The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

'The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction' edited by Robert Holdstock

 

'The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction' was one of three such books issued in the late 70s, the others being 'The Science Fiction Encyclopedia' (1979), edited by Peter Nicholls, and 'The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction' (1977), edited by Brian Ash.

TESF (224 pp.) was published by Octopus Books in December 1978; the front cover artwork is by Tony Roberts.

(The version in my possession was a SF Book Club edition; it was poorly made, and the glue binding the pages is crumbling away leaving the pages very loose - take this into consideration if you are thinking of obtaining a copy).

The book features a Forward by Isaac Asimov, and an Introduction by editor Holdstock.

The initial chapter covers the early history of the genre: 'Marriage of Science and Fiction', by Brian Stableford..... 

'Major Themes' by Douglas Hill, is self-explanatory.

 

As is the 'Pulps and Magazines' chapter by Michael Ashley.

'Screen Trips', by Alan Frank, covers sf in movies and TV; his coverage of Star Wars is surprisingly favorable; many SF editors and pundits were, by the end of '78, bemoaning the way the film had 'infantilized' the genre.

'Machine as Hero', by Harry Harrison, is an overview of the way SF approaches technology.

'Alien Encounter', by Chris Morgan, is an overview of aliens and their treatment in SF.

'Art and Artists', by David Hardy, covers SF artwork from the early days of the genre, through the Pulp Era, and on into the 60s and 70s. There is good coverage in this chapter of the impact British artists had on the genre starting in the 70s, particularly Chris Foss, Tony Roberts, Tim White, Angus McKie, Jim Burns, and Chris Moore, among others.

'Fiction to Fact', by Patrick Moore, discusses how many themes in older SF works have been made real by advancing technology.

'Outer Limits', by Ashley, covers SF in non-English speaking countries. Christopher Priest contributes the chapter on 'New Wave'. It's a well-written overview of this aspect of the genre, focusing on the works of the 60s and early 70s, but at the time Priest wrote the chapter, in 1978, the New Wave continued to retain its influence.

'Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow', by Malcolm Edwards, covers 'modern' SF, which more or less refers to the genre in the late 70s, after the advent of Star Wars brought considerable expansion of the genre both artistically and commercially.

The books closes with some brief appendices that cover the the phenomenon of collecting SF books, magazines, artwork, and other memorabilia; SF fandom; a listing of pseudonyms used by major authors; awards; listings of SF magazines, films, and conventions; and biographical sketches of all the Encyclopedia's contributors, showing them all in their late 70s glory:

Like any encyclopedia, TESF has become dated, and it lacks the comprehensiveness of The Science Fiction Encyclopedia from Nicholls; but it retains considerable value as an examination of the genre as it was in the late 70s. The illustrations are copious and serve as a very good complement to the text, which, by and large, is free of pretension (unlike Nicholls' volume, which was afflicted with the participation of John Clute).

Looking through the pages of TESF, you're sure to see references to at least a dozen books that you may have never have heard of before, or maybe you have a vague awareness of them, but have never really bothered to investigate. So you may be motivated to obtain those books and see what they're all about. That, in my opinion, is another of the benefits offered by TESF, and makes it worth getting.

Book Review: The Floating Gods

Book Review: 'The Floating Gods' by M. John Harrison

 

4 / 5 Stars

‘The Floating Gods’ (159 pp, Pocket Books / Timescape,1983, cover artwork by Michael Whelan) is the third and concluding volume in the ‘Viriconium’ trilogy, with ‘The Pastel City’ (1971) and ‘A Storm of Wings’ (1980) being the first and second volumes, respectively. Like the other volumes, it can be read as a standalone entry.

Somewhat confusingly, ‘The Floating Gods’ was first released in the UK in 1982, albeit under the title ‘In Viriconium’.

[You’re probably better off buying the omnibus trade paperback ‘Viriconium’ (Bantam Spectra, 2005) if you want to avoid duplication of effort in terms of getting all the Viriconium material in one convenient volume.]

The plot of ‘The Floating Gods’ is comparatively simple and straightforward: a plague of entropy has seeped into the Low City quarter of Viriconium, bringing in its wake consumption, an enervating atmosphere, and the decay of the neighborhood infrastructure.

The presence of the plague seems to be associated with the arrival in the Low City of two gods, the ‘Barley brothers’  Gog and Matey. The appearance and behavior of these two individuals is anything but godlike; they are crude boors, with disgusting habits, who do little more than drink, vomit on the cobblestones, and quarrel while the citizens of Viriconium look on in bewilderment.

The main character is a young artist named Ashlyme, who, from his home in the High City, looks on with alarm at the inexorable spread of the plague. His close friend, the celebrated artist Audsley King, has become ill with tuberculosis, and lives in her Low City home as a recluse. Other artists and writers in Ashlyme’s circle share his alarm at King’s debilitated state, but having become themselves affected by the entropy in the Low City, can only come up with vague plans and recommendations for saving their friend.

As the plague, and Audsley King’s condition, worsen, Ashlyme finds himself perhaps the only man in Viriconium with enough willpower to confront the source of the plague, and rescue his friends from dissolution and death. But first he must confront the dwarf who serves as the Barley Brother’s enforcer, the impulsive, and homicidal, ‘Grand Cairo’……

I suspect that most fantasy-fiction readers under the age of 30 will find ‘The Floating Gods’ to be a tedious, even boring, novelette. 

It has no Grand Quests, no epic battles to save the Realm from Dark Forces, no armies of vampires advancing on unsuspecting cities, and no glittering artifacts upon which the fate of the world precariously depends. Instead, ‘Floating’ is primarily a character-driven narrative, with a circumscribed setting and and measured pace.

But I think that those who persevere with ‘Floating’ will find that in some ways it is a gem of a book. Harrison’s writing is figurative, and in many ways a part of the New Wave movement, but his use of this style of writing is substantially more skillful than many other authors who have attempted the same approach.

Harrison writes the descriptive passage excerpted below with a judicious use of metaphors, and just enough adjectives to give the reader the melancholy picture of a neighborhood beset with entropy:

…….Strange old towers rose from a wooded slope clasped in a curved arm of the derelict pleasure canal. About their feet clustered the peeling villas of a vanished middle class, all plaster mouldings, split steps, tottering porticos and drains smelling of cats. Ashlyme trudged up the hill. A bell clanged high up in a house; a face moved at a window. The wind whirled dust and dead leaves around him. 

Thus it is that for the quality of its writing, rather than the subdued nature of its plot, I recommend ‘The Floating Gods.’

The Viy by Maroto

'The Viy'
(Dracula magazine preview)
by Esteban Maroto
from Creepy No. 51 (March 1973)

Dracula was a comic book / magazine, 28 pages in length, that was published in Spain, starting in 1971, by Buru Lan Comics.  The initial run of 12 issues was ultimately expanded to 60 by the time the series ended in 1973.

In 1972, the first 12 issues were translated into English and released in the UK by the New English Library. A compilation of all of those 12 issues was released by the NEL, and is a highly-sought, expensive item.

In the March, 1973 issue of Creepy (No. 51), Warren ran a preview, titled 'The Viy', of what it claimed was a forthcoming 120 page reprinting of some of the material appearing in the Dracula series. 'Dracula Book 1' was indeed published by Warren, as a 124 page, full-color volume that contained the first six issues. [The second volume never appeared.]

Copies of any of the Spanish, UK, or Warren / US versions in good condition are very rare and very expensive.

Dracula featured some outstanding artwork, primarily done by Maroto, although other Spanish artists made noteworthy contributions.

Below I've posted scans of 'The Viy' made from the New Comic Co. Creepy Archives volume 11 (October 2011).

 

Adam Ant, Space Pirate

Adam Ant, Space Pirate
by Bryan Talbot
originally produced for Adam Ant magazine, 1981 (UK)
scanned from The Art of Bryan Talbot, NBM, 2007

The idea of Adam Ant as a Space Pirate seems a bit 'twee', as they say in the UK, but that doesn't mean that UK artist Bryan Talbot didn't give it his all, as witnessed by this cool picture. 

Believe it or not, back in the early 80s Adam Ant was a feature character in UK magazines devoted to pop music and TV. There was in fact a an Adam Ant comic strip (!) that appeared in successive issues of TV Tops magazine !

Call it an overdose of 80s nostalgia, but I'll take Adam Ant memorabilia over the latest endeavors of 'Lady GaGa' any day......

Book Review: Courtship Rite

Book Review: 'Courtship Rite' by Donald Kingsbury

1 / 5 Stars

The genre of ‘sociological SF’ began (arguably) with the release of 'Dune' in 1965 and only picked up speed during the New Wave era with the publication of 'Stand on Zanzibar' (1968) and 'The Left Hand of Darkness' (1969). It remained prominent in the 70s with 'The Sheep Look Up' (1972), 'The Shockwave Rider' (1975), and M. A. Foster’s 'The Warriors of Dawn' trilogy (1975). The 80s saw 'Oath of Fealty' (1981), 'Helliconia Spring' (1982), 'Courtship Rite' (1982), 'A Door Into Ocean' (1986), and 'The Shore of Women' (1986), among others.

Sociological SF novels centered on elaborate world-building and were often lengthy, demanding reads. ‘Courtship Rite’ certainly fits that billing. The novel originally appeared as a serial in Analog in 1982, and was released in hardback and trade paperback editions by Pocket Books that same year. This Pocket Books paperback (409 pp.) was released in September, 1983. The cover painting is by Rowena Morrill.

The planet Geta isn’t very welcoming to Terran life; the landmasses of the planet are primarily desert ecosystems. The biochemistry of the native plant and animal life renders it toxic, and inedible, to humans. The absence of large animals compatible with human biochemistry means that the only ready source of protein on Geta is…..people !

Not Soylent Green-style wafers, but full-on roasted thighs and arms, braised ribs, spiced organ meats, and skin tanned for making boots and leggings !

So, as the Terran colony on Geta has expanded and grown into a civilization comprised of various clans, its sociology has evolved elaborate rituals and mores to govern the eating of human flesh. During the periodic famines that ensue from the failure of Terran crops to grow in the unforgiving Getan soil, criminals and those considered genetically unfit are the first to undergo ritual suicide in order to provide sustenance for the good of society. Individuals who are (understandably) reluctant to sacrifice themselves are spurred by the knowledge that disobeying the social contract is punished by being flayed alive.............!

During non-famine times, transgressors remain vulnerable to having their noses cut off, or being subjected to ritual suicide. And, because it’s laborious to process corpses for consumption purposes, war (and its mass casualties) is an extremely rare phenomenon on Geta; disputes between families, clans, or nations are settled by complex rituals designed to make sure that none of the tasty goodness goes to waste.

‘Courtship’ deals with the efforts of the maran-Kiel family, of the landlocked city of Kaiel-hontokae, to acquire the coastal town of Sorrow. Their strategy to acquire Sorrow and its surrounding territory is to marry Oelita, Sorrow’s priestess.

Oleita – considered a heretic for her opposition to ritual suicide – has no intention of letting her people be subjugated by the Kaiel. So begins the ‘courtship rite’ of the book’s title, which involves lethal dangers for Oelita.

But as the maran-Kiel proceed with their plans, the society of Geta is itself poised for momentous events…..for the Sky God circling the night sky has bestowed upon the Kaiel the long-lost knowledge of the ancestors...........

‘Courtship’ was a struggle to read; at times I came very, very close to abandoning it.

It suffers from many of the shortcomings of the sociological sf novel. For example, the opening chapters dump an unending string of invented terms and proper nouns onto the reader, burdening him or her with inferring their meaning and significance from unfolding segments of dialogue and expository passages.

The plot is thin, too thin, in fact, to sustain a narrative of over 400 pages. Most of the narrative is preoccupied with documenting the emotional and psychological interactions of the large cast of characters, interactions conveyed through lengthy conversations and internal monologues. It doesn’t help matters that the author uses Polynesian and Asian cultures as the models for Getan society, leading to dialogue that carries with it the stilted, labored cadence of the formal forms of a foreign language interpreted into English.

This leads to the following prose contortions, all within just one short chapter:

Humility the concubine, who bears the honorific The Queen of Life-Before-Death, has a friend called Saucy Nipples; The Queen is instructed that the Liethe watch all Gatherings; she invokes the White Mind meditation technique to relax her inner turmoil; as The Queen travels the route through The Valley of Ten Thousand Graves to a rendezvous at The Peak of Blue Concern, the 'cursed' Lattice of Evidence is 'prickling her mind'......and as the chapter ends, The Queen contemplates taking passage on a ship as a wench to the Mnankrei Storm Master........

The entire novel is written with a reverential devotion to this mind-numbing style of prose.

Most readers will recognize early on the significance of the ‘Sky God’, the Mysterious Machine of the Ancestors, and the remarkable Crystals of Knowledge, and their looming importance to the plot. But when these artifacts do intervene, it is in a casual, contrived manner that makes the main narrative only slightly more interesting for all their intervention.

‘Courtship’ (which was Donald Kingsbury’s first novel) was nominated for a Hugo award, and won considerable critical praise upon its release. In reality, it’s not that remarkable, and I can’t imagine that many contemporary sf readers would have the patience to stay with it.

To me, ‘Courtship Rite’ is a reminder of how tedious sf had become by the early 80s. Although only two years separate them, reading ‘Neuromancer’ alongside ‘Courtship’ is striking for the way it illuminates the impact cyberpunk had on a genre in the doldrums.

Book Review: Worlds of the Imperium

Book Review: 'Worlds of the Imperium' by Keith Laumer

3 / 5 Stars

This Ace paperback edition (176 pp) of ‘The Worlds of the Imperium’ was published in October 1973; the cover artist is uncredited. The novel was first published in 1962.

Brion Bayard, the first-person narrator, is an employee in the American diplomatic corps; as the novel opens, he is in Stockholm, being followed by a man he does not recognize. His suspicions aroused, Bayard attempts to flee, but he is captured and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, it is within the confines of a strange vessel – one that travels the world lines between alternate universes.

Bayard arrives on the earth known as ‘Zero Zero’, where travel between the alternities was discovered, leading to the establishment of a polity known as the ‘Imperium’. Although it’s the early 1960s, the Imperium has the cultural and social trappings of Victorian-era western Europe, featuring an aristocracy devoted to holding fancy dress balls in the palaces of Stockholm.

Bayard learns that the Imperium has been under attack: somehow, an alternity named ‘B-I Two’, despite being in the grip of perpetual war and violence, has discovered the secret of traveling between the parallel universes. B-1 Two is mounting destructive raids on the lands of the Imperium. And the despot ruling B-I Two is none other than…..an ‘alternate’ Brion Bayard !

Our hero is dispatched on a desperate mission. The Imperium has learned that Evil Bayard’s palace is located in Algiers, to which the 'Good' Bayard will be secretly delivered by the Imperium’s alternity-traversing vessel. Once on the grounds of the palace, Good Bayard will find his twin – and assassinate him. Then Good Bayard will assume the identity of the Evil Bayard, and carefully steer B-I Two to a cessation of its raids on Imperium lands.

As Brion Bayard soon learns, such complicated plans have a way of going awry very quickly……

‘Worlds of the Imperium’ is standard-issue 'Keith Laumer adventure sf'. The narrative moves along swiftly, as it is based on action sequences, many of which rely on contrived, eye-rolling escapes and last-minute changes of fortune. Our hero is by no means a superman, but possesses courage in the right quantities at the right times. There is a swell dame to serve as a goad to acts of heroism, and plenty of wisecracking under moments of duress.

‘Worlds’ is the first of what ultimately would be four novels in the Imperium series: The Other Side of Time (1965), Assignment in Nowhere (1968), and Zone Yellow (1990). All revolve around the adventures of Bayard, and other characters, in parallel worlds.

The Imperium series has had its influence on sf; for example, in his ‘Luther Arkwright’ comics dealing with parallel universes, Bryan Talbot refers to the central para as ‘ZeroZero’. 

More recently, Steampunk aficionados have come to regard ‘Imperium’ as proto-Steampunk, although in this regard, it is rather less influential than, say, Moorcock’s ‘Nomad of Time’ novels. 

If you’re looking for a fast-paced sci-fi adventure that doesn’t strive to offer much in the way of scientific extrapolation or in-depth characterization, then ‘Imperium’ is a decent read.

Noise from Upstairs by Caza

'Noise from Upstairs' by Caza
from the February, 1984 issue of Heavy Metal magazine

Book Review: The Sixth Winter

Book Review: 'The Sixth Winter' by Douglas Orgill and John Gribbin

4 / 5 Stars

‘The Sixth Winter’ was first published in hardback in 1979; this Fawcett Crest paperback edition (297 pp) was released in March, 1981, and features an arresting cover painting by David Plourde.

John Gribbin wrote a number of nonfiction books on scientific subjects, such as ‘Timewarps’ (1979) and ‘In Search of the Big Bang’ (1986), for general audiences. He also wrote, alone or in partnership with Douglas Orgill and D. C. Compton, sf novels, as well as short stories. Gribbin eschewed New Wave mannerisms in his fiction, choosing the sort of straightforward, didactic prose style popularized by Michael Chrichton.

If you grew up in the 70s, then you may well remember that Gobal Cooling was defined as the major climatic threat to human civilization. 

Not only were there scads of stories in the mainstream media touting the subject, but sf novels and ‘prediction’ books were plentiful as well: The Weather Conspiracy: The Coming of the New Ice Age (The Impact Team, 1975); The Cooling: Has the Next Ice Age Already Begun ? (Lowell Ponte, 1976); The Winter of the World (Poul Anderson, 1976), and movies like Robert Altman’s Quintet (1979).

Whether or not you are a believer in Climate Change / Global Warming, it’s interesting to see how fervently the idea of Global Cooling was embedded in pop culture consciousness back then.

‘The Sixth Winter’ is based on Gribbin's nonfiction essay, 'The Climatic Threat', which appeared in the  Analog Annual compilation in March, 1976. 

'Winter' deals with the advent of a new Ice Age. It is set in the future; i.e., the early 80s.

As the novel opens, the brilliant but emotionally reserved climatologist William Stovin has reviewed recent data, and come to the conclusion that Global Cooling is imminent. His apprehension is borne out when a freakish weather phenomenon – a supercooled tornado, which the ancient Eskimos referred to as a ‘Dancer’ – converts the small town of Hays, South Dakota into a giant smear of ice.

Stovin is called to an emergency meeting with the President, where he lays out his theories and battles skepticism from other scientists. Still uncertain as to whether the predicted catastrophe is genuine, the President and his science advisor dispatch Stovin on an extended field trip to Alaska, there to investigate phenomena that may be associated with Global Cooling. 

Stovin discovers that not only did another Dancer ice over a large chunk of wilderness in Canada, but that wolves in the region are relying on ancestral memories to guide their migrations and hunting behaviors in preparation for a new Ice Age.

Even as Stovin embarks on his field research, all over the Northern hemisphere, Winter is coming earlier, and more harshly, than usual. Servere snowstorms and subfreezing temperatures are spreading alarm among the population. 

