Robot Jazz

  Eddie Muller, the "Czar of Noir", once opined that peak American culture occurred in the 1950s.  For all the failings of America during those early post-war years, it is hard to argue with that take. Not only was it the latter portion of the "Golden Era" for Hollywood, but it was also considered a golden era for science fiction. It was during this time that such greats as Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, Alfred Bester, and the visionary editors of Galaxy Magazine,  who pushed the genre toward psychological and sociological storytelling, came into their own.  Even radio, the then-dominant entertainment format, got in on the sci-fi act with such wonderful programs as X Minus One and Exploring Tomorrow .  You can still listen to many of them today . These radio series can be an excellent ‘deep core’ survey of the genre, covering tonally diverse classics from Tom Godwin’s heartbreaking hard‑sci‑fi tale The Cold Equations to Robert Sheckley’s lighter, satirical T...

  As the holidays creep closer, I am gradually slipping into one of my sci-fi moods. I don't know why, but there is something about the cold days, dark nights, and light-up decor that makes me feel like I am living in a space station on the "blackest sea", as one sci-fi author put it, whose name is long forgotten to me. As such, I begin to binge on science fiction like a drunk during happy hour. Recently, I have found myself exploring the world of audiobooks. I have found them to be wonderful diversions as I engage in my seasonal ritual of scouring the house from top to bottom in my unquenchable desire to rid my interior life of all traces of the most obnoxious season of all, summer. Audible  recently introduced me to an excellent science fiction compendium entitled  The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Vol. 1, 1929 - 1964.  As the name suggests, this has proven to be an excellent collection of some of the greatest tales to come out of the rightly titled "golden age of ...