Reading 1957 SF

The Short: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook has been reading short science fiction from 1957 recently, in “The Best SF Short Stories of 1957” by Jim Harris. I read the 23 stories we planned to read, and another 79 bonus stories that I picked out or that or that I had read recently. Out of the 102 overall, I rated 51 stories at “Superlative” or “Great”. I am glad that I read the 23 stories that were planned and I am glad that I picked others to supplement them. My average rating for the 23 planned stories was 3.83/5, or “Great”, and the average rating for the additional stories was 3.68/5, or “Very good”. Below I’ll discuss both how I picked the additional stories and which of them I recommend. Also, here is a link to My Recommendations for 1957 short SFF.

The Full: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction group on Facebook has been reading short science fiction from a specific year recently. We have previously read and discussed short SF from 1955, 1956, and 1976.

I have also read speculative fiction from a specific year on my own recently, for a Retro Hugo year such as 1944 (1943), 1945 (1944), and 1946 for a Chicon 8 panel, and 1949 to answer a question of my own.

Jim Harris selected the 23 stories from 1957 for this group read, with some suggestions from the moderators including myself. This is what he stated:

The stories were selected by using any story with at least two citations on CSFquery. I also added two stories because one had been made into a movie, and one into a television show. I then added a few recommendations from our group’s moderators. No stories were awarded a Hugo for 1957, so I used Rich Horton’s picks for 1957 instead.

He summarized the picks:

I was pretty excited about reading short SF from 1957.

As Jim Harris noted, there were no Hugo Awards given for short fiction from 1957, due to the chaos and varying award processes from that early era of the Hugo Awards. This also substantially predated most of the other speculative fiction/science fiction awards out there, such as the Nebula or the Locus Awards.

The 1957 Hugo Awards did not include a category for best short fiction or novel. The 1958 Hugo Award for Best Novel or Novelette went to novel “The Big Time” by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy March & April 1958 and the 1958 Hugo Award for Best Short Story went to short story “Or All the Seas with Oysters“, Avram Davidson, Galaxy May 1958. There were no nominations documented other than the 1958 winners noted above. Given that there were no Hugo Awards for short fiction for work from 1957, it makes it a lot of fun to speculate on what might have been, as both Jo Walton and Rich Horton have done.

I was very pleased with the list from Jim Harris, because there were both a number of great stories and because there were more than a few that either I had never read or which I had no recollection of reading. However, because I love reading short science fiction and because I read very fast and I have a lot of spare time, I immediately jumped on figuring out what other “bonus” 1957 short science fiction stories I’d like to read. Also, I did not restrict my bonus reading list to SF.

Bonus Story Selection.

For my bonus stories, I added 79 stories that were published in 1957 from these sources:

1. 26 stories from Rich Horton’s 1957 recommendations that are not listed in the first 23 stories.
2. Three stories reprinted in “SF:’58: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy“, Judith Merril editor, 1958 Gnome.
3. Four stories reprinted in “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books.
4. Fiction reprinted in “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1958 Doubleday, with ten stories and one poem.
5. Six stories reprinted in “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1958 Advent.
6. Four stories reprinted in “The Third Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1958 Doubleday.
7. “The Fourth Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1959 Doubleday had four stories.
8. Five stories reprinted in “The Stories of Ray Bradbury“, 1980 Alfred A Knopf.
9. I added seven stories for various reasons, sometimes even obscure to me today.
10. Finally, I had 10 stories from 1957 I had previously read that were not included anywhere above.

See below for a complete listing of bonus stories added and sources.

All in all, I really enjoyed most of the stories I read from 1957. I hope that the process of reading 102 stories (the original 23 by Jim Harris and the added 79 “bonus” stories from the sources noted) helped me to read most of the “best” short SFF from 1957.

A quick search on ISFDB for titles that are short fiction, in English, and published in 1957 resulted in just over 2,000 entries. More than a few of these are duplicates for various reasons. Even assuming that there are 1,500 short fiction works in speculative fiction in English from 1957, I don’t have the interest or stamina to read any more. I’m sure there are some other great short speculative fiction works from 1957 that I’ve missed, but this is enough.

From these 102 short fiction works from 1957, I rated 51 as “Great” or “Superlative”. I did not read any that I felt rated “A classic” or “Perfect”; others might disagree.

Here is my list of 51 stories that I recommend that I felt were “Great” or “Superlative”, sorted in descending order by rating and then title alphabetical order. I’ve noted “Bonus story” for those.

1. “The Last Canticle“, a Saint Leibowitz novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr., F&SF February. rated 4.2/5, or “Superlative”. Bonus story. I had read this before in somewhat different form as the last portion of Miller’s 1959 fix-up novel “A Canticle For Leibowitz“, but it was great to read this original version.
2. “Call Me Joe“, a novelette by Poul Anderson, Astounding April 1957, rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.
3. “Forever Stenn” (aka “The Ridge Around the World”), a short story by Algis Budrys, Satellite December 1957, rated 4.1/5. Bonus story.
4. “Build-Up” (aka “The Concentration City”), a short story by J. G. Ballard, New Worlds January 1957, rated 4.1/5. Bonus story.
5. “Dio“, a novelette by Damon Knight, Infinity September 1957, rated 4/5, or “Great”.
6. “Help! I am Dr. Morris Goldpepper“, a short story by Avram Davidson, Galaxy July 1957, rated 4/5. Bonus story.
7. “Journeys End“, a short story by Poul Anderson, F&SF February 1957, rated4/5. Bonus story.
8. “The Men Return“, a short story by Jack Vance, Infinity July 1957, rated 4/5.
9. “Wilderness“, a novelette of the People by Zenna Henderson, F&SF January 1957, rated 4/5.
10. “Between the Thunder and the Sun“, a novelette by Chad Oliver, F&SF May 1957, rated 3.9/5, or “Great”. Bonus story.
11. “Didn’t He Ramble“, a short story by Chad Oliver, F&SF April 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
12. “Game Preserve“, a short story by Rog Phillips, If October 1957, rated 3.9/5.
13. “Into Your Tent I’ll Creep“, a short story by Eric Frank Russell, Astounding September 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
14. “Mark Elf“, an Instrumentality of Mankind short story by “Cordwainer Smith” (Paul M. A. Linebarger), Saturn May 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
15. “Nightsound” (AKA “The Attic Voice”), a short story by Algis Budrys, Satellite Science Fiction February 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
16. “Now Let Us Sleep“, a short story by Avram Davidson, Venture September 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
17. “Soldier“, a novelette by Harlan Ellison, Fantastic Universe October 1957, rated 3.9/5.
18. “The Bomb in the Bathtub“, a short story by Thomas N. Scortia, Galaxy February 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
19. “The Canvas Pyramid“, a short story by Jane Roberts, F&SF March 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
20. “The Fly“, a novelette by George Langalaan, Playboy June 1957, rated 3.9/5.
21. “The Mile-Long Spaceship“, a short story by Kate Wilhelm, Astounding April 1957, rated 3.9/5.
22. “The Queer Ones“, a novelette by Leigh Brackett, Venture March 1957, rated 3.9/5.
23. “The Wines of Earth“, a short story by Margaret St. Clair, F&SF September 1957, rated 3.9/5.
24. “The Wonder Horse“, a short story by George Byram, Atlantic Monthly August 1957, rated 3.9/5. Bonus story.
25. “A Wind Is Rising“, a short story by “Finn O’Donnevan” (Robert Sheckley), Galaxy July 1957, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”. Bonus story.
26. “Affair with a Green Monkey“, a short story by Theodore Sturgeon, Venture May 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
27. “All the World’s Tears“, a short story by Brian W. Aldiss, Nebula May 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
28. “Dodger Fan“, a short story by Will Stanton, F&SF June 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
29. “Featherbed on Chlyntha“, a short story by Miriam Allen deFord, Venture November 1957, 3.8/5. Bonus story.
30. “Hunting Machine“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, Science Fiction Stories May 1957, rated 3.8/5.
31. “Lone Star Planet“, a novella by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire, Fantastic Universe March, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
32. “Mr. Stilwell’s Stage“, a short story by Avram Davidson, F&SF September 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
33. “MS. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie“, a short story by C. M. Kornbluth, F&SF July 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
34. “Profession“, a novella by Isaac Asimov, Astounding July 1975, rated 3.8/5.
35. “Rescue“, a short story by G. C. Edmondson, F&SF June 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
36. “The Coffin Cure“, a short story by Alan E. Nourse, Galaxy April 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
37. “The Education of Tigress McCardle” , a short story by C. M. Kornbluth, Venture, July 1957, rated 3.8/5.
38. “The Haunted Corpse“, a short story by Frederik Pohl, Galaxy January 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
39. “The Ifth of Oofth“, a short story by Walter Tevis, Galaxy April 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
40. “The Long Remembering“, a short story by Poul Anderson, F&SF November 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
41. “The Elephant Circuit” (AKA “The Man Who Traveled in Elephants”), a short story by Robert A. Heinlein, Saturn Science Fiction and Fantasy October 1957. Bonus story.
42. “The Menace From Earth“, a Future History novelette by Robert A. Heinlein, F&SF August 1957, rated 3.8/5.
43. “The Other Celia“, a short story by Theodore Sturgeon, Galaxy March 1957, rated 3.8/5.
44. “The Small World“, a short story by William F. Nolan, Fantastic Universe August 1957, rated 3.8/5.
45. “The Stainless Steal Rat“, a short story by Harry Harrison, Astounding, August 1957, rated 3.8/5.
46. “The Tunesmith“, a novelette by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., If August 1957, rated 3.8/5.
47. “The Wild Wood“, a short story by Mildred Clingerman, F&SF January 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
48. “Time in the Round“, a novelette by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy May 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
49. “Time Waits for Winthrop“, a novella by William Tenn, Galaxy, August 1957, rated 3.8/5.
50. “Vengeance for Nikolai” (AKA “The Song of Marya”), a novelette by Walter M. Miller, Jr., Venture March 1957, rated 3.8/5. Bonus story.
51. “You Know Willie“, a short story by Theodore R. Cogswell, F&SF May 1957, rated 3.8/5.

I found that 13 of my 23 top rated stories were “Bonus stories”. This does not invalidate the approach by Jim Harris in selecting those 23 stories. However, I am pleased that I was able to find a number of other 1957 stories that I felt were worthwhile and which deserved to be in the conversation for “The Best Short SF of 1957”. It’s also worth mentioning that Jim’s goal was to read the best short SF of 1957. My goal was somewhat broader – I looked at reading the best short speculative fiction of 1957. Without overthinking it, there are definitely some fantasy stories in the stories I picked.

