fritz Leiber Contributor
Brian Aldiss Contributor
Katherine MacLean Contributor
Mack Reynolds Contributor
Ballard J. G. Contributor
Poul Anderson Contributor
L. Sprague de Camp Contributor
James N. Hall Editor, Contributor
Ben Bova Editor
Sondra Marshak Contributor
Myrna Culbreath Contributor
Jan Koesen Translator
Henk de Boer Cover artist
Hans Maeter Translator
Lou Feck Cover artist
D.C. Fontana Introduction
David Gerrold Introduction
Norman Spinrad Introduction
Janis Kumbulis Translator
Ed Emshwiller Cover artist
C. M. Kornbluth Contributor, Author
Larry Niven Contributor
Ursula K LeGuin Contributor
D. Suvin Contributor
Alexei Panshin Contributor
Harlan Ellison Contributor
Samuel R Delany Contributor
Theodore Sturgeon Contributor
Leni Sobez Translator
H. R. van Dongen Cover artist
Robert A.W. Lowdnes Introduction
Rosemarie Hammer Translator
Lore Straßl Translator
Paul Spencer Secretary, Contributor
Thomas Hummel Translator
John Ciardi Introduction
Jack Williamson Contributor
Zdeněk Volný Translator
Jan Pavlík Translator
Theodore Cogswell Contributor
Richard Wilson Contributor
Raymond F. Jones Contributor
Lester Del Rey Contributor
Kelly Freas Illustrator
James E. Gunn Contributor
Heinz Nagel Translator
L. Sprague de Camp Contributor
Jerry Page Contributor
Chris Foss Cover artist
Richard M. Powers Cover artist
S. Fantoni Cover artist
Brad Holland Cover artist
Jacques Wyrs Cover artist
Darrell K. Sweet Cover artist
Hoot von Zitzewitz Cover artist
Greg Bear Introduction
Lida Moser Cover artist
John Harris Cover artist
Adam Roberts Introduction
R. D. Mullen Afterword
Betty Ballantine Introduction
Stephen Baxter Afterword
Marc Adams Cover artist
Leo Dillon Cover artist
Diane Dillon Cover artist
Richard Powers Cover artist
Rowena Morrill Cover artist
James Bama Cover artist
Mitchell Hooks Cover artist
Eddie Jones Cover artist
Peter Curl Cover artist
Eyke Volkmer Cover artist
Tony Westermayr Translator
Gail Burwen Cover artist
Enric Torres-Prat Cover artist
Eduardo Saló Translator
Eugenio Crescini Translator
Robert A.W. Lowndes Introduction
Curt Caesar Cover artist
Peter Elson Cover artist
Geoff Taylor Cover artist
Paul Lehr Cover artist
Colin Hay Cover artist
Don Crowley Cover artist
James Starrett Cover artist
Wayne Barlowe Cover artist
Terry Oakes Cover artist
Bernd Müller Translator

Statistics

Works
240
Also by
137
Members
21,386
Popularity
#1,013
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
368
ISBNs
460
Languages
14
Favorited
17
Touchstones
268

Charts & Graphs