Since we were talking about the end of the world....

To my way of thinking, nobody quite does the whole "End of the World" thing as well as the British SF authors, including (but not limted to) J. G. Ballard (Wind From Nowhere, The Drowned World et al.), Fred Hoyle (The Black Cloud), H. G. Wells and of course John Wyndham.

I just love that "stiff upper lip" way the English confront the apocalypse - in such a nondescript, nonchalant, matter-of-fact way. Here in America, there's usually a lot of hysteria and carrying on when the cataclysm hits. Everybody panics and runs around, generally loosing their heads. To your average Brit, it's just a bit of a sticky wicket and no more...
Don't get me wrong, i'm not disparaging anything or anyone here, i'm just trying to say that the British SF authors have a certain knack for presenting "The End of The World" in such a believable and realistic manner that creates (for me anyway) an incredible suspension of disbelief. But that's just me.



This zip file contains -
DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1960's) Parts 1 - 6 and
DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1990's) Parts 1 & 2.

Since I had this up the sleeve as it were, i'll add some more Wyndham audio....
These illos come from Amazing March '63 -




This zip file contains -
Chocky (1960's version) and
Chocky (1990's version) Parts 1 & 2.

In other news, i'm still dealing with computer problems (hoo hah!) so i'm probably gonna be stuck with doing re-posts for another couple of weeks at least.
The good news is, I might try taking requests, since i'm at a bit of a loss for selections - so if you have something that you really want me to re-post, drop me a comment and i'll see what I can do. Just be polite and don't push your luck... OK?

End of The Moon, A Phoney Meteor and The Man From Planet X!

Vanishing Point - "Meteor" by John Benyon (AKA John Wyndham)




"Visions of world cataclysm constitute one of the most powerful and most mysterious of all categories of SF, and in their classic form predate modern Sf by 1000s of years. In many ways, i believe that SF is itself no more than a minor offshoot of the cataclysmic tale. From the deluge in the Babylonian zodiac myth of Gilgamesh to the contemporary fantasies of 20th century super-science, there has clearly been no limit to man's need to devise new means of destroying the world he inhabits. I would guess that from man's first inkling of this planet as a single entity existing independantly of himself came the determination to bring about its destruction, part of the same impulse we see in a placid infant who wakes alone in his cot and suddenly sets about wrecking his entire nursery.
Psychiatric studies of the fantasies and dream life of the insane show that ideas of world destruction are latent in the unconscious mind. The marvels of 20th century science & technology provide an anthology of destructive techniques unrivalled by even the most bizarre religions.
But are these deluges & droughts, whirlwinds & glaciations no more than overextended metaphors of some kind of suicidal self-hate, the expressions of deep internal conflicts resolvable only in a series of spasmic collisions with an ever yielding external reality?
On the contrary, I believe the catastrophe story, whoever may tell it, represents a constructive & positive act by the imagination rather than a negative one, an attempt to confront the patently meaningless universe by challenging it at its own game, to remake zero by provoking it in every concievable way." - J. G. Ballard

To that end, here is the most excellent article "The End Of The Moon" from the Hugo Gernsback publication SF plus, August 1953, illustrated by Frank R. Paul.

The End Of The Moon! Yow!

As an added bonus - The End of the World - 1920's style: From Hugo Gernsbacks' Science and Invention, October 1928.




Great art on this Fawcett Movie Comic ....and the script (by Otto Binder?) actually makes WAY MORE sense than the movie does - which I watched when I was scanning this book! This pdf comes from many and diverse materials, so you have my apologies for any "funkiness" with it... OK?
Man from Planet X!