Le Rayon fantastique


Le Rayon fantastique was a collection of science fiction novels co-published by éditions Gallimard and Hachette between January 1951 and February 1964. The first work in the collection was Assassinat des États-Unis de Will Jenkins.
It symbolised a revival in science-fiction writing in the 1950s and reignited public passion for the genre, making great American 'Golden Age' writers like Edmond Hamilton, Theodore Sturgeon, A. E. van Vogt, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and Clifford D. Simak widely known in France for the first time and launching a new generation of French writers in the genre, such as Francis Carsac, Daniel Drode, Philippe Curval, Gérard Klein, Michel Jeury, Françoise d'Eaubonne, Pierre Barbet and Nathalie and Charles Henneberg.

History

It had two births, the first at Gallimard on 22 November 1949 when it commissioned Martinique-born writer Michel Pilotin to create a science-fiction collection for them. Between 1950 and 1951 Pilotin prepared that collection by buying the rights on translations of American works and seeking French authors in the genre.
In the meantime Hachette had commissioned science fiction fan Georges H. Gallet to create a science fiction collection entitled Le Rayon fantastique in response to the 1950le Figaro article "La science-fiction remplacera-t-elle le roman policier ?", based on an interview between Gallet and a journalist. To avoid competition, the two publishing houses decided to publish the series jointly, with the project edited by Pierre-André Gruénais, director of the general literature department at Hachette, Pilotin for Gallimard and Gallet for Hachette.

Publication

From number 81 onwards, for reasons of economy, the works were alternately printed in France and at the Ars Polona press in Warsaw, Poland. From number 97 to the end of the collection they were solely printed in Poland.
Due to its double origins, the works' numbering is sometimes very approximate, with 124 works but only "109 volumes in all" and no numbers assigned to the first 66 titles or to number 73, with the latter inserted between two numbered titles.
From number 81 onwards the number was in theory separated from the title on the back cover by a horizontal line, though many later works did not do so. Five works bear a double number, number 111 was never assigned and number 110 was assigned twice. Despite all this, an 'official' list of already-published works appeared at the end of some of the works.

Covers

The covers evolved over time. Initially unillustrated, they later alternated between stylised images and realistic ones according to the artists. Jean-Claude Forest arrived in 1958, producing more than half the subsequent cover designs, veering from stylised images to totally abstract ones.
Simultaneously, a 'black' series was followed by 'brown', 'red' and 'white' or 'cream' ones, all named after the colour of the background used. From n° 118 until the last work the cover illustrations were shaped like a cinema or television screen, with a white background and a black frame.télévision.
  • N° 1–6 : Black background, greenish ribbon winding from bottom to top, titles in white letters on an irregular red polygon.
  • N° 7–15 : anonymous, very 1950s style,.
  • N° 16–19 : by Jean Delpech.
  • N° 20, 23, 24 : by Troy.
  • N° 21, 22, 26–28, 31, 33, 46 : by René Caillé.
  • N° 25, 29–30, 32, 34–39, 42–44, 52, 54–56, 58, 60, 61, 89 : Anonymous, no visible signatures.
  • N° 40 : hard-to-read signature.
  • N° 41 : hard-to-read signature.
  • N° 45 : illegible signature starting Nef… or Nes… ; cf. n° 40, 41.
  • N° 53, 59, 73 : Georges Pichard.
  • From n° 57 onwards : almost all by Forest except:
  • * N° 91, 95–96, 98, 101–102, 104, 106 : Jean Latappy.
  • * N° 93 : Lucien Lepiez.

List

  1. Assassinat des États-Unis, by Will Jenkins
  2. Les Rois des étoiles, by Edmond Hamilton
  3. Le Règne du gorille, by Lyon Sprague de Camp and Peter Schuyler Miller
  4. Les Demi-Dieux, by Alfred Gordon Bennet
  5. Les Corsaires du vide, by James Morgan Walsh
  6. Passagère clandestine pour Mars, by John Beynon
  7. Le Triangle à quatre côtés, by William F. Temple
  8. Cristal qui songe, by Theodore Sturgeon
  9. Le Choc des mondes, by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie
  10. Guerres aux invisibles, by Eric Frank Russell
  11. Rien qu'un surhomme, by Olaf Stapledon
  12. Le Silence de la Terre, by C. S. Lewis
  13. , by Edmond Hamilton
  14. Le Monde des Ā, by A. E. van Vogt
  15. La Faune de l'espace, by A. E. van Vogt
  16. Cailloux dans le ciel, by Isaac Asimov
  17. Un martien sur la Terre, by Oscar J. Friend
  18. Le Dernier Astronef, by Murray Leinster
  19. Germes de vie, by John Taine
  20. L'Enfant de la science, by Robert A. Heinlein
  21. L'Univers en folie, by Fredric Brown
  22. Après le choc des mondes, by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie
  23. Ceux de nulle part, by Francis Carsac
  24. La Curée des astres, by Edward Elmer Smith
  25. Marionnettes humaines, by Robert A. Heinlein
  26. Escales dans l'infini ; anthology edited by Georges H. Gallet and consisting of :
  27. * Odyssée martienne, by Stanley G. Weinbaum
  28. * Touristes des temps futurs, by John Wyndham
  29. * La Girafe bleue, by Lyon Sprague de Camp
  30. * Shambleau, by Catherine Lucille Moore
  31. * Colin-maillard, by John Ulrich Giesy
  32. * L'Homme-machine d'Ardathia, by Francis Flagg
  33. * La Bête du vide, by Raymond Z. Gallun
  34. * Trois lignes de vieux français, by Abraham Merritt
  35. * Station interplanétaire n° 1, by Manly Wade Wellman
  36. * Le Sourire du sphinx, by William F. Temple
  37. Le Microbe détective, by Hal Clement
  38. Le Lendemain de la machine, by Francis G. Rayer
  39. La Révolte des femmes, by Jerry Sohl
  40. À la poursuite des Slans, by A. E. van Vogt
  41. Mission secrète sur Neptune, by James Morgan Walsh
  42. Vuzz…, by P. A. Hourey
  43. Kilsona, monde atomique, by
  44. Les Robinsons du cosmos, by Francis Carsac
  45. La Fleur diabolique, by George O. Smith
  46. La Flamme noire, by Stanley G. Weinbaum
  47. Les Survivants de l'infini, by Raymond F. Jones
  48. Chaîne autour du soleil, by Kurt Simak
  49. Les Dents du dragon, by Jack Williamson
  50. Satellite No. 1, by Philip St. John
  51. Les Cavernes d'acier, by Isaac Asimov
  52. Les Enfants d'Icare, by Arthur C. Clarke
  53. Le 9 de pique, by John Amila
  54. Fondation, by Isaac Asimov
  55. Les Plus qu'humains, by Theodore Sturgeon
  56. L'Aventurier de l'espace, by Catherine Lucille Moore; collection combining works from two separate American collections :
  57. * Songe vermeil
  58. * L'Arbre de vie
  59. * La Soif noire
  60. * Paradis perdu
  61. * La Poussière des dieux
  62. * Julhi
  63. * Le Dieu gris
  64. * Yvala
  65. Planète interdite, by Philip MacDonald ; novelisation of the film of the same name
  66. Le Gouffre de la Lune, by Abraham Merritt
  67. Les Aventures de Ā, by A. E. van Vogt
  68. Le Monstre de métal, by Abraham Merritt
  69. Le Flot du temps, by John Taine
  70. La Légion de l'espace, by Jack Williamson
  71. Embûches dans l'espace, by François Pagery
  72. Vénus et le Titan, by Henry Kuttner
  73. Planète à gogos, by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth
  74. Le péril vient de la mer, by John Wyndham
  75. L'Adieu aux astres, by Serge Martel; prix Jules-Verne
  76. L'Homme qui vendit la Lune, by Robert A. Heinlein
  77. Double Étoile, by Robert A. Heinlein
  78. Le Maître du temps, by Ray Cummings