But when Stovin and his colleagues expand their travels to Siberia, where the greatest evidence of a new Ice Age is rapidly accumulating, they discover that disaster will envelop the earth much sooner than anyone anticipated…..

As a Disaster Novel, ‘Winter’ does a lot of things right. Although the narrative is didactic, the plot moves along at a brisk clip. The physical and psychological sensations of extreme cold are well-communicated, and a chase sequence that dominates the second half of the novel is very well-written. I won’t disclose any spoilers, but I will say that ‘Winter’ avoids a miraculous last-chapter reprieve for our modern civilization. 

The novel isn’t perfect; the inclusion of a lone female character seems forced, and the novel closes with some ideas that are so speculative and contrived as to clash with the otherwise sober, science –based tenor of the narrative. However, all things being equal, ‘The Sixth Winter’ is one of the better Eco-catastrophe novels I’ve ever read.

Grey Morrow's Orion

'Grey Morrow's Orion' by Grey Morrow

Grey Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001) had a long and productive career (spanning from the mid-50s to the late 90s) as an artist for comic books, newspaper strips, television cartoons, magazines, paperback book covers, and illustrated books.

Starting with the March, 1978 issue and appearing monthly through to the December, 1978 issue, Heavy Metal magazine published Morrow’s sword-and-sorcery strip ‘Orion’. This large –size (12 ½ x 9 1/8 inches) trade paperback compiles all the ‘Orion’ episodes, as well as all three issues of ‘Edge of Chaos’, a comic book the Morrow did for indie publisher Pacific Comics from July, 1983 to January, 1984.

The book features a Foreword by Morrow's wife Pocho Morrow, and an Introduction by Daniel Herman that covers Morrow's career.

With 'Orion', Morrow was able to do a creator-controlled comic that enabled him to avoid the restrictions of the Comics Code and the editorial oversight that came with working for companies like Marvel and DC. Needless to say, Morrow took full advantage of the opportunity, filling the pages of Orion with sword fights, monsters, evil wizards, and exposed bosoms, in the best sword-and-sorcery style.....

The 

 

With Orion, Morrow took pains to avoid mimicking the hero conventions established by mainstream publications like 'Conan', in favor of a hero who was often fallible and fatigued, but not averse to spending time in hedonistic pursuits.

 

 

There was also an undercurrent of humor, as well as some degree of pathos, to the adventures of Orion, his homeboy Mamba, the cat-lady Felina, and her orge manservant Urza. 

Morrow not only pencilled and inked his artwork for Orion, but hand-colored it as well, a considerable undertaking back in the days before PC-based scanning and coloring of comic book artwork was feasible. While I suspect modern readers used to computer-generated coloration will find this aspect of the artwork to be underwhelming, by the standards of the time, it was quite effective.

For 'Edge of Chaos', apparently the original artwork for the first issue was not available, so scans had to be made of the printed comic; this explains the low-res appearance of that artwork.

The remaining issues 2 and 3 feature much better reproductions.

'Edge' features as lead character Eric Cleese, a hero modeled on Steve Reeves, the actor who portrayed 'Hercules' and other heroes in films in the 50s and 60s. 

Cleese is transported from his sloop to Olympus, a futuristic city floating in space, ruled by the fabled Gods of Greek mythology. Cleese is tasked by them to defeat the deranged wizard Moloch, who threatens to destroy their world.

 

Eric Cleese is in the same mold as Orion, but with a greater sense of self-deprecating humor. His encounters with monsters and demons are marked by a wise-cracking disbelief.

 

As with Heavy Metal, Pacific Comics eschewed the Comics Code, allowing Morrow to provide his readers with yet another bevy of beautiful, lightly-clad women.

One thing that makes Orion and Edge of Chaos stand out compared to contemporary comics is their realistic displays of anatomy. The grotesquely over-muscled bodies of modern superheroes are absent here, as are the hypersexualized depiction of female bodies that governs their depiction in many superhero titles.

I have mixed feelings about 'Grey Morrow's Orion'. On the one hand it's gratifying to have all of the episodes from Heavy Metal assembled into one volume, in large-scale book with quality stock paper and the best possible reproduction, as deserves a memorable piece of comic art. 

However, the decision to have the book published by a small, specialty press means that its cover price of $40 makes it overly expensive, particularly by the standards of the graphic novel market. (I was fortunate to procure a used copy of 'Grey Morrow's Orion' for around $23.)

While it would have required some degree of compromise in size and perhaps paper quality, a smaller-sized edition of 'Orion', akin to the volumes released by the New Comic Company for its 'Creepy Presents' and 'Eerie Presents' hardbound volumes would have been more affordable and expanded the opportunities for Morrow's artwork to reach a wider audience.

Book Review: Code Three

Book Review: 'Code Three' by Rick Raphael

3 / 5 Stars

‘Code Three’ (176 pp) was published by Berkeley Books in April, 1967. This book is a fixup of two stories originally published in Analog magazine in the interval from 1963 – 1964. One of those two stories, ‘Once a Cop’, won the 1965 Hugo for short fiction.

If you grew up at all in the 70s, then you may remember watching at one time or another a TV show titled Emergency. It ran on NBC from 1972 – 1977, and chronicled the adventures of two paramedics in the LA County Fire Department: John Gage (played by Randolph Mantooth) and Roy DeSoto (Kevin Tighe). Each episode saw our heroes deal with, naturally enough, an Emergency – car crashes, building and brush fires, plane crashes, earthquakes, etc. 

Gage and DeSoto and the crew of Station 51 responded to these events with professional detachment and, sometimes, a bit of humor. 

‘Code Three’ is basically a sci-fi version of Emergency. The novel is set in the future, when the North American continent is crossed horizontally and vertically by a series of enormous throughways, one mile in width. Each highway is divided into half-mile portions for east-west or north-south traffic, and these half-mile portions are in turn divided in multiple lanes – green, white, red, yellow, etc. for traffic traveling at different speeds.

And these are very high speeds. Auto technology has progressed to the point where vehicles use a sort of hover-drive to reach speeds in excess of 600 mph (!) although most vehicles make do with speeds of ‘only’ 100 – 300 mph.

The highway system is administered by the North American Continental Thruway System (NorCon), with whom lies responsible for law enforcement.

The novel follows the exploits of a team of two police and one paramedic aboard the patrol vehicle car 56 – nicknamed ‘Beulah’. This is a 250 ton, 60-feet long, 12 feet wide, 12 feet tall behemoth capable of reaching speeds of 600 mph.

In charge of Beulah is Patrol Sergeant Ben Martin, a veteran traffic cop who is starting to contemplate advancement to a desk job. Second in command is Patrol Trooper Clay Ferguson, and Kelly Lightfoot, an attractive, spunky redhead, serves as Medical-Surgical Officer.

As ‘Code Three’ opens, Beulah and her crew embark on a two week-long patrol of North American Thruway 26-West, the major highway connecting the USA’s east and west coasts. During their tour they will deal with accidents large and small, homicidal felons, and bad weather. Hit the sirens, turn on the red lights, and woo-woo-woo nee-ner nee-ner nee-ner prepare for action……

I can’t say that ‘Code Three’ is gripping entertainment or great, genre-transcending sf, but it is a reasonably entertaining read. Author Raphael writes with a clipped, declarative style that serves this sort of procedural narrative well. 

The ongoing repartee between the two cops and nurse Kelly, if it were to take place in contemporary times, would undoubtedly lead to sexual harassment charges at the very least, but during the Mad Men era when this novel was written, societal attitudes about workplace conversations were less …….evolved.

If you are interested in the sub-sub genre of sf devoted to Emergency Response, then ‘Code Three’ may be worth picking up.