Here are my reactions to the next three science fiction short stories from the year 1959, as they appeared in the anthology Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 21 (1959). The three authors Sheckley, Sturgeon and Simak are sci-fi greats, each one gifted with the ability to humanize what is often a very technical genre of writing...their stories tend to outlast by far the era in which they were written...
THE WORLD OF HEART'S DESIRE by Robert Sheckley
Post-apocalypse, different rates of time passage, and alternate reality are three themes dominating this story about a man on the outskirts of town who offers a special injection to his customers. Beforehand, though, although the treatment will give them their "heart's desire" for a year of felt experiences it will take off ten years off their natural lives. As a potential customer, Mr. Wayne knows the experience he wants but has his doubts about the "service"...the progression of this story was ingeniously unraveled...
THE MAN WHO LOST THE SEA by Theodore Sturgeon
There are many mysteries embedded in this tale of a man, fully dressed in a spacesuit, immobile and mostly buried in sand on a beach, who seems to encounter a little boy running around him with a toy helicopter. It's more a stream of consciousness piece, something that you probably have to cultivate a taste for as a reader. Beyond that, all I can say without giving it all away is you have to read it for yourself...
A DEATH IN THE HOUSE by Clifford Simak
An isolated, reclusive farmer encounters a completely alien being that appears to be dying...he takes it home and tries to nurture it, all to no avail. This is a story about basic compassion and respect for the dignity of all life, no matter how frighteningly different it might be...and the subject of loneliness gets its due consideration here. Old Moses, the farmer, reminded me greatly of Hiram, the protagonist in my favorite Simak story The Big Front Yard...
Next week I conclude my look back at 1959 science fiction short stories...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment