1954 in science fiction
The year 1954 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.
Births and deaths
Births
- Iain M. Banks
- Marek Baraniecki
- Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
- Paul Di Filippo
- Colin Greenland
- Marek Huberath
- Kazuo Ishiguro
- Michael P. Kube-McDowell
- Shariann Lewitt
- James D. Macdonald
- Ken MacLeod
- Victor Milán
- John J. Miller
- Katsuhiro Otomo
- Melanie Rawn
- Joel Rosenberg
- Richard Paul Russo
- Bruce Sterling
- Marc Stiegler
- J. Michael Straczynski
- Mark W. Tiedemann
- James Van Pelt
- Lawrence Watt-Evans
- David Wingrove
Deaths
Literary releases
- Donald Tuck publishes Handbook of Science Fiction and Fantasy, which is still used as a reference resource for scholars of science fiction.
Serialized novels
Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown, Astounding Science Fiction, published in book form is 1955.Question and Answer, Astounding Science Fiction, later reprinted in 1956 as part of Ace Double D-199 under the title Planet of No Return, and again as a stand-alone Ace novel in February 1978 under the original title.They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley, Astounding Science Fiction, published in book form in 1957.First editions
Brain Wave by Poul Anderson, Earth's inhabitants become super-intelligent when the planet leaves a restrictive energy field.The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov, a detective and a robot partner solve a murder in a futuristic city.The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster, survivors adapt to a planet overrun by giant insects and plants.G.O.G. 666 by John Taine, Russian genetics experiments result in a being that is half ape, half brain. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the last human battles vampires in a post-apocalyptic world.A Mirror for Observers by Edgar Pangborn, follows a child prodigy protected by a Martian guardian from rival factions influencing human civilization.Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement, a human and an alien collaborate on a high-gravity planet to recover a lost probe.Operation: Outer Space by Murray Leinster, the first interstellar flight is financed by making it into a television show.Search the Sky by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth, a secret ship explores and reconnects declining interstellar colonies to prevent societal decay.The Stars Are Ours! by Andre Norton, survivors of an oppressive regime escape Earth to settle on a new planet.Starship Through Space by Lee Correy, tells the story of the building of the first starship and of its flight to Alpha Centauri.Three Thousand Years by Thomas Calvert McClary, scientists attempt to build a utopia after the earth has been placed in suspended animation for 3,000 years.Short stories
- "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin, Astounding Science Fiction.
- "The Father-thing" by Philip K. Dick, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
- "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
- "No More Stars" by Charles Satterfield, Beyond Fantasy Fiction.