More Bleiler

[randy_byers]

So far I find I disagree with Bleiler's judgments as much as I agree with them, which isn't all that surprising and not all that interesting as a general observation. People always disagree in their judgments on literature. The biggest disagreement I've had with him so far is his assessment of Murray Leinster's early SF, which he doesn't think much of. I find his characterization of "The Mad Planet" (1920) -- "competent textbook natural history" -- to completely miss the point of the story, which I see as a conceptual breakthrough story: a weak man learning to use tools and weapons to project power in a nightmare world. Then again, Bleiler's assessment may be a clue as to why these early Leinster stories never show up in his Best Of collections, despite the fact that Gernsback thought they were important enough to reprint alongside Verne and Wells in the early issues of Amazing.

However, Bleiler is just killing me with some of his descriptions of stories I've long wanted to get my hands on. For example, Robert W. Cole's The Struggle for Empire (1900), which I've faunched after ever since reading that it may well be the earliest example of space opera. Here's what Bleiler says:

"The first real space opera, filled with space battles, invasions, and escalating weapons; a nineteenth-century E.E. Smith story in many respects. ... A remarkable work for its time. While the theme of the story is obviously that of a naval imaginary war of the terrestrial sort, the author goes far beyond this in his concept of space empires, weapons, space tactics, and much else. The story vehicle is trivial, but the strengths elsewhere more than make up for this weakness. In some of the descriptions there is a touch like M.P. Shiel's. * The Struggle for Empire is one of the great missed opportunities in the history of science-fiction. If it had been as well circulated as H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (to which it is superior in concept, if weaker in execution) science-fiction might have developed a generation earlier."

Poking around on Google just now I see that it was released in a facsimile edition in 1998, but I don't see any copies available. I'm curious why this book is so obscure, because every reference I've seen to it indicates that it would be of great interest to the historically-minded SF reader. Seems like the perfect kind of thing for Project Guttenberg, except that it's probably so rare that hardly anybody has access to the text. So on top of wanting to put together a Homer Eon Flint collection, now I want to reprint this novel too! Just as soon as I think of a name for my publishing imprint ...

Comments

[kim-huett.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the Cole book was ever reprinted in the companion magazine to FFM, Fantastic Novels? I seem to recall Michael Ashley stating in his history that while the contents of Famous Fantastic Mysteries was largely drawn from early issues of Argosy and All-Story, Fantastic Novels concentrated on reprinting fantasy novels that had not previously had an appearance in the pulp magazines. I'll try and remember to keep an eye out for issues on eBay.

As for Gernsback reprinting Leinster I suspect the fact he could get such material for less than the cost of new fiction had some bearing on the matter. It's worth remembering that for the first few years Amazing was essentially a reprint magazine not unlike the later FFM. Gernsback might of wanted good science fiction but more importantly he wanted cheap fiction to fill his magazine.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Well, again, I think Bleiler's assessment of the Leinster stories that Gernsback reprinted is wrong. They're excellent stories, and prototypes for the Campbellian new wave to come. It's a shame they've been overshadowed by his later work, although at least he's still in print, unlike Cole or Flint.

As for the Cole being reprinted, I haven't heard of anything other than the 1998 facsimile. I see one copy of that on Bookfinder for a mere $386.45. I should check the UW library.