Rendezvous on a Lost World by A. Bertram Chandler :: Amy's bookshelf

Title: Rendezvous on a Lost World
Author: A. Bertram Chandler
Tagline: Prisoners of a Cybernetic Paradise
Publisher: Ace (Ace Double F-117)
Copyright: 1961
Pages: 124
Cover Price: 40¢
Cover Artist: Ed Emshwiller
Series: Rim World series book four
Genre: science fiction

Note: republished as When the Dream Dies (1981)

Description from the first page of book:
THE ROBOT ROAD TO FARAWAY

   His was a dream few spaceman ever saw come true. Alan Kemp was an obsessed man - driven by the realization of a dream into the black emptiness between the stars.
   In a rebuilt, second-hand, obsolete space ship, Kemp and his three comrades took off - determined to set up a shuttle service between the planets at the rim of the galaxy.
   But trouble - in the form of two lost colonies, one inhabited by giant mechanical insects and the other by the descendants of a murderous pirate - threatened. Kemp's crew began to wonder: just how much will one man sacrifice to realize a dream?


A. Bertram Chandler (1912 – 1984) was an British/Australian science fiction author. He was born in England. Chandler was a merchant marine officer. In 1956, he emigrated to Australia and became an Australian citizen. He is most well known for his around 20 John Grimes science fiction adventure novels and his Rim World series. He published over 40 science fiction novels and over 200 works of short fiction.


This is another book from my stack of vintage Ace Double books. I decided to feature Rendezvous on a Lost World because it has, in my opinion, a striking science fiction cover, a spaceman confronting a smaller, spider-like robot. Is this one of the "giant mechanical insects" mentioned in the blurb? My copy of this book is in very good condition. As the last book, the pages have yellowed and the print font is small. The cover graphic was copied from A. Bertram Chandler's website, which contains good information about the author. I haven't read this science fiction book, so I can't say more. Perhaps something from my bookshelf to add to my to-be-read list?

Aaron's Book of the Week :: Some Will Not Die by Algis Budrys

Completing our tribute to Algis Budrys (1931-2008), the Book of the Week is Some Will Not Die, cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon. This is the 1961 paperback original edition of Some Will Not Die, which is a revised and expanded version of last week's BOTW, False Night.

Some Will Not Die was published by Regency Books, a very small but interesting publisher, many of whose books are now prized collector's items. Algis Budrys was an editor with Regency and became editor-in-chief, taking over from Harlan Ellison, shortly after Some Will Not Die came out. Regency was the highbrow imprint of Greenleaf & Company, which made most of its profits from pornography (much of which was written by ridiculously good authors, often under pseudonyms, as I may work up the nerve to describe in greater detail in forthcoming BOTWs).

Regency Books deliberately sought novels that brashly addressed controversial topics of the day, including drugs and race relations. Next week's Book of the Week will be my favorite Regency Book, a novel involving race issues by one of my favorite science fiction authors making his first foray out of genre.