Raymond Z. Gallun (1911–1994)

Gallun may be one of the least-remembered (at the moment) SF authors to come out of the pulps of the 1930s, but he was likely the most mature, scientifically-savvy, and prescient; that the stories in this collection read very well in 2022 with only a patina of being dated is truly brilliant. I had read two of these before, anthologized elsewhere, and was pleased to see that they weren't radical outliers of his work. Many of these remain good, solid SF stories on their own without having to be reckoned as "classics of their time," though I really cannot say the same for the stories of Stanley Weinbaum or Murray Leinster.

Gallun had a good handle on biology and Darwinian evolution. Unlike much SF of the 1930s-'50s, he dove into bioengineering, biotechnology, and genetic modification for his alien species as well as humans. "Davy Jones' Ambassador" is a good example of this, as is "Seeds of the Dusk"; "Davy Jones' Ambassador" will be _very_ familiar to anyone who's seen the 1989 film "The Abyss" and I cannot understand how the latter did not cite the former. "Derelict" and "The Lotus-Engine" both struck me as very modern, contemporary takes on alien-artifact adventures that would make killer short films; they even have humanistic/ethical subtexts that don't preach too hard. "Return of a Legend," the latest story included here (1952) is a nifty, Mars-settling tale that should be as compulsory as "The Martian Chronicles" or "Red Mars".

Not all is equal here, though. Some stories never were as good as the others and some aged poorly. Though Gallun himself stated his fondness for "The Restless Tide," it is of debatable-at-best evolutionary or psychological merit and reads like a preachy essay. And warning must be served that "A Menace in Miniature" really is pulp dross with terrible science, mealy-mouthed dialogue, and WTF for WTF-sake nature. Those two clunkers and what dated nature there is in dialog, in pulpish presentation, and in scarcity of female characters are what hold the rating down.

But if you want to read some SF from the 1930s, read this. Freshness guaranteed.… (more)

This is another book that falls into the "Lost Classic" category. First, Gallun was a _really good writer_; while in the humanistic style characteristic of Simak, Pangborn, and Bradbury, Gallun used science and its consequences more clearly than they did, though it is more off-stage in this work than dynamic. It's true that this book is slow-paced, with a good deal of discourse and contemplation, but that ends up being a strength. There is lot worked over here about the nature of humanity, the "meaning of life," the durability of love, and the value of mortality. What a great book for a discussion group!

Something that really surprises me about this book is that it is neither dated nor tainted by senescence. Gallun was writing great stories in the 1930s and 40s, yet shows here that, in his own 60s, he was sympathetic to counter-cultures and social movements, unshocked by recreational drug use, and presciently aware of the implications of computer-based society. This book about immortality through a Matrix-like virtual reality was published in 1974, but reads very fresh today. The direction it takes at the end is something refreshing as well: a compromise rather than all-or-nothing. Let's see Hollywood do that.… (more)

I liked it.
As another reviewer said, definitely of the 'go space, young man' genre.
Although pretty old at this point, the story is a good one. In tone, it is very much of a different era, when it was expected of people (men and women) to strive and seek and make their own way. Root, hog, or die as Heinlein once said. Most people of the recent years won't have ever experienced such an era, or known such people. But once upon a time it was so, and people would dare great things (and often died) without thought to insurance or lawyers. Think of the settlement of Alaska, and the gold rush era.
Decently written, a good adventure story, and has enough 'meat' in the story to encourage one to think about the issues.… (more)