I starting reading John Brunner short novels in the early 1960s when it seemed like half of every ACE Double was written by Brunner. Short novels like The 100th Millennium Ace D-362 (1959) (based on “Earth Is But a Star”, revised as Catch a Falling Star Ace G-761 (1968)), Echo in the Skull Ace D-385 (1959) (revised as Give Warning to the World DAW #112 1974), The World Swappers Ace D-391 (1959), Slavers of Space Ace D-421 (1960) (revised as Into the Slave Nebula Lancer (1968)), The Skynappers Ace D-457 (1960), The Atlantic Abomination Ace D-465 (1960), Sanctuary in the Sky Ace D-471 (1960), I Speak for Earth Ace D-497 (1961) (as Keith Woodcott), Meeting at Infinity Ace D-507 (1961), and Secret Agent of Terra Ace F-133 (1962) (revised as The Avengers of Carrig Dell (1969), Book 1 of the “Zarathustra Refugee Planets” series.). You get the idea. Brunner was prolific and everywhere in those years. In addition to all the short novels he sold to ACE Books, he wrote some great short stories, too. I’m a big fan of “The Totally Rich” which anticipates our 1% Society. Joe Haldeman provides an insightful “Introduction.” If you haven’t read any John Brunner, The Best of John Brunner is a great place to start.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: The Brunner Mosaic, by Joe Haldeman
“The Totally Rich” (Worlds of Tomorrow, June 1963)
“The Last Lonely Man” (New Worlds SF, #142 May-June 1964)
“Galactic Consumer Report No. 1: Inexpensive Time Machines” (Galaxy Magazine, December 1965)
“Fair” (New Worlds Science Fiction #45, March 1956)
“Such Stuff” (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, June 1962)
“Galactic Consumer Report No. 2: Automatic Twin-Tube Wishing Machines” (Galaxy Magazine, June 1966)
“Tracking with Close-ups (21) and (23) (excerpt from Stand on Zanzibar)
“X-Hero” (Omni, March 1980)
“No Future in It” (Science Fantasy, September 1955)
“Galactic Consumer Report No. 3: A Survey of the Membership” (Galaxy Magazine, December 1967)
“What Friends Are For” (Fellowship of the Stars, 1974)
“The Taste of the Dish and the Savor of the Day” (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1977)
“Galactic Consumer Report No. 4: Thing-of-the-Month Clubs” (Galaxy, January 1969)
“The Man Who Saw the Thousand-Year Reich” (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November 1981)
“An Elixir for the Emperor” (Fantastic Stories of Imagination, November 1964)
“The Suicide of Man” (Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, July-August 1978)
“The Vitanuls” (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1967)
George, for a book to be truly reflective of that title, it would have to be so large you’d have to move it around in a railroad car, but I suppose SOME OF THE BEST OF JOHN BRUNNER as a title wouldn’t have had the same marketing chops. I’m a big fan of Brunner, by the way.
Jerry, you’re right. THE BEST OF JOHN BRUNNER would consist of several volumes if done right.
I’ve got STAND ON ZANZIBAR (which I’ve started a couple of times) but really haven’t read much Brunner, other than the odd story. I should look for this one.
Jeff, I’m a big fan of Brunner’s THE JAGGED ORBIT about urban violence. Very prophetic.
Perhaps a pity there are no Traveler in Black stories, but perhaps he thought it best they be read together, or he didn’t think much of them (usually, when no editor was credited on these Ballantine/Del Rey BEST OFs, the writer her or himself made the choices, with, presumably, input from the Del Reys).
He wasn’t getting his due by the end of his life, but I guess so many of us don’t.
Todd, Brunner is a truly underrated writer. I’ve read about half of what he published and want to read the other half in the years ahead.
Have this somewhere. I’m a big fan of his Traveler In Black stories. Read and liked Stand On Zanzibar, The Sheep Look Up, The Jagged Orbit and The whole Man when they were first published but have never reread them although I have pb copies of them.
Steve, I’ve read THE TRAVELER IN BLACK stories several times. Great stuff!
I forgot that I picked up the Traveler in Black collection last year. Thanks for reminding me, guys.
Jeff, you’ll find THE TRAVELER IN BLACK stories very much like Michael Moorcock’s work.
He wrote about 60 novels – in the beginning he was considered a hack also, but some of his stuff was really groundbreaking. I must confess that I liked his early space opers too – ok, I was young then. Found a lot of it in the second hand bookstores in London, many stories published in the SF magazines …
So it’s really difficult to say, these were his best stories – there are so many of them!
Wiki has even more info on him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brunner_(novelist)
A bit OT: Did you know hat he died of a heart attack during Worldcon 1995 in Glasgow?Here’s the list of books by Brunner that I’ve collected:
As usual 1 = novel, 3= story collections
%VICTIMS OF THE NOVA = AVENGERS OF CARRIG+POLYMATH+REPAIRMEN OF CYCLOPS
1A MAZE OF STARS
1A PLANET OF YOUR OWN
1AGE OF MIRACLES = THE DAY OF THE STAR CITIES = IM ZEITALTER DER WUNDER
1THE ALTAR ON ASCONEL (CONTAINED IN : INTERSTELLAR EMPIRE)
1THE ATLANTIC ABOMINATION
1THE AVENGERS OF CARRIG = SECRET AGENT OF TERRA
1BEDLAM PLANET
1BORN UNDER MARS
1CATCH A FALLING STAR = THE 100TH MILLENNIUM (EXPANDED)
1CHILDREN OF THE THUNDER
1THE CRUCIBLE OF TIME = DIE GUSSFORM DER ZEIT
1DOUBLE, DOUBLE = DOPPELGAENGER
1THE DRAMATURGES OF YAN
1THE DREAMING EARTH = TRAEUMENDE ERDE
1ENIGMA FROM TANTALUS
1THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
1FATHER OF LIES
1I SPEAK FOR EARTH (AS KEITH WOODCOTT)
1THE INFINITIVE OF GO = DER INFINITIV VON GO
1INTO THE SLAVE NEBULA = SLAVERS OF SPACE
1THE JAGGED ORBIT = DAS GOTTSCHALK-KOMPLOTT
1LADDER IN THE SKY (AS KEITH WOODCOTT)
1THE LONG RESULT = BOTSCHAFT AUS DEM ALL
1MANSHAPE = ENDLESS SHADOW (BASED ON : BRIDGE TO AZRAEL)
1THE MARTIAN SPHINX (AS KEITH WOODCOTT)
1MEETING AT INFINITY
1MORE THINGS IN HEAVEN = THE ASTRONAUTS MUST NOT LAND = MEHR DINGE ZWISCHEN H
1MUDDLE EARTH (NEW IN 93)
1NOT BEFORE TIME
1PLAYERS AT THE GAME OF PEOPLE
1POLYMATH = CASTAWAY’S WORLD
1THE PRODUCTIONS OF TIME = PROBE FUER DIE ZUKUNFT
1PSIONIC MENACE (AS KEITH WOODCOTT)
1QUICKSAND = TREIBSAND
1THE REPAIRMEN OF CYCLOPS
1THE RITES OF OHE
1SANCTUARY IN THE SKY
1THE SHEEP LOOK UP = SCHAFE BLICKEN AUF
1THE SHIFT KEY (SIGNED)
1THE SHOCKWAVE RIDER = DER SCHOCKWELLENREITER
1THE SPACE-TIME JUGGLER
1THE SQUARES OF THE CITY = DIE PLAETZE DER STADT
1STAND ON ZANZIBAR = MORGENWELT
1THE STARDROPPERS = LISTEN, THE STARS
1THE STONE THAT NEVER CAME DOWN = DIE DUNKLEN JAHRE
1THE SUPER BARBARIANS
1THRESHHOLD OF ETERNITY = DER GROSSE ZEITKRIEG
1THE TIDES OF TIME
1TIMES WITHOUT NUMBER
1TIMESCOOP
1TO CONQUER CHAOS = WAECHTER DER STERNSTATION
1TOTAL ECLIPSE = DAS GEHEIMNIS DER DRACONIER
1THE TRAVELLER IN BLACK = REISENDER IN SCHWARZ
1THE WEBS OF EVERYWHERE = WEB OF EVERYWHERE = VERBOTENE KODIERUNGEN
1THE WHOLE MAN = TELEPATHIST = DER GANZE MENSCH
1THE WORLD SWAPPERS = EIN PLANET ZU VERSCHENKEN
1THE WRONG END OF TIME = AM FALSCHEN ENDE DER ZEIT
3THE BOOK OF JOHN BRUNNER
3ENTRY TO ELSEWHEN
3FROM THIS DAY FORWARD
3INTERSTELLAR EMPIRE = SIE SCHENKTEN UNS DIE STERNE
3NO FUTURE IN IT
3NO OTHER GODS BUT ME
3NOW, THEN
3OUT OF MY MIND
3TIME JUMP
9 means I don’t have that book or I’m not sure what it is …
9A HASTILY THROWN TOGETHER PIECE OF ZORK (POEMS ?)
9A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR CAUSES ?
9THE DAYS OF MARCH (NO SF, NOVEL ABOUT PEACE MOVEMENT)
9ECHO IN THE SKULL = GIVE WARNING TO THE WORLD = WARNUNG AN DIE WELT
9GALACTIC STORM (FIRST NOVEL, AS GIL HUNT)
9THE GAUDY SHADOWS ?
9GOOD MEN DO NOTHING ?
9THE GREAT STEAMBOAT RACE (HISTORICAL NOVEL)
9HONKY IN THE WOODPILE (NO SF) (MAX CURFEW SERIES)
9INTERSTELLAR EMPIRES (ED)
9THE SKYNAPPERS
9TOMORROW MAY BE EVEN WORSE (POEMS)
9TOOTH AND CLAW (NEW IN 88?)
9THE BRINK (1959 ?)
Wolf, I’ve read about 50% of your list. When I’m retired I hope to read the other half! Impressive list!
Brunner was uneven, and when he’s good he’s very good. All of these Best Of books were good representations of the author’s works. I’ve read several Brunner novels (Steve mentioned some of them) but only a handful of stories.
I read a biography of Brunner a couple of years ago and was dismayed at reading about how badly he was treated in the 60’s by Michael Mooorcock and Brian Aldiss.
Steve, Moorcock and Aldiss dismissed Brunner as a hack writer. He was much more than that.
Rick, John Brunner’s short stories are fun to read. The uneven production was I product of his prolific writing in the Fifties and Sixties. You can’t always hit a home run.
Yes, Moorcock and the other “new wave” guys were probably displeased with the fact that Brunner sold well on the US market.
And of course his early stories often were simple Space Opera – but always fun to read!
Btw – and totally OT.
Moorcock’s American wife Linda was very active politically on facebook – she wrote funny comments about Trump etc, but it seems they didn’t help …
Sigh …
Wolf, let’s see what Trump does in 2017. Some voters may experience “Buyer’s Remorse.”