A Glimpse of SF History

After a fascinating discussion with Dave ‘Slayer-of-Snowflakes’ Truesdale (the first, but not the last, man to be expelled from a science fiction con for speaking truth to falsehoodlums) He shared a tidbit of history with me, that I would like to pass along.

Mr Truesdale says by way of background:

At the tender age of 24, in April of 1976 my third or fourth con ever was a Minicon. I interviewed a ton of the Giants at that con (and the previous Minicon in 1975) and published the interviews in the original Tangent, which was devoted to articles, book reviews, and interviews. Turns out that one of those interviews was with Leigh Brackett and husband Edmond Hamilton, said interview since verified as the very last one of them both together.

Within a year and a half both of them had passed away. With all
humility I observe that it is regarded as a classic by many. It is quite long but looking back on it now after 40 years it still holds up. The kid lucked out.

 

http://www.tangentonline.com/interviews-columnsmenu-166/1270
-classic-leigh-brackett-a-edmond-hamilton-interview

My comment: Leigh Brackett, although I never met her, never wrote her a fan letter, has always had a very special place in my heart. Her space-noir adventure stories stand out from the crowd of pulps, and her penning EMPIRE STRIKES BACK should confirm her fame to those who have forgotten that she wrote THE BIG SLEEP screenplay.

But, in my case, her imagination is the first one from which I stole a character and a situation for a RPG game of mine, a villain named Alandur, a vampire, not of blood, but of beauty.

Of Edmund ‘World-wrecker’ Hamilton, I fall mute in admiration. He is like a pagan god to me. A shrine to his work burns forever with votive candles in my imagination. He wrote CAPTAIN FUTURE, ferpetessake! You cannot get more scientifictionary than that.