  79. À l'aube des ténèbres, by Fritz Leiber
  80. Le Gambit des étoiles, by Gérard Klein
  81. Surface de la planète, by Daniel Drode; prix Jules-Verne
  82. L'Ogive du monde, by Matteo Tavera and François Tavera
  83. La Rosée du soleil, by Nathalie and Charles Henneberg
  84. La Guerre des machines, by Lieutenant Kijé
  85. L'Aventure alphéenne, by Serge Martel
  86. Aux étoiles du destin, by Albert Higon
  87. Les Navigateurs de l'infini, by J.-H. Rosny aîné
  88. Avant le premier jour, by
  89. La Machine du pouvoir, by Albert Higon; prix Jules-Verne
  90. Terre en fuite, by Francis Carsac
  91. Druso, by
  92. L'Homme double, by René Cambon; cover by Jean-Claude Forest
  93. Les Fleurs de Vénus, by Philippe Curval
  94. Les « Cuirs bouillis », by D. A. C. Danio
  95. Plus noir que vous ne pensez, by Jack Williamson
  96. Celten Tauroch, by Lieutenant Kijé
  97. Quatre pas dans l'étrange ; anthology of short stories :
  98. * La Force mystérieuse, by J.-H. Rosny aîné
  99. * Par la malle de nuit, by Rudyard Kipling
  100. * L'Éternel Adam, by Michel Verne
  101. * R. U. R., by Karel Čapek
  102. Sur la planète orange, by
  103. La Terre endormie, by Arcadius; cover by Jean-Claude Forest
  104. Le Sub-espace, by Jérôme Sériel; prix Jules-Verne
  105. Les Dieux verts, by Nathalie and Charles Henneberg
  106. Lutte avec la nuit, partie 1, by William Sloane ; cover by Jean-Claude Forest
  107. Lutte avec la nuit, partie 2, by William Sloane ; cover by Jean-Claude Forest
  108. Les Armureries d'Isher, by A. E. van Vogt
  109. Le Livre de Ptath, by A. E. van Vogt
  110. Les Sept Fils de l'étoile, by Françoise d'Eaubonne
  111. Déjà demain, by Henry Kuttner and Catherine Lucille Moore ; collection of novellas :
  112. * Jour de l'An
  113. * L'Œil était dans...
  114. * Camouflage
  115. * Fantôme
  116. * Saison de grand cru
  117. * Point de rupture
  118. * Choc
  119. * Le Twonky
  120. * De profondis
  121. La Fin du quaternaire, by Yvon Hecht
  122. Ce monde est nôtre, by Francis Carsac
  123. Les Visiteuses de la planète 5, by Richard Wilson
  124. Feu Vénus, by Stanisław Lem
  125. La Forteresse perdue, by Nathalie and Charles Henneberg
  126. La Cité et les Astres, partie 1, by Arthur C. Clarke
  127. La Cité et les Astres, partie 2, by Arthur C. Clarke
  128. Griada, by
  129. Vers un avenir perdu, by Pierre Barbet
  130. L'Échiquier du temps, by Françoise d'Eaubonne
  131. Le Ressac de l'espace, by Philippe Curval
  132. De temps à autre, partie 1, by Clifford D. Simak ; prix Jules-Verne
  133. De temps à autre, partie 2, by Clifford D. Simak ; prix Jules-Verne
  134. La Rive incertaine, by William Sloane
  135. Pour patrie, l'espace, by Francis Carsac
  136. La Nef d'antim, by Will Stewart
  137. Babel 3.805, by Pierre Barbet
  138. Les Cométaires, partie 1, by Jack Williamson
  139. Les Cométaires, partie 2, by Jack Williamson
  140. Monde en oubli, by J. T. McIntosh
  141. La Machine suprême, by John W. Campbell ; cover by Jean-Claude Forest
  142. Planète d'exil, by Arcadius
  143. L'Assaut de l'invisible, by A. E. van Vogt
  144. À contre-temps, by Christine Renard
  145. L'Erreur d'Alexei Alexeiev, by
  146. Tarrano le conquérant, by Ray Cummings
  147. Le Sang des astres, by Nathalie and Charles Henneberg
  148. L'Épée de l'archange, by Lieutenant Kijé
  149. Métro pour l'enfer, by Vladimir Volkoff; prix Jules-Verne
  150. La Couronne de lumière, by Lyon Sprague de Camp
  151. Les Revenants des étoiles, by Arcadi and Boris Strougatski
  152. L'Étoile de fer, by John Taine
  153. La Plaie, partie 1, by Nathalie and Charles Henneberg
  154. La Plaie, partie 2, by Nathalie and Charles Henneberg
  155. Rêve de feu, by Françoise d'Eaubonne