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A Dusk of Idols, and Other Stories
To pay the piper --
Beep --
The box --
The writing of the rat --
A matter of energy --
KIng of the hill --
Mistake inside --
A dusk of idols.
Beep --
The box --
The writing of the rat --
A matter of energy --
KIng of the hill --
Mistake inside --
A dusk of idols.
- GenresApocalyptic
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1996
20 people want to read
About the author
James Blish
455 books330 followersJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 3, 2015
Blish is clearly a disciple of Joseph Campbell, as most of these stories contain a science lesson. Some are handled more effectively than others, and his writing gleams when the exposition advances the story. There’s plenty of Cold War dread in this book, some of which has aged gracefully. I’ll say a little about the ones that struck a chord with me the most.
BEEP explores the concepts of time travel with only sending communication signals through time. This seems to be a tie-in to some of his novels that deal with The Service.
THE BOX was one of my favorites. This deals with a cold war scenario without delving too heavily into a Mutually Assured Destruction scenario. Instead, it explores the impacts of defensive strategies which would seem prophetic in a Star Wars world (the missile defense, not the Lucas product).
WRITING OF THE RAT explores the different ways evolution and adaptation and preservation can be perceived through the lens of language.
A DUSK OF IDOLS was easily my favorite of the collection. It captures a wonderful decadent society, and rang almost as a response to At the Mountains of Madness, particularly considering the exploration of the city and the flight. However, I think the action here is tighter and tenser. The final act leading to the climax is incredibly evocative and dreadful.
BEEP explores the concepts of time travel with only sending communication signals through time. This seems to be a tie-in to some of his novels that deal with The Service.
THE BOX was one of my favorites. This deals with a cold war scenario without delving too heavily into a Mutually Assured Destruction scenario. Instead, it explores the impacts of defensive strategies which would seem prophetic in a Star Wars world (the missile defense, not the Lucas product).
WRITING OF THE RAT explores the different ways evolution and adaptation and preservation can be perceived through the lens of language.
A DUSK OF IDOLS was easily my favorite of the collection. It captures a wonderful decadent society, and rang almost as a response to At the Mountains of Madness, particularly considering the exploration of the city and the flight. However, I think the action here is tighter and tenser. The final act leading to the climax is incredibly evocative and dreadful.
December 29, 2014
A short collection of science fiction stories with a few later diversions towards fantasy, representing some of the author's work from the late forties through the early sixties largely uncollected elsewhere. In content the collection primarily echos themes of the cold war; paranoia, free will, humanity-as-predator, fatalism, WMDs and man-made apocalypse and whether it can be avoided, all largely filtered through a lens of what was the vogue for 'respectable' i.e post-pulp science fiction in the era which Blish himself championed as an editor. As such for my taste the characterization, depth of setting and plot have a tendency to suffer in places in favour of brevity and the central idea/premise, but there still some strong stories here and some interesting ideas, if time and tide has left some of the scientific predictions and cultural/gender representation rather quaint to a modern reader, particularly in the earlier works.
As i don't see a list of the publication dates of the stories the collection contains in the Goodreads description, I thought I'd add one here:
"To Pay the Piper" (1955)
"Beep" (1954)
"The Box" (1949)
"The Writing of the Rat" (1956)
"A Matter of Energy" (1956)
"King of the Hill" (1955)
"Mistake Inside" (1948)
"A Dusk of Idols" (1961)
As i don't see a list of the publication dates of the stories the collection contains in the Goodreads description, I thought I'd add one here:
"To Pay the Piper" (1955)
"Beep" (1954)
"The Box" (1949)
"The Writing of the Rat" (1956)
"A Matter of Energy" (1956)
"King of the Hill" (1955)
"Mistake Inside" (1948)
"A Dusk of Idols" (1961)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews