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.

Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 1, 1939

Asimov, Isaac, & Martin H. Greenberg. Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 1, 1939. New York: DAW Books, March 1979.

Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 1, 1939 at the ISFdb

Great Science Fiction Stories Volume 1, 1939 at Goodreads

Overall Rating:     5 or 7 /10 (depending on my level of frustration)

What a great concept that a series of anthologies would be printed with the aim of capturing the greatest science fiction stories of each year, beginning with the golden age of science fiction in 1939, and concluding a quarter century later with the year 1963 (anthology #25 published in 1992). (An additional volume for 1964 would be produced in 2001, edited by Greenberg and Robert Silverberg.) What a wonderful concept to store the best remembered early works for future readers to enjoy, so that they need not scour old, tattered rags, or peruse volumes of stories online, and risk losing the good ones forever.

It is just too bad the anthology is such an awful mess.

Granted, we have some fine stories in here that are worth reading both for their enjoyment and for a better understanding of the evolution of the genre and for our vision of the future as it was in 1939. What is unfortunate are the subjective selections by Asimov, who seems to have felt the need to include underwhelming stories by those who helped shape his career in those early days. Yet even worse than his sentimentality (or perhaps satisfying a need to re-pay those who had published him by re-publishing them), is the lack of effort that went into verifying the stories. As a consequence, a story first published ten years after this golden year is included, with Nelson Bond's "Pilgrimage" (1949). In his introduction to the story, Asimov asserts that it is "Pilgrimage" that was published in Amazing Stories in October 1939, when it was not even published in a pulp, but first appeared in Bond's second collection, The Thirty-First of February (Gnome Press) in 1949. Asimov goes on to mis-represent "Pilgrimage" as the first story of the rebellious priestess Meg series, when it is in fact the last. He likely hadn't read the series, or had little recollection of it, considering how "Pilgrimage" ends the adventures of Meg so conclusively. I haven't read the series either, yet the tone of finality in this story clashed with Asimov's description and sent me off to do some research, and in no time I discovered the error. I simply located the October 1939 issue of Amazing Stories online and, lo and behold, the Bond story that was included there was the first story of the Meg series, titled "The Priestess Who Rebelled." In short, according to Asimov (and by association, Greenberg), one of the best stories of 1939 was first published in 1949.

If an updated series of the best of these early stories were to be published, with more objective editors, I would invest in the set.

Asimov's inclusion of both editors H. L. Gold and John W. Campbell are mostly sentimental, as these are influential editors who had great impact on Asimov's career, and yet the stories included are weak compared to the rest of the content, particularly Gold's which is entirely forgettable. Gold certainly was an influential editor in his day, but never made much impact as a writer.

Most of the stories selected for inclusion in the anthology first appeared in Astounding, the forerunner in publishing science fiction stories at the time. The July and August issues each feature three stories in this collection, of a total of twenty stories, therefore making up almost a third of the volume.

Yet despite the frustrations wrought by Asimov's sloppy editing, I do continue to enjoy his anecdotes on the authors in his brief intros to the stories. Beside the wreck that is the intro to the Nelson S. Bond story, however, are a couple of other odd statements, which I will mention below.

And on a final (for now) note, I was surprised yet impressed at the number of solid stories published in 1939 that hold up well today and will likely do so in 2039.

I, Robot by Eando Binder     8/10

Amazing Stories, January 1939

Dr. Link has constructed a robot. More than a machine, this robot is able to evolve, to learn and to think for itself. After a couple of months of teaching and testing, and confident that his invention has a moral guide, the doctor believes the machine is ready to enter society, and gives it the name Adam Link. But an unlucky accident sends Adam on the run, and it learns the darker truths about human nature.

A familiar story as it places Mary Shelley's Frankenstein into a modern setting. Despite its familiarity it is a strong story and holds up with time. The story was famously adapted for an episode of the original The Outer Limits, and re-made for the 1990s The Outer Limits.

In the story's introduction, Asimov gives "I, Robot" credit for directly influencing his robot story "Robbie" (originally published as "Strange Playfellow"), which he penned only a couple of months after the publication of Binder's story. In addition, he claims that when the title to his collection I, Robot was suggested, he hated it, not wanting to borrow Binder's title.

Though credited to brothers Earl and Otto Binder, it was later believed that Otto, the more prolific of the brothers who continued to pursue writing after Earl had given it up, was the sole author of "I, Robot." Subsequent reprints of the story credit it as having been written only by Otto Binder.

Strange Flight of Richard Clayton by Robert Bloch     8/10

Amazing Stories, March 1939

Scientist Richard Clayton has constructed a ship that can take him from Earth to Mars, a twenty-year round-trip voyage he makes alone. The ship is a small tin vessel with no windows, and soon boredom creeps in and loneliness envelops our protagonist.

Bloch does well in disorienting the reader, since the loneliness begins soon after liftoff, and like Clayton, we wonder how long he has been in space and how much distance remains until he reaches his destination, having not a clue and feeling anxious by being made so unaware of time. I figured out the ending early enough, but it did not deter me from enjoying the highly enjoyable Blochian style.

Trouble with Water by H. L Gold     3/10

Unknown, March 1939

On a beautiful summer's day, concession stand owner Herman Greenberg is by himself in a boat trying to catch some fish. He is reflecting on his misfortunes in having had a daughter but no son. A son would have helped him in the family business, but his ugly daughter Rosie is unmarriable, and every extra bit of income must be put toward her dowry.

A fantasy story selected for inclusion among the best science fiction stories. Unfortunately, it is not a good one, but may have provided laughs for a certain generation of men in 1939. The humour relies on the ever-berated husband by the overpowering wife, and through slapstick scenes of being unable to use water, such as shaving, bathing or trying to eat soup. We have large-eared gnomes and a drunken Irish policeman, as the story employs unflattering stereotypes for laughs. And only for laughs: the berating wife suddenly transforms into a loving spouse once her comedic scene is finished, then cast away when no longer required and making space for Gold to bring in the drunken Irishman, where more belly laughs can be found (though I found none). Included in the anthology published in 1979, you would think by then Asimov would have become more "woke" as the decade progressed and seen this dated story for what it is. Sadly, Asimov instead unflatteringly touts this as being Gold's best story, which only deters me from reading any more of his work.

In the story introduction, Asimov brings attention to the protagonist's name, as it is coincidentally the name of the anthology's co-editor.

The Cloak of Aesir by John W. Campbell, Jr.     7/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1939 (as by Don A. Stuart)

For four thousand years (since 1977, to be precise), the Sarn have ruled over Earth, having enslaved humanity following a costly war. It appears, however, that the humans are preparing a revolt, and when some high-level humans are captured and sentenced to death, a being calling itself Aesir appears, claiming to be made from the energy of the will of mankind, and frees the humans. The story opens with the Sarn Mother meeting with the seven City Mothers, those ruling each a portion of the Earth, who are jealous of the immortal Sarn Mother who in turn rules over them. A council is being held to decide how they will handle this revolt, and to find a way to examine Aesir's cloak from where his power emanates, as weapons do not appear to have any effect on him.

Aesir, it turns out, is a scientist named Ware, who has developed this cloak that gives him great power, or the illusion of power, as really it is all science. In this sense, Aesir is among the first superheroes.

Describing the plot of "The Cloak of Aesir" is a lengthy process, as is reading the story. I always find Campbell's fiction to be a slog, as the stories are overlong and written in a dry style. I barely recall "Twilight" and "Forgetfulness," two popular Campbell tales I struggled with. "The Cloak of Aesir," however, I found far more interesting. It is certainly overlong and dry, and while reading about an intelligent, advanced species led by women is fascinating, it is a let-down that the main traits of the race, being women, is a high emotional drama, as they are jealous of one another, constantly bickering among themselves and described as being annoyed and vexed and so forth. These advanced female aliens have nothing on the smarter male human scientists (though Campbell does toss a smart woman into the mix). A bit like the high drama of the Olympian gods and goddesses in many of their captured disputes. Regardless, it was overall interesting though I did rush through some portions in order to finish the story more quickly.

Day Is Done by Lester del Rey     8/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1939

The last neanderthal man is losing the will to live. Hwoogh's people have been pushed into a far corner of the valley in which they once thrived, as Cro Magnon man, or "Talkers," with their advanced hunting implements, have moved in and killed most of the game. Befriended by the unwanted Cro Magnon woman Keyoda, who brings him scraps of food and the occasional homebrew, Hwoogh feels that he no longer has purpose, subsisting on the charity of others, and exists rather than lives.

I first came across this story about a year ago, and re-read it here. I enjoyed my second reading as thoroughly as the first, perhaps even more. The story is written in a naturalistic way, though the language is modern, and it is genuinely touching without being sentimental. The story can be read as an analogy of advancing technology and how it changes the landscape and destroys life around us, relegating previous generations to superfluousness.

The Ultimate Catalyst by John Taine     7/10

Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1939

Chemist Dr. Beetle is trapped in Amazonia with his daughter Consuelo and some locals helping out at his lab. A couple of years ago, Emperor Kadir and his band of ruffians were exiled from their home and banished to Amazonia, where they quickly established a dictatorship. Dr. Beetle is silently rebelling, and has come up with a plan to free the people of Amazonia. Since Kadir and his men long for red meat in a world where only vegetables and fruit are available, the good doctor has come up with a neat way to grow meat in a new fruit he calls greenbeefo.

Author John Taine is Eric Temple Bell, a renowned mathematician better known, apparently, for his series of biographies on mathematicians, descriptively titled "Men of Mathematics." Interestingly, of Taine the normally respectful and laudatory Asimov writes: "I am not as fond of his stories as some people are." He was fond enough, I suppose, to include Taine in this anthology, or perhaps pressured by co-editor Greenberg? Unlike Asimov, I enjoyed this story.

Interestingly, Dr. Beetle's loving daughter is given the male variant of the name Consuela.

The Gnarly Man by L. Sprague de Camp     6/10

Unknown, June 1939

Anthropologist Dr. Mathilda Saddler is in New York and decides to visit Coney Island. There she goes to see the attraction Ungo-Bungo, "the ferocious ape-man," certain it would be a Caucasian in fake fur. But she immediately suspects there is more to the man than just a costume, and decides to meet him. Ungo-Bungo is Clarence Aloysius Gaffney, an intelligent and articulate man whose appearance is entirely natural, wearing no make-up or fur. Dr. Saddler is certain there is more to him than a natural deformity, and he entrusts with the truth: he is a Neanderthal who has been alive since 50,000 BC.

A fairly light story, of a comedic tone for which I don't normally care.

Black Destroyer by A. E. van Vogt     7/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1939

The Coeurl is an intelligent, large cat-like creature with tentacles stemming from its shoulders. It is among the last of its kind. A human exploration crew is searching through the ruins of an alien civilization when the Coeurl appears, and believing it to be more pet than threat, they take it in. Yet the creature is more predator, intent on eliminating the members of the exploration crew, and does so by hunting and outwitting them.

I first read "Black Destroyer" years ago when I learned that there was an out-of-court settlement between van Vogt and the studio behind Ridley Scott's Alien, citing the similarities between the novelette and Dan O'Bannon's screenplay. I did not care for the story at the time, many years ago, but this time around enjoyed it quite a bit. Many consider this story to be the starting point of the golden age of science-fiction, or at least the issue of Astounding in which it first appeared--an issue that also housed Isaac Asimov's first published short story, "Trends" (which is also reprinted in this anthology). In his introduction to the story, Asimov humbly defers to the launch of the golden age to van Vogt's story individually, and not the issue of Astounding. (But less humbly takes the time to mention his own story in relation to that important issue, and includes his story in this anthology of the best, when in reality it is among the weakest of the bunch.)

"Black Destroyer" is the first part of the Space Beagle series, and was later incorporated into the first six chapters of van Vogt's 1950 novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle, which is made up primarily of four different short stories along with additional linking material.

Greater Than Gods by C. L. Moore     6/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1939

It's July 2240, and Scientist William Vincent "Bill" Cory from Biology House is having trouble choosing between Marta Mayhew and Sallie Carlisle. In the meantime he is working on a project attempting to achieve balance between genders in a future where males are nearing extinction. His friend Charles Ashley from Telepath House interrupts his reveries, and talk soon turns to Ashley's speculations on determining the future. Essentially, if one can select their future path by knowing in advance where the major turning points of their lives are, one can determine their future. Cory gets the opportunity to see the future with each woman, and sees determined chemist Marta and flippant Sallie each help lead to a miserable future for humanity.

Not a bad story but overlong, particularly as we can figure out the resolution pretty easily.

Trends by Isaac Asimov     5/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1939

Dr. John Harman attempts to launch his rocket Prometheus to the moon, when he received a backlash from a public offended that he would dare profane the heavens by flying beyond them. On the day of the launch something goes wrong and the rocket explodes, killing 28 members of the religious cult organized by evangelist Otis Eldredge. Though Harman's loyal employee and narrator of the story Clifford McKenny discovers that the explosion was the result of sabotage, the public wants Harman accountable, and he must go into hiding. Underground he secretly works on Prometheus II, so that he can again attempt top reach the moon. This is dangerous as Eldredge rises in political circles and influence, and private scientific research is banned.

