Book Review: Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee

Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alec Nevala-Lee

Hardcover, 544 pages

Published October 2018 by Dey Street Books

Being a reader of Sci-fi and horror is one thing but being a part of the community is another. I always point out to people not from the punk rock world that one of the differences between mainstream music and the punk scene is the lack of walls. I grew up knowing the bands I listened to. We were friends, if there was a stage it was short and basically for launching stage dives more than separating the fans from the bands. The genre fiction community has a little bit more separation but as a writer myself over the years I have met the majority of my living writing heroes, and a few that we have since lost like Richard Matheson, Ursla Leguin and Harlan Ellison to name a few.

This process gives insight into the people behind the books and it is a good picture we can learn from. Good or bad you learn a lot about how these people live and you get a positive insight into the business. While I have always know the community and authors interacted since early in the 20th century I never thought we would get a detailed history of the genre going this far back. Not like this history which is not afraid to show you every wart even if it has an infected ingrown hair. Yeah, some of it was that ugly.

Growing up as a super young science fiction reader in the late 80's there were certain names and books you always saw on the shelf. While John Campbell and his magazine was a good part of the foundation of the genre. Our generation knows very little about its history and the value of having a tell-all history of the genre gives everyone a chance to feel like we were hanging out in the New York offices and bars of the conventions. Lee gives us a chance to feel like we were there.

Lee has done his research and this book is very detailed. I loved getting details of how The marriages and lives of Asimov and others were. This was fascinating but I did find myself wanted more details on the operation of the magazine or how the stories were developed. I am sure I was not alone wondering why the book was not entirely devoted to Campbell but as the book goes on you get an idea for how interwoven their lives were. There are great tidbits about how Campbell worked with his writers. Like how he prompted stories out of Heinlein or suggested classic elements like the law of robotics or the story Nightfall to Asimov.

We got a lot more pages devoted to Ron Hubbard and the creation of Scientology which I admit I didn't know Campbell was so heavily involved. If it wasn't Hubbard and Campbell creating a cult, it was Asimov being a serial groper. I am surprised Heinlein came off as the most likable. Campbell himself had some awful positions and it is hard not to walk away from this book disliking the man. That said it is important also to understand the role he played in making Science Fiction what it is today. There is not one person who had a bigger impact on the growth and direction of the genre and Lee doesn't sugar-coat his flaws while making this point.

Details like that AE Van Vogt reading John W. Campbell's classic story "Who Goes There" standing at a newsstand and was inspired to become a writer more than the day to day growth of Hubbard's cult. It was interesting to learn that one factory during World War 2 was the workplace of three golden age writers.

I did find myself wanting to know more about other authors and possibly getting a wider view of the genre at the time. For example when Robert Bloch, HP Lovecraft or the women that wrote for Campbell like Leigh Brackett have mentioned it is maddening to not get the attention on them.

I may sound like I am complaining ultimately I am not. I am so excited this book exists and I am thankful Alec Nevala-Lee took the time to write it and more importantly research it. This book is clearly a labor of love and puts you in the trenhes of Golden Age Sci-fi for better or worse. Any serious student of the Science Fiction Genre must read this book.