Monday, 2 February 2026

Publication Histories

Short stories published, and novels serialized, in sf mags can be or become instalments of future history series. John W. Campbell's Astounding/Analog was the starting point for Robert Heinlein's Future History and Poul Anderson's Polesotechnic League series among others. 

Future histories can also incorporate instalments with surprisingly dissimilar publication histories.

Heinlein's Future History
four stories from the Saturday Evening Post
+ one each from:
Argosy
Town and Country
Boy's Life
the American Legion Magazine
Scientific American

(10 out of 24 or so instalments.)

Anderson's Technic History (incorporating the Polesotechnic League)
two from original juvenile sf anthologies edited by Roger Elwood
two from Boy's Life
one from Astounding: The John W. Campbell Memorial Anthology, edited by Harry Harrison
one written for Four For The Future, a themed anthology edited by Harrison, although first published in Galaxy

(6 out of 43 instalments.)

Thus, Elwood, Boy's Life and Harrison between them give us six Technic History instalments. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

Even if we don't much care for them, Asimov's original FOUNDATION should have been mentioned because Campbell serialized them as well.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

We could also have mentioned Blish's Okies. But what I was after was future histories some of whose instalments had been published in other places than sf mags.

Paul.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

I acknowledged Asimov and Blish with "...among others."

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

Understood. But, if all too rarely I see occasional reprints of Anderson's stories in bookstores, that has not been the case with Blish's works. Unless NESFA Press has republished them, it's been decades since I've seen any of Blish's stories.

Truthfully, that might not be surprising. The last time I tried to read his Okies books I lost interest by the third volume. Anderson's TALES OF THE FLYING MOUNTAINS, using an analogous plot device, were more interesting.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

But there are only four Okie volumes so you did not do too bad.

Paul.

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

Thanks, and true. I still have the SFBC omnibus Okies collection, CITIES IN FLIGHT. Maybe I should give them another go.

I esp. enjoyed Anderson's sardonic "Nothing Succeeds Like Failure."

Ad astra! Sean