This entry updated February 19th/18 with a review of His Share Of Glory. Scroll down. 17 books reviewed by Kornbluth in this segment. This concludes the works of Kornbluth for this project.
THE SYNDIC
Cover artist not credited. Anyone know?
C. M. Kornbluth (1923-1958) wrote under so many different names
that finding other works by him is a real challenge. His most prolific
years were 1940-42, writing mostly for magazines. Interestingly, he
co-wrote many works with Frederick Pohl, who also edited some of the
magazines that published Kornbluth's works. After reading The Syndic
(1953), I am interested in following up with these works: The Best of
C.M. Kornbluth (1976), edited by Pohl (short stories); and The Space
Merchants (1953), with Pohl. Watch for reviews of them on this page in
the future, and others by him, too. If I ever get through all of the
Farmer I wish to read!
I admit that I made up my mind at the beginning not to like this book very much. I am not a fan of gangster movies or novels, or Libertarian propaganda. Glamourizing thugs is not one of my main interests in life. I hate the sons of bitches. Needless to say, the novel surprised me. I did not like the first part of the book, and likely would not have read on if I wasn't committed to the entire 27-novel series. That first part was pretty much what I expected. However, once the story leaves the shores of the USA and travels to Ireland (of the later 2100s), I was hooked. The Emerald Isle, along with the rest of Europe except for government bases along the shore, is mostly inhabited once again only by small tribes of savage pagans. And we get a very good, up close and personal look at them. This part of the novel reminded me of parts of Farmer's Hadon books!
A child character is introduced into the story at this point, and things just get better and better from here on in. "Martha" is one of the best child characters in any novel I have ever read! She saved the novel for me from one of tediousness and from being too predictable. Speaking of Hadon, I wonder how many books spend huge quantities of time (movies, too), with the main hero kept as a prisoner, trying to escape his captors. The Syndic is no exception, spending vast amounts of creativity devising escape plans for Orsino (our hero) from the Pagans, from the Government, and finally from the Mob.
Along with The Syndic organization, these are the leading political forces that make up our planet. The legitimate Government is in exile, using Iceland as its base. Slavery and oppression are its main highlights. The Mob rules Chicago and the west with an even tighter grip, and is forming ties with the Government. The Syndic rules its people (east) in a much freer way (Libertarianism), giving more slack though still demanding protection money. By the end of the book we see where the author's sympathies lie, even though we know today that such a system would not work for long. In fact, once its leader leaves the helm, The Syndic will collapse, despite it being the best choice of the four systems. Kornbluth has some interesting things to say about early 1950s psychology, too. He was a man with little faith in it at the time. With good reason. The little experiment on him reminded me of several episodes of The Prisoner.
I read the book slowly, and at first grudgingly. However, I soon became engaged and found it hard to put down. Stick with it--it still has some important things to say to civilians in 2016! ***1/2 stars. Reviewed July 9th/16
Here is an interesting read on Kornbluth, his novel, and his politics. Highly recommended!
TAKEOFF
From 1952 comes Kornbluth's first published novel under his own name. Jacket design by Arthur Shilstone. This is the Doubleday Book Club edition.
I
was pretty certain that the tale of building a rocket in the 1950s and
blasting off to the moon would bore me to death. However, I was
pleasantly surprised to remember how good a writer Kornbluth was. The
book can barely be called science fiction, even back when it was
written. It is a lot easier to write a space story that already has
rocket ships and interplanetary travel, and maybe aliens. But it is
much more of a challenge to write a story of would it might have been
like in the USA of the paranoid 1950s, during the Cold War, dealing with how
the first rocket got launched, beating all the other countries to the
punch.
I
am old enough to have seen Sputnik sail past in the evening from my
home in northern Ontario way back in the day (1957), and though barely
past the toddler stage I knew how important this achievement by the
Russians was. America had been beaten, and beaten badly, and continued
to be beaten for several years. Russia has all of the big firsts for
space flight, except the moon landings. America won that battle. If
you think there is secrecy and spying in this story, it couldn't even
come close to what must have really been going on in the 50s. I doubt
we will ever know the full story of those heady days of early
spaceflight. However, even Kornbluth realized that the US government
was never going to get there in its current state of bureaucratic hell.
Army, navy, air force and the continental mapping department were all
on their own track and not cooperating with one another. No one could
get access to each other's research. Kornbluth figured out the only way
things would get done; use a private system that could work without any
strings on it.
Enter
the American Society For Space Flight (A.S.F.S.F.), a group of amateur
rocket enthusiasts and a few engineers. If not telling the real tale of
what things were like back then, the novel gives a pretty good account
of how bad it probably was in America. The Russians did not beat the
Americans for nothing. That part, at least, proved true. And somehow,
so did America reaching the moon first. How did Kornbluth guess that?
I
really enjoyed this book, which reads more as a
how-to-build-the-first-rocket than anything else. I was also strongly
attracted to the cover: a man, a woman, and a rocket, all the
ingredients for a life of happy ever after! Had I seen this book as a
boy I likely would have attempted to read it, though I would not have
understood more than 10% of it. It is an adult book, and has more to do
with engineers and spies than astronauts. It has intelligent women,
too! Recommended for old timers like myself, or for someone curious
about the early days of planning for space travel.
*** stars. Reviewed April 1st/17 OUTPOST MARS
Cover art by Richard Powers. Dell 1952 edition.
Originally published in a shorter version in Galaxy Magazine in May 1951, it appeared as Mars Child. Two other instalments followed the first one. This Dell book came out in 1952. Here is the Galaxy cover.
May, 1951. First version of Outpost Mars.
Then, in 1962 the story came out in a third version. If any changes were made, I do not yet know exactly what those were. Here is the 1962 cover.
1962 version of Outpost Mars,
by Beacon Books. Ridiculous
cover but quite amusing.
Why is Cyril Judd appearing on my Kornbluth page? Kornbluth collaborated with other authors nearly as much as he wrote solo. He wrote two published novels with Judith Merril (1923-1997), and a third that was never republished from the original magazine version. They used the name Cyril Judd. Confused yet? Two authors; three versions of our present story. Such was the world of 1950s publishing.
Outpost Mars is a pretty fascinating account of an early Martian commune trying to survive amidst the greed, politics, and decadence of capitalist mining operations. Compare it to E.C. Tubb's Alien Dust for some interesting discussion. Dr. Tony Hellman is a medical doctor dealing with many other facets of the small colony's survival besides health issues. He has an advanced lab that is the envy of the mining magnates, and they are trying to force the colony out of existence so it can be taken over and the equipment used for their purposes.
We learn that Earth is overcrowded, more violent than ever, and seems ready to destroy itself through nuclear and/or biological warfare. While big issues are at the top of the colony's troubles, the day-to-day existence of the members is enough to keep them busy full time. The colony is led equally by men and women (a council), an astounding idea for its time. No doubt having a female writer on board helped iron out this important facet of the novel, almost unheard of in early SF. However, the only women in the mining colony are prostitutes, so we know which of the two camps we are cheering for.
There are many details which make this book a wonderful read. While not essential for the modern SF reader, it certainly is for those pursuing some of the best works of the earlier days. We knew very little about Mars in 1951. The best photos were blurry images from earth-based telescopes. So Judd has done a fine job of telling us what it would be like to live our lives on such a planet at such a time. We do feel as if we are there.
Are there Martians in the novel? Yes, real and true ones, though not what you would expect. Mars Child is probably the best of the three titles for this story, though Outpost Mars is okay. The colony survives by harnessing and selling isotopes to Earth medical labs. The mining company is there to produce and sell Marcaine, a very powerful drug. It, too, is only supposed to be used for medical purposes, but somehow this noble idea goes astray. The drug is sold on Earth illegally, and even the miners on Mars who are exposed daily to its dust become addicted to it. I could see Frank Herbert reading this and getting some ideas for Dune, as the Spice is one of the main themes that holds his novels together.
At 223 pages, Outpost is considerably longer than many novels from this era. I highly recommend it, mostly for its 1950s glimpse into life on an alien planet. The characters, especially Dr. Hellman and Anna, are fully developed and nice people. They have high ideals, and are doing their best to live them. I salute their efforts!
***1/2 stars. Reviewed Dec. 20th/16
GUNNER CADE
Cover art by Lehr
My Dell 1969 edition
My Dell 1969 edition
March 1952 first appearance of Gunner Cade
The 2nd and final SF collaboration between Kornbluth and Merril is a rip-roaring adventure that would make an excellent pilot for a series of books or television shows. Gunner Cade is a brainwashed gunner in the service of his Emperor. He has so many rituals to enact in a typical day that he has no time for thinking on his own. He accepts his teachings as gospel, and strives to glorify the empire. In 1950s lingo, he is a Communist.
