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James Blish
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The Issue at Hand Kindle Edition

by James Blish (Author), William Atheling Jr. (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
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For many years, hiding under a cloak of anonymity, the most penetrating critic of the field of magazine science fiction was known as "William Atheling, Jr." It soon became a challenge to guess his real identity. And that was no easy game, for Atheling's dissection did not spare even his other ego, the noted science-fiction writer James Blish.

Having shed his protective covering, Mr. Blish has assembled many of the Atheling papers and edited them into the present book. While it covers principally the science-fiction magazines from 1952 to 1963, it is a timeless textbook for would-be writers of science fiction. Nor is its value limited to that genre; the rules of good writing are universal, and Atheling's critiques are not restricted to the peculiarities and special interests of science fiction.

The essays take the aspiring authors and editors—the Heinleins and Campbells of tomorrow—by the hand and lead them painstakingly through the dense forests of "said-bookism," the treacherous moors of "repetitive phrasing," and other forbidden territories. And even an old hand or three will find cause to wonder and reflect, and perhaps even to re-evaluate professional skills too long taken for granted.

No subject is too sacred or taboo for Atheling's shredding typewriter; from sex to God, from religion to satirical poetry. No author, however fragile, is spared the bloody mark of his relentless lash; from Anderson to Heinlein to Zirul. . . and all stops in between. No editor or publisher, from Campbell to Columbia, is spared his—or its—due share of any responsibility.

But most important, The Issue at Hand is not just—or even primarily—a textbook for students of writing. It is a vastly entertaining collection in its own right, affording many hours of pleasant and informative reading and re-reading, urging the reader ahead with the wry comments, unexpected humor, and undeviating attention to standards that were the hallmarks of William Atheling, Jr.

Advent has also published More Issues at Hand, and The Tale that Wags the God, further collections of Blish's critical essays.
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  1. Print length
    158 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    February 22, 2016
  5. File size
    2875 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01C3Q1GWY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Advent:Publishers (February 22, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 22, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2875 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 158 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

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James Blish

James Blish

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
18 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Wholly_Cats
4.0 out of 5 stars Hey check out what they unearthed. Cool.
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is a very interesting read like finding a musty chest filled with memorabilia in the form of thoughts about things once dynamic now growing faint. It's cool. But these rants were forward looking to make an impact upon something that's changed out of shape. Still it's got value if you can get past not knowing the individuals and references let alone the erstwhile markets. I'm old enough to have seen the golden age energy and passion. So I get this on that level too. But hey, there's an interesting voice to hear.
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Charlie Aukerman
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for scholars of SF
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2016
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This is a book of reviews written by James Blish many years ago. It holds up well for SF scholars
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Robert J. Sawyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent exploration of what's wrong with science fiction then and now
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2017
Finished re-reading, for the first time in decades, James Blish's trenchant THE ISSUE AT HAND, a collection of highly critical reviews of magazine science fiction (including the serialized first appearances of several famous science-fiction novels), dating from the 1950s and early 1960s. They detail a fight for the very soul of science fiction: whether the genre would continue to strive to be ABOUT something, with fine writing, or whether it would descend into escapist hackwork. HIghly recommended.
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Top reviews from other countries

Brian Clegg
4.0 out of 5 stars One for the devotees, but Blish gives good writing advice and provides wonderful vitriol
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is one for the real SF nerds. It's a collection of articles, framed around reviews but giving more opinion on what makes a good science fiction story than would be common in a review, written by James Blish in the late 50s and early 60s. Fairly obscure stuff, admittedly - I've only heard of about 10 per cent of the stories and half the authors mentioned - but it is still interesting both from the insights Blish (writing as William Atheling Jr.) gives and from the sheer vitriol he pours on stories he doesn't like, even from revered names such as Asimov and Bradbury.

Part of the usefulness to would-be writers of science fiction is that Blish underlines some of the pitfalls they face, whether they be basic writing errors (he tears into a couple of newish authors for the wild variety of alternatives to 'said' they use in reporting dialogue, a classic beginner's mistake) or problems that are specific to the SF genre. The only one of Blish's complaints I would fundamentally disagree with is that he insists that it is essential to describe characters, where often I find the descriptions that were common in the period he was writing entirely unnecessary.

I was quite surprised initially when Blish lays into Bradbury - but reading further it's clear that he very much admired Bradbury's writing talent. What he complains about, rather, is when Bradbury strayed from the natural home of his writing, fantasy, into science fiction, where his total ignorance or lack of interest in scientific matters makes the whole enterprise uncomfortable reading. I've always been mildly horrified that practically the only science fiction book from a supposed SF writer that the literary establishment were capable of celebrating was Fahrenheit 451 - it may be closer to SF than much of Bradbury's so-called science fiction stories, but it is still painfully flawed (and not just because, as I discovered by trying it as a youth, paper doesn't spontaneously ignite at 451 degrees Fahrenheit).

That acerbic side of Blish's comments reminds me of how much fun negative reviews can be to read. You hardly ever see vicious reviews anymore, and that's a real shame. (In fact, I was once asked by a magazine to make a review more supportive because they didn't like to run negative reviews.) It makes me feel like I ought to write more. Having said that I have been quite pleased with a couple of mine - one on the truly dire Murder in the Snow by Gladys Mitchell and the other about a colouring book by an otherwise respected author who I won't name here, but who rather embarrassingly (for him) messaged me to complain about it. It's a bit like the way we don't get enough scientific papers with negative results - if all the reviews you see are glowing, the whole process lacks context and value.

The Issue at Hand is very much a specialist title. It is only going to appeal to real devotees of the genre. But I'll be buying the sequel very soon.
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