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White Fang Goes Dingo
1st edition paperback, good
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
41 people want to read
About the author
Thomas M. Disch
378 books321 followersThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction writer and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book—previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book"—in 1999. He had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, a Rhysling Award, and two Seiun Awards, among others.
His writing includes substantial periodical work, such as regular book and theater reviews for The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Harper's, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and Entertainment Weekly.
As a fiction writer and a poet, Disch felt typecast by his science fiction roots. "I have a class theory of literature. I come from the wrong neighborhood to sell to The New Yorker. No matter how good I am as an artist, they always can smell where I come from".
Following an extended period of depression after the death in 2005 of his life-partner, Charles Naylor, Disch stopped writing almost entirely, except for poetry and blog entries, although he did produce two novellas. Disch fatally shot himself on July 4, 2008, in his Manhatten (NYC) apartment.
Naylor and Disch are buried alongside each other at Saint Johns Episcopal Church Columbarium, Dubuque, Iowa. His last book, The Word of God, which was written shortly before Naylor died, was published a few days before Disch's death.
His writing includes substantial periodical work, such as regular book and theater reviews for The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Harper's, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and Entertainment Weekly.
As a fiction writer and a poet, Disch felt typecast by his science fiction roots. "I have a class theory of literature. I come from the wrong neighborhood to sell to The New Yorker. No matter how good I am as an artist, they always can smell where I come from".
Following an extended period of depression after the death in 2005 of his life-partner, Charles Naylor, Disch stopped writing almost entirely, except for poetry and blog entries, although he did produce two novellas. Disch fatally shot himself on July 4, 2008, in his Manhatten (NYC) apartment.
Naylor and Disch are buried alongside each other at Saint Johns Episcopal Church Columbarium, Dubuque, Iowa. His last book, The Word of God, which was written shortly before Naylor died, was published a few days before Disch's death.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 14, 2022
In the 1960s, science fiction underwent a revolution, often called the new wave. For many authors of the time, the 'hard' science and two-dimensional characterisation of Isaac Asimov and other writers from the 30s-50s was considered naive. The new young things preferred more human-centred stories, more experimental writing, darker topics and would sometimes indulge in total abandonment of the conventional story form.
A lot of the output of the period could be classed as interesting but failed experimentation - which is not a bad thing. It is arguably an essential for real creativity. This means that much of the output doesn't stand the test of time. But some authors, including Thomas Disch, produced some remarkable fiction. This collection of short stories, first published in 1966 under the title 102 H-bombs is an effective illustration of both what was good and bad about the period. Some of the stories are powerful, effective and original - others don't work at all.
Interestingly, the cover of my 1971 edition doesn't include the subtitle, but inside we read this is, in full, White Fang Goes Dingo and other funny s.f. stories. This isn't a bad description, as long as you accept that 'funny' can mean both humorous and odd. Some of the stories are very odd. But all are worth at least trying.
For me, three stand out. The first is the opener, the long 102 H-bombs, where what appears to be a fairly conventional future dystopia takes a sudden, unexpected and shocking twist. Another excellent long short is the closing White Fang Goes Dingo. Here, as is often the case with stories of this period, it can take the reader quite a while to work out what is going on, but Disch presents us with a classic dissection of the concept of utopia and what it is to be human.
The third story I particularly like is totally different: much more clearly intended as humour, in the form of a mock-scientific paper, written with another of the new wavers whose work has to some extend stood the test of time, John Sladek. Titled The Discovery of the Nullitron, it feels like an affection dig at the physics of the period, when new particles seemed to be discovered every other week and the nature of physics was undergoing a radical change, becoming extremely difficult for the lay person to understand. The authors describe their discovery of nullitron (and antinullitron), particles, which have mass, charge and spin of zero. Things soon veer into the absurd when we discover that a nullitron is red and about a metre across (and has a distinct flavour of liquorice). The surrealism gets deeper and deeper, but somehow the writing continues to be amusing rather than silly.
There are a total of 19 stories in the collection (a few are more fantasy than SF) - there's enough variety here to appeal to most SF tastes that aren't limited to space opera. Somehow, this collection manages to demonstrate both why the new wave was so important in advancing the quality of science fiction - and why I'm really pleased that we have moved on from it. A fascinating period piece.
A lot of the output of the period could be classed as interesting but failed experimentation - which is not a bad thing. It is arguably an essential for real creativity. This means that much of the output doesn't stand the test of time. But some authors, including Thomas Disch, produced some remarkable fiction. This collection of short stories, first published in 1966 under the title 102 H-bombs is an effective illustration of both what was good and bad about the period. Some of the stories are powerful, effective and original - others don't work at all.
Interestingly, the cover of my 1971 edition doesn't include the subtitle, but inside we read this is, in full, White Fang Goes Dingo and other funny s.f. stories. This isn't a bad description, as long as you accept that 'funny' can mean both humorous and odd. Some of the stories are very odd. But all are worth at least trying.
For me, three stand out. The first is the opener, the long 102 H-bombs, where what appears to be a fairly conventional future dystopia takes a sudden, unexpected and shocking twist. Another excellent long short is the closing White Fang Goes Dingo. Here, as is often the case with stories of this period, it can take the reader quite a while to work out what is going on, but Disch presents us with a classic dissection of the concept of utopia and what it is to be human.
The third story I particularly like is totally different: much more clearly intended as humour, in the form of a mock-scientific paper, written with another of the new wavers whose work has to some extend stood the test of time, John Sladek. Titled The Discovery of the Nullitron, it feels like an affection dig at the physics of the period, when new particles seemed to be discovered every other week and the nature of physics was undergoing a radical change, becoming extremely difficult for the lay person to understand. The authors describe their discovery of nullitron (and antinullitron), particles, which have mass, charge and spin of zero. Things soon veer into the absurd when we discover that a nullitron is red and about a metre across (and has a distinct flavour of liquorice). The surrealism gets deeper and deeper, but somehow the writing continues to be amusing rather than silly.
There are a total of 19 stories in the collection (a few are more fantasy than SF) - there's enough variety here to appeal to most SF tastes that aren't limited to space opera. Somehow, this collection manages to demonstrate both why the new wave was so important in advancing the quality of science fiction - and why I'm really pleased that we have moved on from it. A fascinating period piece.
November 7, 2014
While not as strong as other Disch collections I've read "Man Who Had No Idea", "Fun With Your New Head"), this compilation had some fine stories, particularly when Disch lampoons pulp tropes ("Dangerous Flags" "Happy Story" and "The Wonderful World of Griswald Tractors"). Others were pleasant but lightweight, of flavors well-suited for adaptation to an '80s syndicated anthology show ("Final Audit", "The Vamp"). "102 H-Bombs", "Invaded by Love", "Demi-Urge", "Utopia, Never!" and "Giant Stupid Dinosaurs" were all strong stories, as we're the pair co-authored by John Sladek.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews