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James Blish
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 James Blish was one of the leading intellectuals of the science fiction field, whose critical mind
was respected, whose sharp wit was feared, whose serious approach to sf writing and criticism led Brian W.
Aldiss to observe "a sense of inhuman drama is never far from his intricate surfaces" and "he was also a master of
the telling detail, without which the gigantic has no meaning." In addition Blish was a knowledgeable
music critic and an amateur James Joyce scholar of some repute. Richard Ellmann, the eminent Joycean and
Professor of American Literature at Oxford, mentioned to me hearing a paper of Blish's at an academic conference.
Blish moved permanently to England in the 1960s, where his writing was taken more seriously as
contemporary literature than in the U. S. His major achievements in science fiction are generally regarded as the
four-volume Cities in Flight (1970), and
A Case of Conscience (1958), a classic theological sf novel. His
short fiction collected in The Seedling
Stars (1957), The Best of James Blish (1979), and several other volumes,
is also a major body of work in the modern field. His scholarly aspect is more evident in novels, such as
his fantasy Black Easter (1968) , or his historical,
Doctor Mirabilis (1964), than in stories such as "Beep."
What is evident here is his speculative and intellectual rigor, and the intensity of his fascination
with science, logic, and metaphysics. Blish presents the outline for a strictly deterministic utopia through a series of
entertaining narrative devices. The wonder of the story arises from following its narrative logic to a
sudden understanding and appreciation of the scale of the idea, which combines the very large and the very small,
both literally and symbolically, in the beep. One of the hallmarks of classic hard sf is the embodiment of
abstract and scientific ideas in concrete imagery (usually visual -- in this case aural), to connect the intellectual with
an emotional experience. The ability to do this regularly was one of Blish's strengths as a writer and made him
a leader in the field. It is worth noting that Blish expanded this story later in his career into the novel,
The Quincunx of Time (1973), and that the longer version is disappointingly discursive. Such writers as
Brian Aldiss, Ian Watson, and Bruce Sterling carry on the intellectual tradition of Blish today.
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The Ascent of Wonder copyright © 1994 by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. |
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Cramer: On Science & Science Fiction || Hartwell: Hard Science Fiction
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Interactive Intoduction to THE ASCENT OF WONDER copyright © 1995-1997 by Kathryn Cramer.