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Dance Band on the Titanic
Jack L. Chalker is an acknowledged master of the science-fiction series but from time to time, he has also turned his talents to the short fiction form. Here, for the first time in one volume, are the complete short stories, including two never before published, by one of science-fiction's most popular authors.
339 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 12, 1988
115 people want to read
About the author
Jack L. Chalker
132 books354 followersBesides being a science fiction author, Jack Laurence Chalker was a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for a time, a member of the Washington Science Fiction Association, and was involved in the founding of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Some of his books said that he was born in Norfolk, Virginia although he later claimed that was a mistake.
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 10, 2025
This is the only collection of Chalker's short fiction. (A couple of the short stories from it were re-packaged with one of his early novels in 2002, but this is his only true short fiction collection.) It contains seven stories (two novellas, two novelettes, and three short stories, several of which are original to this collection), but I thought the best parts were the interspersed nonfiction sections comprised of several essays and autobiographical pieces. Chalker had a decided tendency to treat his readers in a rude and abrupt manner in person, and this gives a more rounded picture of the personality of the man behind the stories. Chalker was known for his (very) long, multi-volume epic works, but shows here that he could succeed with shorter lengths when he tried. My favorites were the title story and Adrift Among the Ghosts. Darrell K. Sweet provided a very nice cover, the central figure of which bore much more of a resemblance to Gregory Benford (or Mr. Sweet) than it did to Mr. Chalker.
November 10, 2025
It's a shame Chalker wasn't too keen on writing short stories (mostly they were done at the behest of an author or editor friend), because these are quite good. I think my favourite was "No Hiding Place," because of its structure. It begins with a historical account of an allegedly haunted house. Strange lights, inexplicable deaths, and glimpses of some kind of monster... but there is always a rational explanation! And the rest of the story fills in the blanks. It was fun to see it all come together.
Each story has a substantial introduction where the author discusses where the story came from, what inspired it, and so on. I love the insider's view of the publishing industry. There is also a lengthy afterword. Springboarding from the subject of Chalker's fascination with transformation (something I noted in my previous review of one of his novels), the author discusses a number of sociopolitical topics which are still relevant, maybe even more so, now (particularly the topic of medical perversion of science and bodily transformation). It's a tad preachy, but Chalker doesn't take sides--he describes himself as a militant centrist.
Recommended for both the stories and the essays.
Each story has a substantial introduction where the author discusses where the story came from, what inspired it, and so on. I love the insider's view of the publishing industry. There is also a lengthy afterword. Springboarding from the subject of Chalker's fascination with transformation (something I noted in my previous review of one of his novels), the author discusses a number of sociopolitical topics which are still relevant, maybe even more so, now (particularly the topic of medical perversion of science and bodily transformation). It's a tad preachy, but Chalker doesn't take sides--he describes himself as a militant centrist.
Recommended for both the stories and the essays.
December 23, 2019
This is a unique collection of seven short stories interspersed with long introductions by Chalker and bookended with an opening autobiographical sketch of what it means to be a writer and ending with how he dealt with various questions over his career. The stories are all pretty good; Chalker did not really write many of them and he explains why in his intros.
For me, however, I found the author's commentary great! I guess you could call me a Chalker fan seeing how I have read most of his novels and series and enjoyed them. Chalker's work never blew me away, but I almost always got into the stories and read them compulsively. Chalker frequently bemoans in his comments how he was always treated as basically a hack by critics while at the same time almost gloats how his books sell and are still in print while the authors celebrated by critics are not. It was also fascinating to read about his experiences at various cons in the 60s and 70s. Highly recommended for Chalker fans, but I would read some of his novels first if you have never read him before.
For me, however, I found the author's commentary great! I guess you could call me a Chalker fan seeing how I have read most of his novels and series and enjoyed them. Chalker's work never blew me away, but I almost always got into the stories and read them compulsively. Chalker frequently bemoans in his comments how he was always treated as basically a hack by critics while at the same time almost gloats how his books sell and are still in print while the authors celebrated by critics are not. It was also fascinating to read about his experiences at various cons in the 60s and 70s. Highly recommended for Chalker fans, but I would read some of his novels first if you have never read him before.
September 21, 2010
I don't think I've read anything from Jack L Chalker before, tho I've seen recommendations/positive reviews of his novels, so I thought I'd give this anthology a try.
I think it would have been a more enjoyable read if the authorial commentary had been left out entirely or much more tightly edited. Chalker comes off as rather full of himself - "Alas - here's another story that was overlooked by the critics and noone seems to remember was written by me." while also stating over & over that he is a NOVELIST, not just a writer, much less a short story writer.
That said, the stories themselves are generally fun reads & have some decent character development and reasonable plot devices. But he's right - they aren't particularly memorable. Even with its catchy title - I'm more likely to remember "Dance Band on the Titanic" as something written by Stephen King than Chalker (that's what he gets for setting it in Maine!)
I still would like to give one or two of his novels a try - tho I have vague memories of perhaps reading Soul Rider many years ago. Apparently, much like this collection, it didn't stick with me very well.
I think it would have been a more enjoyable read if the authorial commentary had been left out entirely or much more tightly edited. Chalker comes off as rather full of himself - "Alas - here's another story that was overlooked by the critics and noone seems to remember was written by me." while also stating over & over that he is a NOVELIST, not just a writer, much less a short story writer.
That said, the stories themselves are generally fun reads & have some decent character development and reasonable plot devices. But he's right - they aren't particularly memorable. Even with its catchy title - I'm more likely to remember "Dance Band on the Titanic" as something written by Stephen King than Chalker (that's what he gets for setting it in Maine!)
I still would like to give one or two of his novels a try - tho I have vague memories of perhaps reading Soul Rider many years ago. Apparently, much like this collection, it didn't stick with me very well.
January 8, 2015
An excellent compilation of short stories - not heavy duty sci fi. A really good read.
May 12, 2023
Book #: 39
Title: Dance Band on the Titanic
Author: Jack Chalker
Series: Short Stories
Format: 339 pages, Mass Market Paperback, own
Pub Date: First published June 12, 1988
Started: 4/1/23 Ended: 5/7/23
Awards: none
Categories: SF, short stories
Rating: ***** five out of five stars
A short story collection of Jack Chalker, the author of Midnight at the Well of Souls. Normally, I rate a short story collection as a 3, a few gems, a few clunkers, most so-so. This collection is perfect. I admit to a weakness for Chalker's writing, while I haven't read everything he's written, I've read a lot of it. And the title story is an alternate reality tale, how could I pass it up?
Title: Dance Band on the Titanic
Author: Jack Chalker
Series: Short Stories
Format: 339 pages, Mass Market Paperback, own
Pub Date: First published June 12, 1988
Started: 4/1/23 Ended: 5/7/23
Awards: none
Categories: SF, short stories
Rating: ***** five out of five stars
A short story collection of Jack Chalker, the author of Midnight at the Well of Souls. Normally, I rate a short story collection as a 3, a few gems, a few clunkers, most so-so. This collection is perfect. I admit to a weakness for Chalker's writing, while I haven't read everything he's written, I've read a lot of it. And the title story is an alternate reality tale, how could I pass it up?
November 13, 2019
Some interesting stories well written, but a very deceitful cover as nothin depicted is written about.
September 5, 2024
A few good stories mixed in with long and winding memoires about his writing and such.
Read
July 23, 2016All of Chalker's short fiction at the time of publication and a wealth of background information, including a bibliography, story notes, a short biography and explanation of themes. Recommended for fans of Chalker as there are notes for some of the series and long novels.
Read
August 22, 2008Dance Band on the Titanic by Jack L. Chalker (1988)
November 23, 2025
Read to B - great insight by a workman writer of the 70-80-90s. Past joy bundled in slices of short stories with commentary (often biting).
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews