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Pacific Books of Science Fiction
The Second Pacific Book Of Australian Science Fiction
Flights of fantasy, bizarre speculations or eerie prophesy - these twelve stories by some of Australia's best-know writers make Australian Science Fiction 2 an anthology every follower of science fiction will want to read.
149 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
16 people want to read
About the author
John Baxter
229 books123 followersJohn Baxter (born 1939 in Randwick, New South Wales) is an Australian-born writer, journalist, and film-maker.
Baxter has lived in Britain and the United States as well as in his native Sydney, but has made his home in Paris since 1989, where he is married to the film-maker Marie-Dominique Montel. They have one daughter, Louise.
He began writing science fiction in the early 1960s for New Worlds, Science Fantasy and other British magazines. His first novel, though serialised in New Worlds as THE GOD KILLERS, was published as a book in the US by Ace as The Off-Worlders. He was Visiting Professor at Hollins College in Virginia in 1975-1976. He has written a number of short stories and novels in that genre and a book about SF in the movies, as well as editing collections of Australian science fiction.
Baxter has also written a large number of other works dealing with the movies, including biographies of film personalities, including Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, George Lucas and Robert De Niro. He has written a number of documentaries, including a survey of the life and work of the painter Fernando Botero. He also co-produced, wrote and presented three television series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Filmstruck, First Take and The Cutting Room, and was co-editor of the ABC book programme Books And Writing.
In the 1960s, he was a member of the WEA Film Study Group with such notable people as Ian Klava, Frank Moorhouse, Michael Thornhill, John Flaus and Ken Quinnell. From July 1965 to December 1967 the WEA Film Study Group published the cinema journal FILM DIGEST. This journal was edited by John Baxter.
For a number of years in the sixties, he was active in the Sydney Film Festival, and during the 1980s served in a consulting capacity on a number of film-funding bodies, as well as writing film criticism for The Australian and other periodicals. Some of his books have been translated into various languages, including Japanese and Chinese.
Since moving to Paris, he has written four books of autobiography, A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict, We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light, Immoveable feast : a Paris Christmas, and The Most Beautiful Walk in the World : a Pedestrian in Paris.
Since 2007 he has been co-director of the annual Paris Writers Workshop.
Baxter has lived in Britain and the United States as well as in his native Sydney, but has made his home in Paris since 1989, where he is married to the film-maker Marie-Dominique Montel. They have one daughter, Louise.
He began writing science fiction in the early 1960s for New Worlds, Science Fantasy and other British magazines. His first novel, though serialised in New Worlds as THE GOD KILLERS, was published as a book in the US by Ace as The Off-Worlders. He was Visiting Professor at Hollins College in Virginia in 1975-1976. He has written a number of short stories and novels in that genre and a book about SF in the movies, as well as editing collections of Australian science fiction.
Baxter has also written a large number of other works dealing with the movies, including biographies of film personalities, including Federico Fellini, Luis Buñuel, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, George Lucas and Robert De Niro. He has written a number of documentaries, including a survey of the life and work of the painter Fernando Botero. He also co-produced, wrote and presented three television series for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Filmstruck, First Take and The Cutting Room, and was co-editor of the ABC book programme Books And Writing.
In the 1960s, he was a member of the WEA Film Study Group with such notable people as Ian Klava, Frank Moorhouse, Michael Thornhill, John Flaus and Ken Quinnell. From July 1965 to December 1967 the WEA Film Study Group published the cinema journal FILM DIGEST. This journal was edited by John Baxter.
For a number of years in the sixties, he was active in the Sydney Film Festival, and during the 1980s served in a consulting capacity on a number of film-funding bodies, as well as writing film criticism for The Australian and other periodicals. Some of his books have been translated into various languages, including Japanese and Chinese.
Since moving to Paris, he has written four books of autobiography, A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict, We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light, Immoveable feast : a Paris Christmas, and The Most Beautiful Walk in the World : a Pedestrian in Paris.
Since 2007 he has been co-director of the annual Paris Writers Workshop.
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September 6, 2023
I can't really review science fiction because I love it all - I chose this from the LifeLine Bookfair table of many, many pre-loved sci fi's because it is Australian. It was as good as anywhere else, but was a little disappointing perhaps in that I think I hoped for something particularly Australian flavoured, although that is ok because sci fi has nothing to do with place or origon. There was, however, a short, bitchy piece by George Johnston about people the Johnston's encountered while they were living on Hydra, a small Greek island. I have read both Johnston biographies and everything either has written that I could lay my hands on, so this was familiar, I just don't know what it was doing in a collection of pure sci-fi. The introduction states that Charmaine Clift suggested it, followed by a brief and totally unconving rationalisation for its inclusion. Didn't matter - maybe that was the Australian bit?
24/8/2023 now rereading it and still love it though my opinion of the George Johnston bit has changed. It still doesn't belong in a collection of science fiction but if you ignore that its a fascinating piece of Australian literary history that might not have made it to print. Researchers of Charmaine and George Johnston would find it an intereresting other glimpse into their stay on the Greek island of Hydra on which much has been written.
24/8/2023 now rereading it and still love it though my opinion of the George Johnston bit has changed. It still doesn't belong in a collection of science fiction but if you ignore that its a fascinating piece of Australian literary history that might not have made it to print. Researchers of Charmaine and George Johnston would find it an intereresting other glimpse into their stay on the Greek island of Hydra on which much has been written.
Displaying 1 of 1 review