Far from you : poems from the Czech /

Years of Light is something unusual in the annals of Canadian letters. It is a book-length celebration of a virtually unknown writer and publisher, Leslie A. Croutch, and a compilation of his best fiction and non-fiction, plus a commentary on the science fiction scene in Canada. Years of Light includes freshly researched information on Croutch's magazine Light , on the so-called Canpulps published during the Second World Warm and on fandom across the land. In effect, it offers the reader "the world according to Croutch," the happy-go-lucky citizen of Parry Sound, Ont, and Canada's premier science-fiction fan.

Who else but John Robert Colombo could have - or would have - devoted months of work to the research, writing, and publication of Years of Light ? It takes a special combination of showmanship and scholarship, which - no surprise - are all characteristics of Colombo's earlier books in the field of fantastic literature: Mostly Monsters, Colombo's Book of Marvels, CDN SF&F, Other Canadas, Backwood's Books, Not to Be Taken at Night, and Friendly Aliens .