''The Crystal Horde'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer John Taine (pseudonym of Eric Temple Bell). It was first published in book form in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

Fantasy Press Fantasy Press was an American publishing house specialising in fantasy and science fiction titles. Established in 1946 by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach in Reading, Pennsylvania, it was most notable for publishing the works of authors such as Robert A. Hei ...

in an edition of 2,328 copies. The novel is substantially rewritten from a version that originally appeared in the magazine ''Amazing Stories Quarterly'' in 1930 under the title ''White Lily''.

Plot introduction

The novel is a science horror story that involves silicon crystalline lifeforms threatening to overwhelm carbon life on Earth.

Reception

Groff Conklin, reviewing the 1952 edition, gave a mixed opinion; praising "one of the most magnificent science-horror ideas ever created," but ridiculing the plot as "probably the worst yellow-menace-plus-Bolsheviks-plus-religious-prejudice melange ever to hit science fiction." Boucher and McComas similarly found the novel an unsuccessful fusion of disparate elements, "a dull and involved story of Chinese warfare" and "some amusing satire and a dazzling series of descriptions.".

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

, however, praised the story as among Taine's best, saying "the wildest of fancy, liberally laid on a solid scientific core."

Everett F. Bleiler Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" ...

reported that the opening sections regarding the outbreak of crystal life "have a certain fascination, despite the horrible writing," but the rest of the novel "is a jumble that never achieves conviction."

, ''Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years'', Kent State University Press, 1998, p.425

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* (this includes publications of ''The Crystal Horde'') 1952 American novels 1952 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Works originally published in Amazing Stories Works published under a pseudonym Works by Eric Temple Bell Fantasy Press books {{1950s-sf-novel-stub