Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!: Interviews with Science Fiction Legends

by Richard Wolinsky (Editor)

In these highly-candid radio interviews, more than fifty legendary, larger-than-life personalities trade anecdotes about the Golden Age of science fiction. Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Margaret Atwood, Fritz Leiber, Frank Herbert, Frank Kelly Freas, and many more, depict the wild personalities, sparks of contention, and vivid imagination that made science fiction thrive.

Today, depictions of aliens, rocket ships, and awe-inspiring, futuristic space operas are everywhere. Why is there so much science fiction, and where did it come from anyway? Radio producer and author Richard Wolinsky has found answers in the Golden Age of science fiction, between 1920 and 1960.

Wolinsky and his fellow writers and co-hosts Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson, interviewed a veritable who’s who of famous (and infamous) science-fiction publishers, pulp magazines, editors, cover artists, and fans. The interviews themselves, which aired on the public radio, Probabilities, span over twenty years, from just before the release of Star Wars through the dawn of Y2K.

Probabilities was the home of a vivid cross-section of the early science fiction world, with radio guests offering a wide range of tales, opinions, theory, and gossip. It speaks to how, in the early days, they were free to define science fiction for themselves and push the genre to explore new ideas and new tropes in creative (and sometimes questionable) ways.

Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! is ultimately a love letter to fandom. Science fiction wouldn’t have survived as a genre if there weren’t devoted fanatics who wrote fanzines, organized conventions, and built relationships for fandom to flourish.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

264 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2025

Reviews

[Joe Karpierz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The older I get, the more I want to look back. I don't know if that's because there's more to look back on (by definition), or because I have some sort of sense of nostalgia, or because I'm curious about various historical events. Or, as in the case of the history of science fiction and its fandom, I just want to learn about something. As I wrote in my review of Alec Nevala-Lee's ASTOUNDING JOHN W. CAMPBELL, ISAAC ASIMOV, ROBERT A. HEINLEIN, L. RON HUBBARD, AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION (that title is such a mouthful that I almost forgot what I was going to write next), "I'd also been developing a curiosity about the history of the field...". I wrote that statement back in November of 2018, and to this day I continue to be interested in the history of the field. It's gotten to the point where I'm more likely to pick up some historical non-fiction work about the field than I am a novel, collection, or anthology. Thus, when I spotted SPACE SHIPS! RAY GUNS! MARTIAN OCTOPODS! INTERVIEWS WITH SCIENCE FICTION LEGENDS, I requested and was fortunate enough to receive an eARC of the book.

In February of 1977 at KPFA-FM in Berkeley, a new radio program called "Probabilities (initially "Probabilities Unlimited")" debuted. On that program, for something in the neighborhood of 20 years (give or take), Richard Wolinsky, Richard A. Lupoff, and Lawrence Davidson interviewed dozens of science fiction writers, editors, and publishers, covering the time period from the pulp magazines all the way up to 1990s. The subjects of those interviews were wide ranging, from fellow authors and editors, to the magazines, the publishing business, and much more. The list of interviewees contains names that I was familiar with, such as Jack Williamson, Anne McCaffrey, Frank M. Robinson, Forrest J. Ackerman, A.E. Van Vogt, and Isaac Asimov to names that I'd
never heard of before, such as Charles D. Hornig, Harry Bates, Doc Lowndes, Ray Palmer, and more.

The subjects were wide and varied. The interviews covered the pulps magazines, the digest magazines, the slick magazines, and more. The Cast of the Book (as the interviewees were called)
talked about Hugo Gernsback and Amazing Stories, John W. Campbell and Astounding (later Analog, which is still being published today), Argosy, Fantasy (Campbell's fantasy magazine) and many more:
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (still being published today), Worlds Beyond, If: The Worlds of Science Fiction, Other Worlds, Universe, Rocket Stories, and so many more.
Paperback publishers are also talked about here. Bantam, Ballantine, Ace Books, Avon Books, and more.

There was dirt - oh boy, there was dirt - about Gernsback, Campbell, and a host of other editors and publishers who wouldn't pay their authors. There is much made these days about Hugo Gernsback
being cheap and not paying, but there were so many others it seems like it's impossible to count them all. One story was recounted of an editor who was chased through the streets of New York
City in an effort to get the checks he owed to the authors he published.

And just in case you thought Probabilities missed a few big names, I'll just throw out Theodore Sturgeon, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, C.L. Moore, Murray Leinster, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Philip K.
Dick, and Algis Budrys, as well as Ursula K. LeGuin and Marion Zimmer Bradley as science fiction luminaries whose words graced the airwaves back in the day and the pages of this book.

It is fairly difficult to recount the stories that were related in the interviews. The published excerpts were not long, maybe a paragraph or two each, although if I think about it hard enough I suspect you could get some fairly substantial stuff from one member of the Cast or another if you put all their meanderings together into one section. However, it is worth noting that the wealth of material here paints a vivid picture of the growth of the science fiction field, going all the way back to the 1920s. The reading is fascinating to someone who is curious about the days of the pulps, or the Golden Age of Astounding Magazine, or even the more recent period (I will note that one writer that I would have liked to have heard from is Michael Moorcock, but he apparently was not interviewed on the program).

This book left a lasting impression on me. As someone who is curious about the history of science fiction, this book is one I didn't know I needed to read, and a terrific companion piece to Nevala-Lee's ASTOUNDING.

Finally, there was evidence of the history of the field present at the recent Seattle Worldcon. Robert Silverberg, who was also mentioned in the book, was out and about at the convention and appeared on many panels, where he did talk about some of the same people and events discussed in the book. Richard Wolinsky, the editor of the book, was briefly at the convention. As I wandered around the dealers room, I came upon a table selling some of those very same pulps that were talked about in the book. At the freebie table, I was able to snag a couple of issues of Analog from 1968. I snarfed those up in a heartbeat. While they were from the end of Campbell's reign at the magazine, they contained editorials written by Campbell, something I'd never read. Yes, the history of the field was alive and well at Worldcon.

The modern science fiction field is where it is because of the giants that came before it. We should all remember that. And SPACE SHIPS! RAY GUNS! MARTIAN OCTOPODS! INTERVIEWS WITH
SCIENCE FICTION LEGENDS is there to help us with that remembering.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Spaceships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! ‘Interviews With Science Fiction Legends’ is a book of interviews with a difference. Instead of having one author, editor or agent at a time share their story, it’s divided by subject matter and quotes multiple interviewees on the topic at hand. The way to read the book is to imagine you’re at a cocktail party, wandering around and overhearing different conversations. In one corner, Anne McCaffrey and Jack Williamson are talking about the early days of science fiction magazines.

In another, Charles D. Hornig and Julius Schwarz remember the first fan magazines and Hugo Gernsback’s ‘Amazing Stories’. Quotes from interviews are compiled as if the individuals were on a panel, discussing the same subject. It works well. Hell, it works beautifully to create an oral history of science fiction in the 20th century.

The original interviews were conducted in various places and media by Richard Wolinsky, Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson, and this text was compiled and edited by Richard Wolinsky. It must have been a huge job. It recounts the history of science fiction magazines, as told in their own words by the editors and writers who created them, spanning from the 1920s to the 1960s.

‘Chapter One: Science Fiction In The 1920s’ covers the early pulps, Hugo Gernsback’s ‘Amazing Stories’ and other lesser magazines. The interviewees include Jack Williamson and E.E. ‘Doc’ Smith. Gernsback, it seems, was a cheat who didn’t pay his bills and did his best to avoid paying writers who often had to sue to get their money. But he originated the science fiction pulp magazines, and so he has an award named after him.

Chapter two is the story of ‘Weird Tales’ and features plenty of chat about H.P. Lovecraft by E. Hoffman Price, Frank Belknap Long and Robert Bloch, who all knew him quite well. Hoffman Price says that Lovecraft was a whimsical and delightful companion, and the long-faced, solemn scholars looking for significance in his work have it all wrong. ‘It had no goddamn significance, the lot of it. It was just the fun of the moment. They can’t get that through their pointed heads, though.’ Price was a real character.

Chapter Three covers the years of the depression and the triumph of the pulps. This tells about ‘Astounding’ under early editors from Harry Bates to F. Orlin Tremaine and how young fans like Mort Weisinger, Julius Schwartz and Charles D. Horning turned professional. Hornig became editor of Hugo Gernsback’s ‘Amazing Stories’, aged just seventeen, mostly because he was cheap. I like his humility. Asimov wrote somewhere that Hornig was the only person in the field with absolutely no talent. Hornig cornered the great man in New York and said, ‘You really hit it on the head. I never had any talent for it; that’s why I was an editor.’ Hornig’s defence was that he was enthusiastic and interested in science fiction, couldn’t write it and wanted to be involved. I think that’s fair enough. I mean, you could say the same about book reviewers. Hornig published two very early Asimov stories in ‘Future Fiction’, which helped him at the start of his career.

Mort Weisinger and Julius Schwartz became agents and editors. A good agent who knew the magazines and knew the editors and what they wanted could place a story for a writer, saving him lots of time posting it all over, and was worth his ten per cent. Julius Schwartz took an unsold Lovecraft story, ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’, to F. Orlin Tremaine at ‘Astounding’ and got $350 for it. Lovecraft had $315, and ‘it was the biggest cheque he ever received in his life’. Literary agents are infamous for various scams and schemes, of course, but you get bad eggs in any profession. Mort and Julie continued their careers at DC Comics after they left Science Fiction. Horace Gold reckoned that Weisinger was very creative and great at coming up with ideas. However, the leap from idea to finished story is a large one. Later, in the book, Asimov mentions that he was worried he might be a fraud because all his best stories came from ideas by John W. Campbell, Jr., but Junior himself told Asimov, ‘I gave ideas to hundreds of writers; there’s only one you.’

Campbell is dubbed ‘the King of Science Fiction’ and gets virtually the whole of chapter four to himself with sections on his editing, his policies, his personality and his later years. Campbell launched the careers of Asimov, Heinlein, van Vogt and many others, and ‘Astounding’ was the top magazine for at least a decade. In later life, he fell for wacky ideas like Dianetics, and the quality of his editing slipped, though he was still pretty sharp. Send him an idea for a short story, and he would likely write back six pages telling how it could make a series of novels.

‘Chapter Five: World War II And Beyond: Science Fiction In The Forties’ ranges widely beyond ‘Astounding’ to discuss ‘Amazing Stories’ under Ray Palmer, ‘Fantastic Adventures’ under Palmer and then Howard Browne, and the lovely ‘Planet Stories’. Some SF was getting a bit highbrow, but plenty of readers still wanted ray guns and rocketships, and plenty of writers were happy to supply them. Robert Silverberg made a fortune banging out this stuff.

Chapter six has a lot about the rise and fall of the magazines because there was a boom in the 1950s, but it didn’t last. Various people talk fondly of Horace Gold and ‘Galaxy’, even more so of ‘The Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction’ and Anthony Boucher. These rightfully get a lot of attention, but several interviewees make it clear that the smaller publications were important to boost the careers of beginning writers or those who didn’t fit with certain editors. Campbell had his favourite themes, Gold had different ones, and Boucher had another set. Yet there were plenty of ideas which didn’t suit them and still needed publication. Larry Shaw at Infinity dared to print ‘A Case Of Conscience’ by James Blish. Cele Goldsmith, one of the few female editors, was in charge of ‘Amazing Stories’ and ‘Fantastic’ from 1959 to 1965 and published early works by Roger Zelazny, Ursula Le Guin and Tom Disch. She also encouraged Fritz Leiber to write more ‘Fafhrd-Mouser’ tales. Who knows what budding writers might have quit without encouragement from the little publishers?

Chapter seven covers fandom, from the Science Fiction League to the Futurians. Science fiction may be the only genre where fans get so fanatical and also become professional writers or editors themselves. They form cliques, fall out, have feuds, marry, divorce and generally have a good time. I found this section less interesting, but having recently reread ‘The Futurians’ by Damon Knight, I might just be fed up with them.

‘Spaceships! Ray guns! ‘Martian Octopods!’ is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the history of science fiction and pulp magazines and probably of no interest whatsoever to billions of normal humans. I loved it. It will sit well on the bookshelf with ‘The Futurians’ and ‘Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard’ and ‘The Golden Age Of Science Fiction.

My advance review copy was an electronic version that was not at all navigable, and I assume the finished eBook will be better in that respect. I recommend splashing out on paper. This is one you will want to pick up at random and read wherever the page opens, at least, I would. Some sites allow you to download a ten per cent sample for free so you can check it out before deciding which format to buy. Recommended for old nerds or young ones with a sense of history.

[Alex Sarll]

An informative, but more than that wildly entertaining, group account of science fiction's early years – Hell, Jack Williamson talks about selling a story the year before the term was coined. The participants are transcribed from the archives of a radio show* which ran from 1977-95, meaning that not only are many of those interviewed no longer with us, but nor are two of the interviewers; this does make it all the more valuable as a record of an age now slipping from living memory, but does mean that compiler Richard Wolinsky, as last man standing, feels obliged to add a lot of footnotes about changing mores, some of which are a lot less necessary than others. And in terms of diversity of contributors...we get it, the field was what it was, they wanted to talk to CL Moore and never got her, there are some good bits of le Guin... But it's unfortunate, given what we now know, that one of the female writers most extensively quoted is Marion Zimmer Bradley. And trying to leaven the earlier chapters with odd retrospective comments from people who weren't there just feels out of place, especially when one of them is Margaret Atwood, who so famously doesn't write science fiction – though at least that title means I can now say I do like one book with input from her, and it's about talking, squids, and space.

It should also be noted that the subtitle is a little misleading when it characterises the book as 'Interviews with Science Fiction Legends'. Yes, those are the building blocks – assuming we don't cavil over how legendary some of the more niche folk here are. But to me that suggests a book in which you have an interview with Asimov, then one with Bradbury, and so on through to Zelazny (other organisational principles are of course available). Whereas what we have here is what I'd call an oral history, stitching together a patchwork that jumps from contributor A to B to C and back to give an account in the round, topic by topic and era by era rather than person by person. Still, I like an oral history, and bar very occasional repetition, this one is nicely put together, often with enviable comic timing.

Because, make no mistake, this is a very funny book, sometimes at the most basic level (Randall Garrett fleeing a hotel room naked, pursued by a furious husband), but sometimes because we've just had a couple of pages on the vital importance of Hugo Gernsback to the field's early days, and then cut to E Hoffman Price: "Every time I see someone being awarded a Hugo, I see the biggest fraud, swindler, chickenshit fucking scoundrel ever in the business. He's the only editor I've ever known, or known of, who so fully deserved these understatements of mine." And it's not like many of the other editors who pass through these pages come across as paragons, though sometimes the complaints are clearly partial (Asimov saying Pohl had no ear for titles when, not that it's mentioned here, Pohl came up with many of Cordwainer Smith's, and those were the best in the business). But where people from both sides of a row survive, we'll get both sides, even if sometimes they can barely remember what the original problem was, only that the other sonuvabitch was definitely in the wrong. And some of those sonuvabitches... I hope you like stories which end in variants of 'And the name of that boy was...', because there are plenty here, right back to people who knew Lovecraft (apparently he was astounded to learn that two men could between them polish off a six-pack of beer and still be recognisably human afterwards), but also reminiscences of the aforementioned Asimov, Bradbury and Zelazny when they were just keen kids. The early chapters cover a period when, as Charles Hornig recalls, it was possible to have a collection of the whole SF field – and once the boom hits a point where that becomes unaffordable, one of the many busts hits. Speaking of busts, Philip Klass AKA William Tenn is endearingly frank about his interest in the genre going back to an illustration of naked humans enslaved by Jovians ("I was beginning to have trouble with my gonads in those days, something I've never really recovered from... Of course, there were equally sexually exciting illustrations elsewhere about giant insects, which affected me roughly the same way. I'm a complicated fetishist, always have been."). Hell, the whole book is full of stuff worth quoting, as my very patient spouse can attest: Arthur C Clarke inventing not only the geostationary satellite, but the laser pointer for cats, except he used a drunk not a cat; Philip K Dick complaining about all the weirdos in the field; Harlan Ellison for once not being the biggest menace in any context, though he still gives it a damn good try. But really, if you've got any interest in the first decades of the modern science fiction field, or the absurdities of human group dynamics, or just names you first encountered in the Call Of Cthulhu bestiary being massive bitches, you should read this.

*Note for younger readers: these are like podcasts, except that some of them weren't annoying. I know – wild, right?

(Netgalley ARC)

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for an advance copy of this book of interviews featuring many of the architects and grand masters of science fiction, discussing their beginnings, their feuds, their works and what the medium meant to them, and their views of the future.

As I have become older I have become more and more fascinated with how the sausage is made especially when it comes to creativity in media that I enjoy. Oral histories, how-tos, biographies literary studies, making-ofs and behind-the-scenes. How an album was crafted, a film was born, the plot to my favorite books. I am fascinated by the spark of creativity, the influence of the world around the creators, the interference of others and the reception to the product. Plus the gossip. I hate admitting it, but I love the gossip. Science fiction has probably been my longest interest, starting early, though with a few years of separation, and one I always find the most interesting to learn about. What makes a person look at the stars and go what is out there, or look in their wallet and go, how can I get more in here? How does a new genre form, how does it break one's heart. How could it be different, and who was left behind. And a little bit of spicy stories and gossip. Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!: Interviews with Science Fiction Legends edited by Richard Woilinsky is an oral history of science fiction told by the creators who were there, sharing their experiences, or what they think is their experiences, about he early days in a burgeoning genre.

The book features transcriptions taken from a radio show started in 1977 that ran for almost 20 years, before changing and continuing in other ways, called Probabilities. The show was produced by Richard Woilinsky, who did the transcriptions the book is based on, with co-hosts Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson. Starting with science fiction the show soon covered all of the pulps including mystery, thrillers, and spicy stories, as many of the authors contributed to anything to be both published and make a penny a word. Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Frederick Pohl, Harlan Ellison, Damon Knight and others both bright stars in the field, and those who have been unfairly forgotten appear in the book, which is arranged by themes and chronological order. There are stories of discovering science fiction, how they found they could write, and lots of stories about being cheated by publishers. Most of these men, and there are a lot of me, knew each other and love to share stories, both good and bad about each other and the travails and foibles. There is much about the early pulp days, the money being paid, and how the rise of pocket books ruined the pulps.

A really great history that never has a slow spot. I could not get over how in the pre-Internet days these people all seemed to fall into each other circles. Nor how these circles would feud over the weirdest stuff. One can see fandom being born here, the petty spats, the not-being-comfortable-with woman, the treatment of women, the casual racism, even when trying to be nice. There are a lot of sad stories, people dying forgotten, great authors who never got that break, great authors being jerks. As editor Woilinsky does a great job of keeping stories straight, as time, and possible still lingering anger might make for stories to lack that ring of truth. As Harlan Ellison says these are all storytellers, so they are liars, believe it or not.

This is a great history of the early days, and I hope to see more from these shows. I can't imagine trying to transcribe that many shows, I used to transcribe my editors interviews at a magazine, and well wow I am super impressed. The stories are fun, some are mean, some are surprisingly spicy. A book that delivered far more than I expected and one I would love to read more from. Classic science fiction fans will really enjoy this book.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Wolinsky has been interviewing writers on public radio in San Francisco for about fifty years. From 1977 through 1995 he produced and co-hosted "Probabilities", a science fiction, mystery and mainstream fiction show.

He and his cohosts, Richard Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson, interviewed almost all of the big-time living science fiction authors from the 1930s to the 1960s. Isaac Asimov, Harlan Ellison, P. K. Dick, Ray Bradbury and many more all told their version of the stories from those days.

In his introduction Wolinsky talks about trying to come up with the best way to publish this huge archive. He found a perfect solution. He has weaved the interviews into an oral history. This is perfect material for that kind of approach. Almost every event and personality from the old days is disputed.

John Campbell was the most influential Science Fiction of the period. L. Sprague De Camp says, "he was about the best editor the field has ever had.". P. K. Dick says "Campbell called my stories "nuts". Frank Kelly Freas, the great illustrator, says he was a "little tin god.". What comes across clearly is that Campbell was a complicated and forceful guy whose strengths outweighed his weaknesses.

Because these are interviews with writers, much of the discussion is about editors. These writers made a living by supplying the pulp and digest magazines that were almost the only place to publish science fiction from the 1920 until the late 50s, when paperbacks became popular. Many of the editors had their own eccentricities. In the early 1950s "Galaxy" was one of the leading pulps. Horace Gold, the editor, was agoraphobic. He was afraid to leave his apartment. He ran the magazine from his bedroom.

There is a great story from Ray Bradbury. He had a casual run in at a party with Christopher Isherwood, the prestigious English author who was living in California. Six months later he saw him in a bookstore. Bradbury's first book "The Martian Chronicles" had just been released. He grabbed a copy, signed it and presented it to Isherwood, who seemed uncomfortable about accepting it. Three days later Isherwood called Bradbury and told him he was writing a rave review of the book. It set Bradbury's career off.

Or this story from A. E. van Vogt. He was invited to a prerelease screening of the movie "Alien". It was crystal clear to him that the plot had been plagiarized from his 1950 novel, "The Voyage of Space Beagle". It took years and litigation but, he was eventually paid $50,000 by the producers.

Several writers claim the H. P. Lovecraft had a sense of humor and even "whimsy". That is not consistent with his dour reputation.

Hugo Gernsback is the namesake for the Hugo Awards, which are the most prestigious Science Fiction awards. Gernsback, starting in the 1920s, was the first influential editor in the field. No one seems to have liked him. He didn't pay for stories unless threatened. He is described as a "son of a bitch" and "Hugo the Rat". Odd choice to name the award after.

This is a fun collection of older writers talking about what was clearly the most exciting time of their lives when they were hustling pulp writers turning out stories as fast as they could to pay the bills, and writing great stuff along the way.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.5 of 5

Science fiction readers of a certain age (let’s say 60 and older) are probably going to really enjoy this because the authors (and artists) interviewed are generally authors we grew up with (Theodore Sturgeon, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, C.L. Moore, Philip K. Dick, Roger Zelazny, Kelly Freas, Anne McCaffrey, Frank Belknap Long, and many, many, many others), and they are talking about magazines and editors and publishers that, if we didn’t read, we knew (or thought we knew) about them.

There’s plenty of dirt dished out – which editors paid well and on time, and which ones did not, how some got their start selling to one of the pulps, and how their stories got edited … or how they didn’t. I particularly enjoyed Frank M. Robinson’s story about a time he’d been chatting with an editor of one science fiction magazine:

…we talked over a story that he wanted me to write, and I went home and wrote the story. Realizing that they always changed the title, I didn’t bother giving it a title. I just called it “Untitled Story,” and sent it off to Fred Pohl, who was my agent at the time. Freddie heard there was a 12,000 word hole over in Astounding, shipped it over there. Campbell bought it, printed it, and it came out as “Untitled Story.” I didn’t know that.

Little nuggets like this make up the bulk of the book. It’s almost impossible to open to any page without finding some little piece of gold.

The stories and anecdotes come from interviews these authors had with Richard Wolinsky, Richard A. Lupoff, & Lawrence Davidson on the “Probabilities” radio show which began in the mid-1970’s.

It would have been easiest if someone had simply published the show transcripts (maybe even to edit them down to cut out some of the non-essential dialog), but editor Richard Wolinsky takes on a Herculean task and edits snippets of conversations together on specific topics. More than once the book read as though three or four of the authors were in the room together talking on various topics. It’s fun when they sometimes had opposing viewpoints about a topic.

A female point of view isn’t very present, but that has more to do with science fiction publishing in its early years. A few giants in the field are represented here, such as Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Margaret Atwood. One woman was someone I was not familiar with: Jane Roberts.

I highlighted so much in this book – things I want to look into, anecdotes that amused me, and stories and books I want to read, that it’s going to take me a week to go through all these highlights.

Fans who like to be ‘in the know’ (which, from my experience, is most science fiction fans) really enjoy this. Anyone who enjoys reading science fiction owes it to themselves to become familiar with the origins of modern scifi by reading this book.

Looking for a good book? Richard Wolinsky has edited a great collection of interviews with science fiction authors, editors, and artists into an engaging book in Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! by Richard Wolinsky is a highly recommended compilation of interactive discussions between writers from the Golden Age of science fiction, between 1920 and 1960. The discussions are from Probabilities, a radio show which ran from 1977-95 and the text follows a free flowing discussion on topics rather than an interview of one author at a time. The interviews were conducted on air by Wolinsky and his fellow writers and co-hosts Richard A. Lupoff and Lawrence Davidson.

There is a lot of discussion of various pulp magazines, editors, science fiction publishers, inside gossip, and personal opinions all from more than fifty legendary writers. The Table of Contents will provide readers with insight on how this collection is organized by era, starting in the 1920's, and topic. It also lists who is being interviewed and some of the pulp magazines (additional ones are mentioned by authors in the text) for that era.

Chapters are: Chapter 1 Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!: Science Fiction in the 1920s; Chapter 2 The Story of Weird Tales; Chapter 3 The Years of the Depression: Triumph of the Pulps; Chapter 4 The King of Science Fiction: John W. Campbell & Astounding; Chapter 5 World War II & Beyond: Science Fiction in the Forties; Chapter 6 The Fifties: The World Rushes In; and Chapter 7 From the Science Fiction League to the Futurians: Fans for All Seasons. Appendix II lists the interviews.

Wolinky suggests you read the book following George Plimpton's advice (for a book he wrote) and approach it as if you were at a cocktail party and happen to overhear discussions. Many of the discussions do resemble a group of friends discussing various topics and people they know, with all the gossip, opinions, complaints, and insider's knowledge that this implies. One drawback of the book for me is how the interviews are not by individual writer, but are an amalgamation of several authors addressing a topic. It does create a nice discussion format, but I was expecting more individual interviews.

Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! is definitely a good choice for anyone who enjoys early science fiction. Thanks to Tachyon Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2025/0...

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you interested in science fiction? Especially early science fiction. If so this might be a book for you, especially if you want a first person view! Wolinsky, Lupoff, and Davidson were hosts on a series of radio programs and podcasts that interviewed science fiction and fantasy authors and editors. Richard Wolinskey has taken snippets of those interviews on certain topics and compiled them into this tome.

So what would you find when you crack open this title? You would hear the likes of Paul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Algris Burdrey, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Ursula K. Leguin, Fritz Lieber, Jane Roberts, Theodore Sturgeon, A. E. Van Vogt, Kurt Vonnegut, and Roger Zelazny talking shop about fellow authors, pulp magazine editors, and fan culture from the 1920s to the 1950s. Chapter 1 covers the birth of SF&F in pulp magazines with Hugo Gernsback and Amazing Stories. Chapter 2 focuses on Weird Tales, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, and Robert Bloch. Chapter 3 looks at the effects of the Depression on the growth of pulp magazines along with authors such as C. L. Moore, Fletcher Pratt, and Stanley Weinbaum. Chapter 4 does a deep dive on John W. Campbell and Astounding. Chapter 5 examines World War II and beyond with authors A. E. Van Vogt, Leigh Brackett, L. Ron Hubbard and others. Chapter 6 brings in the 1950s and the rise and fall of Galaxy, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, If, and others alongside William F. Nolan, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jack Williamson, and Philip K. Dick. Chapter 7 finished off the book with a focus on the Science Fiction League and the Futurians followed by a couple of appendixes with some origin stories and a list of all the interviews.

If you have an interest in hearing what SF authors have to say on a variety of subjects, Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! gives you that opportunity. Take a chance and you might learn something you never knew you needed!

Thanks Netgalley and Tachyon Publications for the chance to read this title!

[Punky Broomster]

Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Do you ever wonder where science fiction originated? Do you want to know the who’s who of this expansive genre? Look no further than Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods! In this interview styled narrative you will read bits from many a famous sci fi author. They discuss many known sci fi legends along with how they got to where they are (were) through the 1920s to the 1960s.

Unfortunately I did end up DNFing this book at about 15%. I was highly interested in the topics but the organization and lack of true consistency of the topics that were supposed to be discussed were very confusing. Also, it feels like the interviews were all pieced together rather than reading one interview at a time. I understand why it was done the way it was done but it feels very disjointed.

[Phillip Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun! Interviews with many of my favorite authors. For all lovers of science fiction and fantasy!