Major SF Books of the 50’s fro The Ultimate guide to Sf
1950 Isaac Asimov: I, Robot (New York: Gnome Press) 9 robot stories establish Asimov's 3 laws of robotics and robot fiction has never been the same. Asimov credits his editor, John Campbell, for suggesting, even formulating these laws, but it was Isaac wo refined, articulated, and explained them decisively. Isaac Asimov: Pebble in the Sky James Blish: Earthman, Come Home Ray Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles (Garden City NY: Doubleday) the single most famous modern science fiction book; brilliant poetic language and emotion nuance in the colonization of Mars L. Sprague de Camp: The Hand of Zei Henry Kuttner (and unacknowledged C. L. Moore): Fury (New York: Grosset & Dunlap) 27th Century human exiles in domes beneath Venus oceans try to advance and settle the surface, in power-struggle between immortal elite and regular humans Edmond Hamilton: City at World's End Robert A. Heinlein: Farmer in the Sky (New York: Scribner) Homesteaders on Jovian moon Ganymede; conflict beween pioneers and bureacrats, humans and nature Robert A. Heinlein: The Man Who Sold the Moon (Chicago: Shasta) 6 stories establish the Future History series; great fiction Fritz Leiber: gather, Darkness! (New York: Pellegrini & Cudahy) science disguised as religion battles dystopian theocracy Judith Merrill: Shadow on the Heath (Garden City NY: Doubleday) Nuclear war against USA, from suburban viewpoint Theodore Sturgeon: The Dreaming Jewels Ray Bradbury: Farenheit 451 Ray Bradbury: The Illustrated Man Arthur C. Clarke: Prelude to Space Philip Jose Farmer: The Lovers Robert A. Heinlein: The Green Hills of Earth; The Puppet Masters John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids Alfred Bester: The Demolished Man magazine appearance, best of the greatest magazine of its day Frederik Pohl & C.M. Kornbluth: Space Merchants Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: Player Piano Isaac Asimov: The Caves of Steel James Blish: A Case of Conscience Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood's Endalism. Hal Clement: Mission of Gravity (magazine appearance) Robert A. Heinlein: Starman Jones Ward Moore: Bring the Jubilee
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Theodore Sturgeon: More Than Human John Wyndham: The Kraken Wakes J. R. R. Tolkein: The Lord of the Rings Wilson Tucker: Wild Talent Isaac Asimov: The End of Eternity Leigh Brackett: The Long Tomorrow James Blish: Earthman, Come Home Philip K. Dick: Solar Lottery Jack Finney: The Body Snatchers Frank Herbert: Under Pressure (magazine appearance)
1956 Isaac Asimov: The Naked Sun 1956 John Christopher: The Death of Grass 1956 Arthur C. Clarke: The City and the Stars 1956 Philip K. Dick: The World Jones Made 1957 James Blish: The Seedling Stars 1957 Philip K. Dick: Eye in the Sky 1957 Robert Heinlein: Citizen of the Galaxy 1957 Fred Hoyle: The Black Cloud 1957 Fritz Leiber: The Big Time 1957 Nevil Shute: On the Beach 1957 John Wyndham: The Midwich Cuckoos 1958 Brian W. Aldiss: Non-Stop (London: Faber & Faber) Multigeneration starship with society having evolved over centuries until people don't know they're on a starship: this idea was first used by A. E. Van Vogt (Fra Centaurus) and Robert Heinlein (Universe) and most recently by Gene Wolfe. Aldiss gave this idea his own spin. 1958 Poul Anderson: We Have Fed Our Sea Hugo nominee. 1958 James Blish: The Triumph of Time (New York: Avon) The Cities in Flight series ends, along with the entire universe, in 4004 A.D. This concludes after They Shall Have Stars (1956), A Life for the Stars (1962), and Earthman, Come Home (1955). In Great Britain, it was entitled A Clash of Symbols. 1958 James Blish: A Case of Conscience 1958 Robert A. Heinlein: Have Spacesuit Will Travel 1959 Edmond Cooper: Seed of Light 1959 Gordon Dickson: Dorsai! 1959 Walter M. Miller: A Canticle for Leibowitz 1959 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr,: The Sirens of Titan 1959 Robert A. Heinlein: Starship Troopers (New York: Putnam) His most controversial and politically adult novel until Stranger in a Strange Land, this superior space war novel is a huge-budget film in 1997
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Hugo Award for Best SF Novel of 1959. Filmed: Starship Troopers Murray Leinster: The Pirates of Ersatz Hugo nominee. Mark Phillips: That Sweet Little Old Lady, Hugo nominee. Frederik Pohl & Cyril M. Kornbluth: Wolfbane (New York: Ballentine) Extraterrestrial conquest of Earth; the ETs want us to make their food for them. People fight free of these hungry rulers. Mordecai Roshwald: Level Seven (London: Hutchison) Popular in the mainstream world, and blurbed by anti-war nobel-laureates, this is a nuclear holocaust dystpia, set near the end in an advanced fallout shelter. Robert Silverberg: Starman's Quest (Hicksville NY: Gnome Press) Almost identical relativistic plot as Heinlein's Time for the Stars (1956) Pair of twins make graphic Einstein's twin paradox as one goes in interstellar spaceship and ages slowly while other stays home, ages, dies. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr,: The Sirens of Titan (New York: Dell) The most unabashedly science-fictional of Vonnegut's popular novels, this also spoofs SF assumptions. The immortal Tralfamadoreans create and guide the human race solely to provide them with a necessary spare part for their spaceship. Tragicomic trashing of religion, free will, destiny, and our place in the cosmos. Hugo nominee. Manly Wade Wellman: The Dark Destroyer (New York: Avalon) Humans revolt against conquering Cold People; revised from Nuisance value in Astounding (1938) Ivan Yefremov: Andromeda (Moscow: The Foreign Language Publishing House) Socialist/Communist space opera of high quality Brian Aldiss: Galaxies Like Grains of Sand (New York: New American Library) Poul Anderson: The High Crusade Group of knights in armor capture alien spaceship, set out to conquer the galaxy. Great fun, often optioned for movies but never filmed, alas. Hugo nominee. Algis Budrys: Rogue Moon (Greenwich CT: Fawcett) Weird alien maze construct on Moon is deadly to all explorers, so scientists send one copy after another of a superman with a death wish, by matter transmitter, to penetrate the mystery. Hugo nominee. Mark Clifton: Eight Keys to Eden (Garden City NY: Doubleday) L. Sprague de Camp: The Glory That Was (New York: Avalon) Gordon Dickson: Dorsai Philip Jose Farmer: Strange Relations Harry Harrison: Deathworld (New York: Bantam) Hugo nominee.
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1960 Theodore Sturgeon: Venus Plus X (New York: Pyramid Books) Sex and love from an unusual angle. Hugo nominee. Return to Top of 1950s Timeline page
Major Films/Television of this Decade
With hotlinks to thumbnail reviews where shown Science Fiction Television of the 1950s 1950 1950 1951 1951 1951 1953 1953 Destination Moon The Man in the White Suit The Day the Earth Stood Still The Day the Earth Stood Still When Worlds Collide The Thing from Another World The Thing from Another World The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms Invaders from Mars Invaders from Mars Award-winning web-site by Ron Hunt about the Sci-Fi Cult Classic starring Jimmy Hunt, Arthur Franz, and Helena Carter: * introduction * film plot & info * thumbnail images * the comic strip * the original Script * reviews and qrticles * link to the 1986 remake page * trivia * related links * thanks and disclaimers * awards and comments * where to buy/rent the video It Came from Outer Space It: The Terror from Outer Space It: The Terror from Outer Space The War of the Worlds The War of the Worlds Godzilla, King of the Monsters Them! Them!
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Nineteen-Eightyfour 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Quatermass II (Enemy from Space) The Quatermass Xperiment (The Creeping Unknown) This Island Earth This Island Earth The Day the World Ended The Day the World Ended Earth vs. the Flying Saucers Earth vs. the Flying Saucers Forbidden Planet Forbidden Planet Invasion of the Body Snatchers Invasion of the Body Snatchers It Conquered the World It Conquered the World The Incredible Shrinking Man The Incredible Shrinking Man Attack of the 50-Foot Woman Attack of the 50-Foot Woman I Married a Monster from Outer Space I Married a Monster from Outer Space The Fly The Fly The Wonderful Invention Son of the Fly Son of the Fly The Twilight Zone [TV] The Time Machine Village of the Damned