When he is supposedly killed in battle his real adventures begin. Drugged, he awakens in an enclave of plotters trying to kill the Emperor. Here he meets 'the girl' that will cause him so much distress through most of the story. It isn't until well into his adventure that he begins to have doubts about his upbringing and strong beliefs, but a trip to the ruins of the Pentagon really shakes him up and starts him on a new track.
The Kornbluth/Merril writing team is an amazingly good one, with Kornbluth supplying the enclosed atmosphere of mindless adherence to the State, and Merril supplying likable and believable female characters. The final battle on Mars is handled well, though at 160 pages not enough time was allowed for the ending. The novel was once half of an Ace Double, and it had to be short.
I liked the character of Cade, despite his ingrained beliefs. He does come to finally realize the futility of it all, especially in the final gun battle. Just pull the trigger.
*** 1/2 stars Reviewed Jan. 15th/17
THE SPACE MERCHANTS
This is one hell of a good read. My edition (above) was the 12th printing, from 1981. The first printing was in 1953. Pohl came up with the idea, but brought Kornbluth in after the first third of the novel was written. Kornbluth wrote the 2nd part, and they co-wrote the third part. Kornbluth's part is very recognizable, after reading The Syndic. He has a knack for really getting inside organizations that trample humanity and telling us what they are like.
Though incredibly dated in so many ways (like The Syndic), it still holds up remarkably well in other ways. The main plot concerns the rivalry between two leading advertising agencies. The brainwashing and dehumanizing of the human race is detailed, and despite the grim realities there are some very funny passages. Though much of the novel is tongue-in-cheek, the message is as valid today as it was in 1953.
To combat the unstoppable commercialization of the world are The Consies, Conservationists who stand in as Communists for Pohl and Kornbluth. Their message is so revolting to people that the organization must operate completely underground (sometimes literally), and members risk their lives to meet and discuss plans. The Consies want to preserve what is left of the natural world, and actually increase it, much to the horror and chagrin of the populace and the world of big business.
There are so many twists and turns in the plot, and characters that appear to change positions, that it can be difficult to keep everything and everyone straight. New York, Antarctica, Costa Rica, the Moon, and finally a spaceship to Venus are some of the settings in this incredible and highly entertaining story. Our hero is captured many times over, and his experiences lead us well into the future of the world, if things continue as they are. The book would be even more humourous if it weren't so close to the truth.
Pohl wrote a sequel long afterwards. As I am mostly interested in Kornbluth on this page, I will not likely read it at this time. The Space Merchants, however, is a must read for 50s sf fans.
*** stars. Reviewed July 22nd/16
From 1955, another superior collaboration.
SEARCH THE SKY
From 1954. Cover artist unknown.
Kornbluth collaborated with others more often than he wrote solo. He seems to have had a talent for writing about various types of social suppression, and here he gets to play with that talent considerably. Though written much earlier, the story is along the same lines as Farmer's wonderful tale "Venus On the Half Shell" (for a review, see the 1st Farmer page). Both novels owe major nods to Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."
Our hero, Ross, has a boring job on Halsey's Planet. He wants out. Specifically he wants to journey to the stars. He gets more than he bargained for, as he is sent off alone in a faster-than-light space ship. His goal is to save humankind. Specifically, he is to visit several planets that have dropped off of the space trading radar, and find out what has happened there.
He encounters three planets, including "Earth," and picks up three other passengers as he travels. On the first planet he visits, he becomes a worker in the dye vats, befriending a young woman. On this planet, the older you are the more respect and power you are given. The authors take this to the highest degree possible, and the fun really begins. There are several laugh-out-loud segments, especially before, during, and after the general election.
The second planet he visits is dominated by women. Both authors could get into a large mess today if they tried a similar tactic, and there are some amazingly (funny) point blank sexist remarks. However, Ross, who is extremely sexist, as was nearly any full-blooded male of the 1950s, learns a bit about his young companion (Helena) and her capabilities as a human being. This segment doesn't work quite as well as the first one, though. Time has passed, and things have changed. Still, it's enlightening to see men being raped and threatened by women instead of women by men.
The third planet is the Jones Planet, and here we learn the answer to the main riddle; what has been happening to humans over the years? The answer lies in a genetic formula Ross has been carrying with him all this time, and he finally learns what it means. The Jones Planet illustrates a hereditary problem taken to its limit, pushed beyond the absurd. This part would come across as very funny in a film or TV episode. There is a happy ending as he and Helena return to Halsey's Planet with the news, and a solution to the problem.
Not essential reading, but a really fun romp through the SF world of humour and absurdity, 1950s style.
*** stars. Reviewed May 15th/17
GLADIATOR AT LAW
Cover art by Jael.
Some
books are just so damned good that writing about them seems futile.
However, if ever a cover misrepresented a novel, then this is it. The
gladiator bit is one of several sub-plots, only getting a single chapter
devoted to one of the actual field day events. On top of this, there
is no hot blonde babe or hunky guys. However, there is violence, and
there is a girl (sort of). And children, and slums, and robots. There
is an attorney, one of the lowest on the rung. There is injustice
aplenty. And there is humour. There is also a lot of stock market
trading. Sound interesting?
Kornbluth
excels at writing about the down-trodden and the environments in which
they have to live to survive. He also excels at finding just the right
character to upset the apple cart, and get things moving in a more
positive direction. I have never come across a place like Belly Rave
before in SF literature, though I have come across similar places in
person. What makes a slum? We get good answers here, especially in
Chapter Five, which describes how Belly Rave works, and what kind of
people must try to live there (unemployed, anyone?). Belly Rave was
once known as Belle Reve (Lovely Dream!), but once the reality sets in,
the term Belly Rave suits it much better.
There
are two main characters in the novel, and a host of minor ones. Even
the most minor is very important to advancing the plot, however. The
attorney is Charles Mundin, and he is handed a case by a friend as a
favour. The case turns out to be the most important one of his career,
and offers him life-changing status whether he wins it or loses. The
shmuck is Norval Bligh, a man whose job it is to plan the field day
gladiator combats. He is undermined by an underling, and soon finds
himself out of a job, suddenly living with his wife and her ten year old
daughter in Belly Rave, the worst slum and excuse for a family
environment one could ever conceive.
Enter
Shep, Lola and the Wabbits, and a number of other characters, including
the clients of Mundin. Lola is thirteen, and head of the killer,
deadly child gang called The Wabbits (yes, this is actually very funny,
though not unmixed with horror). The main plot is a good one, though I
mostly enjoyed watching the characters develop and try to deal with the
changing situation. Essentially, a group of small-time losers take on
the biggest business conglomerate of the world, and both groups come out
swinging.
Though
there are a lot of business dealings and stock market trading in the
story, I know zilch about such matters and still managed to have a grand
time reading the novel. Nothing is dumbed down, but the authors do a
fantastic job of moving the story along and not letting things get
bogged down in technicalities. Mostly, however, it is a story about the
little guy against the corporate giant. Thus, it is a tale most of us
can relate to, and we can relish each small victory by "our" side.
Originally
published in 1953, and again in 1980, my edition was a new one, with
rewriting by Pohl and republished in 1986. It has 251 pages. This one
is not to be missed.
"Wa-wa-wa-wa-wabbit twacks.....!" Laugh, then shudder.
**** stars. Reviewed June 9th/17
NOT THIS AUGUST
Cover art by Tom Kidd
First published in 1955, this novel was touched up by Pohl and republished in 1981. It was also published under the title Christmas Eve. There is an introduction and an afterword by Pohl, who was always trying to keep some of Kornbluth's writing in print. Kornbluth died in 1958, at the age of 34, making him somewhat of a Wolfgang Mozart type of artist. Mozart died at 35, and though he left us many examples of some of the world's finest music, one always wonders what might have been had he lived to, say, even 60. And so with Kornbluth. Had he been able to continue writing up to the 1980s, what might have been?
This excellent edition by Jim Baen Books (a favourite publisher of mine) runs to 255 pages, including the two short essays by Pohl. The USA finally loses a hard-fought war against Russia and China (Sound familiar? Every SF author wrote one of these). China gets all lands west of the Mississippi, and Russia gets the east. Despite this being a very well-written book with a great lead character in Billy Justin, and truly amazingly portrayed minor characters, there are two main points that pretty much sink the credibility of the story.
The first is the surrender. With only about two to four weeks left to go on a top secret satellite super project, a project that would guarantee an American victory in the war, they suddenly, unconditionally surrender. Really? They couldn't have hung on for a few more weeks? They had a dummy installation set up in New Mexico, which was soon pulverized by the enemy. But the real project was still underground in Chiunga County, NY. Only one man knew of it.
