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Star Science Fiction Stories No.4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Star Science Fiction Stories
Cover art of the 1972 edition
Authorvarious
edited by Frederik Pohl
Cover artistRichard M. Powers (first edition)
John Berkey (1972 reprint)
LanguageEnglish
SeriesStar Science Fiction Stories
GenreScience fiction, anthology
PublisherBallantine Books
Publication date
November 1958
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeHardcover, Mass market paperback
Pages157
ISBN978-0-345-02720-7 (reprinting)
Preceded byStar Science Fiction Stories No.3 
Followed byStar Science Fiction Stories No.5 

Star Science Fiction Stories No.4 is the fourth book in the anthology series, Star Science Fiction Stories, edited by Frederik Pohl. It was first published in 1958 by Ballantine Books, and was reprinted in 1972. These books have been very critically acclaimed by critics around the world.

Among the stories is James E. Gunn's "The Immortals", about a test car driver who discovers he can live forever. It was adapted into a television movie in 1969, and a TV series in 1970, both entitled The Immortal. Gunn also expanded the material into a novel, The Immortals. Fellow author Isaac Asimov joked to Gunn that the story must have been autobiographical, on account of Gunn's youthful looks.[1]

Cover art

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The first edition of Star Science Fiction Stories No.4 featured semi-abstract cover art by Richard M. Powers.

The cover art that featured on the 1972 reprint was painted by the noted speculative fiction artist John Berkey. It depicted a rocket-plane diving down through space towards a gigantic mechanical planet, and was rotated 180°.[2] Berkey's original artwork was purchased by a young George Lucas to serve as visual reference material while he was trying to pitch his ideas to film studios for a new film, The Star Wars. It is thought that this painting had a strong influence on the eventual production design of Star Wars and served to inspire the film's leading concept artist, Ralph McQuarrie, and model maker Colin Cantwell, whose early designs for the Death Star battle station bore a strong similarity to Berkey's painting of a metal world.[3][4]

Contents

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References

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  1. ^ Niccum, Jon (11 April 2008). "Top Gunn". LJWorld.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Berkey Tributes". John Berkey Art. 7 May 2015. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  3. ^ Heilemann, Michael (15 February 2013). "John Berkey & The Mechanical Planet". Kitbashed. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  4. ^ Cohen, Ben. "John Berkey's art inspired the Death Star in 'Star Wars'". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
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