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Star-Begotten: A Life Lived in Science Fiction
Hugo Award winning writer James Gunn (1923-2020) has been called "the last Golden Age author" of science fiction. In a career of almost 70 years, he wrote or edited 45 books and more than 100 short stories and participated in the production of films, radio and television programs and comic books.
- GenresScience Fiction
223 pages, Paperback
Published October 20, 2017
2 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
James E. Gunn
267 books117 followersAmerican science fiction author, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work from the 1960s and 70s is considered his most significant fiction, and his Road to Science Fiction collections are considered his most important scholarly books. He won a Hugo Award for a non-fiction book in 1983 for Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction. He was named the 2007 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Gunn served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, after which he attended the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1947 and a Masters of Arts in English in 1951. Gunn went on to become a faculty member of the University of Kansas, where he served as the university's director of public relations and as a professor of English, specializing in science fiction and fiction writing. He is now a professor emeritus and director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, which awards the annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas, every July.
He served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1971–72, was President of the Science Fiction Research Association from 1980-82, and currently is Director of The Center for the Study of
Science Fiction. SFWA honored him as a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2007.
Gunn began his career as a science fiction author in 1948. He has had almost 100 stories published in magazines and anthologies and has authored 26 books and edited 10. Many of his stories and books have been reprinted around the world.
In 1996, Gunn wrote a novelization of the unproduced Star Trek episode "The Joy Machine" by Theodore Sturgeon.
His stories also have been adapted into radioplays and teleplays:
* NBC radio's X Minus One
* Desilu Playhouse's 1959 "Man in Orbit", based on Gunn's "The Cave of Night"
* ABC-TV's Movie of the Week "The Immortal" (1969) and an hour-long television series in 1970, based on Gunn's The Immortals
* An episode of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World, filmed in 1989 and entitled "Psychodynamics of the Witchcraft" was based on James Gunn's 1953 story "Wherever You May Be".
Gunn served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, after which he attended the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1947 and a Masters of Arts in English in 1951. Gunn went on to become a faculty member of the University of Kansas, where he served as the university's director of public relations and as a professor of English, specializing in science fiction and fiction writing. He is now a professor emeritus and director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, which awards the annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas, every July.
He served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1971–72, was President of the Science Fiction Research Association from 1980-82, and currently is Director of The Center for the Study of
Science Fiction. SFWA honored him as a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2007.
Gunn began his career as a science fiction author in 1948. He has had almost 100 stories published in magazines and anthologies and has authored 26 books and edited 10. Many of his stories and books have been reprinted around the world.
In 1996, Gunn wrote a novelization of the unproduced Star Trek episode "The Joy Machine" by Theodore Sturgeon.
His stories also have been adapted into radioplays and teleplays:
* NBC radio's X Minus One
* Desilu Playhouse's 1959 "Man in Orbit", based on Gunn's "The Cave of Night"
* ABC-TV's Movie of the Week "The Immortal" (1969) and an hour-long television series in 1970, based on Gunn's The Immortals
* An episode of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World, filmed in 1989 and entitled "Psychodynamics of the Witchcraft" was based on James Gunn's 1953 story "Wherever You May Be".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 2, 2017
Star-Begotten, A Life Lived in Science Fiction by James Gunn- An autobiography of one of the last surviving authors of the early stages of science fiction development and a major contributor even today. Gunn begins with, at fourteen, seeing noted science fiction author H.G. Wells give a talk and how it affected the course of his own life. He then goes on to deliver a very introspective account of his youth, his world so to speak, and all the things that followed to make him the man he is today. He began writing with all its failures and successes, then went on to teaching and University academia. Even at 94 he's had three new novels published in the last four years. I'll never forget the thrill I felt reading Star Bridge for the first time back in the early sixties, and how I searched through so many other titles hoping to find that feeling again. This probably only resonates with real fans, but I found it an interesting account from an author who made a difference in my life.
