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New Maps: More Uncollected John Sladek
Contents List

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• “Sladek, an American who spent most of his writing life in Britain, was the finest satirist ever to grace the SF field with his presence.” (Andrew J. Wilson on Maps in The Scotsman, 28 December 2002)

• “Sladek, lamentably deceased too young, was a comic genius too little cherished on this side of the Big Pond. This volume presents a brilliant overview of Sladek’s talents.” (Paul Di Filippo on Maps in Asimov’s, June 2003)

Here are the New Maps contents, acknowledgements and list of original publication venues.

Contents

Title Page
Contents
Introduction

Stories and Surprises
Is There Death on Other Planets? [original version]
Plastitutes
Plastitutes 2
My Greatest Case
The Rebus Version of Mein Kampf
You’d Feel Dizzy
Seven Great Unexplained Mysteries of Our Time (with Explanations)
The Real Martian Chronicles

Essays and Oddments
A Letter
Afterword to “The Happy Breed”
Peace & Paradox
Science Fiction and Pseudoscience
Four Recipes
On Cassandra Knye
Sidelights
Pseudo-Science 1977-8
Clichés
Four Reasons for Reading Thomas M. Disch
Thomas M. Disch: An Appreciation
The Angela Carter Story
Science Fiction Comment
A Reply to L.J. Hurst
The Science Fiction Virus
Answers to Questions I Was Not Asked on the Radio
My Corner on Science Fiction
Signs Inflection Corner
Skin’s Friction Corner
Sense Fission Corner

Some Early Poems
newsmagazine
sake
statement
Fried Sun

Book and Film Reviews
Mac the Naif
Atrocities of the Love Slaves of Equanimity
Space Hopping with Captain God
Up from Cash Register
Voting Games
New Scientist Reviews 1971-1981
Fossil Astronauts
I’m a Jew and I’m Blue and I Have Eleven Arms
Making Senses
A-Plus for Pohl
Hail Ffellowes Well Met
George Hay, editor: The Necronomicon
Christopher Evans: The Mighty Micro
Frederik Pohl: The Way the Future Was: A Memoir
Running Scared
Ursula K. Le Guin: The Eye of the Heron
Revenge of the Teddies
Untitled Review Column [Asimov, McIntyre, Farmer]
Donald M. Hassler: Comic Tones in Science Fiction
Godzilla on the New Jersey Turnpike
Thomas Berger’s Spy Spoof
Reach Out and Tap Someone
Brain Games: Fractals and Other Mathematical Thoughts
E.T.A. Hoffmann: The Best Tales of Hoffmann (1814-1816)
Greg Bear: The Forge of God
New Age Meets Old Age
Dave Barry’s History Hysteria; plus Chris Elliott’s Ersatz Autobiography
Harold Adams: The Man Who Met the Train
Sinus Affliction Corner
Some California Dreaming
Sans Friction Corner
Invasion of the Data Snatchers
Don’t Count on It
Faience Section Corner
Science Fiction Coroner
Science Affectation Corner
Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Credits and Indexes
Acknowledgments
Original Appearances
Index: Creators Reviewed
Index: Works Reviewed
Index: Other
Ronnie Doll [back cover]

Acknowledgments

Above all I am grateful to John Sladek’s widow Sandy Sladek for allowing this collection, and to Christopher Priest for support in his capacity as literary agent for the Estate of John Sladek. Further profuse thanks are due to the following:

  • Bill Burns for acquiring and scanning all but two of the John Sladek columns from issues of Tales of the Unanticipated offered for sale in the USA (with prohibitive shipping costs to the UK), and for arduous library research.
  • John Clute for discovering “The Real Martian Chronicles” among papers abandoned in London by John Sladek when he moved back to the USA.
  • John Davey of Jayde Design www.jaydedesign.com for providing copies of the enhanced scans of “Plastitutes [2]” used for his authorized reissue of the limited-circulation New Worlds #212, and for tentatively identifying the 1971 issue of Frendz from which this and other NW212 material was reprinted.
  • Matthew Davis for locating various Strange Faeces contributions including “My Greatest Case”, and for providing a mass of material during my research for Maps. Much of this – in particular the Washington Post book-reviews dossier – was held over to the present collection.
  • Bruce Gillespie for providing the electronic text of “Four Reasons for Reading Thomas M. Disch”, as reprinted with permission in his Science Fiction Commentary #77 (November 2001).
  • Ben Jeapes, editor and publisher at Big Engine, for his patience and support during preparation of the first edition of Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek – without which this supplementary collection could not exist.
  • Denny Lien for using secret powers of librarianship to obtain and send “The Science Fiction Virus” and the review of The Man Who Met the Train; and to check a phrase (“Jerome K. Jerome’s mechanical Dancing Partner”) that was hopelessly garbled in the Robots of Dawn review transcript; and for further arduous library research.
  • Fiona Moore, for wresting the issue of Time Out containing “Running Scared” from the clutches of the British Library.
  • Murray Moore and Mary Ellen Moore for transcribing “Answers to Questions I Was Not Asked on the Radio” from Monad 2: Essays on Science Fiction, a tightly-bound hardback which could not be spread flat for scanning without damage to the spine.
  • New Scientist magazine and Tribune Content Agency for permission to reprint the short reviews assembled as “New Scientist Reviews 1971-1981”.
  • Mark L. Olson for providing scans of “Science Affectation Corner” in Tales of the Unanticipated #11 and “Skin’s Friction Corner” in Tales of the Unanticipated #14, from his own collection.
  • Phil Stephensen-Payne for unearthing and sending scans of “Fried Sun” and “You’d Feel Dizzy”.
  • Christopher Priest again for providing “The Real Martian Chronicles” in digital form.
  • Tanaqui C. Weaver for once again penetrating the Bodleian Library (having done the same in the glory days of Maps research), this time to copy the Return of the Jedi review from Time Out.

Bill Burns and Denny Lien additionally consulted microfilm archives of The New York Post in New York and Minneapolis respectively, but could find no trace of the Sladek review column listed in the bibliography John T. Sladek: Steam-Driven Satirist with a date of 12 March 1984 (an issue which like the others that week contains no book reviews at all) and in a 1990 author note published with “The Science Fiction Virus”. It is perhaps possible that both these mentions were New York-centric misreportings of the occasional Sladek Washington Post review columns which ran from 1983 to 1993, as noted in Original Appearances below.

Thanks too to several more who helped less directly, conscripted helpers, or offered help only for others to step in first: Andrew C. Butler, Gary Couzens, Richard Fidczuk, Edward James, Farah Mendlesohn, Petréa Mitchell, Curt Phillips, David Pringle, Debby Rohan, Darrell Schweitzer and Gordon Van Gelder. They also serve who only stand and wait.

Original Appearances

  • “Afterword to ‘The Happy Breed’” first published in Dangerous Visions (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1967) edited by Harlan Ellison.
  • “The Angela Carter Story” first published in Channelcon Programme Book (Easter 1982) edited by Coral Jackson. Channelcon was the 1982 national UK convention (Eastercon): Angela Carter and John Sladek were guests of honour.
  • “Answers To Questions I Was Not Asked On The Radio” first published in Monad 2: Essays on Science Fiction (Eugene, Oregon: Pulphouse Publishing, 1992) edited by Damon Knight.
  • “A-Plus for Pohl” first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #13 (May 1978) edited by Peter Nicholls.
  • “Atrocities of the Love Slaves of Equanimity” first published in New Worlds #179 (February 1968) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • The Best Tales of Hoffmann review first published in Horror: 100 Best Books (London: Xanadu / New York: Carroll & Graf, 1988) edited by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman.
  • “Brain Games: Fractals and Other Mathematical Thoughts” first published in Washington Post Book World (6 April 1987).
  • “Clichés” first published as an entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: An Illustrated A-Z (London: Granada, 1979) edited by Peter Nicholls.
  • Comic Tones in Science Fiction review first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #31 (July 1984) edited by David Pringle.
  • “Dave Barry’s History Hysteria; plus Chris Elliott’s Ersatz Autobiography” first published in Washington Post Book World (12 June 1989).
  • “Don’t Count on It” first published in Washington Post Book World (1 November 1992).
  • The Eye of the Heron review first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #27 (February 1983) edited by David Pringle.
  • “Faience Section Corner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #9 (Fall/Winter 1991/1992) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • The Forge of God review first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #42 (Spring 1988) edited by Edward James.
  • “Fossil Astronauts” first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #4 (July 1973) edited by Charles Barren.
  • “Four Reasons for Reading Thomas M. Disch” first published in The Stellar Gauge: Essays on Science Fiction Writers (Melbourne, Victoria: Norstrilia Press, 1980) edited by Michael J. Tolley and Kirpal Singh.
  • “Four Recipes” first published under their individual titles with the overall title “John Sladek” in Cooking Out of This World (New York: Ballantine, 1973) edited by Anne McCaffrey.
  • “Fried Sun” first published with “You’d Feel Dizzy” under the overall title “Two by John Sladek” in Cerberus #1 (Fall 1977) edited by Joseph Lerner.
  • “Godzilla on the New Jersey Turnpike” first published in Washington Post Book World (24 February 1985).
  • “Hail Ffellowes Well Met” first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #13 (May 1978) edited by Peter Nicholls.
  • “I’m a Jew and I’m Blue and I Have Eleven Arms” first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #11/12 (March 1977) edited by Peter Nicholls.
  • “Invasion of the Data Snatchers” first published in Washington Post Book World (12 August 1991).
  • “Is There Death on Other Planets?” first published in the Minneapolis-based “little magazine” region #4 (Fall 1965). This story was significantly revised for its appearance in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (December 1966, retitled “Capital C on Planet Amp” ["C on Planet Amp" in the contents list]), as reprinted under the original title in John Sladek’s first collection The Steam-Driven Boy (1973).
  • “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” first published in Washington Post Book World (29 August 1993).
  • “A Letter” – written 9 February 1960 and passed on by Sandy Sladek – first published on the Ansible Editions website (2003), created by David Langford and Christopher Priest.
  • “Mac the Naif” first published in New Worlds #178 (December 1967) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • “Making Senses” first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #11/12 (March 1977) edited by Peter Nicholls.
  • The Man Who Met the Train review first published under the headline “Author creates truthful, hard look at ’30s by shunning easy detail” in Minneapolis Star Tribune (28 August 1988).
  • The Mighty Micro review first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #20 (October 1980) edited by David Pringle.
  • “My Corner on Science Fiction” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #12 (Fall/Winter 1993/1994) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “My Greatest Case” first published in Strange Faeces #10 part B (1974/1975) edited by Opal Louis Nations.
  • The Necronomicon review first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #15 (January 1979) edited by Malcolm Edwards.
  • “New Age Meets Old Age” first published in Washington Post Book World (5 June 1988).
  • “New Scientist Reviews 1971-1981” first published in New Scientist, edited by Bernard Dixon to 1979 and thereafter by Michael Kenward. Issue dates are as follows:
    • New Math Puzzle Book: 4 March 1971.
    • Computers, Information Theory and Cybernetics: 13 May 1971.
    • Mathematics in Art: 3 June 1971.
    • Mind-Benders and Mathematical Puzzles and Perplexities: 6 April 1972.
    • Why Didn’t I Think of It First?: 28 September 1972.
    • Computer Worship: 28 February 1974.
    • Letter (“Geller Again”): 14 November 1974.
    • The Private Future: Causes and Consequences of Community Collapse in the West: 14 March 1974.
    • Paranormal Borderlands of Science: 27 August 1981.
  • “newsmagazine” first published in Strange Faeces #1 (1970) edited by Opal Louis Nations.
  • “On Cassandra Knye” first published in Arachne Rising (New York: The Dial Press, 1977) by John Sladek writing as James Vogh.
  • “Peace & Paradox” first published as the uncredited “Leading Article” in New Worlds #177 (November 1967) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • “Plastitutes” first published in New Worlds #182 (July 1968) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • “Plastitutes [2]” first published in Frendz #4 (23 June 1971; also numbered #32) and reprinted in New Worlds #212 (Spring 1978) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • “Pseudo-Science 1977-8” first published in The International Science Fiction Yearbook 1979 (London: Pierrot Publishing, 1978) edited by Colin Lester.
  • “Reach Out and Tap Someone” first published in Washington Post Book World (22 February 1987).
  • “The Real Martian Chronicles” first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (May/June 2010) edited by Gordon Van Gelder. This story was of course written much earlier, perhaps in the late 1970s.
  • “The Rebus Version of Mein Kampf” first published in Bananas #4 (Spring 1976) edited by Emma Tennant.
  • “A Reply to L.J. Hurst” first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #28 (July 1983) edited by David Pringle.
  • “Revenge of the Teddies” first published in Time Out (3-9 June 1983).
  • “Ronnie Doll” (back cover) first published in Ronald Reagan: The Magazine of Poetry #1 (1968) edited by John Sladek and Pamela Zoline.
  • “Running Scared” first published in Time Out (10-16 September 1982).
  • “sake” first published in Strange Faeces #1 (1970) edited by Opal Louis Nations.
  • “Sans Friction Corner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #8 (Spring/Summer/Fall 1991) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “Science Affectation Corner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #11 (Winter/Spring/Summer 1993) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “Science Fiction and Pseudoscience” first published in the British Science Fiction Association’s Vector #62 (November/December 1972) edited by Malcolm Edwards, with the note: “This article is a slightly different version of John Sladek’s speech at the 1972 Speculation Conference. It’s mostly copied from Mr Sladek’s written version, supplemented from a tape recorded by Gerald Bishop for the B.S.F.A. Tape Bureau.”
  • “Science Fiction Comment” first published as part of a thus-titled symposium in The Patchin Review #6 (March/May 1983) edited by Charles Platt.
  • “Science Fiction Coroner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #10 (Spring/Summer/Fall 1992) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “The Science Fiction Virus” first published in The Writer volume 103 number 3 (March 1990) edited by Sylvia K. Burack.
  • “Sense Fission Corner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #16 (Spring/Summer/Fall 1996) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “Seven Great Unexplained Mysteries of Our Time (with Explanations)” first published in this form in The Complete Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy Lists (London: Granada, 1983) edited by Malcolm Edwards and Maxim Jakubowski.
  • “Sidelights” first published as an author comment in the Sladek listing in Contemporary Authors (Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1977).
  • “Signs Inflection Corner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #13 (Spring/Summer/Fall 1994) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “Sinus Affliction Corner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #7 (Spring/Summer/Fall 1990) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “Skin’s Friction Corner” first published in Tales of the Unanticipated #14 (Winter/Spring/Summer 1995) edited by Eric M. Heideman.
  • “Some California Dreaming” first published in Washington Post Book World (25 November 1990).
  • “Space Hopping with Captain God” first published in New Worlds #196 (December 1969) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • “statement” first published in Strange Faeces #1 (1970) edited by Opal Louis Nations.
  • “Thomas Berger’s Spy Spoof” first published in Washington Post Book World (7 July 1985).
  • “Thomas M. Disch: An Appreciation” first published in Yorcon 2 Programme Book (Easter 1981) edited by Alan Dorey. Yorcon 2 was the 1981 national UK convention (Eastercon) at which Thomas M. Disch was a guest of honour.
  • “Untitled Review Column [Asimov, McIntyre, Farmer]” first published in Washington Post Book World (27 November 1983).
  • “Up from Cash Register” first published in New Worlds #198 (February 1970) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • “Voting Games” first published in New Worlds #199 (March 1970) edited by Michael Moorcock.
  • The Way the Future Was review first published in Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction #20 (October 1980) edited by David Pringle.
  • “You’d Feel Dizzy” first published in this form with “Fried Sun” under the overall title “Two by John Sladek” in Cerberus #1 (Fall 1977) edited by Joseph Lerner. A slightly different version – all lower-case, no quotation marks, character name “Glen” instead of “Ferd” – appeared in Strange Faeces #1 (1970) edited by Opal Louis Nations.

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