James Blish – First Edition Books: Identification Guide

James Benjamin Blish (1921 – 1975) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his Cities in Flight novels, and his series of Star Trek novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. He is credited with creating the term “gas giant” to refer to large planetary bodies. Blish was a member of the Futurians. His first published stories appeared in Super Science Stories and Amazing Stories.

Blish won a Hugo Award in 1959 for his novel A Case of Conscience and numerous Nebula award nomination for various novels.

Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen name William Atheling Jr. His other pen names included Donald Laverty, John MacDougal, and Arthur Lloyd Merlyn.

Throughout the 1940s, Blish published most of his stories in the few pulp magazines still in circulation. His first story was sold to fellow Futurian Frederik Pohl for Super Science Stories (1940), called “Emergency Refueling”. Other stories were published intermittently, but with little circulation. Blish’s “Chaos, Co-Ordinated”, co-written with Robert A. W. Lowndes, was sold to Astounding Science Fiction, appearing in the October 1946 issue, earning Blish national circulation for the first time.

James Blish was commissioned by Bantam Books to adapt episodes of Star Trek from 1967-1977. The adapted short stories were generally based on draft scripts, and contained differing plot elements, and situations present in the aired television episodes.

The stories were collected into twelve volumes, and published as a title series of the same name from 1967 to 1977. The adaptations were largely written by Blish; however, his declining health during this period proved problematic. His wife, J. A. Lawrence, wrote a number of installments; however, her work remained uncredited until the final volume, Star Trek 12, published in 1977, two years after Blish’s death.

The first original novel for adults based on the television series, Spock Must Die! (1970), was also written by Blish, and he planned to release more. According to Lawrence, two episodes featuring popular character Harry Mudd, “I, Mudd” and “Mudd’s Women”, were held back by Blish for adaptation to be included in the follow-up to Spock Must Die!. However, Blish died before a novel could be completed. Lawrence did eventually adapt the two episodes, as Mudd’s Angels (1978), which included an original novella The Business, as Usual, During Altercations by Lawrence. In her introduction to Star Trek 12, Lawrence states that Blish “did indeed write” adaptations of the two episodes. The introduction to Mudd’s Angels acknowledges this, stating that Blish left the two stories in various stages of completion and they were finished by Lawrence; Blish does not receive author credit on the book.

The British Science Fiction Foundation inaugurated the James Blish Award for science fiction criticism in 1977, recognizing Brian W. Aldiss. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 2002.

James Blish – First Editions Identification Guide

Note: This list only includes books published prior to 1977.

James Blish – First Printing Dust Jackets Identification Guide

Gallery of First state Dust Jackets of Blish’s works. Only includes the first appearance in book form. Either the UK or US edition and does not include later printings.

Reference:

• Wikipedia