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The year 1954 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.

Births and deaths

Births

• Iain M. Banks (d. 2013)
• 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 (d. 2018)
• John J. Miller (d. 2022)
• Melanie Rawn
• Joel Rosenberg (d. 2011)
• Richard Paul Russo
• Bruce Sterling
• Marc Stiegler
• J. Michael Straczynski
• Mark W. Tiedemann
• James Van Pelt
• Lawrence Watt-Evans
• David Wingrove

Deaths

• Alexander Abasheli (b. 1884)
• Alpheus Hyatt Verrill (b. 1871)

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 (September), published in book form is 1955.
• Question and Answer, Astounding Science Fiction (June–July), 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 (August–November), 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 (August).
• "The Father-thing" by Philip K. Dick, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (December).
• "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (August).
• "No More Stars" by Charles Satterfield, Beyond Fantasy Fiction (July).

Juveniles

• Return to the Lost Planet by Angus MacVicar, second novel of six in the Lost Planet series.
• The Secret of Saturn's Rings by Donald A. Wollheim, a high school graduate joins his father on a mission to Saturn to prove a corporate cover-up.
• The Star Beast by Robert A. Heinlein (juvenile), a boy discovers his pet is an alien royalty, leading to interstellar diplomacy.

Children's books

• Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars by William Morrison, the adventures of a boy and his sapient dog as they join an interplanetary circus on a voyage to Mars.
• The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron, children travel to a hidden planet and help its inhabitants solve a crisis.

Movies

Awards

The Hugo Awards were not held this year.

See also

• 1954 in science

Notes

1. Winner of Academy Awards for Visual Effects and Best Art Direction in 1954.

References

1. Clute, John (1995). Science Fiction: the Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 68. ISBN 0-7894-0185-1.
2. Shearer, Stephen Michael (2006). Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life. University Press of Kentucky. p. 171–172. ISBN 0-8131-2391-7.

• Science fiction by year
• Fiction set in 1954
• 1954 in film