Invasion of the Robots, edited by Roger Elwood (1965)

Elwood, Roger, ed. Invasion of the Robots. Coronet, April 1965.

Invasion of the Robots at the ISFdb

Invasion of the Robots at Goodreads

Overall rating:     6/10

Paperback Library,
April 1965

This collection edited by busy editor later-turned-author Roger Elwood features short stories containing robots (though in modern terms many of these machines are androids). While the use of "invasion" in the title might imply evil robots, the inclusion of the name Asimov on the contents page reveals that the invading robots can serve a good purpose, therefore the "invasion" is more appropriately an introduction, or an insertion into human life. The stories span a decade (or just a few months over), from December 1942 to August 1953. Overall the stories are fairly average. Most were new to me, including the much respected Jack Williamson story "With Folded Hands..." (easily the darkest of the bunch). The other two I really enjoyed were Richard Matheson's "Brother to the Machine," despite its obvious twist, and Robert Bloch's "Almost Human," which was a re-read but still highly enjoyable as many of Bloch's tales are.

The other stories were just alright, including Philip K. Dick's "The Defenders" (also a re-read), which is great until that last post-reveal act. Eric Frank Russell's "Boomerang" (formerly "A Great Deal of Power") is downright bad.

Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isaac Asimov     6/10

Amazing Stories, April 1951

Dr, Susan Calvin leaves a robot in the care of a housewife, as part of an experiment to integrate industrial robots into the home. Housewife Claire is married to ambitious Engineer Larry Belmont, who wants his wife to be a great hostess, but mousy Claire was never up to the task. Yet with the help of robot TN-3, or Tony, she can transform their home into a proper socialite party house.

Because of course that's what every modern woman strives for. A hyper intelligent robot at your disposal, you set your goal to ultimate housework. For modern readers the sympathy toward Claire and the hint of her ability to transcend her life feels wasted, though Dr. Calvin has a nice last line at the expense of Larry Belmont. Despite this, the story is amusing.

Piggy Bank by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore     6/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1942

"Ballard's diamonds were being stolen as fast as he could make new ones."

Lazy Gunther has discovered a patent which he was able to tweak and use this invention to make diamonds. Bruce Ballard is the diamond seller who bought the recipe. Yet Ballard's diamonds are being stolen, and as they have a symbiotic relationship in which one does not tell on the other, Ballard expects the lazy, yet highly intelligent, Gunther to build him an impenetrable safe. Instead of an uncrackable safe, Guenther develops a robot safe that, like an animal, can flee at the sound of danger.

An interesting premise and a good opening, but the story spends way too much time coming up with ways of trying to catch the robot, and failing of course, with much running and jumping around.

Oddly, the anthology credits the story only to Henry Kuttner.

With Folded Hands... by Jack Williamson     9/10

Astounding Science Fiction, July 1947

Underhill sells mechanicals, but it's a challenging market in this day and age, with fierce competition amid a market saturated with all forms of robots and androids. Lost in thought, Underhill walks into a building, and notices a new android shop where he is certain no building stood a week ago. He enters the shop and soon realizes his business will suffer even more, as the androids on display are sleek and highly advanced. And when he realizes the sales attendant is also an android he is shocked, but not as shocked as when the android tells him that he will soon be out of business.

What a lovely, creepy opening sequence. And a lovely, creepy novelette.

With the help of a seemingly crazed old man who his wife has taken in as a lodger, Underhill joins a fight to rid the world of the androids. An excellent, dark story, and highly relevant in where technology is taking us. A must read.

Brother to the Machine by Richard Matheson     7/10

If, November 1952

In a dystopian, post-war world shared between man and machine, a man is on the move, fearful that the control police are pursuing him. Sure the story is obvious to contemporary readers, but in 1952 it must've had an impact.

The Defenders by Philip K. Dick     6/10

Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1953

During a nuclear war, humanity has moved underground while robots battle the radiation-filled surface of Earth. Don Taylor is just beginning his vacation when he receives a call from his superiors, asking him to visit the near-surface level immediately.

I don't really buy the idea that man, in the story, has progressed beyond hatred and the need for war. Particularly since in the opening Taylor is glad to read the reports of Russian casualties. I also don't buy that man is united, after only eight years of war, in a unified culture, considering that during that period man was utterly divided among their own kind in underground societies. The fatigue and disinterest that the robots report in man, that have replaced their hatred, would more likely add to that hatred, as they are forced to endure such misery as a result of war.

Some bleakness, sure, but surprisingly optimistic for a PKD story. The story's first two-thirds is quite strong, but that lest sequence is quite silly.

Paperback Library,
March 1969

Almost Human by Robert Bloch     7/10

Fantastic Adventures, June 1943

Sadistic criminal Duke discovers that naive scientist Professor Blasserman has built a robot. With the help of his lover, who is Blasserman's nurse, Lola Wilson, Duke moves in with the old man and takes charge of the robot's education. The robot, Junior, has a partially organic brain and is able to learn and evolve, and Duke's education is a form of brainwashing, teaching Junior the benefits of crime and the notion of hatred, which he aims toward the kindly professor.

A wonderful, darkly comedic story with a great Blochian twist. There are some surprising moments of violence, enhancing the cruelty of Duke's outlook on life, and the good people and the bad people all end up with terrible fates. This was a re-read for me, after many years, but I feel I enjoyed it more this time around.

The story was adapted for both popular science fiction radio programs, Dimension X (1950) and X Minus One (1955).

Into Thy Hands by Lester del Rey     6/10

Astounding Science Fiction, August 1945

Long after a nuclear holocaust, a robot awakens and believes his purpose is to recreate human life. He watches a video on creationism, and with his limited understanding of symbolism, sets out to achieve this goal.

Interesting in parts, but not as a whole. The story received the retro Hugo for 1946.

Boomerang by Eric Frank Russell     4/10

As "A Great Deal of Power," Fantastic Universe, August/September 1953

A pair of scientists have built an android programmed to assassinate people who hold a large amount of power. As part of its military testing, the android "William Smith" is sent out to assassinate five men in power.

An interesting concept but poorly written, with stiff dialogue and repetitive sequences. And a predictable finish. The bulk of the story is made up of the android visiting each of these five and assassinating them, which gets tiresome quickly.

For more of this week's Wednesday's Short Stories, please visit Patti Abbott's blog.

Casual Shorts: John Keefauver, Kali

Keefauver, John. "Kali." The Fifth Pan Book of Horror Stories, edited by Herbert van Thal. London: Pan Books, 1964.

______. Oriental Tales of Terror, edited by J. J. Strating. London: Fontana, 1971.

______. Research Into Marginal Living: The Selected Stories of John D. Keefauver, edited by Scott Nicolay. Lethe Press, 2021.

Rating:     7/10

This review of "Kali" appears as part of my serial review of John Keefauver's first collection, Research Into Marginal Living.

An American high school teacher visiting Calcutta (now Kolkata), is sidetracked in front of the tourist office by a beautiful local woman. Our narrator is aware that this beautiful Indian woman is obviously not an official tour guide, but quickly he falls for her and allows her to lead him like sheep to see the sites of the city. The woman in turn is obsessed with the goddess Kali, and has taken on the goddess's name. Her personalized tour leads our narrator to a statue of the many-armed Kali, and, as promised, to witness the sacrificing of a lamb. This last experience traumatizes the American, and he returns home quite disturbed.

On the surface, "Kali" is a fairly standard story, one that was likely aimed directly at the Pan Book of Horror Stories series, as it features so many of the series elements. As he did with his homages "The Daring Old Maid on the Flying Trapeze" and "Oh Well What the Hell," Keefauver proves himself to be a master emulator, delivering a story perfectly geared for its intended target. The story contains several standard tropes, and it is evident Keefauver is aware of these tropes as he toys with them. There is a beautiful, foreign woman who everyone appears to fear but with whom the protagonist becomes obsessed. We are to expect that this woman is involved in black magic, or some form of mystical art, but it turns out she is simply mad, leading her to seduce gullible American tourists to feed her fantasy of being Kali.

Below the surface, however, there is an intriguing study of the dark obsessiveness of the narrator, rather than the straightforward, campy obsessiveness of the exotic woman. Early in the narrative, the teacher mentions he is curious about goat sacrifices, and while in Calcutta hopes to see one. Meeting the unregistered tour guide only serves to elevate this desire that he has long been harbouring. We can speculate that it is not the woman to whom he feels drawn, but rather toward the hopes of witnessing the sacrifice. And as expected in such a story, the protagonist gets more than what he hoped. But what is different here is that the narrator is not a victim and the woman not an actual witchy predator, as these women at the time were often presented. The woman is not at fault in driving him to his bloody, obsessive behaviour once he is again on American soil. The seed was already in him, as made clear in the beginning, and the woman is merely a trigger. Had it not been she, he would have been led by someone else to a sacrifice that would in turn have led him to committing his bloody acts. The woman certainly noticed the depraved desire in this man, and latched onto it, but not in the hopes of corrupting him, but simply in order to share her own depraved desires with an equal. Sure she drugs him, but he is an east target, allowing himself to be drugged, and once the deed is done, she simply allows him to leave, meaning no harm. It can also be argued that some other life event could have woken his killing nature, and he was actively in search to allow the nature to be released. Hence a vacation by himself in Calcutta, not the safest of cities for an outsider.

In brief, the woman is not the horrible seducer we expect in these tales, but the narrator is a man seeking to release his dark self. Likening him to the goat, as he is easily led by others, his unrelenting desire to sacrifice goats at the end of this experience can be likened to a sacrificing of his self, an act of self-hatred and not merely a bloodlust.

While "Kali" has some interesting points, and clearly offers food for thought, it is not among Keefauver's strongest stories. It is, however, well written, as his descriptions of the guide, the delivery of the narrator's voice, and the overall pacing of the story, are all quite strong. His stories aimed at the Pan series, emulating the Pan style, show his strengths at adhering to convention, and also at generating suspense and guiding his readers as well as Kali guides her tourists. They do not compare to the stories that would later become his own unique staple, but for what are, these stories are elevated by Keefauver's skill.

John Keefauver, Research into Marginal Living

Keefauver, John D. Research into Marginal Living: The Selected Stories of John D. Keefauver. Edited by Scott Nicolay. Lethe Press, 2021.

Research into Marginal Living at the ISFdb

Research into Marginal Living at Goodreads

Overall Rating:     TBD/10

A dozen years ago (in 2013), I pleaded for the publication of a collection of stories by John Keefauver. Like many, I'd read a handful of his stories in various anthologies, and quickly realized that there are enough gems in the writer's oeuvre to produce even a slim collection. In August 2017, I received an email from author/editor Scott Nicolay, informing me that he was working with Mr. Keefauver's estate to bring his novel Tormented Virgin back in print the following year, along with a collection of his stories. Exciting news, but I did not receive a follow-up, and as I was busy with a one year-old daughter, I pretty much forgot about it.

Then in October 2021, someone posted on my review of Keefauver's "The Tree" that Nicolay was preparing a collection that should be out in early 2022. A quick search indicated that the book had been released the previous month.

In September 2021, Lethe Press released the first, long overdue, collection of stories by John Keefauver, titled Research into Marginal Living: The Selected Stories of John D. Keefauver. Few books have gotten me this excited, and of course I (eventually) ordered a copy.

I am only partway through, but decided to begin posting reviews of the stories as I read. So far the collection is excellent. Not only does it contain thirty short stories (selected from the allegedly 796 that he published during his lifetime), it has two very good introductions (one by Nicolay and another Joe Lansdale, who had included a couple of Keefauver's stories in his anthologies). In addition, Nicolay provides notes following each story that includes fascinating details about the stories and about Keefauver, hinting at the story-selling process over a handful of decades.

This collection is highly recommended, and you can purchase a copy at the Lethe Press website, where it is currently on sale for a mere $15! Please go support the project.

Oh Well What the Hell     7/10

Playboy, November 1958

A surprisingly enjoyable poem based on Lawrence Ferlinghetti's "A Coney Island of the Mind." Keefauver penned this homage months (or weeks) after the publication of Ferlinghetti's book. Throughout his career Keefauver would write other homages and parodies, showing a penchant for literary mimicry. We will see other kinds of mimicry in the collection, with stories produced for the Pan Horror Stories series, and with stories touching on a vast variety of styles. The best stories, though, are the ones he developed himself, lending his own Keefauverian touch.

The Daring Old Maid on the Flying Trapeze     7/10

Big Table #2, Summer 1959

This story emulates the work of the popular Beat writers of the time. The story follows the final hours of a former trapeze artist as she struggles down on her luck. While I am not an admirer of the Beat style, this story snuck up on me and surprised me with its bittersweet narrative. The title reflects the William Saroyan 1934 short story, "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze."

Kali     7/10

The Fifth Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., London: Pan, 1964

An American high school teacher visiting Calcutta becomes obsessed with a beautiful local guide. The woman, clearly not an official city guide, calls herself Kali, after the goddess with whom she is obsessed. She promises to take the gullible American to witness the sacrificing of a goat. My full review can be found here.

Give Me Your Cold Hand     7/10

The Sixth Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., London: Pan, 1965

... coming soon ...

Harlan Ellison, Paingod and Other Delusions

Ellison, Harlan. Paingod and Other Delusions. Pyramid Books, December 1965.

_____, Paingod and Other Delusions. Pyramid Books, March 1975.

Overall Rating:     6/10

Pyramid, 1975 re-issue

In 1975, a decade after its initial publication, Paingod and Other Delusions received a new edition by Pyramid Books, with a new introduction by Ellison. This new introduction, titled "New Introduction: Your Basic Crown of Thorns," is one of the strongest pieces of writing in the book. In fact, the power in the introduction comes mostly from a letter written not by Ellison, but to Ellison by a healthcare worker. Great letter, as long as you can look away from all the unabashed self-aggrandizing by Ellison that accompanies it.

In fact, there is much self-aggrandizing in this book, tucked into some of the mini intros he provides for each story. This is unfortunate as it makes it difficult to take the writing--and the author--seriously. This self-referencing style does not, however, come across as arrogant, not in the way that Ellison often comes across as arrogant, but more as though he were unsure of himself, insecure. It is an early collection, and it is possible that revisiting these earlier stories, many of which are embarrassingly weak, struck a cord in the now older, more experienced (and Hollywood-experienced at that) writer. Perhaps there is some self-consciousness blooming beneath the arrogance, and Ellison was hesitant in re-sending these earlier stories back into the world that knows him better than it did a decade before.

The first introduction, "Spero Meliora: From the Vicinity of Alienation," is somewhat bland, as are the individual story intros. But the letter included in the 1975 intro is solid.

The stories themselves are mixed, with some truly weak pieces, many of them unsurprisingly never reprinted outside this collection. Those worth reading are "The Departed," "Repent, Harlequin," and, to a lesser extent, "Paingod." The rest are forgettable.

Paingod     6/10

Fantastic Stories of Imagination, June 1964

The Ethos, rulers of the universe, had appointed Trente to be their Paingod--the one who dispenses pain and sorrow throughout the universe. Following centuries of meting out pain, Trente finds himself caring, and is aware that this will likely lead to his downfall and replacement, as he had centuries ago replaced another.

This fantasy is pretty good, with some nice ideas and some very average prose.

"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman     7/10

Galaxy Magazine, December 1965

Among his most read stories, "Repent, Harlequin!" features a less-than-average dude who takes on a society that takes punctuality to extremes, decreasing the lifespan of those who are perpetually late. The Harlequin in this tale wreaks public chaos in order to slow down the daily routine of citizens, and consequentially affects the economic system.

A simple story in many respects, with a clear message. As a teen I really liked this one but it's effect has lessened considerably with age. (My age certainly, though maybe the story's as well.) I do still like the story but much of the humour, particularly in the early stages, is a little grating.

Pyramid, 1965 edition

The Crackpots     4/10

If, June 1956

Given their superior reasoning and organization skills, the Kyben were given rights to rule the Galaxy. Yet the Kyben have a secret: a planet where they keep their eccentric population under close watch. A planet of "Crackpots."

As a bureaucratic race, the Kyben have a special corps of watchers whose job it is to monitor these crackpots and record their behaviour. Watcher Themus is new to the field, and is being trained by senior watcher Furth. While Themus understands that he is lucky to hold such a prized position, that he can look forward to a comfortable life and early retirement, he is inexplicably unhappy. As expected, Themis stumbles into the lives of the Crackpots, and soon begins to see the world in a different light.

While I enjoyed the story's beginning, I did not like the shift in tone when Themus finds himself among the Crackpots. The humour is grating and that overlong sequence when he must prove his abilities to be zany is painful to the point that this scene must be what's providing the collection with its title. (Particularly that embarrassing and needless moment when Themus is undressing the girl. He gets her at the end, so I suppose Ellison thinks the non-consensual undressing is justified.) There's a and later scene with Boolbak that is also overly long, and given the pain I was in, I skimmed through it. These tedious scenes were followed by even more tedious explanations and exposition.

Sleeping Dogs     4/10

Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, October 1974

Commander Drabix has ordered a mass attack on twin cities Globar and Schall, as the planet is believed to hold a large quantity of a rare mineral. He is opposed by Amicus Lynn Ferraro, who is on board to observe the commander, and who is critical at the cold handling of the attack. The planets have been overrun by various races, and an unsympathetic Drabix interprets the original natives to be spineless. When he begins to attack the planet's ancient relics, however, the expected occurs (expected for the readers, who are more enlightened than cartoonish evel Drabix).

Not a good story, but at least it's short. Drabix is the Hollywood crazed military commandant wanting to destroy, destroy, destroy, while the amicus is the sympathetic voice. Ellison, in his intro, prides himself on making the good-guy a woman, pointedly highlighting this obvious detail, wanting the reader the note how progressing a writer he is. He also brings up the fact that the story was ranked last in a reader's poll in the issue of Analog in which it was originally printed, making various excuses why it placed last, pretty much stereotyping the magazine's readership.

Bright Eyes     3/10

Fantastic Stories of Imagination, April 1965

Some dude named Bright Eyes, along with his giant rat companion, must make a long journey to the land of his ancestors. The journey finds himself in cavern tunnels, attacked by wild dogs, and worst of all, entangled by bad prose of the "long before places were named" variety. Abstract are the words of Ellison. And where these words eventually lead, is not that interesting, despite my skimming the last couple of pages.

Inspired by fan art of a rider atop a giant rat, a sack of skulls in his hand, according to Heinlein's intro. He also mentions he was offered a full two cents per word to write this thing, half a cent above standard rates at the time, which is likely why this short piece is stretched thin with lines in the vein of "[t]he countryside was a murmuring silence," "an instant of time that may have been forever and may have been never," and a sky so black the stars ran away, or some such nonsense.

The Discarded     8/10

Fantastic, April 1959

Unwanted mutants are exiled onto a ship in space, where they are orbiting the Earth as even the outer colonies want nothing to do with them and the "Sickness" that led to their mutation. Led by mutant Bedzick, the ramshackle group lives in a depressed state, where suicide is a common occurrence. Unexpectedly, a ship from Earth appears, and an Earther has come with hope of deliverance from exile. It appears the Sickness has mutated and all humans on Earth and on the colonies are affected, and they need the help of the mutants, those who carry the original strain, to find a cure.

A very good story. In this one, Ellison employs a straightforward dramatic tone, as the story is ultimately a tragedy, and the therefore the flatter prose does not distract from what is going on. Indeed, something actually is going on in this story.

A pretty decent adaptation was made for the pretty awful short-lived TV series Masters of Science Fiction.

Wanted in Surgery     4/10

If, August 1957

Pyramid, 1969 printing

Machines known as psymechs have taken over nearly every profession, and the latest is that of surgery. Trained surgeons are relegated to assistants, and Dr. Stuart Bergman is struggling with self-worth as he can no longer practice serious surgery. "He was helpless in the spider’s mesh of a situation," Ellison writes. Yet he may be describing his own entanglement in a plot that tries to figure out what it wants to accomplish. This story is messy, made up largely of internal monolog, and its intentions unclear as its focus shifts continuously.

If Bergman is a serious surgeon, then we would assume, as he reminds a colleague and friend, that he entered the profession because he wished to care for others. So if psymechs are doing a better a job than humans, he should be pleased that patients will be better taken care of, but is instead unhappy that he can no longer perform surgery.

The story begins as a rant against technology, where surgery is just the latest profession to be challenged by robots and other improvements over humans. The narrative then transforms into an existential rant, that the psymech situation is merely aggravating Bergman's self worth and making him question his place in society. This leads to Bergman wondering from where his anxiety stems, and deciding it stems from fear. But why is he afraid, he wonders? Because of psymechs, he decides. Because technology is taking over.

We are then given a scene in which a patient awakens while in midst of having both legs amputated, and the shock of the reality and spectacle makes the man want to die, or so the narrator believes. The psymech could not save the man since it has no empathy, whereas Bergman believes a human could have soothed the man. Yet an important aspect of the incident is skipped. It is Bergman himself who caused the shock since he was administering the anesthetic and was distracted by the psymech's excellent operating technique, hence did not properly anesthetize the patient during surgery! Had a psymech been administering the anesthetic rather than a human, the patient would never have woken up. Bergman argues that the human psychology is ignored by the machine, and therefore humans should be performing operations. Yet the psychology of Bergman, overwhelmed by his inner turmoil, results in the patient's awakening, and the shock that kills him. All Bergman (or Ellison) ends up proving is that humans should not only not perform surgery, but should also not perform the attending tasks, and should be removed from the operating room entirely.

I can go on, but won't. I agree that machines lack the empathy sometimes necessary in the operating room, but his argument is messy and the story is a mishmash of intertwining thoughts. This is the only reason it is so needlessly long. Needlessly long, as this review.

Deeper Than the Darkness     6/10

If, June 1956

Alf Gunnderson is a galactic hobo, travelling across planets, wanting to be left alone. On Earth he is caught setting a forest on fire, and the government is interested in his special ability to start fires with his mind. In this future, humans are capable of developing psychic powers, such as mindreading, yet Gunnderson is unique in his ability to make the molecules of objects speed up to the point of combustion. Yet, while he is able to set fires, he is unable to control them.

It is a time of war, for there is always war somewhere, and the Earth government wants to use Gunnderson as a weapon. Should he give in, destroy millions of alien lives, and live in comfort, or should he flee? Decisions, decisions.

Passable.

Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction # 50: Impostor by Philip K. Dick

Dick, Philip K. "Impostor." Astounding Science Fiction, June 1953.

This article is part of my attempt to read the 155 stories currently (as of 1 November 2022) on the ISFdb's Top Short Fiction list. Please see the introduction and list of stories here. I am encouraging readers to rate the stories and books they have read on the ISFdb.

"Impostor" at the ISFdb

ISFdb Rating:   8.67/10

My Rating:        9/10

" “One of these days I’m going to take time off,” Spence Olham said at first-meal. "

Earth was ravaged by war, attacked by the powerful Outspacers from Alpha Centauri. The Outspacers reached Earth easily, but Terran scientists developed a protec-bubble that enveloped the planet, protecting humans from enemy attack. Humans worked relentlessly on developing weapons to fight the Outspacers, and protagonist Spence Olham is working on the Project.

Early this morning, like every morning, he gets into the "bug" with friend and colleague Nelson, heading into work. This morning, however, an older military man is accompanying Nelson, a Major Peters. When the vehicle is airborne, Peters and Nelson grab ahold of Olham, accuse him of being a spy for the Outpacers, and head quickly into space with the intention of disposing Olham. It turns out that the Outspacers managed to infiltrate the protec-bubble and send an android to eliminate the real Olham, then to masquerade as the man until it sets off a massive explosive device, intending to wreak havoc on the human weapons development project. The men want to eliminate the impostor far away from Earth in order to prevent the explosive from going off near civilization.

But like a proper protagonist, Olham knows he is Olham, and not an android. And in order to give us a proper story, he manages to escape from his captives and return to Earth, where he is determined to locate proof of his identity, while evading his captors.

Like many a story by Philip K. Dick, this one toys with the notion of identity alongside the safety of the human race. Here the global threat is from outer space, yet the men who chase Olham, who were once trusted colleagues, are out to kill him, and like any existential crisis, this one begins with the protagonist's world turning topsy-turvy.

And like many a story by Philip K. Dick, this one features some nice twists. Having read much of his work, a reader can figure out fairly early how this one will end. Dick nonetheless presents us with a great finish, here in the form of a wonderful last line that nicely imbues tragedy with a dash of humour.

An excellent story.

Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction # 49: Desertion by Clifford D. Simak

Simak, Clifford D. "Desertion." Astounding Science Ficion, November 1944.

This article is part of my attempt to read all the 155 stories currently (as of 1 November 2022) on the ISFdb's Top Short Fiction list. Please see the introduction and list of stories here. I am encouraging readers to rate the stories and books they have read on the ISFdb.

"Desertion" at the ISFdb

ISFdb Rating:   8.67/10

My Rating:        7/10

"Four men, two by two, had gone into the howling maelstrom that was Jupiter and had not returned."

Kent Fowler leads the Dome No. 3 Jovian Survey Commission, one of a handful of outposts located on Jupiter. He is responsible for having sent four men into Jupiter's atmosphere. These four men have not returned. He is now about to send a fifth man, young and confident Harold Allen, to find out what happened to his predecessors, knowing that Allen will also likely not return.

Humans have explored much of the solar system. They are able to visit the different planets with the help of a converter, a machine that transforms human individuals into aliens, mimicking the beings native to the planet they are exploring, and thus allowing humans to function in the alien environment. Yet while this process has helped them visit the planets in their solar system, there is something about Jupiter that is different, as the converted men do not return.

And it is Fowler's duty to find a way to get humans out of the domes and onto the surface, in the stormy planet atmosphere. Converter operator Miss Stanley accuses Fowler of essentially murdering these men for the advancement of science, and of his career. Yet despite the guilt of selecting which men should risk themselves to be converted and sent into the unforgiving atmosphere, Fowler feels he must press on.

"Desertion" is a hard science fiction story, focusing not on human development in the distant future, but on the Jovian landscape, detailing its chemical rains and colourful skyline, a "soupy maelstrom" as it was understood in 1944. Yet the story is more about humanity, about our unfailing drive amid a universe that teaches us that human needs are essentially inconsequential. A very good story. Without spoiling it, the story can imply that the individual  need outweighs the collective, at least when faced with eternity. Likely not the author's intent, but the idea is inherent in the characters' fates.

"Desertion" is among the stories included in Simak's acclaimed collection City.

For more of this week's Wednesday Short Stories, please visit Patti Abbott's blog.

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, edited by Herbert van Thal (1959)

van Thal, Herbert, ed. The Pan Book of Horror Stories. Pan Books, 11 December 1959.

The Pan Book of Horror Stories at the ISFdb

The Pan Book of Horror Stories at Goodreads

Overall Rating:     7/10

At thirty volumes, The Pan Book of Horror Stories is the longest running horror anthology series. The years preceding the publication of the first volume witnessed a number of successful horror anthologies, motivating Pan to assemble a collection of their own. This venture would prove to be a highly lucrative move for the publisher.

The 2010 reprint of the first volume includes an informative introduction by Johnny Mains, titled "A Brief History of the Horrors." The introduction discussed the important involvement of many hands, including, of course, editor Herbert van Thal, as well as Chief Editor Charles Paget, who brought van Thal on board and had a hand in selecting stories for the latter volumes, and editor Christine Campbell Thomson, who herself had produced a series of successful horror anthologies with the Not at Night series, and possibly helped van Thal in selecting the contents for the first volume. The first volume includes a story by Thomson, under the pseudonym Flavia Richardson.

Though a handful of the stories in the first book in the Pan horror series are quite flat, it also includes some real gems, in particular the stories by Angus Wilson, C. S. Forester, both of which were new to me, and the Muriel Spark and Peter Fleming stories.

The stories here are printed alphabetically by author's last name, which means little since many stories in individual volumes are pseudonyms of authors included in the collection. The quality of stories waver throughout, though the first batch is quite strong, whereas many of the weaker stories fall in the book's middle.

Jugged Hare by Joan Aiken     7/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

Desmond Colne arrives at a remote estate in the hope of selling some machinery. There he meets the estate owner's wife, Sarah, as she lies leisurely in a hammock with some tatting. Immediately he is struck by her beauty, and begins a flirtatious conversation. Sarah warns Desmond that her husband, Henry, is both very jealous, and an excellent marksman, when an arrow suddenly passes between them, pinning Sarah's tatting to the ground. Henry is obsessed with hunting, while Sarah is bored and lies around most of the time, in her hammock or, as implied, with other men. Desmond is not deterred by Henry's jealousy, and when he learns that Henry is leaving that afternoon for an excursion on his yacht, he decides it is the best time to return to the house.

In a cookbook I looked up the term jugged, and learned that it is a way of cooking game in an enclosed vessel, like a modern pressure cooker. In this story Sarah is the hare, as Henry lets her stew as part of his revenge. I have always liked Joan Aiken's simple yet precise style, and enjoyed this one quite a bit. Interesting that it was an original story commissioned (or purchased) for a horror anthology, as the story is mostly suspense, with mild horror elements. It is nonetheless among the better stories included.

Submerged by A. L. Barker     7/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

Young Peter Hume likes to swim in the river despite the roots and other dangers found below, and much prefers it to the still quarry where his friends like to dive. One day Peter encounters an odd woman claiming there is a man trying to kill her, and this experience sours his fondness for the beloved river.

A slow burn of a story, as Barker patiently describes in detail much of Peter's swim that day and the natural make-up of the river. The ending is unexpectedly unsettling though. Again less horror than suspense, though there is an element of psychological horror.

His Beautiful Hands by Arthur Cook     7/10

At Dead of Night, Christine Campbell Thomson, ed., Selwyn & Blount, 1931

Somewhere in the South East, possibly Borneo, our narrator sits in his British club watching the rains, when acquaintance Warwick comes in for a double whiskey and to share a "beastly yarn." Warwick was enamored of a manicurist named Paulina, who instead returns the attentions of a violinist who Warwick refers to as Mr. A. The violinist, vain and obsessed with his beautiful hands, appears one day at the salon with an infected finger, and instead of going to the hospital, trusts only Paulina to take care of the digit, despite the infection quickly spreading.

This is among that sub-genre of stories by British authors of the period featuring characters from, or descended from, exotic locales. We learn that Paulina is "tainted" with Javanese blood. It is this trace in her blood that the men use to explain her passionate, vengeful nature and general otherness, and to explain the grisly act she commits. While there is inherent racism in Paulina's delineation, the term "tainted" being the most overt, the author is sympathetic to the woman, presenting her as victim despite her crime.

Author Cook was stationed for many years in what was British North Borneo, and later began publishing tales inspired by his experiences there, often containing elements of the supernatural. "His Beautiful Hands" does not feature any supernatural elements, and is more of a psychological horror. The story is quite extreme for its time, and not just for the gruesome finger, but discussing these plot points would spoil the story.

The Copper Bowl by George Fielding Eliot     5/10

Weird Tales, December 1928

Bandit Yan Li, "the Mandarin," is doing his best to get French prisoner Lieutenant André Fournet to reveal the location of his outpost. Torture did not work, and since the bandit cannot damage the man too badly without bringing on the wrath of the French legion, he has devised another plan. Li's men have kidnapped Lily, the woman of Fournet's affections, and have threatened to torture her until death if the soldier does not speak. Since Lily is a quarter Chinese and resident of the country, Li believes the legion will not get involved in their business if she were harmed. He then presents his terrifying form of torture, with the use of a rat and a copper bowl.

Not a very good story, though adequately macabre. As a story it is straightforward, with no deviations from the expected, and all it has going for itself is the gruesome torture. The Chinese are presented in stereotypical fashion, as is expected of 1928, and in every insult hurled by our heroic soldier, the adjective yellow is included. The first truly horror story in the anthology, and the least interesting thus far.

Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket by Jack Finney     6/10

Collier's, October 26, 1956

Young Tom Benecke is trying to get ahead at work, and chooses not to accompany his pretty wife Clare to an evening at the movies, in order to stay in and work. The piece of paper containing his work, however, is carried out the window on a breeze, and when Benecke climbs out onto the ledge to recuperate it, he accidentally locks himself outside. Stranded on that ledge he re-evaluates his priorities by imagining the discovery of the contents of his pockets should he fall.

The story is an obvious lesson on seizing what is important in life. I cheated and did not re-read this one as I have come across this story many times and have read it enough. I figured I would take Finney's advice and skip his story in an attempt to better use my precious minutes on re-reading Peter Fleming's "The Kill," which I have not re-read in a few years, and to which I was looking forward.

The Kill by Peter Fleming     8/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

On a foggy night, a young man finds himself stranded in a train station with a stranger. He begins to relate to the stranger the events that brought him there. He was visiting his eccentric uncle, Lord Fleer, who believes that all his heirs are cursed by the mother of his bastard son, who appears to have returned to the estate following a long absence.

I have always really liked this story, having first read it as a kid in the excellent anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Bar the Doors (Dell Books, 1946). The writing is tight and I like the details of the plot and the characters. The fact that the ending is predictable does not bother me in the least. It is interesting that the "evil" character in the story, the bastard son, is the real victim, but as told through the point of view of the nephew, we automatically sympathize with his people. Yet when we think about the events, the uncle made some poor decisions.

The Physiology of Fear by C. S. Forester     8/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

It is 1940, and Dr. Georg Schmidt is a concentration camp physician working for the Reich. Though not a Nazi sympathizer, he must keep up appearances for his own safety. When it is time to take a leave, he visits his nephew Heinrich, a leading researcher at the university which makes Dr. Schmidt both proud and relieved that as a scientist he was lucky to be spared from the horrors of the camps. Heinrich boasts to his uncle of his research, the physiology of fear, and soon Schmidt learns that the research involves human subjects and fear is evoked with the promise of death. Schmidt is shocked and sickened to see where his nephew's sympathies lie, and yet the unexpected ensues.

I would like to give more detail but there are some nice turns in this story and I was glued to the text. Not only does Forester create a suspenseful plot, he captures the horrors of the camp and the Nazi regime without being too detailed, and mixes Nazi politics and citizen paranoia into the mix. A true horror story as it tells a horrific story within a horrific universe. Amid this, he manages to make Dr. Schmidt sympathetic, despite his vocation. The nice touch of ironic justice at the end is also welcome. A nice find by van Thal from Forester's 1954 collection, "The Nightmare," featuring stories of Nazi Germany.

W. S. by L. P. Hartley     7/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

A popular writer begins receiving postcards from a fan that are both laudatory and critical. He realizes that the cards are being mailed from towns closer and closer to where he resides, and he grows quite anxious, soliciting the police for help.

A very well written story, dripping with suspense, until the end. I like stories with ambiguity, but that dark snow at the end simply makes no sense. For one thing, it would have melted long before the police arrived, so how would they know that the liquid was snow? The problem is that ambiguous endings need to make the reader think and to theorize, but here Harley seems to have had a great premise but could not come up with an appropriate closure. (I rate the story 7 for the impressive quality of suspense in its first nine-tenths, and won't let the ending mar that, but really this is generous because I don't think I would re-read this.)

The Horror in the Museum by Hazel Heald     6/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

Stephen Jones visits a London wax museum, and expecting disappointment, he is instead impressed by the collection and by the overall essence of the place. He becomes acquainted with the proprietor and wax artist (waxist?) George Rogers. Yet Jones is more than a sculptor, as he has travelled to exotic places in search of ancient relics from the time before man, when fearful gods ruled the Earth. Jones believes Rogers is mad when the sculptor claims he has trapped one of the ancient gods in the museum. To prove that there are no such creatures, Jones vows to spend the night in the workroom, and if by morning, when Rogers arrives for work, he has survived, Rogers agrees to abandon his notions.

Pretty much what you would expect, just overlong (particularly that extended climax that is so melodramatic it is near comical). Not a bad story but delivers nothing new, and does not hold up to the better Lovecraft stories. The real author is obviously H. P. Lovecraft. It seems that much of the story was written by Lovecraft, who had apparently ghosted a handful of stories for author Hazel Heald, who was a real person and not a pseudonym.

The Library by Hester Holland     5/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

Six months after having been abandoned by her fiancé, Margaret is still trying to cope. Her doctor recommends that she go to the country for rest and distraction, so she takes up a position to "take charge" of Lady Farrell's country house, Witcomb Court. Since her failing health takes the lady away for six months out of the year, she needs someone trustworthy to oversee the house and its staff. The house was despoiled and the library ravaged by relatives with hefty gambling debts, and the Lady is the last of her line. Margaret is curious about the library and wants to visit, by Lady Farrell tells her she is not ready. Oddly to Margaret, the house feels alive.

Some of the story's pieces don't add up too well, but even if they did, the story just isn't very interesting and the denouement is bland.

The Mistake by Fielden Hughes     5/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

A retired medical superintendent at an asylum recounts the story of a man who slept five minutes a day, spending much of his waking hours reading and writing. After his death, an envelope of his writings were left with the superintendent, who presents us with the insomniac's story. The insomniac was vicar of St Alpha's Church, where he was happy except for an inexplicable hatred of a man he refers to as the "White Goat." The two hated each other instinctively, and the "White Goat" began slandering the vicar, spreading rumours and dissent. The vicar is haunted with thoughts of murdering the man, thoughts with which his conscience had to battle.

Anyway, unlike the previous story, I was enjoying reading this one quite a bit, until the sadly anti-climactic ending.

Oh, Mirror, Mirror by Nigel Kneale     7/10

Tomato Cain and Other Stories, London: Collins, 1949

Written as a monologue by auntie to her captive niece Judith. We learn that Judy was the result of a forbidden union, and now Judith must be held captive in their home. The girl, now fifteen, was raised by her aunt, and is being protected in the house since Judith is unlike others.

Well written, capturing auntie's voice and doing a good job at telling its tale via monologue. The story is somewhat ambiguous, but nicely so, as we are left uncertain as to the nature of the locals.

Serenade for Baboons by Noel Langley     7/10

My Grimmest Nightmare. London: Allen & Unwin, 1935

A Scottish doctor decides to open a practice in South Africa, where there is little competition. Being practical and unimaginative, the doctor believes that "imagination is the enemy of man," and that he can cure the locals of their superstition. However, the locals are loyal to their "Hottentot" (Now Khoekhoe) witchdoctor, M'Pini, and our  modern European receives no patients, and therefore no income. Then a farmer named Hoareb, who also hated witchdoctors, called upon the doctor to mend an injury, and all seemed good in the doctor's world. A few days later, Hoareb returned, demanding that the doctor follow him to his farm as his friend is dying, having been attacked by baboons.

Satiric in its presentation of the opportunistic English doctor, the story has a certain respect for African culture. A strong story with a nicely ambiguous final scene, and some clever humour at the expense of the doctor in the first half of the story is replaced with a darker tone in the latter portion, but well transitioned.

The Lady Who Didn't Waste Words by Hamilton Macallister     7/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

In the last passenger compartment of a train, a man shares the space with an odd woman. This lady does not speak, but continues to smile at the man and move slowly around the compartment. In the tunnels he can sense her moving closer to him in the dark.

The story is as odd as the woman, and genuinely creepy. Another ambiguous tale, and one that works nicely. J have not heard of the author, and the ISFdb lists only one other story credited to him: " "D'You Like Me, Saunders?" " published in another val Thal anthology, Lie Ten Nights Awake (Hodder & Stoughton, 1967).

A Fragment of Fact by Chris Massie     7/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

During a cycling trip, a man is caught in a storm and luckily comes across a house where he seeks refuge. He is allowed in by an odd man who brings him water in a dog dish, offending our narrator. The man then confesses he is out of sorts as his wife has just died. Another unusual story with an unclear end, which, like its predecessor, I liked very much. The poor choice of title, however, makes it appear unfinished, as though the author himself was not sure just what he was writing.

The House of Horror by Seabury Quinn     6/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

Dr. Jules de Grandin is driving in a rainstorm with colleague and friend Trowbridge in search of an ailing child when they stumble onto a house neither of them had ever noticed before. In the house is a man and a sickly young woman, and upon examination the doctor becomes immediately aware that the woman is not ill, but has been drugged. Things happen and a genuinely horrific discovery is made.

Aside from the discovery, the story is quite bad. Parbleu! How that dialogue is laughable. The plot is rushed, with the doctors taking refuge in the house thinking that the ailing child they were looking for has probably died due to their delay in arriving. And why would the man allow two medical professionals to examine the girl he has drugged, when they were not even aware she was in the house?

Behind the Yellow Door by Flavia Richardson     6/10

Terror by Night, edited by Christine Campbell Thomson, London: Selwyn & Blount, 1934

The new secretary to a respected female surgeon is brought to the house to mostly take care of the woman's daughter. Some nice suspense and a the discovery of the reason for the secretary's presence in the house make for a good read.

Flavia Richardson is a short-lived pseudonym of Catherine Campbell Thomson, who was first identified as the author of "Behind the Yellow Door" upon its first publication, in the anthology Terror by Night by popular horror anthologist Catherine Campbell Thomson.

The Portobello Road by Muriel Spark     7/10

Winter's Tales 2, London: Macmillan, 1956

A woman nicknamed Needle after finding one in a haystack, encounters two old acquaintances on the Portobello Road, and surprises one of them by speaking out to him. This is surprising as Needle died five years prior. This encounter leads to Needle telling the story of her friendship with three others since their youth, taking her from Scotland to Rhodesia and back, then to a reunion of sorts that led to her death.

A highly entertaining story, very well written with a quirky sense of humour, with some nice twists along the way. Easily one of my favourite stories in the anthology. Spark was a fairly popular author by 1959, though The Prime of Miss Brodie had not yet been published, and she was mostly known for her poetry and her first novel, The Comforters, which was published in 1957 to critical and commercial success. Including a story by Spark in the anthology probably lent it an heir serious literature, as the story is not quite horror, despite dealing with murder and a ghost.

The Squaw by Bram Stoker     7/10

Holly Leaves, 2 December 1893

On their honeymoon in Germany, a couple puts an end to their constant bickering by joining a solo American traveller, Elias P. Hutcheson. Together they visit Elitz Castle in Burg, from where they look down and notice a mother cat playing with its kitten. Wanting to encourage further play, Hutcheson drops a "pebble" near them, but it accidently brains the kitten, and the mother cat immediately gives him a stare of savage hate. It then pursues the trio, waiting for the right moment to get its revenge.

The cat braining scene is quite brutal, and certainly had its intended effect on me. That poor mother cat! Added to this is that the American is an unsympathetic character, though he insists he is gentle. I found the more he insisted he was gentle, the more unsympathetic he appeared. I sympathized with the feline, and it appears Stoker did as well, as Hutcheson, with his exaggerated tales of vengeful squaws and sleeping in the carcass of a horse, came across more of a caricature than a person.

This is second story in the anthology to be set in Germany, and it is also the inspiration for the anthology's cover.

Flies by Anthony Vercoe     5/10

Grim Death, edited by Christine Campbell Thomson, London: Selwyn & Blount, 1932

A story recounted by a dying tramp. On a rainy night, the vagabond breaks into an old, seemingly derelict house, but upon entering discovers that it is lavishly decorated with antique furniture. Laid out is a feast, with fine food and wine, but an insufferable buzzing nearly bursts his head. He follows the sound to the master's chambers, inside which is a coffin and a great many flies.

Barely passable story. The tramp's plight inside the house did not intrigue me, as the story focused primarily on the gross-out factor and little else. Unsatisfying premise, an inexplicable time travel element and a flat ending do not help.

Raspberry Jam by Angus Wilson     8/10

The Wrong Set, London: Secker, 1949

Little Johnnie is neglected and "love starved," and plays mostly by himself, making up games that blend reality and fantasy. In a village lacking playmates, he has befriended a pair of spinster sisters, Marian and Dolly Swindale, who take him in and feed his fantasy through a shared love of novels and storytelling. Johnnie's parents do not approve of his friendship with these ladies, and his absent father is worried he will become effeminate, threatening his relationship with the spinsters. Yet we learn that something has already occurred to threaten their friendship, that Johnnie has lost some of his innocence that last time he was over for tea.

An excellent story. A truly slow burn of a tale that takes us from a seemingly innocuous conversation, building the dull adult world on which the socially odd Johnnie lives, to a disturbing reveal that so forcefully explains the story's title. In between we have layers of relationship, post-war rural British society, the clash between childhood innocence and adult reality, all among people who seem to be perpetually suffering loss. Possibly a treatise on a broken society following the war, one that is inhabited primarily by women who long for an earlier period, and for their own youth.

Nightmare by Alan Wykes     6/10

The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, ed., Pan Books, 11 December 1959

A sensitive, paranoid man strikes a relationship with psychiatrist Dr. Frazer, who soon cures him of his sense of persecution. However, our narrator soon afterwards experiences emptiness without his anxieties, so that the anxieties manifest themselves in nightmares.

A decent but not remarkable story.