Sat 12 Dec 2020
Diary Review: RAYMOND J. HEALY & J. FRANCIS McCOMAS, Editors – Famous Science-Fiction Stories: Adventures in Time And Space, Part 2.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Science Fiction & Fantasy[7] Comments
RAYMOND J. HEALY & J. FRANCIS McCOMAS, Editors – Famous Science-Fiction Stories: Adventures in Time And Space. The Modern Library G-31; hardcover, 1957, xvi + 997 pages. First published as Adventures in Time in Space, Random House, hardcover, 1946. Bantam F3102, paperback, 1966, as Adventures in Time and Space (contains only 8 stories). Ballantine, paperback, 1975, also as Adventures in Time and Space.
Part 1 can be found here.
P. SCHUYLER MILLER “The Sands of Time.†A pointless time-travel story, if that could be imagined, including a mysterious battle between unknown invaders of Earth sixty million years ago. (1)
Update: First published in Astounding Stories, April 1937. First reprinted in this anthology, then in Great Science Fiction Stories, edited Cordelia Titcomb Smith (Dell Laurel-Leaf Library, paperback, 1964) and Voyagers in Time, edited by Robert Silverberg (Meredith Press, hardcover, 1967), among others. After a moderately lengthy career writing science fiction, mostly between the 1930s and early 40s, Miller became the long-time reviewer of the field for Astounding/Analog SF from 1951 to 1975.
LEWIS PADGETT “The Proud Robot.†Novelette. Gallagher invents a robot while drunk, then forgets its purpose, but finally manages to use it to prevent a monopoly of the television industry. (3)
Update: Lewis Padgett was one of the pen names used by Henry Kuttner. Some of the stories published under this name were co-written by C. L. Moore, but I do not believe this was one. The “Gallagher†series, of which this is a prime example, were very popular. “The Proud Robot,†the third in the series, first appeared in Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1943, and was first reprinted in this anthology. First collected in Robots Have No Tails (Gnome Press, hardcover, 1952), then in Return to Otherness (Ballantine F619, paperback, 1962). Over the years it has appeared in many other anthologies and collections of Kuttner’s works.
A. E. Van VOGT “Black Destroyer.†Novelette. An exploring spaceship discovers a planet now ruled by the killer coeurls, descendants of a once-powerful civilization. Most notable for the description of one of these alien creatures, the story loses some of its effectiveness with a confusing ending. (4)
Update: First appeared in Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1939. From Wikipedia: “‘Black Destroyer’ was combined with several other short stories to form the novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle (Simon & Schuster, hardcover, 1950). It was claimed as an inspiration for the movie Alien and van Vogt collected an out-of-court settlement of $50,000 from 20th Century Fox.†A source quoted by Wikipedia suggests that this particular story “represents the start of the Golden Age of Science Fiction.â€
TO BE CONTINUED.…
December 12th, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Steve, I looked at my copy of this anthology and see that I bought it when it came out but only read a few stories in it. Even then some of the stories struck me as dated. I was a big fan of Galaxy and F&SF and Astounding was a distant third. Later on I even thought Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder were more interesting after Sam Merwin took over in 1946.
John Campbell’s stable of SF writers left in droves when Galaxy and F&SF starting stressing literature and style more than science in the fifties.
December 12th, 2020 at 1:16 pm
Hi Walker
It’s really quite fascinating for me to read through my reviews now. It’s giving me a second perspective on the stories in this huge collection. The book first came out in 1946, I reviewed it in 1967, and here it is over 50 years later than that.
The book is obviously a collection of classics that have held up, classics that haven’t, and stories that were already dated by 1957, when this reprint from Modern Library came out, and even more so ten years later.
But in 1946, I’m sure all of the stories were fresh and new, or almost all of them. This was the first time any of the stories I’ve covered so far were reprinted, and the first chance that anyone who hadn’t been reading the magazines all along could have read them.
In 1946 ASTOUNDING was the Top of the Line as far as SF magazines were concerned, but as you say, it’s competition was just starting to heat up. By 1957, I think you’re right. Its lead was squandered and it was relegated to number three.
December 12th, 2020 at 9:08 pm
“Black Destroyer” was also the suggested basis for IT! THE TERROR BEYOND SPACE (1958) with Marshall Thompson, itself a supposed influence on ALIEN. Certainly it is one of the most influential stories in the genre.
I agree the later more literary SF of the fifties reads much better than many of the classics where too often ideas far outpaced the writers skills and characterization. In the fifties SF finally, kicking a screaming, dragged itself by the bootstraps out of the pulps and pulp mindset and aimed at a reader older than twenty and female as well as male interested in more than science alone.
December 12th, 2020 at 10:25 pm
“I agree the later more literary SF of the fifties reads much better than many of the classics where too often ideas far outpaced the writers skills and characterization.”
That sums it up very well. A few authors like Robert Heinlein and Theodore Sturgeon were the best at both even before the 50s came along, but there weren’t many others.
This includes Isaac Asimov, whose stories were always full of great ideas, but writing skills and characterization, I’m not so sure about.
December 19th, 2020 at 2:56 pm
[…] Part 2 can be found here. […]
January 15th, 2021 at 7:08 pm
[…] PADGETT “Time Locker.†Galloway/Gallagher #1. Novelette. This time Galloway (the prototype of Gallagher) invents a locker which leads into another space-time continuum and the usual type of […]
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:54 pm
[…] Update: First published in Astounding Science Fiction, January 1944. First reprinted in this anthology. Collected in The Titan (Fantasy Press, hardcover, 1952). Also reprinted in Alpha 5, edited by Robert Silverberg (Ballantine, paperback original, 1974). This is Miller’s second story in this anthology. You can find my comments on the first here. […]