Book Review: The Eureka Years: Boucher and McComas's Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 1949-1954 Edited by Annette Peltz McComas

The Eureka Years: Boucher and McComas's Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 1949-1954 Edited by Annette Peltz McComas

Mass Market Paperback, 348 pages

Published 1982 by Bantam Books

This book came to me at an interesting time. I need to explain a little bit about why I am reading this. As co-host of Dickheads ( A Philip K. Dick) podcast, we had a long-running joke about Tony Boucher. Through my research for the various episodes I finding quotes, connections, or support given to Phil by a man named Tony Boucher. So every time I mentioned him my co-host would say "Shout to Tony." I have to admit before starting the podcast I had no idea who Tony Boucher was our how important he was not just to PKD but the Science Fiction genre as a whole. I also don't want to short change his editing part Mick McComas who played as big a role if not as directly on Phil. None the less I am researching a tribute to Boucher so when I started this I got some advice. Boucher and McComas made their biggest impact editing the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Just you know I have invited the modern editor of that same magazine for the show Gordan VanGelder and it was he who suggested this book to me. The Eureka Years is a very strange and one of a kind book that was compiled by Mick McCComa's former wife Annette. She did an amazing job compiling materials to give a scholar's dream look at the early years of this genre-defining journal. This book contains not just stories, but the letters about them and detailed history about the two men behind it. It was kinda too perfect for the project I am working on here. The introduction and preface were helpful for getting an overview of the Men and the impact of their magazine. The picture of the early days is painted in a series of letters that are published from years when they were developing the first issue. The name of the magazine that just started a FANTASY and their plan for getting it going. This is interesting because we see how they found investors, distribution, and more. Right from the beginning, they had the plan to be a deeply more thoughtful magazine than Campbell's Astounding for example. The next part of the book contains some of the early classics by well-known authors such as PKD, Asimov, Sturgeon, Damon Knight, Richard Matheson, and Ray Bradbury to name a few. Each story comes not only with the tale, but the letters that show the process of the editors. No one was above getting notes for revisions. Unlike many editors, at the time Boucher and McComas asked writers to make the changes. That is cool. The notes to Bradbury were the most detailed and interesting. they had a big impact on the Bradbury story The Exiles, changing major elements. Bradbury made the changes but it was cool to see the impact they had on that story. One of the best sections and really a must-read for aspiring writers since they give lots of great advice and few of the letters are straight-up funny. I think I will save the rest of my thoughts for the podcast, when it gets recorded and released I will post here with this review. I loved this book but I can only recommend it to people who study and teach the genre. I suppose there is alot to learn for writers as well. This, not a book you picture for the fiction. What is there is great, including an interesting story by Tony Boucher himself. Are you the Target audience? I am super stoked I read it.