The second is the Russian occupation. Supposed to be occurring around 1965, Russia was still recovering (in fact) from losing over 30,000,000 people in WW11, 11 million of them young soldiers. With Europe already occupied, one would think that their military would by now (3 years of war) be again somewhat minimal. If lucky, they might be able to send a platoon of six men to Chiunga County. But nope, we get a full battalion! Things aren't so bad, though. The soldiers and their leaders are pretty laid back, and most people are pretty much left alone.
But along comes a highly disciplined, crack unit (sent to a backwoods dairy-farming county, mind you), who shoots the entire previous Russian battalion publicly for corruption, and then replaces them with their own 800-man unit. Wow! Imagine sending your crack troops into a county with about 20,000 people. What would you send to New York? LA? Detroit? We learn that New Orleans is under the remorseless eye of more of these crack troops, too. Yup, these Russians have troops to spare, and they have the time to monitor every single dairy cow, every single crop, and every single person's every single action 24-7. They have so many spare troops that they can even afford to shoot a few of their own battalions as examples for others. Sorry, but this stretches things a bit beyond belief. Do you know how many counties there are in the eastern half of the USA? Many, my friend, Many. However, I have no doubt that's what people thought would happen if the dirty red commies ever barged their way in the door.
The book is completely humourless, which is fitting for the subject matter, but doesn't improve the reader's mood. Justin is a Korean war vet, as are many of his neighbours. Pensioned off, he also had to become a dairy farmer. He has eight cows, and doesn't like the work at all. But he does it. When the Russians keep upping his quota of milk, he does it. At last things reach a breaking point and the revolution finally begins. Justin's county has been cut off from the resistance, but there has been a lot happening. He knows the whereabouts of the secret satellite project, and with the aid of preacher Sparhawk he marches to Washington, Pennsylvania to tell someone about it.
From here on the American people get their revenge. For now. A-bombs had become ineffective because of the accuracy of missiles which could shoot them down. Near the beginning of the war, however, Pittsburgh and Chicago were hit. Now, with their secret, undetectable satellite loaded with bombs, America can once again call the shots. But the characters at the end speculate on how long it will take the Russians and Chinese to have their own secret satellite filled with bombs ready to drop undetected.
Despite the gritty battles and scenes of senseless torture and shootings, the ending is pacifist and somewhat unexpected. Betsy, a very impressive female character for this type of story, joins Justin and Sparhawk on their knees at the end, praying for peace. Good luck with that. We all know how effective praying for peace really is.
When authors have to stretch the credulity of a situation too far to make a plot work (movies do it all the time, which is why I don't watch many), we have to wonder if it is all worth it. Why would such a backward county receive so much attention? Where did all the fresh enemy soldiers come from? If it were China occupying it I could almost believe it, but Russia? They are already occupying Europe and Britain. Wouldn't that stretch them a little thin to begin with? And now they can effectively and efficiently cover half of the United States? And our super weapon, so close to being finished and ending the war. No, let's surrender now. It is best.
Kornbluth is a fabulous writer, one of the very best. His characters are superbly crafted and appear real to us. There is nothing phony about the people in this story. However, the plot goes off the rails to prove a point, and I am not happy about it.
** stars.
A TOWN IS DROWNING
As I read this "contemporary" novel, as it is called in the frontispiece, about Hurricane "Diana" ravaging the inland East Coast, real life Hurricane Harvey is even now ravaging south Texas. It was strange to be reading this on the same weekend as Harvey hit land. It brought a lot home, especially as to what might be going on in some of these small towns and villages where help has yet to arrive.
This is a very good fictional account of torrential rain reaching inland as far as Pennsylvania, and devastating a county there. Hebertown becomes the central focus of the drama, as several main characters' lives become entangled by the once-in-a-lifetime event. Not only do we get a realistic and honest account of dealing with the aftermath of catastrophic floods, but we get up close and personal with people and see how they react and hold up under tremendous pressure.
By the end of the story you will know Mrs. Goudeket pretty well, and Micky Groff (a good guy), Polly Chesbro, and Sharon Froman, along with several others. Thus the story has two themes running through it, interconnected. The authors have confidence (they would have had in the 1950s) in the establishment's rescue operations, and give good accounts of the police chief, deputies, state police, the fire chief and his men, as well as the boy scouts, the high school swim team, and especially the armed forces, medical branch. All efficient and hard-working, honest men. You could always hope for such things in such a situation.
I especially liked the early part of the novel, where the storm and flood were just peaking, and people were seeking shelter anywhere they could find it. The overnight adventure in the gas station was quite harrowing and very memorable, and there were many other such adventures going on behind the scenes. I also liked a majority of the characters, especially Polly, Micky, and old Mrs. Goudeket. Obviously a few of them are intended to be disliked, and they are. The book holds up well, despite being over 60 years old. As I said at the beginning, there are likely many towns in Texas today in a similar predicament. Nature hasn't changed all that much in 60 years, and neither have people. A good read.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 27th/17
WOLFBANE
Cover art by Adrian Chesterman
Some novels are so amazingly good that one can barely comprehend how
long one has lived without reading them. Up until now I have really
enjoyed reading the works (above) by Kornbluth, including his previous
collaboration with Frederik Pohl. However, Wolfbane takes SF
writing to a new level. There is little doubt in my mind which parts
are written by Kornbluth. This would include the entire opening section
taking place on earth, where Citizens live their meagre daily lives
untroubled by much.
Earth has been kidnapped by alien pyramids, pulled from its orbit,
and is heading no one knows where. It is going to take a very special
type of person to set things right. The series of events which follow
are so mind-bending and fascinating that it becomes nearly impossible to
put the book down.
Galaxy magazine cover by Wally Wood, Oct. 1957
Wolfbane first appeared here in serialized form
140 pages seem way too short to give birth to an epic novel. However,
this one stands up very well against the very best 500 pagers by Iain M.
Banks, my favourite contemporary SF author. Once finished, the book will seem to
have been much longer than it actually was. The pyramids and the
mystery of their existence will keep the reader enthralled for page
after page. We get glimpses into alien life, and even get to read some
of their books. By the end of the novel the full truth emerges, and no
dark holes are left unexplained.
The second half of the book is high adventure. Without giving anything
away, it's man versus machine to the death. The ending is so perfect
that it left me speechless. Many an otherwise impressive novel has been
blemished by a poor ending. Not this one. This is a must read for SF
fans. Afterwards, go and read some SF novels by Iain M. Banks.
**** stars. Reviewed Sept. 22nd/16
___________________________________________________________________________________ **** stars. Reviewed Sept. 22nd/16
The Short Stories
THE BEST OF C. M. KORNBLUTH
Cover art by Dean Ellis
From this 1962 printing come eleven short stories. Unfortunately, five of them appear in Pohl's collection, reviewed below. These include The Little Black Bag, The Last Man Left in the Bar, The Adventurer, The Worlds of Guru, and Shark Ship. Here are short reviews and ratings for the remaining six stories. NOTE: These reviews are NOW listed below, under His Share of Glory, dated September 2016.
Mapman Mike
This is the second book by Kornbluth I had been on the lookout for, and I recently found it at Dawn Treader Books in Ann Arbor, MI! It contains 19 short stories by the author, as well as an intro by Frederik Poul, along with short intros to each story. At the end of the book, published in 1976 and 1977, is a short autobiography. The reviews are listed below, under His Share of Glory, dated August 2016.
A MILE BEYOND THE MOON
From this 1962 printing come eleven short stories. Unfortunately, five of them appear in Pohl's collection, reviewed below. These include The Little Black Bag, The Last Man Left in the Bar, The Adventurer, The Worlds of Guru, and Shark Ship. Here are short reviews and ratings for the remaining six stories. NOTE: These reviews are NOW listed below, under His Share of Glory, dated September 2016.
THE EXPLORERS
2nd Edition from 1963 (originally published in 1954)
I bought this book on-line thinking it was a novel, but it turned out to be 9 stories, 3 of which are new to me. The others can be found in the other collections, below. There is an introduction by Frederik Pohl, and a short bio of Kornbluth. The reviews are now listed below, under His Share of Glory. Other stories in this volume are Gomez, The Mindworm, The Rocket of 1955, The Altar at Midnight, Friend to Man, and With These Hands. These all also appear above in The Best of C.M. Kornbluth.
THE WONDER EFFECT
Collection of 9 stories by the two authors, published in 1962.
159 pages. Cover artist uncredited.
Critical Mass is from 1961, and is 36 pages long. It is a very funny account of three men whose lives intersect to set the world on a new path. Walter Chase is a recent university graduate (Civil Engineering, specializing in cement). He is heading to Washington for a job in the growing atomic bunker building trade. Denzer is a publisher, editor, and writer for Nature's Way Magazine. The President of the United States is--well, the President of the United States. In a very funny sequence of events (with robotic cab drivers and elevators) that involves bomb shelters, baseball, and politics, the country switches its loyalty from hiding in case of attack to something quite new. A very good story.
***1/2 stars.
A Gentle Dying is also from 1961, and is 7 pages long. A man who loves children has made a small fortune writing innocent children's books. He puts the money back into education and opportunities for children. On his deathbed he is visited by some children. Very dark humour, but quite funny. Short but very sweet.
*** stars.
Nightmare With Zeppelins is from 1958, and is 9 pages long. In a story that takes place during WW1; both Shaw and Wells are mentioned, being acquaintances of the storyteller. We learn of his adventure in Africa way back in the 1800s, when he witnessed the detonation (accidental) of the first atomic bomb. Very cool!
*** stars.
Best Friend hearkens back to 1941, one of the first stories by the authors. It is 14 pages long. Evolution has taken a strange turn, but man's best friend will always remain the same. Very amusing story.
** 1/2 stars.
The World of Myrion Flowers is from 1961, and is 7 pages long. It is the story of a man who has financially assisted many people, but with strings attached. When he uncovers an invention by one of his brightest college grads, he learns just how much people like him (not much). The sudden knowledge is a bit of a blow to his ego. There is a very heavy racial element to the story, too. Quite disturbing, and a bit ahead of its time.
*** stars.
Trouble in Time is from 1940, and is 16 pages long. A woman (!) goes ahead in time to see what she can see. Martians have prepared Earth for its takeover, though perhaps one woman can stop them. If she really did go ahead in time. Another pretty humourous story, and quite different, as the hero is female.
*** stars.
The Engineer is from 1955, and is 8 pages long. An ocean drilling station 1800 metres underwater springs a leak. Nothing too special here, except setting up a smug leader for a grand fall.
** 1/2 stars.
Mars-Tube is from 1941, and is 27 pages long. Three archaeologists explore underground Mars, after Earth has killed off the Martians in an inter-planetary war. A pretty good story, with promise for a longer version. It is disturbing, however, when young women are called "girls." This isn't the first instance in these stories. Lots of technology here, and some scary underground life, and there is even a scary human who was lost in the caverns for 50 years.
*** 1/2 stars.
The Quaker Cannon is from 1961, and is 26 pages long. Not a SF story at all (even though it takes place in the near future during a world war), it is more of an Argosy Magazine war story. A man who was captured, tortured, and broken is returned to the United States. A wily general finds a use for him. War is hell and all that. Winning is what counts (and all that).
** 1/2 stars. Final review October 27th/17.
** 1/2 stars.
The World of Myrion Flowers is from 1961, and is 7 pages long. It is the story of a man who has financially assisted many people, but with strings attached. When he uncovers an invention by one of his brightest college grads, he learns just how much people like him (not much). The sudden knowledge is a bit of a blow to his ego. There is a very heavy racial element to the story, too. Quite disturbing, and a bit ahead of its time.
*** stars.
Trouble in Time is from 1940, and is 16 pages long. A woman (!) goes ahead in time to see what she can see. Martians have prepared Earth for its takeover, though perhaps one woman can stop them. If she really did go ahead in time. Another pretty humourous story, and quite different, as the hero is female.
*** stars.
The Engineer is from 1955, and is 8 pages long. An ocean drilling station 1800 metres underwater springs a leak. Nothing too special here, except setting up a smug leader for a grand fall.
** 1/2 stars.
Mars-Tube is from 1941, and is 27 pages long. Three archaeologists explore underground Mars, after Earth has killed off the Martians in an inter-planetary war. A pretty good story, with promise for a longer version. It is disturbing, however, when young women are called "girls." This isn't the first instance in these stories. Lots of technology here, and some scary underground life, and there is even a scary human who was lost in the caverns for 50 years.
*** 1/2 stars.
The Quaker Cannon is from 1961, and is 26 pages long. Not a SF story at all (even though it takes place in the near future during a world war), it is more of an Argosy Magazine war story. A man who was captured, tortured, and broken is returned to the United States. A wily general finds a use for him. War is hell and all that. Winning is what counts (and all that).
** 1/2 stars. Final review October 27th/17.
CRITICAL MASS
http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/7/7b/CRITMASS1977.jpg
Cover art by Eddie Jones
A collection of 10 stories by the authors, published in 1977. Although most of the stories had been printed before in paperback (see above), it had been 16 years. There is a foreword and an afterword by Pohl.
The Quaker Cannon: See The Wonder Effect, above.
Mute, Inglorious Tam is from 1974, written then by Pohl from a fragment left by Kornbluth. It is 14 pages long. It is not a SF story, but Pohl poses the question, What if a SF or fantasy writer was born in a time when he couldn't be one? Welcome to medieval times, and a pretty decent yarn about an imaginative man (though rather beastly), his downtrodden wife, and his high-spirited daughter. Worth a glance.
** 1/2 stars.
The World of Myrion Flowers: See The Wonder Effect, above.
The Gift of Garigolli was rewritten by Pohl in 1974 in an attempt to tone down the blatant sexism in the original. A man is undone by his wife's well-meaning but ditzy idea to co-sign a loan for her brother-in-law. It is 30 pages long. The bill comes due, and the couple is about to be ruined. Meanwhile, some very tiny aliens have been spying on them for knowledge sake, and want to help out. A fairly amusing tale.
*** stars.
A Gentle Dying: See The Wonder Effect, above.
A Hint of Henbane is from 1961, and is 8 pages long. An amusing non SF tale, in a dark sort of manner. Getting what you want and what you deserve are sometimes the same thing, in this story about a man who covets his wife's ring. Pretty unusual. It first appeared, after a Pohl re-write, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
The Meeting was rewritten by Pohl in 1972, from a description by Kornbluth. It won a Hugo award in 1973, at the Toronto convention. It is 16 pages long. A man and his wife must decide whether or not to use their son's body to give another young boy another chance at life. Why give up your own boy to help another? Because Tommy is severely exceptional and all but impossible to handle, and he attends a special school. The parents have very little money and are at their wits end with their boy. A pretty devastating story.
***1/2 stars.
***1/2 stars.
The Engineer: See The Wonder Effect, above.
Nightmare With Zeppelins: See The Wonder Effect, above.
Critical Mass: See The Wonder Effect, above.
Reviews completed Dec. 3rd/17
BEFORE THE UNIVERSE
Cover artist uncredited.
Published in 1980, this 200 page volume contains 7 stories, as well as an intro and afterword by Pohl. Three of the stories have already been published, read, and reviewed above. Each story also contains a brief intro by Pohl.
Mars Tube: See The Wonder Effect, above.
Trouble In Time: See The Wonder Effect, above.
Vacant World is from 1940, and is 28 pages long. Dick Wylie also contributed to it. Though pretty much a standard pulp SF story about an astronaut returning from Venus to find Earth empty of people, this one is unusual for at least two reasons. One is the geography, as his Venus ship lands in Lake Nipigon, and the astronaut makes his way to Isle Royal in Lake Superior. The second reason is that he has brought back a lizard from Venus, one that he has taught to speak. Fun stuff indeed!
*** stars.
Best Friend: See The Wonder Effect, above.
Before The Universe is from 1940 (?), and is 33 pages long. It is the first story collaboration between the two authors. Two sequels were written shortly afterwards (see below). Three unlikely astronauts--two male physics geniuses and an ace female reporter--go for a ride in a new invention. They end up in a primordial cloud before creation began. However, their arrival in that rarified space starts the universe firing up. The science is there, but it is bare-bones. The story is funny and improbable, and ends by strongly hinting that there is more to come. In this case, that is a good thing.
*** stars.
Nova Midplane is from 1940 and is 28 pages long. It is a direct sequel to the previous story, above. Our three adventurers are rescued and brought to the planet Gaylen. The Gaylens have to earn their name by achieving something important, after which they are named for their achievement. This allows some fun with names, including a new member of the group, a Gaylen female with the catchy name of Ionic Intersection. Her and Jocelyn end up leaving the two human physicists stranded on the planet, whose star, they find out belatedly, is about to go nova. Though everyone ends up happily together again, there are some adventures to get through, first. The story concentrates on what happens to the two men, and how they manage to get back together with their original ship and the two women. A fun story.
*** stars.
The Extrapolated Dimwit is from 1942, and is 43 pages long. It is the third and final tale of adventure starring the two physicists Gaynor and Clair, and their female friends Jocelyn and Ionic Intersection. This adventure tells of their meeting with a Kentucky hillbilly with a universe all to himself, as well as helping the good guys on a certain planet defeat the bad guys. A pretty funny story, and a third writer, Robert (Doc) Loundres, was brought on board to help write it. All three stories are fun and worth the price of the book.
*** stars. Reviews completed January 6th/18
*** stars.
The Extrapolated Dimwit is from 1942, and is 43 pages long. It is the third and final tale of adventure starring the two physicists Gaynor and Clair, and their female friends Jocelyn and Ionic Intersection. This adventure tells of their meeting with a Kentucky hillbilly with a universe all to himself, as well as helping the good guys on a certain planet defeat the bad guys. A pretty funny story, and a third writer, Robert (Doc) Loundres, was brought on board to help write it. All three stories are fun and worth the price of the book.
*** stars. Reviews completed January 6th/18
HIS SHARE OF GLORY: The Complete Short SF of C.M. Kornbluth
Cover art by Richard Powers
At 670 pages, this hardcover edition contains the definitive version of Kornbluth's solo short SF stories. The Explorers (reviewed march 2017), A Mile Beyond the Moon (reviewed Sept. 2016), and The Best of C.M. Kornbluth (reviewed August 2016), all reviewed above, contain many of the stories and have already been reviewed. Only the unread stories will be reviewed this time, below, but the others will be added with their original review dates, as I am rereading all the previous stories, but am revising, where necessary, only the ratings. Note that the present volume only deals with stories the author wrote himself; collaborations with other authors are not included.
That Share of the Glory, from 1952, is 30 pages long. It is a story that could have easily been the start of a series of such short stories. Tightly written with a great plot and characters, this tale just might be Kornbluth's best short story. Highly recommended.
**** stars. Reviewed March 12th/17
The Adventurer is from 1953, and could also be called "The Making of a Leader." You get what you pay for. 16 pages long. Reviewed August 2016.
*** stars.
Dominoes is from 1953 and is 7 pages long. A business man travels in time to find out when the stock market will crash. He gets more than he bargained for. Oddly enough I have read this before, but it is not listed in the above short story volumes. Filled with irony.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 8th/18
The Golden Road is from 1942, and is 17 pages long. It was written under the name Cecil Corwin. It's quite a fun tale about a man lost in the high altitudes of Central Asia, and the experiences he has there. This one reminded me a bit of early Lovecraft and Dunsany. Very well done, and by a writer of 19 no less.
**** stars. Reviewed Feb. 8th/18
The Rocket of 1955, published in 1941 (when the author was eighteen), tells of the grand scheme of two shysters, and how things came apart. Very humourous. It is two pages long. *** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Mindworm from 1950 is a modern vampire tale. Though only 15 pages long, it manages to feel much more expansive. Some good settings and dark thoughts make this one stand out. Another great TV episode waiting to happen.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Education of Tigress McCardle is from 1957, and is 8 pages long. This is one of the funniest stories I have ever read. It deals with population control, and how to do properly. Highly recommended.
**** stars. Reviewed Feb. 9th/18
Shark Ship is one those completely amazing short stories, that, after reading, makes one feel that an entire epic novel has been completed. From 1953, it is 37 pages long. The population explosion of the future has forced several million people to take to the ocean, permanently, for a living. Five and six generations later, none of the seafarers have ever set foot on land. It's a wonderful variation on Heinlein's "Orphans of the Sky." When necessity finally leads a landing party of four to venture onto land, we learn what has been going on in that domain. One of the best short stories ever written. Period.
**** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Meddlers is from 1953, and is only 3 pages long. Remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? And Aesop and Son? This very short story is built around a reversal of an old saying. It's a groaner, at best.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 9th/18
The Luckiest Man in Denv, from 1952, tells the story of a man on his way up in the world. Literally. The higher one lives in the giant city skyscraper, the more important he is. In an on-going war between Denver and L.A., a war that has been going on for so long that no one really remembers what it is about (water rights to the Colorado River), ballistic missiles are routinely fired back and forth. This 14-page story tells how one man, who had the opportunity to possibly stop the war, feels obligated to keep it going. Double crosses and triple crosses are the order of the day.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Reversible Revolutions is from 1941, and is 11 pages long. A mercenary will work for money to help overthrow authority. In this case, things get more than slightly out-of-hand, and even the professionals are briefly set back. Another somewhat humourous tale that never got published in a later collection. Why were all his funny stories overlooked?
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
The City In The Sofa is also from 1941, and is 12 pages long. It stars the same mercenary from the previous story, above. This time, J. C. Battle has to deal with a civilization that lives in an old couch in the Billionaire's Club. He is shrunk down to their size and investigates. They are from an asteroid, and are green. Only they're not. Battle and his friends take care of the situation. Pretty funny, and wildly imaginative.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
Gomez is a wonderful tale of a gifted, very young, and self-taught physicist who discovers a unified field theory, after being given free reign to work by the military. At 28 pages it is one of the longer tales in the book, but it flies by for the reader. What he does with his discovery is quite unique. From 1955, this is also a wonderfully insightful depiction of a true mathematical genius at work, and the way such a person can be manipulated by the military. Unless he outsmarts them.
**** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Masquerade is from 1942, and is 9 pages long. It strongly reminded me of a Lovecraftian type of story, only perhaps better written. Worth a look.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
The Slave is from 1957, and is 27 pages long. People from Earth are being kidnapped by aliens and used as galley slaves once more. A sharp FSI agent does his best to outsmart them. This is a riveting and very well told story, one of many by Kornbluth that could easily have been expanded into novel length. Recommended.
**** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
The Words of Guru, also 1941, is a creepy tale of a creepy kid, and the power he holds over the world. It is 9 pages long.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Mr. Packer Goes To Hell is from 1941, and is 19 pages long. It features the wizard Almarish, first seen in Thirteen O'clock, above. He is about to be deposed, and escapes thanks to a beautiful woman who is 9" high. Their underground adventures are fun and funny. A good sequel.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 11th/18
With These Hands is yet another depressing story about a hard working bloke, an artist, amidst a society that does not value hand made, unique work. Everything is done by special machine, including art, making it cheaper, more accessible, and far less aesthetic. From 1951, the story lasts for 20 pages. I can understand the artist/teacher's frustration with how things are going, but not his reaction to young, intelligent, beautiful women who want to help him. He is a true artist, living only for art, and will not compromise his values for any reason. His visit, at the end of the story, to a fountain in nuclear decimated Copenhagen, is very touching.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Iteration is from 1950, and is 4 pages long. And to think that soap operas are still running today, 68 years after this little story. Apparently they have lost some of their influence, too.
**1/2 stars. reviewed Feb. 12th/18
Page proofread on March 18th/19.
That Share of the Glory, from 1952, is 30 pages long. It is a story that could have easily been the start of a series of such short stories. Tightly written with a great plot and characters, this tale just might be Kornbluth's best short story. Highly recommended.
**** stars. Reviewed March 12th/17
The Adventurer is from 1953, and could also be called "The Making of a Leader." You get what you pay for. 16 pages long. Reviewed August 2016.
*** stars.
Dominoes is from 1953 and is 7 pages long. A business man travels in time to find out when the stock market will crash. He gets more than he bargained for. Oddly enough I have read this before, but it is not listed in the above short story volumes. Filled with irony.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 8th/18
The Golden Road is from 1942, and is 17 pages long. It was written under the name Cecil Corwin. It's quite a fun tale about a man lost in the high altitudes of Central Asia, and the experiences he has there. This one reminded me a bit of early Lovecraft and Dunsany. Very well done, and by a writer of 19 no less.
**** stars. Reviewed Feb. 8th/18
The Rocket of 1955, published in 1941 (when the author was eighteen), tells of the grand scheme of two shysters, and how things came apart. Very humourous. It is two pages long. *** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Mindworm from 1950 is a modern vampire tale. Though only 15 pages long, it manages to feel much more expansive. Some good settings and dark thoughts make this one stand out. Another great TV episode waiting to happen.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Education of Tigress McCardle is from 1957, and is 8 pages long. This is one of the funniest stories I have ever read. It deals with population control, and how to do properly. Highly recommended.
**** stars. Reviewed Feb. 9th/18
Shark Ship is one those completely amazing short stories, that, after reading, makes one feel that an entire epic novel has been completed. From 1953, it is 37 pages long. The population explosion of the future has forced several million people to take to the ocean, permanently, for a living. Five and six generations later, none of the seafarers have ever set foot on land. It's a wonderful variation on Heinlein's "Orphans of the Sky." When necessity finally leads a landing party of four to venture onto land, we learn what has been going on in that domain. One of the best short stories ever written. Period.
**** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Meddlers is from 1953, and is only 3 pages long. Remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? And Aesop and Son? This very short story is built around a reversal of an old saying. It's a groaner, at best.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 9th/18
The Luckiest Man in Denv, from 1952, tells the story of a man on his way up in the world. Literally. The higher one lives in the giant city skyscraper, the more important he is. In an on-going war between Denver and L.A., a war that has been going on for so long that no one really remembers what it is about (water rights to the Colorado River), ballistic missiles are routinely fired back and forth. This 14-page story tells how one man, who had the opportunity to possibly stop the war, feels obligated to keep it going. Double crosses and triple crosses are the order of the day.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Reversible Revolutions is from 1941, and is 11 pages long. A mercenary will work for money to help overthrow authority. In this case, things get more than slightly out-of-hand, and even the professionals are briefly set back. Another somewhat humourous tale that never got published in a later collection. Why were all his funny stories overlooked?
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
The City In The Sofa is also from 1941, and is 12 pages long. It stars the same mercenary from the previous story, above. This time, J. C. Battle has to deal with a civilization that lives in an old couch in the Billionaire's Club. He is shrunk down to their size and investigates. They are from an asteroid, and are green. Only they're not. Battle and his friends take care of the situation. Pretty funny, and wildly imaginative.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
Gomez is a wonderful tale of a gifted, very young, and self-taught physicist who discovers a unified field theory, after being given free reign to work by the military. At 28 pages it is one of the longer tales in the book, but it flies by for the reader. What he does with his discovery is quite unique. From 1955, this is also a wonderfully insightful depiction of a true mathematical genius at work, and the way such a person can be manipulated by the military. Unless he outsmarts them.
**** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Masquerade is from 1942, and is 9 pages long. It strongly reminded me of a Lovecraftian type of story, only perhaps better written. Worth a look.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
The Slave is from 1957, and is 27 pages long. People from Earth are being kidnapped by aliens and used as galley slaves once more. A sharp FSI agent does his best to outsmart them. This is a riveting and very well told story, one of many by Kornbluth that could easily have been expanded into novel length. Recommended.
**** stars. Reviewed Feb. 10th/18
The Words of Guru, also 1941, is a creepy tale of a creepy kid, and the power he holds over the world. It is 9 pages long.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Thirteen O'Clock
is a 25 page story from 1941. It is a fantasy tale that I am very glad
to have come across! I spent about five years before this blog got
started reading all of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series and blogging
about those fabulous novels (link on left side, top). This story took
me right back to the very best of those days. Throughout the tale I was
also reminded of John Bellairs' incomparable fantasy The Face In the Frost, from 1969.
**** stars. Reviewed March 11th/17
Mr. Packer Goes To Hell is from 1941, and is 19 pages long. It features the wizard Almarish, first seen in Thirteen O'clock, above. He is about to be deposed, and escapes thanks to a beautiful woman who is 9" high. Their underground adventures are fun and funny. A good sequel.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 11th/18
With These Hands is yet another depressing story about a hard working bloke, an artist, amidst a society that does not value hand made, unique work. Everything is done by special machine, including art, making it cheaper, more accessible, and far less aesthetic. From 1951, the story lasts for 20 pages. I can understand the artist/teacher's frustration with how things are going, but not his reaction to young, intelligent, beautiful women who want to help him. He is a true artist, living only for art, and will not compromise his values for any reason. His visit, at the end of the story, to a fountain in nuclear decimated Copenhagen, is very touching.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Iteration is from 1950, and is 4 pages long. And to think that soap operas are still running today, 68 years after this little story. Apparently they have lost some of their influence, too.
**1/2 stars. reviewed Feb. 12th/18
The Goodly Creatures,
from 1952, is 14 pages long. A regional advertising executive sees his
life wasted as a young recruit shows him what his life could, and
should, have been,
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed March 11th/17
Time Bum is from 1953. Harry Twenty-Third Street gets involved with the biggest, most certain, and easy con of his life. He will soon be in the big money. Until the Time Police interfere. Filled with irony and a sense of campiness, its 9 pages again involve time travel, and again in a unique manner. Score another one for Kornbluth!
*** stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
Two Dooms is 50 pages long. It is also the most intense of them all. Dating from 1958, it is one of two works Kornbluth completed just before his untimely death at 34 years of age (the other was a rewrite of Wolfbane, co-authored with Frederik Pohl). According to Pohl, this was one of the earliest stories to show what might have happened if Japan and Germany had won the war, and one of the best of them. It is easily the finest story of the pack from this anthology. It is a gripping tale of a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos during the 2nd World War who finds himself still in New Mexico, but awakened after 150 years to discover that the Japanese and Germans are ruling with cruelty and ignorance. He wanders through a medieval society of farmers, encountering Samurai and German officers out for blood. What happened to allow this turn of events to occur? A must read.
**** stars. Reviewed August 20th/16
Passion Pills is from 1958, and is 4 pages long. This is another very funny story. A less than handsome young man yearns for female company. Eventually he comes up with a secret love potion. Very rich stuff.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 13th/18
The Silly Season refers to the dead of summer, when news organizations are hungry for copy but nothing much is going on. Stories that might be left alone during the year are often followed up during this time, for lack of anything better to write about. This 16-page story from 1950 puts Kornbluth's actual newspaper experience to good use, as we learn how aliens have used the media to assist them in easily taking over the earth.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 18th/16
Fire Power is from 1941, and is 17 pages long. A military coup is thwarted by the Intelligence Wing. After all, that's where all the smart people work.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 13th/18
The Perfect Invasion is from 1942, and is 15 pages long. This is the second story with the same characters. Bartok and Babe McNeice also saved the world in Fire Power, above. This time the tables are turned, as Earth is the civilization being attacked and ravaged. Up till now Earth has been colonizing in a frenzy of manifest destiny colonialism, and not in a fashion that is kind to aliens. There are some interesting parallels between this short story, and the two Humanoid novels of Jack Williamson. Simplistic, but an interesting read.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 14th/18
The Adventurers is from 1955, and is 5 pages long. An astronaut tries to gain membership to an exclusive club. According to their standards, he doesn't quite measure up.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Kazam Collects is from 1941, written when the author was still a teen. It is 14 pages long and concerns a trip to paradise for a detective involved unwittingly with the occult. He begins by investigating a fake leader of a religious cult. He actually goes easy on him, as he could have him deported. The detective and Kazam become involved in something big, as the evil force of yet another magician is trying to kill them both. Quite a good fantasy story, with hints of Lovecraft!
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
The Marching Morons is one those stories that is so distasteful that it is difficult to believe it was ever written. Some of the Twilight Zone episodes were like that. The one I found most unpleasant starred Burgess Meredith as a banker who lived to read. He always had his nose in a book. While down in the bank vault on business, the world above him was annihilated by a nuclear war. Through the aftermath wreckage he finds himself all alone on the planet. He heads to a destroyed library, rescues several books, and realizes that he has all his life to read without interruption. Then he accidentally steps on his glasses. Not a nice story. From 1951, our story follows an unethical businessman who has been awakened after centuries of suspended animation. He is put to use by the minority and enslaved intelligentsia to help depopulate the planet, which currently has way too many people with low a IQ. This story certainly didn't go the way I expected it. It is 34 pages long.
* star. Reviewed August 2016.
The Altar at Midnight is from 1952. Once again we spend a lot of time in working class area bars (and apparently, so did Kornbluth). This 8-pager gives insight into some of the less desirable effects of frequent space travel, and being responsible not only for it, but for nuclear proliferation as well. What happens to men with a conscience? They drink a lot.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Crisis! is from 1942, and is 11 pages long. It is an immature tale of two diplomats trying to stop a war between Venus and Earth. Rather pointless, and hardly worth reading.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 15th/18
Theory of Rocketry is from 1958, and is 11 pages long. It is another distasteful story of a young boy who will do anything to get into space. Keep in mind that such a thing as the House Un-American Committee really did exist, and really did go after people who held opinions considered un-American. Having been a teacher for so long, I know how easy it is for a student to ruin a perfectly good reputation.
* star. Reviewed Feb. 15th/18
The Cosmic Charge Account is from 1956, and is 17 pages long. If you read a lot of Kornbluth, you will notice how odd many of his stories are. This is one of the oddest, though still enjoyable. A older woman masters the art of Functional Epistemology (F.E.) and is soon causing havoc in the local area, and it is spreading. The only defense is to strike a certain pose and stick out one's tongue. The military and government don't accept this surefire technique, and so the havoc spreads. Very, very silly, and also quite violent.
**1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 15/18
Friend to Man, from 1951, tells the woeful tale of a murderous thug stuck on Mars (?), and tracked down by an alien and "saved." Despite his promise to turn over a new leaf, Kornbluth and the alien have other plans. It is 10 pages long.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
I Never Ast No Favours is from 1954, and is 11 pages long. A young punk from the city is sent to work off his sentence on a country farm. He gets a bit more than he bargained for in this very funny, laugh-out-loud story. Highly recommended.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 16th/18
The Little Black Bag, from 1950, is 32 pages long. A doctor's black bag from the 2400s is transported back to the mid-20th C. This is a wonderful SF short story, and was featured in the first season of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The part of Dr. Fall was played by Burgess Meredith! I have seen it, and though the story has been changed a lot, the same essentials are there.
**** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
What Sorghum Says is from 1941, and is 6 pages long. Sorghum Hackett is a fine Kentucky moonshiner, and his White Mule packs a pretty good kick. He gets transported to ancient Rome, and though his product wins many friends, one of them is not Lady Livia. A pretty funny story.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 16th/18
MS. Found In A Chinese Fortune Cookie is from 1957, and is 9 pages long. Cecil Corwin (one of Kornbluth's pen names) gets into some difficulty, and writes notes in fortune cookies intended for Kornbluth. He needs help badly. Very clever writing, and no doubt a big influence on P.J. Farmer, who loved these kinds of writing games.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 16th/18
The Only Thing We Learn, from 1949, pits chaos against order. Needless to say, order has no chance. 11 pages long.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Last Man Left In the Bar, from 1957, is 13 pages, and like many of these stories, would make a great Twilight Zone episode. A low level worker in a physics lab steals an important religious icon from aliens. He hides out in a bar. All he wants is information about what exactly is going on, and he will return the icon. Some really fun bar and TV screen talk scenes enliven this story, yet with a very unhappy, though deserved, ending for the thief.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Virginia, from 1957, is a 7-page running joke, with the punch line appearing at the end, of course. As I have said earlier in some of these pages, sexism in 50s SF was alive and well, not to mention racism, though not usually so blatant in this author. The story involves inheritance of old money, and one's duty as a billionaire. This part of the story is great, positively reeking of satire. At least the hero gets rewarded for his attempts at breaking with tradition. I just wish his reward had been different.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
The Advent on Channel 12, from 1958 (the author's destiny date with fate), is one of the sillier stories I have ever read and enjoyed. This 3-pager also tells us quite a bit about how Kornbluth regarded television and its ultimate purpose.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Make Mine Mars opens with some of that famous Kornbluth humour, and it ends the same way. In between is yet another fascinating tale of a newspaper man sent to the least newsworthy planet yet known, as punishment for several employee related misdemeanours. As it turns out, the cold, dark little planet is rather newsworthy. A fabulous story, covering a lot of ground in 31 pages. It is from 1952.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
Everybody Knows Joe is a story from 1953 and lasts only 4 pages. We follow along with Joe's conscience, or guardian angel, or whatever you wish to call it, through a few minor episodes in Joe's life. Until Joe finally proves his worthlessness to the girl he's been stringing along for too long. Another witty tale.
*** stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
The Remorseful is a 5 page story from 1953. It tells of visitors to Earth and their appalling reaction, after discovering that we have virtually extinguished ourselves.
*** stars. Reviewed 2016
Sir Mallory's Magnitude is from 1941/42, and is 19 pages long. Kornbluth has a knack for writing entire novels and fitting them into short stories. This could easily be expanded into novel length, and would not be at all out of place as half of an Ace Double. World Peace talks are disrupted by mysterious people, and young Ballister and his reporter sidekick Kay are all that stand between them and saving the world. Good fun, and very much in the pulp tradition.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 17/18
The Events Leading Down to the Tragedy is from 1957, lasting only 8 pages, and is a tale of time travel and its possible consequences on historical events. This tale is told with wry humour and is quite clever.
*** stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
This ends the professionally written stories. However, this massive, inclusive volume also includes early works (1939-43) written very quickly to fill space "to spec" for pulp magazines. The printing in this section is very small, thus the stories are quite a bit longer than the page count might indicate.
King Cole Of Pluto is from 1940, and is 16 pages long. It appears to be a hurriedly written story, with the basic plot elements remaining just that. A space salvage company based on Mars becomes involved in capturing a criminal thought long dead. It stars a lovely pair of female eyes, showing that Kornbluth's sense of humour was well in place by the age of 17. Though the leading male is sexist, the woman lives up to her hype and proves to be stronger than he thought.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 18th/18
No Place To Go is from 1941, and is 4 pages long. A hen-pecked non-PhD physics inventor perfects a rocket fuel. He wants to turn over the formulae to Humankind, but his wife wants them to get rich from it. He flies into space, then there is some silliness about gravity. Unless you are a completest, give this one a miss.
* star. Reviewed Feb. 18th/18
Dimensions of Darkness is from 1941, and is 8 pages long. A professor and the hood who is trying to kill him are transported to a different dimension. They encounter a misogynist from Earth who likes to have many wives. After the bad guy is dealt with, the kindly old professor stays behind to try and help the people forget what they have been taught by marriage.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 18th/18
Dead Center is from 1941, and is 15 pages long. This one is a strange little tale about reaching the center of space, and if expanded would have likely made a good novel. As it is the story is lacking a lot in important details and characterizations, but if just whipped off the top of the author's head it is pretty impressive. The lead character bears a strong resemblance to Doc Savage! Worth a look.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
Interference is from 1941, and is 7 pages long. Two men are launched into space to try and discover what is ailing humans. They are coming down with an incurable disease. While in space, the ship itself, which carried dirt and other molecules from Earth, becomes home to a whole new race, one whose evolutionary progress proceeds so quickly that they evolve to the point where their science figures out what is wrong with humans, and how to fix it. The weirdness just never stops with Kornbluth! Full points for creativity.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
Forgotten Tongue is from 1941, and is 5 pages long. Opposing political parties are using psychological tactics to win voters. The evil Fersen is all set to unleash his fiendish plan, but is stopped in his tracks by Marty and Pepper. They quickly turn the tables on him and his party.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
Return From M-15 is from 1941, and is 16 pages long. This is an exciting, fast-paced story about a man who invents a machine that can.... well, we aren't really told at first, but it must be powerful! He tries to sell it to the World Research Syndicate. This is one mean and nasty organization. Barney Train gets kidnapped by them and sent to a prison planet. He escapes and wreaks havoc on the Syndicate. Yay for the good guys!
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
The Core is from 1942, and is 22 pages long. It is one of the most original stories in the book, and reads like one of the more cerebral adventures that Star Trek could ever envision. It would make a great SF movie, being a story of alien contact, though much more than that. I was expecting another pedestrian story and was delighted by this one. A must read!
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed March 11th/17
Time Bum is from 1953. Harry Twenty-Third Street gets involved with the biggest, most certain, and easy con of his life. He will soon be in the big money. Until the Time Police interfere. Filled with irony and a sense of campiness, its 9 pages again involve time travel, and again in a unique manner. Score another one for Kornbluth!
*** stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
Two Dooms is 50 pages long. It is also the most intense of them all. Dating from 1958, it is one of two works Kornbluth completed just before his untimely death at 34 years of age (the other was a rewrite of Wolfbane, co-authored with Frederik Pohl). According to Pohl, this was one of the earliest stories to show what might have happened if Japan and Germany had won the war, and one of the best of them. It is easily the finest story of the pack from this anthology. It is a gripping tale of a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos during the 2nd World War who finds himself still in New Mexico, but awakened after 150 years to discover that the Japanese and Germans are ruling with cruelty and ignorance. He wanders through a medieval society of farmers, encountering Samurai and German officers out for blood. What happened to allow this turn of events to occur? A must read.
**** stars. Reviewed August 20th/16
Passion Pills is from 1958, and is 4 pages long. This is another very funny story. A less than handsome young man yearns for female company. Eventually he comes up with a secret love potion. Very rich stuff.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 13th/18
The Silly Season refers to the dead of summer, when news organizations are hungry for copy but nothing much is going on. Stories that might be left alone during the year are often followed up during this time, for lack of anything better to write about. This 16-page story from 1950 puts Kornbluth's actual newspaper experience to good use, as we learn how aliens have used the media to assist them in easily taking over the earth.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 18th/16
Fire Power is from 1941, and is 17 pages long. A military coup is thwarted by the Intelligence Wing. After all, that's where all the smart people work.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 13th/18
The Perfect Invasion is from 1942, and is 15 pages long. This is the second story with the same characters. Bartok and Babe McNeice also saved the world in Fire Power, above. This time the tables are turned, as Earth is the civilization being attacked and ravaged. Up till now Earth has been colonizing in a frenzy of manifest destiny colonialism, and not in a fashion that is kind to aliens. There are some interesting parallels between this short story, and the two Humanoid novels of Jack Williamson. Simplistic, but an interesting read.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 14th/18
The Adventurers is from 1955, and is 5 pages long. An astronaut tries to gain membership to an exclusive club. According to their standards, he doesn't quite measure up.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Kazam Collects is from 1941, written when the author was still a teen. It is 14 pages long and concerns a trip to paradise for a detective involved unwittingly with the occult. He begins by investigating a fake leader of a religious cult. He actually goes easy on him, as he could have him deported. The detective and Kazam become involved in something big, as the evil force of yet another magician is trying to kill them both. Quite a good fantasy story, with hints of Lovecraft!