August 6, 2017
At the risk of repeating myself (see my review of James Gunn's TRANSGALACTIC back in October of 2016), at the WorldCon in Kansas City in 2016 I attended a panel made up entirely of SFWA Grandmasters: Connie Willis, Robert Silverberg, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, and James Gunn. Those five science fiction luminaries represent more combined years of writing and awards than I think any of us can comprehend. Of the five, James Gunn has not only been writing the longest, he's also been with us the longest, having been born in 1923 (which by my math makes him 94 years old). To quote a statement that I've read many times in conjunction with the publication of his autobiography, STAR-BEGOTTEN: A LIFE LIVED IN SCIENCE FICTION, Gunn "has been called -the last Golden Age author of science fiction." That's probably true, as I can't think of any other writer still with us that had work published back in the 1940s (although I'm sure someone who reads this review will remind me of someone I've forgotten). The final book in The Transcendental Machine trilogy, TRANSFORMATION, was just published by Tor. While the rest of that illustrious panel are still active in the field one way or another - either still writing or attending conventions - it seems that Gunn has decided it's time to take stock in his life and his contributions to the field of science fiction, and so he was written STAR-BEGOTTEN to share his memories with fans and friends.
I've not read many autobiographies that I can remember, if any at all. The last biography I read was of the great New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio (a book which I reviewed in September of 2005). As a result, I didn't know what to expect. I suspect that there are as many ways to write autobiographies as there are people who write them. The way Gunn went about it was to start at the beginning and go through his life until he got to the present day. I suppose that's a pretty good way to do it. If I lived a life interesting enough to other people to write an autobiography, I would probably do it the same way.
What amazes me about Gunn is that he remembers in such detail his home, neighborhood, and friends growing up. 1923 is a long time ago, and while he obviously doesn't remember events starting at birth, it seems as if he remembers everything in vivid detail from those long ago days. Later on in the book he does admit that he doesn't remember everything any more, and honestly who would when you're 94 years old?
The subtitle of this book is "A Life Lived in Science Fiction". It's a bit misleading, perhaps, in that a good portion of Gunn's life was spent outside of science fiction, including spending time in the military and in administrative academia. However, he does recall an incident early in his life in which he went to hear H.G. Wells speak. It was that event which probably sent him on the path toward his prolific writing career and his eventually being named an SWFA Grandmaster. Along the way, we learn about Gunn's fits and starts with writing, college education, and romance. We learn about his life with his family and how they shaped and supported his
career. And of course, we do learn about the fiction and non-fiction he wrote and was involved with all along the way.
And certainly that's a long career, a career that saw him crossing paths with some of the biggest names of the field from the past: Fred Pohl, Ted Sturgeon, Damon Knight, Cliff Simak, Horace Gold, John W. Campbell, John Brunner, Samuel R. Delany, and others. We learn about his involvement with teaching students about science fiction, both by creating college level classes in the field and traveling the world to spread the word about the genre. Gunn indeed is a force for spreading the word about how the field works and about how it influences our lives. He was always willing to lend his name and time to endeavors that would enlighten people about science fiction. I suspect that while there is a significant number of writers that are more prolific with regard to their fiction than Gunn, I believe that his contributions to globally spreading the word about the field may be unmatched.
What's also fascinating is that Gunn has been around long enough to see the transformation of the field from the Golden Age of the 40s through today, from a time when there were few enough personalities in the field that he could know most of them, to today where if you know who a handful of them are you're doing a good job. In that way, STAR-BEGOTTEN provides an interesting insight into the massive change in the field in the last 70 years. Indeed, if you look at the list of names I provided in the last paragraph, other than Delany, you won't find any diversity at all. Today's field would be unrecognizable to that H.G. Wells of long ago, but Gunn has seen that change and continues to be part of it.
If I have one issue with the book, it is that there is a lot of repetition - Gunn repeats events and stories multiple times during the book. This jarred me out of the book on occasion, but in the long run it didn't significantly detract from the memoir.
As I've said a couple of times, James Gunn is 94. If this is the last thing he writes before he calls it a career, STAR-BEGOTTEN is a fitting end to his life in science fiction.
I've not read many autobiographies that I can remember, if any at all. The last biography I read was of the great New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio (a book which I reviewed in September of 2005). As a result, I didn't know what to expect. I suspect that there are as many ways to write autobiographies as there are people who write them. The way Gunn went about it was to start at the beginning and go through his life until he got to the present day. I suppose that's a pretty good way to do it. If I lived a life interesting enough to other people to write an autobiography, I would probably do it the same way.
What amazes me about Gunn is that he remembers in such detail his home, neighborhood, and friends growing up. 1923 is a long time ago, and while he obviously doesn't remember events starting at birth, it seems as if he remembers everything in vivid detail from those long ago days. Later on in the book he does admit that he doesn't remember everything any more, and honestly who would when you're 94 years old?
The subtitle of this book is "A Life Lived in Science Fiction". It's a bit misleading, perhaps, in that a good portion of Gunn's life was spent outside of science fiction, including spending time in the military and in administrative academia. However, he does recall an incident early in his life in which he went to hear H.G. Wells speak. It was that event which probably sent him on the path toward his prolific writing career and his eventually being named an SWFA Grandmaster. Along the way, we learn about Gunn's fits and starts with writing, college education, and romance. We learn about his life with his family and how they shaped and supported his
career. And of course, we do learn about the fiction and non-fiction he wrote and was involved with all along the way.
And certainly that's a long career, a career that saw him crossing paths with some of the biggest names of the field from the past: Fred Pohl, Ted Sturgeon, Damon Knight, Cliff Simak, Horace Gold, John W. Campbell, John Brunner, Samuel R. Delany, and others. We learn about his involvement with teaching students about science fiction, both by creating college level classes in the field and traveling the world to spread the word about the genre. Gunn indeed is a force for spreading the word about how the field works and about how it influences our lives. He was always willing to lend his name and time to endeavors that would enlighten people about science fiction. I suspect that while there is a significant number of writers that are more prolific with regard to their fiction than Gunn, I believe that his contributions to globally spreading the word about the field may be unmatched.
What's also fascinating is that Gunn has been around long enough to see the transformation of the field from the Golden Age of the 40s through today, from a time when there were few enough personalities in the field that he could know most of them, to today where if you know who a handful of them are you're doing a good job. In that way, STAR-BEGOTTEN provides an interesting insight into the massive change in the field in the last 70 years. Indeed, if you look at the list of names I provided in the last paragraph, other than Delany, you won't find any diversity at all. Today's field would be unrecognizable to that H.G. Wells of long ago, but Gunn has seen that change and continues to be part of it.
If I have one issue with the book, it is that there is a lot of repetition - Gunn repeats events and stories multiple times during the book. This jarred me out of the book on occasion, but in the long run it didn't significantly detract from the memoir.
As I've said a couple of times, James Gunn is 94. If this is the last thing he writes before he calls it a career, STAR-BEGOTTEN is a fitting end to his life in science fiction.
September 16, 2021
One of my favorite authors, James Gunn, writes about his life reading and writing science fiction. His autobiography is more of a history of science fiction writing, teaching, publishing, and fandom. Since Gunn was an English professor at the University of Kansas, this book contains stories about the University; such as why Wescoe Hall is a concrete bunker.
(Not the film maker James Gunn.)
(Not the film maker James Gunn.)
November 5, 2017
Reading James Gunn's life story is like reading a history of science fiction. A award winning author he has been published since the early days of pulp fiction. The added glances into his life from childhood to today mirror the changes in how we look at and react to the world we live in. A must read for science fiction fans and a great way to follow the changes in our world today.
I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.
I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.
February 6, 2018
I got this book in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review. It is a memoir of a"Golden Age" SF writer who has served in most of the offices of SF Writers and wrote many short stories for the pulp magazines and quite a few novels. His memoir brings back memories of SF in the late 40's through the 60's primarily. It is a walk down memory lane with an inside view of what it is like to be a writer in a genre that is not appreciated for much of its existence. I loved it.
December 23, 2018
Disappointing given the author's long history of involvement with SF. Really seemed disorganized with a lot of repetitiveness. Some really good stories about other authors, especially in the appendices, but very little analysis of his own or the authors and editors with whom he worked role and standing in the history of science fiction.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews