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Spectrum #5
Spectrum V
Comprising:
Student Body by F.L. Wallace;
Crucifixus Etiam by Walter M. Miller;
Noise Level by Raymond F. Jones;
Grandpa by James H. Schmitz;
Mother of Invention by Tom Godwin;
The Far Look by Theodore L. Thomas;
Big Sword by Paul Ash;
Commencement Night by Richard Ashby.
Student Body by F.L. Wallace;
Crucifixus Etiam by Walter M. Miller;
Noise Level by Raymond F. Jones;
Grandpa by James H. Schmitz;
Mother of Invention by Tom Godwin;
The Far Look by Theodore L. Thomas;
Big Sword by Paul Ash;
Commencement Night by Richard Ashby.
283 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
2 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Walter M. Miller Jr.
154 books981 followersFrom the Wikipedia article, "Walter M. Miller, Jr.":
Miller was born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Educated at the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas, he worked as an engineer. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps as a radioman and tail gunner, flying more than fifty bombing missions over Italy. He took part in the bombing of the Benedictine Abbey at Monte Cassino, which proved a traumatic experience for him. Joe Haldeman reported that Miller "had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for 30 years before it had a name".
After the war, Miller converted to Catholicism. He married Anna Louise Becker in 1945, and they had four children. For several months in 1953 he lived with science-fiction writer Judith Merril, ex-wife of Frederik Pohl and a noted science-fiction author in her own right.
Between 1951 and 1957, Miller published over three dozen science fiction short stories, winning a Hugo Award in 1955 for the story "The Darfsteller". He also wrote scripts for the television show Captain Video in 1953. Late in the 1950s, Miller assembled a novel from three closely related novellas he had published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1955, 1956, and 1957. The novel, entitled A Canticle for Leibowitz, was published in 1959.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic (post-holocaust) novel revolving around the canonisation of Saint Leibowitz and is considered a masterpiece of the genre. It won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The novel is also a powerful meditation on the cycles of world history and Roman Catholicism as a force of stability during history's dark times.
After the success of A Canticle for Leibowitz, Miller never published another new novel or story in his lifetime, although several compilations of Miller's earlier stories were issued in the 1960s and 1970s.
In Miller's later years, he became a recluse, avoiding contact with nearly everyone, including family members; he never allowed his literary agent, Don Congdon, to meet him. According to science fiction writer Terry Bisson, Miller struggled with depression during his later years, but had managed to nearly complete a 600-page manuscript for the sequel to Canticle before taking his own life with a gun in January 1996, shortly after his wife's death. The sequel, titled Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, was completed by Bisson and published in 1997.
Miller was born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Educated at the University of Tennessee and the University of Texas, he worked as an engineer. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps as a radioman and tail gunner, flying more than fifty bombing missions over Italy. He took part in the bombing of the Benedictine Abbey at Monte Cassino, which proved a traumatic experience for him. Joe Haldeman reported that Miller "had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for 30 years before it had a name".
After the war, Miller converted to Catholicism. He married Anna Louise Becker in 1945, and they had four children. For several months in 1953 he lived with science-fiction writer Judith Merril, ex-wife of Frederik Pohl and a noted science-fiction author in her own right.
Between 1951 and 1957, Miller published over three dozen science fiction short stories, winning a Hugo Award in 1955 for the story "The Darfsteller". He also wrote scripts for the television show Captain Video in 1953. Late in the 1950s, Miller assembled a novel from three closely related novellas he had published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1955, 1956, and 1957. The novel, entitled A Canticle for Leibowitz, was published in 1959.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic (post-holocaust) novel revolving around the canonisation of Saint Leibowitz and is considered a masterpiece of the genre. It won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The novel is also a powerful meditation on the cycles of world history and Roman Catholicism as a force of stability during history's dark times.
After the success of A Canticle for Leibowitz, Miller never published another new novel or story in his lifetime, although several compilations of Miller's earlier stories were issued in the 1960s and 1970s.
In Miller's later years, he became a recluse, avoiding contact with nearly everyone, including family members; he never allowed his literary agent, Don Congdon, to meet him. According to science fiction writer Terry Bisson, Miller struggled with depression during his later years, but had managed to nearly complete a 600-page manuscript for the sequel to Canticle before taking his own life with a gun in January 1996, shortly after his wife's death. The sequel, titled Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman, was completed by Bisson and published in 1997.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2019
Eight stories published between 1952 and 1958, one in Galaxy the rest in Astounding, featuring four relatively well-known authors and four others who probably deserved more fame.
Student Body - Floyd L. Wallace, a Hugo finalist in two categories in 1956, wrote a tale of an alien life form producing rapid and increasingly larger and more dangerous predators in response to man's attempt to protect a fledgling colony.
Crucifixus Etiam - Walter M. Miller, noted author of A Canticle for Liebowitz, writes of the men who sacrifice themselves to make Mars habitable.
Noise Level - Raymond F. Jones, postulates a successful development of anti-gravity by challenging scientific experts to duplicate the apparent success of a deceased inventor forcing them to re-examine their basic ideas about physics and the universe.
Grandpa - James H. Scmitz, a research team puts its faith in official reports and ignores the obvious signs the life forms on the planet are more dangerous than they seem.
Mother of Invention - Tom Godwin, better known for the classic "The Cold Equations;" five men trapped on a distant world must invent a new method of propulsion to drive their wrecked space craft and escape before the sun goes nova. Very similar to the Jones story in terms of challenging the accepted norm.
The Far Look - Theodore L. Thomas, the U.S. sends a two man team monthly to maintain an outpost on the moon. The experience changes some of the men in remarkable ways which scientists find baffling and impossible to predict or reproduce. Notable for the realistic descriptions of life on the moon.
Big Sword - Paul Ash, pseudonym of British author Pauline Whitby, weaves a tale involving biology, telepathy, and space exploration in a first contact/coming of age story.
Commencement Night - Richard Ashby, a group of babies are isolated on a pacific island and allowed to develop independent of human contact and interference in hopes the secret of eliminating man's warlike tendencies can be deduced. Unfortunately (or fortunately), an alien interferes in a manner which enables the isolated humans to develop telepathic abilities stemming from a new language/mode of thinking bringing enlightenment to all mankind.
The stories by Miller, Thomas, and Ash are the best of the collection.
Student Body - Floyd L. Wallace, a Hugo finalist in two categories in 1956, wrote a tale of an alien life form producing rapid and increasingly larger and more dangerous predators in response to man's attempt to protect a fledgling colony.
Crucifixus Etiam - Walter M. Miller, noted author of A Canticle for Liebowitz, writes of the men who sacrifice themselves to make Mars habitable.
Noise Level - Raymond F. Jones, postulates a successful development of anti-gravity by challenging scientific experts to duplicate the apparent success of a deceased inventor forcing them to re-examine their basic ideas about physics and the universe.
Grandpa - James H. Scmitz, a research team puts its faith in official reports and ignores the obvious signs the life forms on the planet are more dangerous than they seem.
Mother of Invention - Tom Godwin, better known for the classic "The Cold Equations;" five men trapped on a distant world must invent a new method of propulsion to drive their wrecked space craft and escape before the sun goes nova. Very similar to the Jones story in terms of challenging the accepted norm.
The Far Look - Theodore L. Thomas, the U.S. sends a two man team monthly to maintain an outpost on the moon. The experience changes some of the men in remarkable ways which scientists find baffling and impossible to predict or reproduce. Notable for the realistic descriptions of life on the moon.
Big Sword - Paul Ash, pseudonym of British author Pauline Whitby, weaves a tale involving biology, telepathy, and space exploration in a first contact/coming of age story.
Commencement Night - Richard Ashby, a group of babies are isolated on a pacific island and allowed to develop independent of human contact and interference in hopes the secret of eliminating man's warlike tendencies can be deduced. Unfortunately (or fortunately), an alien interferes in a manner which enables the isolated humans to develop telepathic abilities stemming from a new language/mode of thinking bringing enlightenment to all mankind.
The stories by Miller, Thomas, and Ash are the best of the collection.
January 4, 2024
Came for F.L. Wallace and was delightfully surprised by the other stories. Loved the one about the men sent to live on the Moon for a month and how they gained The Far Look from their survival experience—the concept of being unable to emotionally return to Earth because the men aren’t the same after the experience. Also lol a Truman Show type story! Wasn’t expecting that. I can’t say I’ve ever read a collection of scifi where all the stories ended on a positive note, but I actually loved that. Refreshing.
May 1, 2023
I liked the first story Student Body. It was a little intelligent and fun to read. The other ones I found quite boring and found myself coming back to them over time in order to finish the book. All of these writers try to create something smart and deep but I didn't find them too enjoyable
Want to read
May 10, 20252 PS paperback
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews