The Black Star Passes

I didn't want another dnf book, but when I found myself being frequently reluctant to read this, I decided there wasn't much point continuing.
The plot is fairly good, and would probably appeal to hard science fiction fans. But there were a lot of scientific info dumps that I found painfully boring. And honestly, I grew sick of such an intensely male dominated book. Apparently the world of 2017 is without the female sex. Aside from a comment about a "mere woman" not being suitable to christen their ship, and the mention of alien women in a crowd, females do not exist. I'm used to male dominance in classic sci fi, but sometimes it gets to me.

Although entertaining, this science fiction collection has not aged well. In fact, the stories were probably outdated by the end of the 1930s, after the appearance of Stanley G. Weinbaum's "A Martian Odyssey" and the stories of Campbell's own alter ego, "Don A. Stuart." Much of the science is improbable, and the dialogue contains too much expository technobabble.

Of historical interest only, even though there is a nice, free edition from Standard Ebooks.

We've clearly learned a lot since 1930. A lot about physics, chemistry, aerodynamics, and also about characterization, plotting, engagement, and that women exist. There is one female mentioned in the entire book, and she's essentially a prop, a passenger on a plane.

If you want to go back to this era, read the Lensmen series. Here's an introduction.

https://www.tor.com/2020/01/02/the-original-guardians-of-the-galaxy-first-lensma...

This anthology of three novellas published in 1930 is quite beyond its expiration date. If one chooses to read it, it is best appreciated from a historical basis. The science is off in many places and I found the ability of the protagonists to manufacture complete implementations of days-old scientific discoveries bafflingly unbelievable. The characters are flat and the plot only serves to setup more passages of rambling scientific speculation.

This was the prequel to Campbell's better written "Islands of Space". It is a few stories about how the genius men come to be a team. This book was written about the same time as E.E Doc Smith's "Skylark of Space" and Jack Williams' "The Legion of Space" but is not as good as either.

Campbell did some good short story writing and was the best editor of the Sf pulps but this book was very average, boy's adventures in space, stories. It was average at the time and has not aged well.

Three interconnected stories about the adventures of brilliant scientist-inventors Arcot, Wade, and Morey. The trio battles a sky pirate, makes first contact with a dangerous alien race, and confronts a rogue star threatening the solar system.