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Beyond the Beyond
Signet, 1969. Mass market paperback, One of several printings. Paperback original collection of stories. "Brake" [Psychotechnic League] (1957); "Day of Burning" [David Falkayn] (1967); " The Sensitive Man" [Psychotechnic League] (1954); "The Moonrakers" (1966); "Starfog" [Technic History] (1967).
263 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1969
About the author
Poul Anderson
1,623 books1,128 followersPseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 5, 2020
Well written (excellently actually considering when it was written). Interesting set ups, good characters and just the right amount of twists. This a collection of 5 of Andersons long short stories, and would have been really enjoyable if Anderson hadn't been so busy preaching his ideology. Not as bad as Rand or Heinlein, but still. However if you are a libertarian you will most likely love this anthology
February 16, 2020
ENGLISH: Six stories by Poul Anderson in a 1969 collection. The best for me (which is also the only one I had read before) is "Day of the Burning."
"The sensitive man" is the second best in my opinion, although I usually don't like anticipations about physical supermen.
"Starfog" deals with the exploration of a globular cluster. "Brake" tells about the defense of a ship against a piratical attack. These two are not bad, although I didn't like some things.
ESPAÑOL: Seis cuentos de Poul Anderson en una colección de 1969. El mejor para mi gusto (también es el único que había leído antes) es "El día de en llamas".
En mi opinión, "El hombre sensible" es el segundo mejor cuento, aunque usualmente no me gustan las anticipaciones sobre superhombres físicos.
"Bruma estelar" trata sobre la exploración de un cúmulo globular. "Frenos" describe la defensa de una nave contra un ataque pirata. Estos dos cuentos no están mal, aunque algunas cosas no me gustaron.
"The sensitive man" is the second best in my opinion, although I usually don't like anticipations about physical supermen.
"Starfog" deals with the exploration of a globular cluster. "Brake" tells about the defense of a ship against a piratical attack. These two are not bad, although I didn't like some things.
ESPAÑOL: Seis cuentos de Poul Anderson en una colección de 1969. El mejor para mi gusto (también es el único que había leído antes) es "El día de en llamas".
En mi opinión, "El hombre sensible" es el segundo mejor cuento, aunque usualmente no me gustan las anticipaciones sobre superhombres físicos.
"Bruma estelar" trata sobre la exploración de un cúmulo globular. "Frenos" describe la defensa de una nave contra un ataque pirata. Estos dos cuentos no están mal, aunque algunas cosas no me gustaron.
November 27, 2021
A collection of six shorts from the 50s and 60s, good for their time.
October 25, 2020
Six novellas by Poul Anderson. Success with 5 out of 6 ain't bad! Strong writing and ideas on most of them. "Moonrakers" is the one I'd take a hard pass on (1 star for it). A series of discussions with pontificating on libertarian ideas. A must for fans of Ayn Rand. And I detest Ayn Rand, so.... Most of the rest of the philosophical pontification is not too weighty.
{Adoption of the term "moonraker" is inevitable in SF I suppose. But apparently Ian Fleming grabbed the idea for a spy novel before Anderson applied it to solar libertarianism in 1966. From etymoline: also moon-raker, "stupid or silly person," in England, a name traditionally given to Wiltshire people, 1787, from the stock joke about fools who mistook the reflection of the moon in a pond for a cheese and tried to rake it out. But as told in Wiltshire, the men were surprised trying to rake up kegs of smuggled brandy, and put off the revenuers by acting foolish. Compare moonshine. Related: Moonraking.}
But the other five novellas are strong entries into the "Golden Age" canon. Enough to make me look further into some of the better Poul Anderson books. Very ideas-driven and clever, as was typical for the genre at the time. Some real surprises and fun twists. Also quite antiquated. Not as sexist as some of the time, but definitely 50s and 60s stories about men, with women as secondary or subservient weven when they are given roles of resposibility, say an FBI agent. But in technological regards, actually quite foresighted. For example, the last story, "Starfog," has a far more accurate understanding of what computers must be in a distant futures, as well as some surprisingly sophisticated notions of biology. A peeve is that Anderson does not seem to understand the time frame upon which evolution occurs. Then again, for some reason no science fiction writers before the 80s seems to understand this detail. Physical sciences were far more emphasized than biological or psychological ones.
