Sunday, May 6, 2018

Book cover: 1966's "Science Fiction Oddities"


  • Title: Science Fiction Oddities
  • Editor: Groff Conklin (1904-1968)
  • Cover artist: Don Punchatz, according to Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  • Publisher: Berkley Publishing Company (Berkley Medallion S1311)
  • Cover price: 75 cents
  • Year: 1966
  • Pages: 256
  • Format: Paperback
  • Back-cover blurb: "Here is the most unusual collection of science fiction stories ever to be put between two covers. Each one of the nineteen stories included has been selected so as to give you an experience as curious as it is fascinating — science fiction with as odd little twist such as you've never known it before."
  • Sampling of authors included (in addition to those whose names are printed on the cover): Alan Arkin (the actor/screenwriter), R.A. Lafferty, Robert Nathan, John Novotny and Edward Mackin.
  • Number of male authors: 20 (one story is co-written)
  • Number of female authors: 0
  • Random sentence #1: "Which, owing to a linguistic peculiarity, could mean pumpkin or several kinds of squash, but not calabash."
  • Random sentence #2: "Examine the period and see how many really sad songs were popular in the years 1980 and 1981." (From a story published in 1964.)
  • Random sentence #3: "Buffie knew that when the aliens gave you something it was money in the bank."
  • Goodreads rating: 3.07 stars (out of 5.0)
  • Goodreads review excerpt: In 2012, Kolya Matteo wrote: "I think Groff needs to come clean and admit that these are just some stories he had lying around and decided to slap into an anthology — but now that is a secret he took to his grave."
  • Amazon rating: 3.6 stars (out of 5.0)
  • Note: You can find an exhaustive list of Conklin's anthologies, and the stories contained in them, on the blog "Jerry's House of Everything."

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