FORGOTTEN BOOKS #444: THE COMPLETE PSYCHOTECHNIC LEAGUE By Poul Anderson


To clear up some misunderstandings, this new collection is The Complete Psychotehnic League, Volume One not to be confused with Poul Anderson’s Polesotechnic League series (seven volumes also published by BAEN Books). Anderson wrote the Psychotehnic League stories from 1947 to 1968. Set in a post-World War III world, the Psychotechnic League attempts to influence government and popular opinion with science. Yes, some of these stories are dated. But Poul Anderson’s story-telling ability shines through. I’ll be buying the next two volumes of The Complete Psychotechnic League as soon as BAEN Books publishes them! If you love classic SF as much as I do, you’ll enjoy The Complete Psychotechnic League! GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Psychotechnic League by Sandra Miesel
Marius
Un-Man
The Sensitive Man
The Big Rain
Afterword by Poul Anderson

16 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #444: THE COMPLETE PSYCHOTECHNIC LEAGUE By Poul Anderson

  1. Steve Oerkfitz

    Read a lot of Anderson as a teenager but none of these sound familiar. Could have read these and forgotten, it has been a long time. Lost sight of his work as I got older. I do have copies of Brain Wave and Three Hearts and Three Lions waited to be reread and did reread The Broken Sword(liked) and The High Crusade(disappointing) a few years back.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Steve, I’m a fan of these Psychotechnic League stories. I read them as a kid and each time I read one of these classic SF stories I’m 12-years-old again!

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Sergio, there’s some “brand confusion” when it comes to Poul Anderson’s “League” series. The Psychotechnic League stories are set in the near-future while the Polesotechnic League stories are set in a far future.

      Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    They sure sound similar. One of these days I am definitely going to get this. I’m just buried in other books.

    Reply
  3. wolf

    Un-Man made a big impression on me, more than 50 years ago …
    And Brainwave too of course – a fascinating idea, even though scientifically not very “probable”.

    I think I bought all those Ace Doubles over the years and of course many stories I read in the magazines. I still remember my joy when I saw Astounding in the window of a bookstore on my way from the train station to the university (1962), bought it every month! And later of course Analog …
    PS and a bit OT:
    And I also saw and immediately bought the Kinsey report – two volumes in English, spent all my “pocket money” on books …

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Wolf, I can clearly remember where and when I bought some of my ACE Doubles. I bought UN-MAN in a little drug store on my way to school. It was on a spinner rack (remember them?). I was about 12 years old.

      Reply
      1. R. K. Robinson

        I didn’t have any book money when I was 12. I didn’t get an allowance until I was in high school, and books only came from the library, except at birthday and Christmas, when they were picked by the giver (parents, aunt).

      2. george Post author

        Rick, I started mowing lawns when I was 12 years old so I had spending money which went about 90% to buying paperback books. I used to get $5 per lawn. And that bought a lot of 40 cent books!

      3. wolf

        Wow! Buying books when just 12 years old!
        For me it was like for R K R – not enough pocket money – but I was lucky in a way (Probably wrote about this before already):

        We lived not too far from the city library and the woman manageing it let me take books for older boys/adults too …

        Every few weeks they also got new books by the America House (now the German American Institute) – I was the first to have a look at them!

        And a remote relative of my mother owned a small printing&publishing “empire” which included a bookstore – so I could spend part of the afternoon there reading the latest SF paperback …
        Later I worked there in the summer holidays as a proofreader.

        So I was lucky in many ways living in that small city – even if it was very Conservative and Catholic, having been part of Austria until Napoleon came …
        Of course when I went to university everything changed! Freedomat last!

      4. george Post author

        Wolf, I used to buy used paperbacks at a local used bookstore for 25 cents each. And, there was a “Bargain Bin” where I picked up some DELL Mapbacks for a dime each. Those were the days!

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