The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's That Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors [Hardcover]

Damon Knight (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1977

HARDCOVER

Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: John Day (1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0381982882
• ISBN-13: 978-0381982881
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,025,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I could give it more stars I would, January 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's That Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors (Hardcover)

If your a fan of science fiction, and especially the early masters of sci-fi, I would recommend this book to you. It's a well written account of several legends (Asimov, Anderson, Kornbluth among others) and their interactions before they were famous and afterwards. Not only does it read like a novel because of Knight's style, but the interactions between the people are cause for the suspense that made me want to finish it in two days. The anecdotes and history of early sci-fi make this a must have for any fan.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The only story written about this group, February 3, 2000

By 

reader from maryland (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's That Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors (Hardcover)

Damon Knight offers a simple and direct account of the early years in the lives of some of Science Fictions great writers. Most notable are Frederick Pohl and Issac Asimov. While joining the group late he manages to paint fair portrait of the early years through interveiws and a few remaining written records of the time, namley Asimov's journal and their communal house newsletters. The reader can draw his own conclusions about the group in-fighting and personality clashes. As a whole it is a fascinating story of the avant garde culture of the late '30s and early '40s. Its one weakness is that Knight jumps around chronologically, often jumping forward or backward several years during the recounting of a single incident. It is also difficult to determine who is recounting the story; sometimes there are first person accounts from Knight, a quote from someone during an interview years later, or a retelling of an event by an eye witness other than Knight. I would recommend this book only to the serious sci-fi fan.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Futurians, September 1, 2005

By 

Thomas M. Britz (Outside of Detroit) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Futurians: The Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30's That Produced Today's Top SF Writers and Editors (Hardcover)

I'm a science fiction collector and I find this book a good reference to the early years of SF fandom.