Interesting idea, of course, with Asimov seeing this ban and a strong public anti-scientific mind-set move well into our future. Beyond that glimpse of scientific paranoia and anxiety from 1939, the story is quite dull.

Published in the same Golden Age of SF launching issue that published "Black Destroyer," Asimov modestly downplays his story's significance in the launch, and rightfully so. The story does present an interesting concept for its time, but it is entirely flat, even in terms of early science fiction and early Asimov.

The Blue Giraffe by L. Sprague de Camp     7/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1939

Athelstan Cuff is surprised to find his rational son weeping, and learns that the boy has discovered he had been adopted. Cuff, a stuffy Englishman living in America, recounts the story of his boy's adoption, which takes him back to a visit to Okavango Wildlife preserve in Africa.

In 1976, Zulu warden George Mtengeni guided Cuff though the preserve to witness a blue giraffe that had been sighted there. During the visit, they witness the giraffe along with other, more exaggerated mutations. Separated from the warden, Cuff discovers baboon people living on the reserve, and gets embroiled in their tribe and in the mysteries of the preserve.

A surprisingly enjoyable story, though it treads a lot of familiar ground. Asimov claims that de Camp had a great sense of humour and that it was evidenced in this story, and while I did not care for the humour, the lightness I found to be more in the story's tone rather than in attempts at being funny, and the story maintained its momentum despite the light tone. Moreover, the concern over the mutations is handled sympathetically, acknowledging the potential disaster to wildlife if these mutations progress, and we are given a scene of a doomed creature who cannot support itself on its disproportionate legs. This is an early example of ecological science fiction, though the ecology is not the story's foremost concern.

The Misguided Halo by Henry Kuttner     3/10

Unknown, August 1939

A young angel is sent to Earth to sanctify a virtuous lama, but accidentally places the halo on American ad executive Kenneth Young. It turns out that Young has led a faultless life and can keep the halo, so he decides to commit a sin in order to do away with it, as the halo is cumbersome and embarrassing. Hilarity ensues.

Only it really doesn't. Even for 1939 this story is atrocious. The attempts at humour are aimed at Young trying to hide the halo and others almost but not quite seeing it, and an unfortunate amount of words are spent describing the obese man that Young must entertain that day. A long drawn-out fat joke, unsympathetic and unfunny. The story is among the few selected here that was not originally published in Astounding, (it was published in the lesser Unknown), which produced overall less quality writing for the time.

Most interesting is Asimov's brief introduction to the story, where he goes on about how Kuttner's wife, C. L. Moore, is the better writer of their combined Lewis Padgett, but indirectly. He then states that Kuttner certainly wrote a lot of bad stories, but that the one included here is good. So really, Asimov heaps praise on the various authors in the anthology, but cuts down Kuttner, and refers to the downright atrocious "The Misguided Halo" as one of the author's best solo efforts? Perhaps he had a thing for Moore...

Heavy Planet by Milton A. Rothman     6/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1939

On a distant planet with a strong gravitational pull, patrol Ennis is skimming along the sea when he witnesses an alien craft crashing into the waters. He enters the ship to investigate and discovers that it comes from a solar system containing nine planets, and quickly realizes that their gravity is much weaker as the alloys that make up the ship are to him like paper, and the bodies that once rode the craft have been transformed into masses of pulp. Ennis needs to dispose of the evidence of the ship and its atomic energy, or the nations of Bantin and Marak might discover it, and as war nations, their journey to other worlds would be disastrous. Just then a Marak battleship appears, and a battle on this strange vessel ensues.

Life-Line by Robert A. Heinlein     8/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1939

Dr. Hugo Pinero has constructed an instrument that is able to accurately predict a person's birth date, as well as the exact date of their death. Insurance companies conspire to take him down, legally and by ridiculing him, and eventually through violence.

Heinlein's first published short story, which I first read as a pre-teen in the Damon Knight anthology First Voyages. I enjoyed the story back then, and continue to do so upon each re-read (and there have been many, as the story is copiously anthologized). Every time I am about to re-read the story I think to myself it will be decent enough, but not as good as when I'd first read it, but I am always surprised by how much I enjoy the story with each read. The plot is simple but it is tight, and the protagonist is likeable, which is frequently not how I feel about Heinlein's lead characters. The story is also driven by drama, and there is no light tone or forced humour that often mars Heinlein's short stories. This one takes itself seriously, which I suppose enables me to take it seriously. Moreover, there is that genuinely touching scene of the young couple wanting to know the date when their expected child will be born. And the ending is satisfying too.

The Ether Breather by Theodore Sturgeon     6/10

Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1939

A television writer sees his work crudely distorted on live television, and soon learns something is afoot as other programs are also affected. Light and humourous, which is not my cup of tea, but I did laugh aloud at one moment.

As with "Life-Line," I first read "The Ether Breather" in First Voyages, (which also included van Vogt's "Black Destroyer"), an anthology which collected the first published stories of many famous science fiction authors. Even then I did not care much for the story, and recalled nearly nothing beyond its title. Sturgeon would of course go on to publish many far superior stories.

Pilgrimage by Nelson S. Bond     5/10

The Thirty-First of February, 1949

In the final story of Bond's brief postapocalyptic series Meg, the independent-thinking priestess has entered puberty and is sent on a pilgrimage before she can claim the coveted title of clan mother. The society in which she has grown up is matriarchal, but on her journey she discovers that men are the real leaders, and she is tamed by a man who gives her coffee and teaches her how to kiss. I suppose this is to be expected of a story from the 1940s by a man writing about pubescent girls and their place in society. Not a good story.

As mentioned in my intro to the anthology, editors Asimov and Greenberg really messed up with the inclusion of this story. In the introduction the story is credited as having been published in Amazing Stories, October 1939, and that it is the first of Bond's stories about the future priestess Meg. In fact, this story is not among the best stories of 1939 since it was first published a decade later, in Bond's 1949 collection The Thirty-First of February. It is true that Bond's first of four stories about Meg was published in that issue of Amazing Stories, but that was an entirely different story titled "The Priestess Who Rebelled."

Rust by Joseph E. Kelleam     7/10

Publication, month 1939

In a postapocalyptic era, only robots remain on Earth. However, as time passes and the ruins left by man are crumbling, the robots too are wearing down. Most of these robots were built long ago by humans with the purpose to destroy their enemies, and as these robots were successful in their task, there have been for a long time no humans left. We follow a trio of these robots, perhaps the last remaining, come out of their winter hibernation, anxious about their fate but also seeking some kind of purpose. Built to destroy, one robot is strangely aiming instead to create, which is challenging as its form was designed for killing.

A surprisingly good story.

Four-Sided Triangle by William F. Temple     8/10

Amazing Stories, November 1939 as "The 4-Sided Triangle"

A pair of male scientists fall in love with the same woman, and the woman chooses one of the men, breaking the heart of the other. Instead of falling into grave depression or turning his heartache against the world, the spurned scientist focuses on completing his invention: a replicating machine. And, as any good and moral man of modern science would, he decides to replicate the woman who has spurned him. Now they are a foursome, and they get along so well, particularly the two women. Until tragedy strikes.

Despite my asinine description, this was an excellent story. It was adapted for film as Four Sided Triangle, directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer studios, and released in 1953. I have not seen the film.

Star Bright by Jack Williamson     5/10

Argosy, 25 November 1939

Hardworking Mr. Peabody has a selfish and materialistically demanding family, and as a result he is struggling with incredible debt. He storms off one evening, and on his walk he wishes on a shooting star that he can perform miracles. The star then heads towards him, and an explosion lodges a piece of the celestial object in his brain. He is now able to materialize just about anything, but his hopes are shaken when the items he materializes repeatedly show imperfections.

The novelette attempts to be humourous, but is unfunny and tiresome. It is difficult to sympathize with Peabody since his wife and son are exaggeratedly selfish and disrespectful, yet he wants still to please them, while he dotes on his undeserving daughter.

Misfit by Robert A. Heinlein     5/10

Astounding Science Fiction, November 1939

Andrew Jackson Libby is part of a youth corps recruited for employment in the attempt to colonize the solar system. These youths are referred to as "misfits." While Libby has a less than imposing presence and limited education, it turns out he is a mathematical genius. Readers learn this early on, but only when he is stationed on an asteroid to help construct a space base does the rest of the team discover his abilities. He is insistent that a calculation error has been made, and thereby prevents a disaster. Other heroics to follow.

Libby is a recurring character in Heinlein's Future History series. Like many early Heinlein stories, I did not care for this space adventure.

Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction # 48: A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison

Ellison, Harlan. "A Boy and His Dog." New Worlds #189, April 1969.

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.

ISFdb Rating:   8.70/10

My Rating:        7/10

"I was out with Blood, my dog."

In a post-apocalyptic USA, survivors attempt to maintain some semblance of civilization. Most humans live above ground, in the ruins and radiation-filled remains of urban America, where society is anarchical and survivors either band together to run a small piece of the post-apocalyptic world, or who wander by themselves as "solos." The other option is to live underground, where life is frozen in a recreation of an idyllic 1950s neighbourhood. As few women remain, most live in the underground communities, leaving the men above to search longingly for sex. Prior to the war, dogs were scientifically enhanced to become telepathic. "A Boy and His Dog" focuses on Vic, a fifteen year-old "solo" who wanders with his dog Blood in search of women and food. Their arrangement is that Blood, through his enhanced senses, seeks women for Vic, who in turn keeps the dog well fed. This particular evening, at the ramshackle cinema waiting for the skin flick to begin, Blood senses a woman in the room, and Vic gets embroiled both with the other men who want the woman, and with the underground community from which she is seeking respite.

I won't give much more away.

This is a very divisive story, and I believe many who dislike Harlan Ellison do so partly as a result of "A Boy and His Dog." The younger me enjoyed Ellison's work more than the older me, but while I did not like this story as much as I did when I was a teen, I did genuinely enjoy it upon re-reading it a couple of week ago. Much maligned for its misogyny and dislikeable characters, these are actually important elements in the world Ellison has envisioned. I don't read the story as a statement on women, but as a consequence on all who live in this post-apocalyptic society. That the characters are unlikeable (detestable, to be more accurate) is a reflection of the world in which they inhabit, and in which many of them were born. The post nuclear society is the germ of the story, and from where the characters stem.

To be clear, I do not find myself rooting for Vic and Blood. In this respect I understand the hatred the story receives, since Ellison does seem to want readers to have a certain amount of empathy for them. Vic is entirely amoral, a serial rapist and cold-blooded killer, and his relationship with the dog, the ability for him to achieve this bond, which is the heart of the story, is supposed to redeem him to some degree, but to me it does not. I see the relationship as part of the survival aspect of the duo, that the two are bound together for a basic need that keeps them going. For Blood it is simply food, whereas for the teen Vic the desire for sex is his only driving point, and without it life would not be worth living. Their tribulations in the two societies and their bond with each other do not earn my sympathies and instead I hope that they fail. They do not fail, and we can only imagine the kind of world that will emerge from this post-apocalyptic society.

Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction # 47: Passengers by Robert Silverberg

Silverberg, Robert. "Passengers." Orbit 4, edited by Damon Knight. NY: G. P. Putnam's, november 1968.

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.

ISFdb Rating:   8.70/10

My Rating:        8/10

The story is available online at escapepod.org

"There are only fragments of me left now."

It has been three years since the aliens dubbed "passengers" have come to Earth. These aliens do not communicate with humans, but at unpredictable moments they attach themselves to an individual's brain and take over that person, making them act as they please, leaving the host with no clear recollection of what they had done since they'd been "ridden." In those last years human societies have come to adapt to these incidents, and life goes on, but not as it had before.

The story is told through the point of view of thirty-eight year-old New Yorker Charles Roth, after he has woken from being ridden and evidently spending the last three nights with a woman. From Roth we learn little of the passengers, only that they are on Earth and nobody knows anything about them, not even how many passengers there are. Roth has been ridden a few times before, but this time it was different as he catches a glimpse of memory and encounters the woman with whom he had spent the past three days. He tells is that he is permitted this memory, as normally humans have no memory whatsoever of their experiences while being ridden. Etiquette does not permit him to tell the woman, Helen Martin, that they were together while ridden, yet he feels a connection with the woman and takes the risk.

I have always liked this story. For a prolific author this one is patiently written, well thought through. I like Roth's little knowledge of the aliens, the anxiety that notions of free will evoke in him, his struggle to break from a mold, and of course that spectacular ending. I admire how the story is constructed, as the opening plays out in almost real time, sharing with the reader only bits of information at a time, in "fragments," as the narrator opens their story with there being only fragments of him left, drawing us into the text and making us a little uncomfortable with this unusual near-future dystopia.

Here be a bit of a spoiler. Roth clearly tells us that he has been "permitted to remember" details of his time with Helen. The word "permitted" in italics. That ending, as he is again ridden, is told through his point of view, and therefore he is being permitted awareness of his actions in re-entering the bar and abandoning Helen, whom he believes he loves, and whom he believes is the source of escape from the unhappy reality brought on by the passengers. Roth also informs us earlier that the aliens are on Earth, taking humans over simply to torture them, and for no other reason. And what greater torture than to be aware when your love and freedom is being stripped. It is as though the passengers have consciously given him a glimpse of Helen Martin, given him hope for a kind of freedom from his enslaved existence, and then dashing that hope by driving him away from the freedom and love he was just about to grasp. He, like the rest of the planet, have no hope for happiness since the aliens have come to Earth.

(There are here many allegorical lenses through which we can read the story. Post pandemic we can also see the link between the aliens and this sickness which has ridden many, altered many lives and society itself. The pandemic, however, has mostly left us.)

An issue I had when first reading the story many years ago is that the narrator is a thirty year-old male who "rides" a twenty-something year-old girl. There appeared no reason why the difference in their ages was made, so that it appeared only to be a middle-aged man's fantasy. However, I was this time around more conscious of another layer to the story (perhaps because I am now middle-aged?), where Roth is conscious and insecure about his aging body, his performance in the bedroom, upset that the passenger likely did not perform his daily physical exercises while borrowing his body.

"Passengers" received the 1970 Nebula for best science fiction short story. It finished second in voting for the 1970 Hugo for best short story, behind Samuel R. Delaney's "Time Considered As a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones." Interestingly, the story that received the Hugo Award for best short story received the Nebula for best novelette. It would be interesting to know which of the two would have received the Nebula if the two were in the same category. My vote goes to "Passengers," as I do not care for the Delaney story. As of today (August 2024), "Passengers" is #42 on the ISFdb list of short fiction, whereas "Time Considered..." is #291.

For more of this week's Wednesday short stories, please visit Patti Abbott's blog.

Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction # 46: Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang

Chiang, Ted. "Tower of Babylon." 
Omni, November 1990.

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.

ISFdb Rating:   8.70/10

My Rating:        8/10

"Were the tower to be laid down across the plain of Shinar, it would be two days' journey to walk from one end to the other."

For centuries humans have been constructing a tower in an attempt to reach the vault of heaven. Now that the final brick has been laid, a group of miners is tasked with ascending the tower and penetrating the vault. The miner's include our protagonist, Hillalum, and along with his co-miners and their alternating guides, we learn of the society that has evolved on the tower, and of humanity's desire to understand their purpose and to reach heaven.

It takes four months for a man carting a load of bricks to make the journey from the base of the tower to its summit. Much of the story takes place during this trek, and along with Hilalum we learn of the societies that have evolved along the way, as many people have given up life on the ground in order to live closer to heaven. During ascension we also discover that the world is a near literal take on biblical stories. The science that governs the world is made up of the beliefs of the ancient world, made real in "Tower of Babylon." The Earth is at the centre of this universe, and as our group ascends they pass the moon, followed by the sun and then sky and stars, until finally they reach the vault. The wonderful ending teaches humanity that certain secrets are not meant to be broached, and man's purpose is elusive.

A wonderful story, nicely detailed and well thought out. This is Ted Chiang's first professionally published story, and impressive on all counts. The story received the 1991 Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette.

Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction # 45: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." San Francisco Examiner, 13 July 1890.

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.

ISFdb Rating:   8.71/10

My Rating:        8/10

"A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift water twenty feet below."

Illustration by François Vigneault

During the American Civil War, a civilian is set to be hanged by the Union army on a makeshift platform on the Owl Creek Bridge in Northern Alabama. Civilian executions were not uncommon during the war, and the southern criminal is standing in what is described as a routine event, with some onlooking soldiers appearing even bored. Bierce was both a soldier during the war and a respected journalist later on, and many of his stories draw on both experiences. The narration here is that of an observer, employing heightened realism to what turns out to be partly fantasy. The point of view is that of an observer, a local man, describing the scene and making some assumptions, such as where the river is likely to run. It is partly the realism on which the story is built upon that makes the ending so jarring.

Yet ending aside, what I find most disturbing is the lead-up to the civilian's crime. We learn that Peyton Farquhar is a wealthy thirty-five year-old plantation owner "ardently devoted to the Southern cause." His plantation lies near Owl Creek, and he is caught attempting to set the Union-controlled bridge on fire. Yet we learn that the information Farquhar received concerning the details of the bridge were provided by a federal scout masquerading as a Confederate soldier, so that the planter was deliberately set up by the northern army to be caught and executed. This is essentially a form of murder, and though the man is a prosperous slave-owner desiring to maintain the status quo to the point that he is willing to take part in the war by destroying a bridge, he is presented as a victim. It is a rare instance when a slave-owner can gain audience sympathy.

The story is presented in three short chapters. The first is the realist depiction of Farquhar, nameless at this point, getting prepared for hanging. The second gives us his back-story. The final and longest chapter takes us on an unexpected flight, and enters a realm of fantasy. Here the observatory narration is replaced with heightened senses, the boredom with excitement, the silence with blaring guns. We are prepared by a slight shift in narration when Farquhar closes his eyes moments before he is dropped and the noose tightened, and this sets of the quasi dream sequence that then leads to the tragic finish. He closes his eyes and here the narrator is no longer a distant observer, but is aware of the man's thoughts and feelings. This transition is a blatant hint as to what is to come, but as a narrative technique is subtle, and only after re-reading can we piece together how Bierce is able to shift his realism into a dream. Overall an excellent, deftly-written story.

The story was made into an excellent short film, La rivière du hibou (The Owl River), directed by Robert Enrico. The film received the 1964 Academy Award for best live action short, and was purchased by Rod Serling and aired as a Twilight Zone episode in February 1964. This was a brilliant and bold move by Serling, saving the show a good deal of production money that was then used to fund other, more expensive episodes. The episode features a straightforward and entirely brief introduction, allowing the short film its own space and respectfully removing it from Serling's clasp.

The illustration included above is by François Vigneault, from an illustrated edition of the short story published by Scout Books (Portland) in 2012. You can discover more about the artist here.

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

Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction # 44: The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke

Clarke, Arthur C. "The Nine Billion Names of God." Star Science Fiction Stories, edited by Frederik Pohl. Ballantine Books, February 1953.

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.

ISFdb Rating:   8.71/10

My Rating:        8/10

" 'This is a slightly unusual request,' said Dr. Wagner, with what he hoped was commendable restraint."

Cover art by Richard Powers

The Tibetan lamasery hires an Automated Sequence Computer and a pair of engineers to complete a project that was begun three thousand years ago: to write out the nine billion possible names for God. The lamas believe that it would take another fifteen thousand years to complete the task by hand, whereas a modern computer would in ten days succeed in delivering the final list. The task is important to the lamas as they believe that God created humans for this duty only, and that the completion of the task is the fulfillment of humanity's purpose, so that once the nine billion names have been isolated, the world as we know it will come to an end.

A simple yet wonderful short story, it manages despite its briefness and unwavering focus to touch upon a number of contrasting realities. The most obvious is combining ancient religious beliefs with modern technology. The lamasery, we are repeatedly informed, is isolated from the rest of the world. It is high upon a mountain overlooking the surrounding quiet rural landscape, and even the computer components can only be delivered to India, where the locals would then cart them to their final destination for reassembly. The lamasery has no access to electricity, and has only recently obtained a generator that will allow the computer to complete its task. In contrast with the lamasery, the story opens in a high-rise building in New York City, where the lama is meeting with the specialist Dr. Wagner, their conversation surrounded by "the faint sounds from the Manhattan streets far below." The western engineers located for three months in the Tibetan mountains are tired of their peaceful setting and long for television, not its entertainment value necessarily, since "even the sight of a TV commercial would seem like manna from heaven." The western idea of heavenly gifts comes in the form of television, whereas the eastern ideal is to complete their purpose to God.

Another contrast between east and west comes in the form of the anecdote of the Louisiana "crackpot preacher who once said the world was going to end next Sunday." When the world did not end, his congregation was not upset, despite panicking and selling off their homes, thinking he had made a mistake but wanting more than anything to believe. These Tibetan monks are careful not to panic the public, keeping their motivations secret for the most part, and satisfied not by maintaining a congregation, but by pursuing the responsibilities they believe were delegated by God.

There is an eerie connotation in the story that strikes a chord with more modern sensibilities, and that is the implication that modern technology will help bring about the end of humanity. Whether or not this is Clarke's belief, or if he was criticizing western society for having such inconsequential ambitions in comparison with the east, or an amalgamation of various thoughts rather than firm beliefs, can be argued. What is most charming here, as with his short story "The Star," is that for a man heralded for his understanding and pursuit of the sciences, he is able to write the most affecting science fiction stories that uphold un-scientific religious beliefs.

And of course there is that excellent, understated last line.

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