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
The Marching Morons is one those stories that is so distasteful that it is difficult to believe it was ever written. Some of the Twilight Zone episodes were like that. The one I found most unpleasant starred Burgess Meredith as a banker who lived to read. He always had his nose in a book. While down in the bank vault on business, the world above him was annihilated by a nuclear war. Through the aftermath wreckage he finds himself all alone on the planet. He heads to a destroyed library, rescues several books, and realizes that he has all his life to read without interruption. Then he accidentally steps on his glasses. Not a nice story. From 1951, our story follows an unethical businessman who has been awakened after centuries of suspended animation. He is put to use by the minority and enslaved intelligentsia to help depopulate the planet, which currently has way too many people with low a IQ. This story certainly didn't go the way I expected it. It is 34 pages long.
* star. Reviewed August 2016.
The Altar at Midnight is from 1952. Once again we spend a lot of time in working class area bars (and apparently, so did Kornbluth). This 8-pager gives insight into some of the less desirable effects of frequent space travel, and being responsible not only for it, but for nuclear proliferation as well. What happens to men with a conscience? They drink a lot.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Crisis! is from 1942, and is 11 pages long. It is an immature tale of two diplomats trying to stop a war between Venus and Earth. Rather pointless, and hardly worth reading.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 15th/18
Theory of Rocketry is from 1958, and is 11 pages long. It is another distasteful story of a young boy who will do anything to get into space. Keep in mind that such a thing as the House Un-American Committee really did exist, and really did go after people who held opinions considered un-American. Having been a teacher for so long, I know how easy it is for a student to ruin a perfectly good reputation.
* star. Reviewed Feb. 15th/18
The Cosmic Charge Account is from 1956, and is 17 pages long. If you read a lot of Kornbluth, you will notice how odd many of his stories are. This is one of the oddest, though still enjoyable. A older woman masters the art of Functional Epistemology (F.E.) and is soon causing havoc in the local area, and it is spreading. The only defense is to strike a certain pose and stick out one's tongue. The military and government don't accept this surefire technique, and so the havoc spreads. Very, very silly, and also quite violent.
**1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 15/18
Friend to Man, from 1951, tells the woeful tale of a murderous thug stuck on Mars (?), and tracked down by an alien and "saved." Despite his promise to turn over a new leaf, Kornbluth and the alien have other plans. It is 10 pages long.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
I Never Ast No Favours is from 1954, and is 11 pages long. A young punk from the city is sent to work off his sentence on a country farm. He gets a bit more than he bargained for in this very funny, laugh-out-loud story. Highly recommended.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 16th/18
The Little Black Bag, from 1950, is 32 pages long. A doctor's black bag from the 2400s is transported back to the mid-20th C. This is a wonderful SF short story, and was featured in the first season of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The part of Dr. Fall was played by Burgess Meredith! I have seen it, and though the story has been changed a lot, the same essentials are there.
**** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
What Sorghum Says is from 1941, and is 6 pages long. Sorghum Hackett is a fine Kentucky moonshiner, and his White Mule packs a pretty good kick. He gets transported to ancient Rome, and though his product wins many friends, one of them is not Lady Livia. A pretty funny story.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 16th/18
MS. Found In A Chinese Fortune Cookie is from 1957, and is 9 pages long. Cecil Corwin (one of Kornbluth's pen names) gets into some difficulty, and writes notes in fortune cookies intended for Kornbluth. He needs help badly. Very clever writing, and no doubt a big influence on P.J. Farmer, who loved these kinds of writing games.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 16th/18
The Only Thing We Learn, from 1949, pits chaos against order. Needless to say, order has no chance. 11 pages long.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
The Last Man Left In the Bar, from 1957, is 13 pages, and like many of these stories, would make a great Twilight Zone episode. A low level worker in a physics lab steals an important religious icon from aliens. He hides out in a bar. All he wants is information about what exactly is going on, and he will return the icon. Some really fun bar and TV screen talk scenes enliven this story, yet with a very unhappy, though deserved, ending for the thief.
*** stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Virginia, from 1957, is a 7-page running joke, with the punch line appearing at the end, of course. As I have said earlier in some of these pages, sexism in 50s SF was alive and well, not to mention racism, though not usually so blatant in this author. The story involves inheritance of old money, and one's duty as a billionaire. This part of the story is great, positively reeking of satire. At least the hero gets rewarded for his attempts at breaking with tradition. I just wish his reward had been different.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
The Advent on Channel 12, from 1958 (the author's destiny date with fate), is one of the sillier stories I have ever read and enjoyed. This 3-pager also tells us quite a bit about how Kornbluth regarded television and its ultimate purpose.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed August 2016.
Make Mine Mars opens with some of that famous Kornbluth humour, and it ends the same way. In between is yet another fascinating tale of a newspaper man sent to the least newsworthy planet yet known, as punishment for several employee related misdemeanours. As it turns out, the cold, dark little planet is rather newsworthy. A fabulous story, covering a lot of ground in 31 pages. It is from 1952.
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
Everybody Knows Joe is a story from 1953 and lasts only 4 pages. We follow along with Joe's conscience, or guardian angel, or whatever you wish to call it, through a few minor episodes in Joe's life. Until Joe finally proves his worthlessness to the girl he's been stringing along for too long. Another witty tale.
*** stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
The Remorseful is a 5 page story from 1953. It tells of visitors to Earth and their appalling reaction, after discovering that we have virtually extinguished ourselves.
*** stars. Reviewed 2016
Sir Mallory's Magnitude is from 1941/42, and is 19 pages long. Kornbluth has a knack for writing entire novels and fitting them into short stories. This could easily be expanded into novel length, and would not be at all out of place as half of an Ace Double. World Peace talks are disrupted by mysterious people, and young Ballister and his reporter sidekick Kay are all that stand between them and saving the world. Good fun, and very much in the pulp tradition.
*** stars. Reviewed Feb. 17/18
The Events Leading Down to the Tragedy is from 1957, lasting only 8 pages, and is a tale of time travel and its possible consequences on historical events. This tale is told with wry humour and is quite clever.
*** stars. Reviewed Sept. 2016.
This ends the professionally written stories. However, this massive, inclusive volume also includes early works (1939-43) written very quickly to fill space "to spec" for pulp magazines. The printing in this section is very small, thus the stories are quite a bit longer than the page count might indicate.
King Cole Of Pluto is from 1940, and is 16 pages long. It appears to be a hurriedly written story, with the basic plot elements remaining just that. A space salvage company based on Mars becomes involved in capturing a criminal thought long dead. It stars a lovely pair of female eyes, showing that Kornbluth's sense of humour was well in place by the age of 17. Though the leading male is sexist, the woman lives up to her hype and proves to be stronger than he thought.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 18th/18
No Place To Go is from 1941, and is 4 pages long. A hen-pecked non-PhD physics inventor perfects a rocket fuel. He wants to turn over the formulae to Humankind, but his wife wants them to get rich from it. He flies into space, then there is some silliness about gravity. Unless you are a completest, give this one a miss.
* star. Reviewed Feb. 18th/18
Dimensions of Darkness is from 1941, and is 8 pages long. A professor and the hood who is trying to kill him are transported to a different dimension. They encounter a misogynist from Earth who likes to have many wives. After the bad guy is dealt with, the kindly old professor stays behind to try and help the people forget what they have been taught by marriage.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 18th/18
Dead Center is from 1941, and is 15 pages long. This one is a strange little tale about reaching the center of space, and if expanded would have likely made a good novel. As it is the story is lacking a lot in important details and characterizations, but if just whipped off the top of the author's head it is pretty impressive. The lead character bears a strong resemblance to Doc Savage! Worth a look.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
Interference is from 1941, and is 7 pages long. Two men are launched into space to try and discover what is ailing humans. They are coming down with an incurable disease. While in space, the ship itself, which carried dirt and other molecules from Earth, becomes home to a whole new race, one whose evolutionary progress proceeds so quickly that they evolve to the point where their science figures out what is wrong with humans, and how to fix it. The weirdness just never stops with Kornbluth! Full points for creativity.
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
Forgotten Tongue is from 1941, and is 5 pages long. Opposing political parties are using psychological tactics to win voters. The evil Fersen is all set to unleash his fiendish plan, but is stopped in his tracks by Marty and Pepper. They quickly turn the tables on him and his party.
** stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
Return From M-15 is from 1941, and is 16 pages long. This is an exciting, fast-paced story about a man who invents a machine that can.... well, we aren't really told at first, but it must be powerful! He tries to sell it to the World Research Syndicate. This is one mean and nasty organization. Barney Train gets kidnapped by them and sent to a prison planet. He escapes and wreaks havoc on the Syndicate. Yay for the good guys!
** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
The Core is from 1942, and is 22 pages long. It is one of the most original stories in the book, and reads like one of the more cerebral adventures that Star Trek could ever envision. It would make a great SF movie, being a story of alien contact, though much more than that. I was expecting another pedestrian story and was delighted by this one. A must read!
*** 1/2 stars. Reviewed Feb. 19th/18
Page proofread on March 18th/19.
