tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post8484474001023882603..comments2024-03-27T22:39:08.396-04:00Comments on Sweet Freedom: FFB: TABOO and TABOO 2, edited by Paul Neimark (New Classics House 1964, 1965)Todd Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-64531923785418290852017-09-02T23:35:00.423-04:002017-09-02T23:35:00.423-04:00Might've been a nudge! He''d clearly b...Might've been a nudge! He''d clearly been thinking in dramatic terms with THE BIG TIME several years earlier (it's hard to miss that it's structured like a play)...and as a former professional actor, fan of Shakespeare and Webster, I know he'd been off and on considering writing straight up plays, and would publish some purer drama in the '70s...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-70356711080614477442017-09-02T18:40:38.702-04:002017-09-02T18:40:38.702-04:00I suspect that Leiber suddenly turned to writing t...I suspect that Leiber suddenly turned to writing these autobiographical play-stories because he’d spent about a year and a half at the start of the 60s writing plots and dialogue for Buck Rogers newspaper comic strips, so it was a matter of redeploying the scripting skills he’d developed writing the likes of "Greetings to Earth From Elektrum" and "The Imperfect Duplicator” – not that fans would have known since the strips don’t appear to display credit.<br /><br />- matthe davisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-60574959033610919382017-09-02T12:40:02.198-04:002017-09-02T12:40:02.198-04:00(And, of course, in Britain in NEW WOLRDS and SCIE...(And, of course, in Britain in NEW WOLRDS and SCIENCE FANTASY/IMPULSE...)Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-51926233872103249032017-09-02T12:38:34.278-04:002017-09-02T12:38:34.278-04:00Thanks, Matthew! Though I would've guessed, am...Thanks, Matthew! Though I would've guessed, among Leiber's three autobiographical not-quite-fantasy near-plays, that "The Secret Songs" would've been the one tailored for a "dangerous/taboo" volume. All three ended up in Avram Davidson or Edward Ferman's F&SF, as it worked out, like the GALAXY group and FANTASTIC and AMAZING the frequent home for such fiction in the '60s, though Lowndes's magazines, GAMMA, SHOCK in its first ownership and even ANALOG on very rare occasion could get their blood up. (I suppose the "shudder" digest version of SHOCK and such fellow-travelers as WEB TERROR could be said to be Dangerous in their retro s&m manner, too...just not interesting or good thus.)Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-17403475848205538552017-09-02T05:47:07.237-04:002017-09-02T05:47:07.237-04:00"Lie Still Snow White" was written for M..."Lie Still Snow White" was written for Merrill's Regency antho. I forget where, but Leiber said that "The Winter Flies" was also written with Merrill's book in mind.<br /><br />- matthew davisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-3964793137078297892017-09-01T14:38:40.857-04:002017-09-01T14:38:40.857-04:00Glad to be of service thus, Jerry!
Indeed, George...Glad to be of service thus, Jerry!<br /><br />Indeed, George, I suspect NCH books somewhat might've broken out of the usual channels for Adult Reading distribution--and at least the first was apparently reviewed in PLAYBOY and probably in the other men's magazines which offered book reviews--but, like Olympia Press books and some Greenleaf Classics, probably not by much.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-30122604877527956122017-09-01T11:43:58.666-04:002017-09-01T11:43:58.666-04:00I'm guessing distribution might have been a pr...I'm guessing distribution might have been a problem for NCH books. And, as you point out, the relatively high price.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-27363217531979631452017-09-01T11:27:12.176-04:002017-09-01T11:27:12.176-04:00I read TABOO back when dinosaurs still roamed the ...I read TABOO back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth and found the stories strikingly good. Did not know about the second volume. Thanks for the review, Todd; it brought back some good memories.Jerry Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482856733981933159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-53353381185376908182017-09-01T07:48:35.720-04:002017-09-01T07:48:35.720-04:00I'm not sure how many other NCH books there we...I'm not sure how many other NCH books there were beyond the five I cite, and which porn-oriented publisher was issuing them...note they carry the princely (porn-level) price tag of 75c for slender mass-market paperbacks in the mid '60s...when 50c or 60c might've been more common on standard paperbacks on most racks. Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-84342047088430448742017-09-01T07:39:13.999-04:002017-09-01T07:39:13.999-04:00I have NIGHT RIDE and SARDONICUS. But I've n...I have NIGHT RIDE and SARDONICUS. But I've never seen TABOO and TABOO 2. I'm not sure I've ever encountered a book published by New Classics House. Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.com