The Black Star Passes
The Black Star Passes is a collection of science fiction short stories by American author John W. Campbell Jr.. It was first published in 1953 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 2,951 copies. The book is the first in Campbell's Arcot, Morey and Wade series, and is followed by the novels Islands of Space and Invaders from the Infinite. The stories originally appeared in the magazines Amazing Stories and Amazing Stories Quarterly, and were "extensively edited" for book publication, with Campbell's approval, by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach.[1]
Dust-jacket from the first edition | |
Author | John W. Campbell Jr. |
---|---|
Cover artist | Ric Binkley |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Arcot, Morey and Wade |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Fantasy Press |
Publication date | 1953 |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
Pages | 254 |
OCLC | 1138567 |
Followed by | Islands of Space |
Galaxy reviewer Groff Conklin described the stories as "three creaking classics . . . fun to read, [but] rococo antiques [without] believable characters, human relations, even logical plots."[2] Boucher and McComas dismissed the book as "a hopelessly outdated set of novelets . . . of concern only to those who wish to observe the awkward larval stage of a major figure in science fiction."[3] P. Schuyler Miller described the stories as "old-fashioned fun which [Campbell] no longer takes any more seriously than you need to."[4]
Contents
- Introduction
- "Piracy Preferred"
- "Solarite"
- "The Black Star Passes"
References
- Everett F. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years, Kent State University Press, 1998, p.52
- "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf", Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1954, p.120
- "Recommended Reading," F&SF, February 1954, p.95.
- "The Reference Library", Astounding Science Fiction, March 1954, p.156
Sources
- Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 239.
- Contento, William G. "Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections". Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. p. 87. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.
External links
- Project Gutenberg
- The Black Star Passes public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- Podiobooks.com audio