The Portable Universe was an irregular science-fiction review column I wrote for The Elkhart Truth between October, 1982 and March, 1985. It was a post-Star Wars, pre-World Wide Web world, and I saw the column as a sort of outreach to a general audience which was vastly more likely to be familiar with SF on the screen than in print. My working theory was that adults were allowed to read science fiction, too, and I tried to use my limited space to steer fringe fans toward (and occasionally away from) the most notable of the current releases–the books they might see on their next visit to the library or the Waldenbooks at the mall. In hindsight, both my theory and my method may have been faulty. Nevertheless, here are the columns, offered as a minor historical curiosity.
Column 1 – October 16, 1982
Column 2 – November 12, 1982
Column 3 – January 28, 1983
Column 4 – March 4, 1983
Column 5 – April 15, 1983
Column 6 – May 28, 1983 |
Column 7 – August 12, 1983
Column 8 – September 9, 1983
Column 9 – October 28, 1983
Column 10 – December 23, 1983
Column 11 – February 3, 1984
Column 12 – April 6, 1984 |
Column 13 – June 1, 1984
Column 14 – August 17, 1984
Column 15 – November 24, 1984
Column 16 – February 2, 1985
Column 17 – March 23, 1985
Column 18 – never published |
Update: In Memory Still Bright
All too many greater and lesser stars have fallen to earth since these
observations were taken. They shine on through their works.
A. Bertram Chandler 1912-1984
L. Sprague de Camp 1907-2000
Terry Carr 1937-1987
Edward Llewellyn 1917-1984
Marion Zimmer Bradley 1930-1999
Lester Del Rey 1915-1993
C. L. Moore 1911-1987
|
Poul Anderson 1926-2001
Robert A. Heinlein 1907-1988
Isaac Asimov 1920-1992
Frank Herbert 1920-1986
Hal Clement 1922-2003
Gordon Dickson 1923-2001
|
Damon Knight 1922-2002
F. M. Busby 1921-2005
Jack Chalker 1944-2005
Fritz Leiber 1910-1992
Joseph Delaney 1932-2000
Jack C. Haldeman II 1941-2002
James White 1928-1999
|