Richard Wolinsky co-hosted and produced Probabilities, a radio program with a focus on Science Fiction. Probabilities aired on KPFA in Berkeley, California from 1977 to 1995. Wolinsky has collected radio transcripts of more than 50 legendary SF writers interviewed during that time period and published them in Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!
My favorite interviews in this book are with Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt, Frank M. Robinson, Margaret Atwood, Frederik Pohl, Frank Herbert, and Fritz Leiber.
If you’re a fan of Science Fiction and want to hear candid interviews with some of the best writers of the genre, Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! should be on your Must-Read list! Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FORWARD by Richard A. Lupoff — xi
The Probabilities Interviews by Richard Wolinsky — xv
CHAPTER ONE
Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!: Science Fiction in the 1920s — 3
The Cast of the Book (In Order of Appearance) — 3
Birth of a Genre — 4
The Early Pulps — 5
Hugo Gernsback & Amazing Stories — 6
Writers of the Twenties — 11
Jack Williamson — 11
Claire Winger Harris — 12
Victor Rousseau — 12
Otis Adelbert Kline — 13
E. E. “Doc” Smith — 15
The Other Magazines: Argosy & the Bottom Feeders — 15
CHAPTER TWO
The Story of Weird Tales — 17
The Continuing Cast of the Book (In Order of Appearance) — 17
Mad Scientists & Monsters — 17
It Came from Indianapolis — 18
H.P. Lovecraft: A Twentieth-Century Poe — 23
Clark Ashton Smith: The Bard of Auburn — 31
Portraits of the Writers — 32
Robert E. Howard — 32
Seabury Quinn — 32
E. Hoffman Price — 33
Frank Belknap Long — 34
Fritz Leiber — 35
Robert Bloch — 36
CHAPTER THREE
The Years of the Depression: Triumph of the Pulps — 39
The Continuing Cast of the Book (In Order of Appearance– 39
On the Racks in the 1930s — 40
Writing for the Magazines — 41
The Future is Today — 42
Wonder Stories, Charlie Mort & The Gang — 44
Astounding: From Bates to Tremaine — 52
Amazing Stories: Santa Claus Sloane & the Astonishing Ray Palmer — 60
Doc Savage: More Like a Comic Book — 64
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…the Authors of the Thirties — 65
Ed Earl Repp –65
Ray Cummings — 66
Otto Binder — 66
Charles Willard Diffin — 67
Laurence Manning — 67
C. L. Moore — 68
Murray Leinster — 68
Fletcher Pratt — 68
Carl Jacobi — 69
Stanley G. Weinbaum — 69
The Hawk Curse Stories — 71
The Gentle Satire of Stanton A. Coblentz — 73
On the Water with Ed Hamilton — 73
Theodore Sturgeon Starts to Write — 74
Books of the Thirties — 75
The Pulp Merry-Go-Round — 76
Is This Any Way to Make a Living? — 79
CHAPTER FOUR
The King of Science Fiction: John W. Campbell & Astounding — 83
The Continuing Cast of the Book (In Order of Appearance) — 83
A Whole New Ball Game — 83
Unknown — Campbell’s Fantasy Magazine — 86
Campbell as Editor — 89
John W Campbell’s Personality — 95
Campbell’s Editorial Policies — 98
Campbell’s Later Years — 99
CHAPTER FIVE
World War II & Beyond: Science Fiction in the Forties — 103
The Continuing Cast of the Book (In Order of Appearance) — 103
World War II & the Science Fiction Pulps — 104
On the Home Front: The Magazines Continue — 106
Writing After the War — 107
Amazing Stories & Fantastic Adventures: Palmer & Browne Hold Down the Fort — 110
Ray Palmer & the Shaver Mystery — 112
Planet Stories: Pulpiest of the Pulps — 114
Thrilling Wonder Stories — 117
Legacy for the Future — 117
Masters of the Genre, Part One: Robert Heinlein — 120
Masters of the Genre: Part Two: Ray Bradbury — 121
Writers of the Forties — 124
Jack Williamson — 124
Robert Bloch — 124
Ed Earl Repp — 124
A. E. van Vogt — 125
Arthur J. Burks — 126
David H. Keller — 127
Henry Kuttner — 127
Leigh Brackett — 128
Theodore Sturgeon — 129
L. Ron Hubbard — 130
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plant, It’s a Comic Book — 132
CHAPTER SIX
The Fifties: The World Rushes in — 137
The Continuing Cast of the Book (In order of Appearance) — 137
Magazines, Magazines & More Magazines — 138
The Rise & Fall of the Magazines — 141
Housebound But Not Limited: Horace Gold & Galaxy — 143
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction: Anthony Boucher & J. Francis McComas — 150
Jane Roberts Get Published — 155
Amazing & Fantastic: Howard Browne Goes for Class — 156
Successors to Howard Browne: Paul W. Fairman & Cele Goldsmith — 160
Dead on Arrival: Worlds Beyond — 161
Running with the Pack: If: Worlds of Science Fiction — 163
The List Goes on: Infinity & Science Fiction Adventures — 164