{Adoption of the term "moonraker" is inevitable in SF I suppose. But apparently Ian Fleming grabbed the idea for a spy novel before Anderson applied it to solar libertarianism in 1966. From etymoline: also moon-raker, "stupid or silly person," in England, a name traditionally given to Wiltshire people, 1787, from the stock joke about fools who mistook the reflection of the moon in a pond for a cheese and tried to rake it out. But as told in Wiltshire, the men were surprised trying to rake up kegs of smuggled brandy, and put off the revenuers by acting foolish. Compare moonshine. Related: Moonraking.}
But the other five novellas are strong entries into the "Golden Age" canon. Enough to make me look further into some of the better Poul Anderson books. Very ideas-driven and clever, as was typical for the genre at the time. Some real surprises and fun twists. Also quite antiquated. Not as sexist as some of the time, but definitely 50s and 60s stories about men, with women as secondary or subservient weven when they are given roles of resposibility, say an FBI agent. But in technological regards, actually quite foresighted. For example, the last story, "Starfog," has a far more accurate understanding of what computers must be in a distant futures, as well as some surprisingly sophisticated notions of biology. A peeve is that Anderson does not seem to understand the time frame upon which evolution occurs. Then again, for some reason no science fiction writers before the 80s seems to understand this detail. Physical sciences were far more emphasized than biological or psychological ones.
January 10, 2024
What a weird experience. I wanted to try out a pulp sci fi book because I saw a stack of them at the book exchange. I didn’t realize this one was a set of short stories, and I’m genuinely not sure if I would have liked it better if it was a full-length novel instead. I generally found the protagonists unlikeable and the romance/portrayal of female characters grating, but I’d pretty much expect that from this era and genre.
I was mostly stunned by the odd combination of technobabble and theoretical science. The author actually fleshed out a lot of concepts—medical, astronomical, philosophical and others—but only to the extent that they suited the story, and then layered them with technobabble. It was so strange, and funny in places (discussions of radiation and how livable of a condition it would be for humans were certainly outdated). I’m sure my reading a good chunk at 3am didn’t help my comprehension though.
I’m kind of sad because there were gems in there. A few interesting concepts, like some fun alien species and political intrigue. And of course, the very strong Star Trek vibes are always a plus for me. I think I want to try more pulp sci fi in the future from a different author and see what aspects were unique to this one and what are more like staples of the genre.
I was mostly stunned by the odd combination of technobabble and theoretical science. The author actually fleshed out a lot of concepts—medical, astronomical, philosophical and others—but only to the extent that they suited the story, and then layered them with technobabble. It was so strange, and funny in places (discussions of radiation and how livable of a condition it would be for humans were certainly outdated). I’m sure my reading a good chunk at 3am didn’t help my comprehension though.
I’m kind of sad because there were gems in there. A few interesting concepts, like some fun alien species and political intrigue. And of course, the very strong Star Trek vibes are always a plus for me. I think I want to try more pulp sci fi in the future from a different author and see what aspects were unique to this one and what are more like staples of the genre.
January 6, 2022
What a weird book... The writing is good* and the stories damn interesting, especially the first one. But Anderson goes off on at least one masturbatory, boring rant in favour of libertarianism or against communism** or both in each story. The thing will be flowing along then a character is suddenly like 'Just like how communists and Nazis are the same' or 'Our society is free so muh property rights'
On top of that, the gender politics are hilarious. Almost every story some character whines about how 'scifi future women are mannish I miss the old days oh wait but this maid just wants a big strong entrepreneurial man YAY!'
ANYWAY. I loved and hated this in almost equal measures.
*Except when he goes into libertarian rants!
** As completely misunderstood by him
On top of that, the gender politics are hilarious. Almost every story some character whines about how 'scifi future women are mannish I miss the old days oh wait but this maid just wants a big strong entrepreneurial man YAY!'
ANYWAY. I loved and hated this in almost equal measures.
*Except when he goes into libertarian rants!
** As completely misunderstood by him
April 9, 2019
A collection of Anderson's ok but unmemorable pulp stories from the 1950s.
July 16, 2020
Six classic short stories--3 from Astounding/Analog--by Poul Anderson. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.
March 5, 2023
2.5 stars
May 27, 2010
OK. Some of the stories were interesting. None mind blowing. Well written.
This is OLD school SF. Treatment of women was varied. One of the stories actually had a woman upset that she couldn't do anything. A man said something like "Yes, you can. You can cook for us." That made me laugh about the extreme traditional view of women. Another story had a woman FBI agent. She was basically working with a man superhero, so it was reasonable that he did almost all of the fighting. She fought a little, relying on surprise.
This is OLD school SF. Treatment of women was varied. One of the stories actually had a woman upset that she couldn't do anything. A man said something like "Yes, you can. You can cook for us." That made me laugh about the extreme traditional view of women. Another story had a woman FBI agent. She was basically working with a man superhero, so it was reasonable that he did almost all of the fighting. She fought a little, relying on surprise.
January 15, 2011
Grade B. Short novel.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews