Up There and Other Strange Directions Donald A Wollheim, NESFA Press 1988, HC DJ

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Up There and Other Strange Directions is a collection of sixteen stories by Donald A. Wollheim, the Guest of Honor at Nolacon II, the 46th World Science Fiction Convention. They range from hard SF to eldritch horror; some have never before been reprinted. They were mostly published in the early part of the 1940s; although they reflect the culture of their times, they are also chock full of forward-looking ideas. Wollheim was editing magazines then, so a number of these stories appeared under the pseudonyms of Martin Pearson and Millard Verne Gordon; one is a collaboration with Robert Lowndes and two with Cyril M. Kornbluth. This collection contains what the author considers to be some of his finest stories, including “The Planet Called Aquella.” He has written a brief introduction to each story as well as an overall introduction to the book.

Up There and Other Strange Directions was published in a limited edition of 1000, the first 250 of which were a numbered and slip-cased specially bound edition.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Planet Called Aquella
• The Mask of Demeter (with C. M. Kornbluth)
• Blueprint
• The Hidden Conflict
• The World on the Edge of the Universe
• The Hat
• Castaway
• The Outpost at Altark
• Interplane Express (with C. M. Kornbluth)
• Up There
• The Colossus of Maia
• Cosmophobia
• Bones
• The Man From the Future
• The World in Balance
• The Booklings

Donald A. Wollheim

Don Wollheim was born in New York City in 1914 and has been active in Science Fiction for over fifty years as a fan, author, editor, and publisher. He was one of the founders of SF conventions and it is fitting, although belated, that he was honored at this one, Nolacon II. He published his first story, “The Man from Ariel,” in the January 1934 Wonder Stories and wrote throughout the next thirty years. During that time he also edited a number of magazines including Stirring Science Stories, Cosmic Stories, Avon Fantasy Reader, Out of This World Adventures. He has the distinction of editing the first paperback SF anthology, The Pocket Book of Science Fiction, in 1943. He has continued as an anthologist throughout his career. In 1952 Don became SF editor for Ace Books and built it into the largest line in the field, reprinting many contemporary British works as well as developing many of the major authors we enjoy today. In 1974 he left Ace and founded DAW Books, the first entirely-SF paperback publisher; there have been others following.

His influence over the past five decades has been enormous and multiplicative—not only in his own works but in those of the authors whom he discovered, encouraged, and developed.