Pay Palmer Goes It Alone: Other Worlds & Universe — 167
Imagination & Rogue: The Publishing Empire of William Hamlin — 169
Fantastic Universe & Satellite: Leo Margulies & His Publishing Empire — 172
Doc Lowndes: Editor Wit a Budget — 174
Bottom of the Barrel: Rocket Stories & John Raymond — 175
But Wait, There’s More: Marvel, Cosmos & the Rest — 179
The World of Small Presses — 180
The Hydra Club & the Mitford Writers’ Conference — 181
Science Fiction for Fun & Profit: Writers of the ’50s, Their Ideas, Their Books & Their Stories — 183
Wiliam F. Nolan — 183
Arthur C. Clarke — 184
Philip K. Dick — 185
Harry Harrison — 186
Algis Budrys — 186
Marion Zimmer Bradley — 187
Theodore Sturgeon — 187
Frank M. Robinson — 188
Jack Williamson — 189
“The Covenant” — 190
Jane Roberts — 190
The Rise of the Paperbacks — 191
Bantam & Ballantine — 191
Ace Books — 192
Avon Books — 193
Universal Publishing — 194
Regency Books — 194
Television — 196
Science Fiction Comes of Age: the Hugo Awards — 198
CHAPTER SEVEN
From the Science Fiction League to the Futurians: Fans for All Seasons — 201
The Continuing Cast of the Book (in Order of Appearance) — 201
The Origins of Fandom — 201
War with the Futurians — 203
John Michel — 206
The Futurians Begin Growing Up — 208
Writing About the Futurians — 212
Fandom Outside New York — 213
Let’s Join a Rock & Roll Band ‘Cause the Groups All Live Together — 216
Fandom Goes On — 219
APPENDIX I
Origin Stories: Reading & Writing That Crazy Buck Rogers Stuff — 225
APPENDIX II
List of Interviews — 239
About Richard Wolinsky — 243
About Lawrence Davidson — 244
About Richard A. Lupoff — 245
You must have been thinking of me, Sir George of Temptation. Definitely in my wheelhouse. Just ordered.
Jerry, yes, George the Tempter scores again!
This looks pretty interesting. Claire Winger Harris, Charles Willard Diffin, Jane Roberts , , , a deep dive indeed!
Fred, you’re right about the Deep Dive part! I learned a lot about some of the fringe figures in the History of Science Fiction with this book!
Well, only Roberts is truly fringe, there, even if the elder two had their day and it ended…Roberts, of course, wanted to write fantasy/SF, but “Seth” books paid so much better…I haven’t picked up the book nor heard her interview, but I wonder how much a true believer she was (and, as such, she wouldn’t be alone in fantasitca, alas).(nor if she was solely doing it for the money and/or cult).
This looks like a good nightstand book. All of the interviews look like they were conducted, for the most part, at the very end of the classic era of the genre and as a result I imagine there’s a fair amount of revisionism and self-agrandizing here. I’m already planning on finally giving myself Tom Weaver’s “Keep Watching the Skies!” for Christmas and I guess I’ll toss this under the tree while I’m at it.
Byron, SPACE SHIPS! RAY GUNS! MARTIAN OCTOPODS! would fit nicely in a Christmas Stocking…
Well, Byron, you’d need to define your terms…revisionism of a sort has been a constant in SF/Fantasy publishing as it is in all arts, and they (it started out as Richard Lupoff’s show, and Wolinsky was his co-host for a big long stretch, iinm), and the revisionism in re: who was most important is always up for further debate. (As is the degree of sophistication Howard Browne brought to the upgraded physical packages of FANTASTIC and AMAZING).
I think typos bit you again…Robert Lowndes would be an editor without a budget…or as the Minutemen (the cheerful punk band) might put it, He Jammed Econo. In nearly every magazine he ever worked on. James Reasoner has been regretting that fact in recent reviews of some of his western magazines. The key phrase used by many was that RAWL was making bricks without straw.
Cele Goldsmith Lalli as interviewed by Barry Malzberg (the world is poorer for their absence) :
https://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2012/07/cele-goldsmithlalli-interviewed-by.html
Todd, I loved those AMAZING and FANTASTIC issues Cele Goldsmith edited…on a tiny budget! A great editor!
Much as I despise L. Ron Fatfraud, the notorious crook and flimflammer, I’d be interested in what lies he has to tell! A lot of others look interesting without being notorious!
Bob, just ask your local Library to order SPACE SHIPS! RAY GUNS! MARTIAN OCTOPODS!…or use some of your casino winnings to buy this $17.99 paperback!
https://rrhorton.blogspot.com/2025/09/review-space-ships-ray-guns-martian.html
Todd, thanks for the link. “This book is gold” according to Horton…and I completely agree!