There were a number of stories that I felt were “Very good” but not quite getting to “Great” or were not stories I wanted to recommend.

There were 13 stories that fell into the “Good” or “Okay” categories for me. These included one from the Jim Harris list (“The Cage“, a short story by A. Bertram Chandler”, F&SF June 1957) and the rest my own choices or prior reading for other reasons. I would not consider reading any of these again.

Finally, there was an Isaac Asimov novelette that I did not finish, “Ideas Die Hard“, Galaxy October 1957. The writing was adequate, but there was nothing about it I liked or wanted to find out more about. Rich Horton liked this one. Looking at the ISFDB entry, there were some interesting aspects, but I’m done with this one. This is pretty unusual for me and Isaac Asimov’s fiction.

My average rating for the 23 planned stories was 3.83/5, or “Great”. My average rating for the additional bonus stories was 3.68/5, or “Very good”. This makes sense to me.

I took a look at where my recommended stories were published.

F&SF has the most stories I recommended, followed by Galaxy. I suspect this is due to two factors, publishing great stories and reprinting them in “Best Of” (for F&SF) and in “Galaxy Readers”.

See below for detailed reviews/comments.

COMPLETE LISTING OF BONUS STORIES AND SOURCES

26 stories from Rich Horton’s 1957 recommendations that are not listed in the first 23 stories.

1. “The Night of Light“, a Father Carmody novella by Philip José Farmer, F&SF June 1957. 
2. “The Last Canticle“, a Saint Leibowitz novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr., F&SF February.
3.   “The Lineman“, a novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr., F&SF August 1957.
4. “Lone Star Planet“, a novella by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire, Fantastic Universe March 1957.
5. “Get Out of My Sky“, a novella by James Blish, Astounding, January and February 1957.
6. “Nuisance Value“, a novella by Eric Frank Russell, Astounding January 1957.
7. “Wilderness“, a novelette of the People by Zenna Henderson, F&SF January 1957.
8. “It Opens the Sky“, a novelette by Theodore Sturgeon, Venture November 1957.
9. “Brake“, a Psychotechnic League novelette by Poul Anderson, Astounding August 1957.
10. “Ideas Die Hard“, a novelette by Isaac Asimov, Galaxy October 1957.
11. “Nor Iron Bars“, a novelette by James Blish, Infinity November 1957.
12. “Journeys End“, a short story by Poul Anderson, F&SF February 1957.
13. “The Elephant Circuit” (AKA “The Man Who Traveled in Elephants”), a short story by Robert A. Heinlein, Saturn Science Fiction and Fantasy October 1957.
14. “Manhole 69“, a short story by J. G. Ballard, New Worlds November 1957.
15. “Affair with a Green Monkey“, a short story by Theodore Sturgeon, Venture May 1957.
16. “The Long Remembering“, a short story by Poul Anderson, F&SF November 1957.
17. “Build-Up” (aka “The Concentration City”), a short story by J. G. Ballard, New Worlds January 1957.
18. “Forever Stenn” (aka “The Ridge Around the World”), a short story by Algis Budrys, Satellite December 1957.
19. “The War is Over“, a short story by Algis Budrys, Astounding February 1957.
20. “Help! I am Dr. Morris Goldpepper“, a short story by Avram Davidson, Galaxy July 1957.
21. “Featherbed on Chlyntha“, a short story by Miriam Allen deFord, Venture November 1957.
22. “The Lady Was a Tramp“, a short story by “Rose Sharon” (Judith Merril), Venture March 1957.
23. “Mark Elf“, an Instrumentality of Mankind short story by “Cordwainer Smith” (Paul M. A. Linebarger), Saturn May 1957.
24. “Eithne“, a short story by “Idris Seabright” (Margaret St. Clair), F&SF July 1957.
25. “Warm Man“, a short story by Robert Silverberg, F&SF May 1957.
26. “The Ifth of Oofth“, a short story by Walter Tevis, Galaxy April 1957.

After that, I added three stories from “SF:’58: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy“, Judith Merril editor, 1958 Gnome.

1. “The Wonder Horse“, a short story by George Byram, Atlantic Monthly August 1957.
2. “Now Let Us Sleep“, a short story by Avram Davidson, Venture September 1957.
3. Flying High“, a short story by Eugène Ionesco, Mademoiselle October 1957.

There were four stories from “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books.

1. “Strikebreaker” (AKA “Male Strikebreaker”), a short story by Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Stories January 1957.
2. “World of a Thousand Colors“, a short story by Robert Silverberg, Super-Science Fiction June 1957.
3. “A Loint of Paw“, a short story by Isaac Asimov, F&SF August. 1957.
4. “The Last Man Left in the Bar“, a short story by C. M. Kornbluth, Infinity October 1957.

“The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1958 Doubleday had ten stories and one poem.

1. “Adjustment“, a novelette by Ward Moore, F&SF May 1957.
2. “Mr. Stilwell’s Stage“, a short story by Avram Davidson, F&SF September 1957.
3. “Rescue“, a short story by G. C. Edmondson, F&SF June 1957.
4. “The Horror Story Shorter by One Letter Than the Shortest Horror Story Ever Written” “, a short story by Ron Smith, F&SF July 1957.
5. “Between the Thunder and the Sun“, a novelette by Chad Oliver, F&SF May 1957.
6. “The Wild Wood“, a short story by Mildred Clingerman, F&SF January 1957.
7. “Dodger Fan“, a short story by Will Stanton, F&SF June 1957.
8. “Goddess in Granite“, a novelette by Robert F. Young, F&SF September. 1957.
9. “MS. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie“, a short story by C. M. Kornbluth, F&SF July 1957.
10. “The Big Trek“, a short story by Fritz Leiber, F&SF October 1957.
11. “Valise Macabre“, a poem by Winona McClintic, F&SF November 1957.

There were six stories from “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1958 Advent.

1. “The Last Victory“, a short story by Tom Godwin, If August 1957.
2. “Didn’t He Ramble“, a short story by Chad Oliver, F&SF April 1957.
3. “The Queen’s Messenger“, a short story by John J. McGuire, Astounding May 1957.
4. “Into Your Tent I’ll Creep“, a short story by Eric Frank Russell, Astounding September 1957.
5. “Nor Dust Corrupt“, a short story by James McConnell, If February 1957.
6. “Nightsound” (AKA “The Attic Voice”), a short story by Algis Budrys, Satellite Science Fiction February 1957.

From “The Third Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1958 Doubleday, there were four stories.

1. “Time in the Round“, a novelette by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy May 1957.
2. “A Wind Is Rising“, a short story by “Finn O’Donnevan” (Robert Sheckley), Galaxy July 1957.
3. “The Haunted Corpse“, a short story by Frederik Pohl, Galaxy January 1957.
4. “Man in the Jar“, a short story by Damon Knight, Galaxy April 1957.

Continuing on with H. L. Gold and his choices, there is The Fourth Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1959 Doubleday, with four stories.

1. “I Am a Nucleus“, a novelette by Stephen Barr, Galaxy February 1957.
2. “The Bomb in the Bathtub“, a short story by Thomas N. Scortia, Galaxy February 1957.
3. “You Were Right, Joe“, a short story by J. T. McIntosh, Galaxy November 1957.
4. “What’s He Doing in There?”, a short story by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy December 1957.

From “The Stories of Ray Bradbury“, 1980 Alfred A Knopf, I read five stories.

1. “The Leave-Taking“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, The Saturday Evening Post, May 25, 1957 (original title “Good-By, Grandma”).
2. “Exorcism“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, original to Bradbury’s fix-up novel “Dandelion Wine“, 1957 Doubleday.
3. “The Happiness Machine“, a Dandelion Wine short story by Ray Bradbury, Saturday Evening Post, September 14 1957.
4. The Picasso Summer” (AKA “In a Season of Calm Weather”), a short story by Ray Bradbury, Playboy January 1957.
5. “The Day It Rained Forever“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, Harpers July 1957.

After that, there were stories that I decided to read for various reasons, some of which are obscure to me as well.

1. “The Unreconstructed M“, a novelette by Philip K. Dick, Science Fiction Stories, January 1957. I read this because it’s in the “The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick“, 2022, which I own.
2. “The Most Sentimental Man“, a short story by Evelyn E. Smith, Fantastic Universe, August 1957. Read because it was reprinted in “Last Man on Earth“, Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg, & Charles G. Waugh editors, 1982 Fawcett Crest/BB.
3. “The Guest Rites“, a short story by Robert Silverberg, Infinity Science Fiction, February 1957. Read because it was included in the imaginary Table of Contents of the never published Ray Bradbury anthology “God On Tomorrow Morning”.
4. “The Light“, a short story by Poul Anderson, Galaxy March 1957. I read the because it was reprinted in “13 Great Stories of Science Fiction“, Groff Conklin editor, 1960 Fawcett Gold Medal.
5. “The Coffin Cure“, a short story by Alan E. Nourse, Galaxy April 1957. I read this because it was reprinted in “Best SF Seven: Science Fiction Storie“, Edmund Crispin editor, 1970 Faber and Faber.
6. “The Big Terrarium“, a novelette by James H. Schmitz, Saturn, May 1957. Read because I was hoping for a good story from James H. Schmitz, and this is his only 1957 story.
7. “You’ll Feel Better“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, F&SF July. Read because it was in the same F&SF issue as “Eithne” and I love Carol Emshwiller.

Finally, there were a number of stories from 1957 that I had read recently.

1. Vengeance for Nikolai” (AKA “The Song of Marya”), a novelette by Walter M. Miller, Jr., Venture March 1957.
2. “All the Colors of the Rainbow”, a novelette by Leigh Brackett in Venture Science Fiction Magazine, November 1957.
3. All the World’s Tears“, a short story by Brian W. Aldiss, Nebula May 1957.
4. The Canvas Pyramid“, a short story by Jane Roberts, F&SF March 1957.
5. “Rat in the Labyrinth“, a novelette by Stanisław Lem, from the collection “The Truth and Other Stories“, 2021 The MIT Press, and translated from the original Polish story “Szczur w labiryncie” by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, from the Lem collection “Dzienniki gwiazdowe“, 1957 Iskry.
6. “”The Gentle Earth“, a novella by Christopher Anvil, Astounding, November.
7. “St. Dragon and the George“, a novelette by Gordon R. Dickson, F&SF September 1957.
8. “My Lady Greensleeves“, a novelette by Frederik Pohl, Galaxy February 1957.
9. “The Half Pair“, a short story by A. Bertram Chandler, New Worlds Science Fiction #65 November 1957.
10. “Sector General”, a novelette and the first “Sector General” story by James White, New Worlds November.

Detailed Reviews/Comments

Group Read stories

“The Other Celia“, a short story by Theodore Sturgeon, Galaxy March 1957. A great story of a very curious man, who takes it way beyond what I would consider okay or prudent. He discovers someone at his rooming house that seems to have a pair of bodies. Due to his curiosity and lack of compassion, perhaps, both of this person’s bodies die. He moves out, with no apparent repercussions or regret. I think this rather no-impact outcome kept me from rating it even higher. After the Sturgeon collection “A Touch of Strange“, 1958 Doubleday, reprints have included “One Hundred Years of Science Fiction“, Damon Knight editor, 1968 Simon & Schuster, “Modern Classics of Science Fiction“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1992 St. Martin’s Press, and many other Sturgeon collections. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Queer Ones“, a novelette by Leigh Brackett, Venture March 1957. I was not expecting to find such a great story by Leigh Bracket that was unknown to me. A small town newspaper man is called by the local doctor in an Appalachian mountain town. A very unusual young man has been seen and treated at the hospital. We find out his mother has a missing boyfriend who is unusual. Eventually, after a lot of activity, including with a young woman who is also unusual and probably an alien, the boy’s mother leaves the planet with the alien boyfriend. It turns out the aliens are smuggling other aliens into the Earth, acting as interstellar coyotes. The landing spot is blown, and the alien smugglers leave. The boy stays with the newspaperman. Just one hell of a story, that went places I was not expecting. The feelings of menace and otherness are very well done. Note also the great cover by Dick Shelton, which mirrors events in the story, of a young perhaps alien woman the newspaper man meets and is interested in romantically. From ISFDB, Dick Shelton did only 10 speculative fiction illustrations, all in the 1950s, but I like this one a lot. See my essay, “Who is artist ‘Dick Shelton’?“. Reprinted first in “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1958 Frederik Fell/SFBC. Reprinted also in “The Best of Leigh Brackett“, which I have never read, along with publications in three foreign languages. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“The Mile-Long Spaceship“, a short story by Kate Wilhelm, Astounding April 1957. A great story of a man injured in an accident, who unintentionally starts to telepathically visit a mile-long spaceship of an alien race determined to be supreme. They are looking for his planet to conquer or destroy it, but he is ignorant of information needed to find Earth. He recovers from his accident and goes to college, but retains his telepathic visiting power. When he begins to study atomics and takes notes on the spaceship’s atomic motors, the captain hits the self-destruct button. Along with being a Richard Lupoff “What If? Vol 1” (1980 Pocket Books) selection for his preferred Hugo selection from 1957, major reprints include “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1958 Frederik Fell/SFBC, and “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Hunting Machine“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, Science Fiction Stories May 1957. I love Carol Emshwiller; her fiction is always unpredictable. A couple go out hunting for a bear, with a robotic hound dog. They survive only thanks to the robot, and it’s not clear they learn anything. Reprints include T. E. Dikty’s “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, 1958 Frederick Fell, “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books, and “The Collected Stories of Carol Emshwiller Vol. 1“, 2011 Nonstop Press. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“You Know Willie“, a short story by Theodore R. Cogswell, F&SF May 1957. A great, horrific tale of turnabout, featuring a Klu Klux Klan variant, and a murderer who gets what is richly deserved. Perhaps it’s to make it realistic, but there is a lot of the “N” world that made me uncomfortable but also made it realistic. This was never reprinted in a Cogswell collection. Reprints include “SF: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy: Third Annual Volume“, Judith Merril editor, Dell 1958, “The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural“, Martin H. Greenberg, Barry N. Malzberg, & Bill Pronzini editors, 1981 Priam Books/Arbor House, and “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Language of Love“, a short story by Robert Sheckley, Galaxy May 1957. A young philosophy student falls in love, but he is unhappy that he cannot express his love as precisely as he would like. He takes an arduous journey to the planet Tyanna to learn the Language of Love. The Tyanna are extinct, which does foreshadow things. He learns the Language of Love. He returns after some time, and tells his sweetheart, “My dear, I am rather fond of you.” She responds, “Oh, damn you, Jeff!”, and rejects him. He marries someone else. There are a modest number of reprints, including the Sheckley collection “Notions: Unlimited“, 1960 Bantam Books and “The Collected Short Fiction of Robert Sheckley“, 1991 Pulphouse Publishing, and “Lovers & Other Monsters“, Marvin Kaye & Saralee Kaye editors, 1992 GuildAmerica Books/SFBC. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Cage“, a short story by A. Bertram Chandler, F&SF June 1957. After crashing on a distant jungle planet, the climate destroys all of the survivors artifacts, including clothing. Six of them are captured by an alien race and taken to their home planet. They are finally freed after their own act of caging a small pet animal, with one of them claiming that they were recognized as intelligent because “only rational beings put other beings in cages”. I’m willing to go to “Good” but no better. More reprints than I think it deserves, including “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1958 Doubleday, “12 Great Classics of Science Fiction“, Groff Conklin editor, 1963 Gold Medal Books, “Anthropology Through Science Fiction“, Martin H. Greenberg, Carol Mason, & Patricia Warrick editors, 1974 St. Martin’s Press, “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books, and “The Random House Book of Science Fiction Stories“, Mike Ashley editor, 1997 Random House. Clearly many disagree with me. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

“Let’s Be Frank“, a short story by Brian W. Aldiss, Science Fantasy, June 1957. An entertaining story of inherited shared consciousness and world domination, starting with Sir Frank. Reprints include “SF: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy: Third Annual Volume“, Judith Merril editor, Dell 1958, “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books. I find it interesting that it’s only reprinted in one Aldiss collection that I see, “The Complete Short Stories: The 1950s“, 2013 The Friday Project (The Brian Aldiss Collection); I can only guess that Aldiss was not fond of it. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Fly“, a novelette by George Langelaan, Playboy June 1957. I have seen the movie, but never read the story it is based on. Wow. A great SF/horror story, partly epistolary. A scientist dies under a factory’s steam hammer. His wife confesses to the killing, but will not explain more. Her husband’s brother knows there is more, and finally gets a written confession for the police Commissaire investigating. Of course, he discovers his scientist brother was experimenting with matter disintegration or teleportation, and things went horribly wrong with a fly, and her husband asked to die and the other details hidden. After they burn the manuscript, they find she has committed suicide. This was one of the great surprises to me of reading 1957 SFF. This was the first genre story by George Langelaan, who wrote mostly in French. There is one collection by him in English translation, which I need to read, “Out of Time“, 1964 Four Square Books, for his other genre short fiction. Reprints include “SF: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy: Third Annual Volume“, Judith Merril editor, Dell 1958, “The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy“, editors of Playboy, 1966 Playboy Press, and many other Langelaan collections and horror anthologies. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“The Education of Tigress McCardle” , a short story by C. M. Kornbluth, Venture, July 1957. I suspect I first read this in the Kornbuth collection, “His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth“, 1997 NESFA Press. Via a time viewer for the past, students see an example of the astounding use of a Toddler simulacrum by the “Parental Qualifications Program” to convince a couple to not have children. It turns out the US was depopulated as a result of these PQP measures, with the population now Chinese. Perhaps the use of the Yellow Peril is meant to be satirical, but today it’s offensive. I find it interesting that this was not reprinted in a Kornbluth collection until “His Share of Glory…” in 1997. Other reprints include “No Limits“, Joseph W. Ferman editor, 1964 Ballantine Books, the very interesting sounding “Marriage and the Family Through Science Fiction“, Val Clear, Martin Harry Greenberg, Joseph D. Olander, & Patricia Warrick editors, 1976 St. Martin’s Press, and “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

Cover art by Frank Kelly Freas for “Profession”

“Profession“, a novella by Isaac Asimov, Astounding July 1975. I’ve read this before, probably first in the Asimov collection “Nine Tomorrows“, 1959 Doubleday, and then in Astounding. People on Earth learn by tape at age 18, after Education Day. After that, they compete for prestigious out world placement in an Olympics-style competition by profession. A young man has taught himself to read, and has been learning old style. He finds out on Education Day that he cannot do tape learning; a small percentage of people cannot. After challenges and failures, he finds out he is one of those that can think and invent creatively, and will have an honored future. Asimov does a good job showing the frustration of the young man at his apparent failure. Reprints include the textbook “School and Society Through Science Fiction“, Martin Harry Greenberg, Joseph D. Olander, & Patricia Warrick editors, 1974 Rand McNally College Publishing Co., and other Asimov collections. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Men Return“, a short story by Jack Vance, Infinity July 1957. In an apparent standalone story, Earth has entered a zone of non-causality, where cause and effect are no longer operative. The few remaining men are almost extinct, suffering from the dangers of the world and the insane who cope better. They are saved when causality returns. Conceptually, this feels like an inversion of what happened in the Poul Anderson novel “Brain Wave“, 1954 Ballantine Books, where the Earth exits a zone of space that has dampened conductors and intelligence. It’s possible one or both of these influenced the Vernor Vinge “Zones of Thought” series including 1988 novella “The Blabber” and 1992 novel “A Fire Upon the Deep” and others. This story is definitely rather experimental in nature and execution, but it still worked for me. This has been one of my favorites from 1957 so far of stories that I don’t remember reading before. This story has a fair number of reprints, including Robert Silverberg’s reprint anthology “Alpha Two“, 1971 Ballantine Books, and the Jonathan Strahan/Terry Dowling “The Jack Vance Treasury“, 2007 Subterranean Press. I own “The Jack Vance Treasury”, and I loved that anthology, so I assume I read it there previously. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

“The Tunesmith“, a novelette by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., If August 1957. A great story of a tunesmith, who writes and performs tunes for Coms (musical commercials). He is struggling to get by, but reinvigorates music although he is framed for a murder and sent up for a long time. He is forgotten when he comes back, but happy. Reprints include “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1958 Frederik Fell/SFBC, the Biggle collection “The Metallic Muse“, 1972 Doubleday, “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books, and “Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century“, Orson Scott Card editor, 2001 Ace Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Stainless Steal Rat“, a short story by Harry Harrison, Astounding, August 1957. It’s fun to reread this after a long time; I first it read in the Harrison fix-up novel/collection “The Stainless Steel Rat“, 1961 Pyramid, and then in the Astounding back issue. Slippery Jim diGriz is a criminal in a dramatically law abiding galaxy. He does one-off thefts, swindles and cons, both for the money and the excitement of being a non-conformist. Finally, he Is captured and recruited by the Special Corps, who handle all the non-routine issues. I now know that this could possibly have been inspired by the 1956 Cary Grant move “To Catch a Thief“, which I need to watch. While I don’t think the story is amazing conceptually, I love the joy Slippery Jim displays while outwitting the law and society. Reprints include “Science Fiction Stories“, Tom Boardman, Jr. editor, 1979 Octopus Books, and a whole lot of printings of the fix-up novel “The Stainless Steel Rat”. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Small World“, a short story by William F. Nolan, Fantastic Universe August 1957. A great story of the “lone survivor” of an alien attack, six years after everyone else died. Finally, we find as he dies that the beings who will kill him are children, with no adults and no civilization. The aliens killed all over 6 years old but him. He was working in a storm drain at the time of the alien attack and was spared. This “last man in the world” story reminds me of the 1954 William Golding novel “Lord of the Flies“. First reprinted in the Nolan collection “Impact-20“, 1963 Paperback Library, and then in many places including other Nolan collections, “The Fifth Pan Book of Horror Stories“, Herbert van Thal editor, 1964 Pan Books, “Science Fiction A to Z: A Dictionary of the Great S.F. Themes“,  Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, Charles G. Waugh editors, 1982 Houghton Mifflin, and “The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse“, Martin H. Greenberg editor, 2010 Skyhorse Publishing. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“Time Waits for Winthrop“, a novella by William Tenn, Galaxy, August 1957. I have mixed feelings about this story. On the one hand, I think the concept is great. A group of five people from the 20th century find out they are invited on an exchange program with five from the 25th century. They find out the future world is very different in a lot of very creative ways that they do not like at all. After they get to the future, they find out that the time exchange must be on a weight to weight basis both ways. However, one of them, the ne’r-do-well Winthop, does not want to go back. Unlike the rest, he had a crap life and loves the 25th century. Right before their deadline to go back to the 20th century, they find out that Winthrop died of too much fun and stuff alien to him, and that his dead body will work just fine. I love a lot of things about this story, but it did drag a bit and could have been edited down to be punchier. With editing and at a slightly shorter length, this might have been “Superlative” for me. First reprinted in the Tenn collection “Time in Advance“, 1958 Bantam Books”, it has a few other reprints including “Out of This World 5“, Mably Owen & Amabel Williams-Ellis editors, 1965 Blackie, and “Immodest Proposals: The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn, Volume 1“, 2001 NESFA Press. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Wines of Earth“, a short story by Margaret St. Clair, F&SF September 1957. A wonderful story of a hardworking, widowed Napa wine grower, god-like alien wine growers, and wine. It’s fun to see a post-Prohibition California wine story before the wine business really made a comeback. The first reprint was in “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1958 Doubleday, and clearly Anthony Boucher liked the story. Other than “Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women  Vol. 2 (1953-1957)“, Gideon Marcus editor, 2022 Journey Press, and two reprints in French, other reprints are all in Margaret S. Clair collections such as “Change the Sky and Other Stories“, 1974 Ace Books, “The Best of Margaret St. Clair“, Martin H. Greenberg editor, 1985 Academy Chicago and “A Compendium of Margaret St. Clair“, 2020 Library and Archives Canada (Giants of Sci-Fi Collection #1). Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Dio“, a novelette by Damon Knight, Infinity September 1957. A great story, where almost everyone is functionally immortal although never grown up and without much capacity to learn and remember. An immortal discovers she loves one of the few that will die. Eventually he is gone, and her life will be different. Reprints include “5 Unearthly Visions“, Groff Conklin editor, 1965 Fawcett Gold Medal, the Knight collection “Three Novels“, 1967 Doubleday, “The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels“, Martin H. Greenberg & Robert Silverberg editors, 1980 Priam Books/Arbor House, and “Immortals“, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois editors, 1998 Ace Books. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

“Game Preserve“, a short story by Rog Phillips, If October 1957. A very chilling story of a game preserve, probably post atomic war, for sub-intelligent mutated humans. Occasionally an intelligent one is born in the preserve. Those off the preserve are waiting for those on the preserve to all die. The intelligent ones are killed or die anyway. This is a great story by an author I don’t remember reading anything by. ISFDB shows quite a few short fiction works and several novels, but I don’t know his work. This was reprinted in “SF:’58: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy“, Judith Merril editor, 1958 Gnome Press, “Science Fiction A to Z: A Dictionary of the Great S.F. Themes“,  Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, Charles G. Waugh editors, 1982 Houghton Mifflin, “Beyond Armageddon: Twenty-One Sermons to the Dead“, Martin H. Greenberg & Walter M. Miller, Jr. editors, 1985 Donald I. Fine, and “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books. Per SFADB, “Game Preserve” was one of his most notable stories, along with “The Yellow Pill” (Astounding October 1958) and “Rat in the Skull” (a Hugo novelette nomination). I’ll be looking for these. I think I may have read “The Yellow Pill” 50 years ago in an Astounding back issue, but it’s great to be tipped off to a writer that I really don’t remember much about. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Soldier” (AKA “Soldier from Tomorrow”), a novelette by Harlan Ellison, Fantastic Universe October 1957. A great early story by Ellison, of a soldier from a very far future war who is inadvertently blown many, many thousands of years in the past, to our present. Figuring out what to do with him is quite a challenge. Reprints include the Ellison collection “From the Land of Fear“, 1967 Belmont Books, “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books, and other Ellison collections. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Call Me Joe“, a novelette by Poul Anderson, Astounding April 1957. Earth scientists on a Jupiter satellite have been working on a long term project to really investigate Jupiter. They have created a Jovian body with a somewhat human brain, Joe. The body is operated by psiman Ed Anglesey, who is physically very disabled but has a strong psi talent. The system that links Ed to Joe keeps blowing, and a psi machine specialist is sent out to solve the problem. Challenges occur. Finally, Joe is fully awake and functioning, and Ed decides he will let the Ed body die so he can live on Jupiter. Reprints include “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, T. E. Dikty editor,1958 Frederik Fell/SFBC, “A Century of Science Fiction“, Damon Knight editor, 1962 Simon & Schuster, “Spectrum III“,  Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest editors, 1963 Gollancz, “The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A: The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time Chosen by the Science Fiction Writres of America“, Ben Bova editor, 1973 Doubleday, “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books, and “Call Me Joe (The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson #1)“, Rick Katze & Lis Carey editors, 2009 NESFA Press. Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

“The Menace from Earth“, a Future History novelette, F&SF August 1957, I’m not sure where I first read this, but surely in either of Heinlein’s collections “The Menace from Earth” (1959 Gnome Press) or “The Past Through Tomorrow (1967 Putnam). I had forgotten most of the details but the opening page got me back. As was noted by Eric Flint in “The World Turned Upside Down” (2005 Baen), this was a Heinlein story with that great young adult flavor that was short enough to fit in an anthology. The story of a young woman on the Moon, a guide to tourists and an engineer in training that shows the confusion of being a teenager wonderfully. As noted above, this has been reprinted very often. Rated 3.8/5 or “Great”.

“Omnilingual“, a novelette by H. Beam Piper, Astounding February 1957. I know I’ve read this before, either in Astounding or the 1962 anthology “Prologue to Analog” (Doubleday, John W. Campbell, Jr. editor). Decades later, all I had left was a general concept of the story. A scientific expedition is sent to Mars, with a large staff including archeologists. The protagonist is a female archeologist. The story does a good job of showing academic rivalries among the archeologists. The Martians have been dead for a long time. Finally, the female archeologist figures out how to use the periodic table to help translate the Martian language. I do like how science and knowledge is used to figure the language out. There were no major SF awards for 1957 stories. This story was not included in the 1958 Merrill “SF: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy: Third Annual Volume” or the 1958 T. E. Dikty “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series” volume. There were very few comments on stories from 1957 by Jo Walton in her Revisiting the Hugo post for the 1958 Hugos, and this story was not mentioned by Rich Horton or Gardner Dozois in their comments on that, nor by Richard A. Lupoff in his “What If?” anthologies of his preferred Hugo winners. Rich Horton does mention it in his post on the 1958 Hugo awards. The story has been reprinted quite a lot, including in “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books, so clearly it really resonated with a lot of fans, authors and editors. As analyzed and concluded, the Martians were very similar to humans. It’s a fun read, but I find the similarity to humans and their history hard to believe, which diminishes an otherwise excellent story for me. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

Bonus Stories: Dave’s short 1957 SFF Prior Reads

“Vengeance for Nikolai” (AKA “The Song of Marya”), a novelette by Walter M. Miller, Jr., Venture March 1957. An interesting and gripping tale of a future or alternate history where a Soviet Union-like state is invaded by the Ami, or Americans. An ex soldier’s baby is killed by an Ami bomb, and she wants revenge. She is sent on a suicide mission to assassinate the very unorthodox Ami commander, a McArthur-like figure. It is a suicide mission, using a biological weapon. All in all, one of the better stories in “The Best of Walter M. Miller, Jr.“, 1980 Pocket Books. One of the last pieces of his short fiction published before his long hiatus from publishing. Other reprints include “No Limits“, Joseph W. Ferman editor, 1964 Ballantine Books, and the Miller collection “Dark Benediction“, 2007 Gollancz. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“All the Colors of the Rainbow”, a novelette by Leigh Brackett in Venture Science Fiction Magazine, November 1957. A very good, rather late career work in Leigh Brackett’s oeuvre; I first read this in “The Future Is Female!: 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, From Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin”, a great anthology edited by Lisa Yaszek (2018, The Library of America). The Galactic Federation has found the Earth, and help and assistance is starting to come. A journeyman weather technician and his new wife come to Earth. Encouraged by their chief contact, they are driving around and find out they have stopped in a “no-black” town (Grand Falls) that considers them “green niggers”. During a heated exchange, he tells the locals that there are whites out among the stars, but they are just one minor hue present among many. They barely survive the experience, but are traumatized. Before leaving Earth for advanced psychiatric treatment, the weather worker sets equipment in place to wipe Grand Falls off the face of the Earth with unprecedented local rainfall. The only weakness in the story is Brackett starting at the end and only flash backing most of the story, which telegraphs the ending. There are a modest number of reprints for this, including “Human and Other Beings“, Allen DeGraeff editor, 1963 Collier Books, and the Brackett collection “The Halfling and Other Stories“, 1973 Ace Books. Rated 3.7/5.

“All the World’s Tears“, a short story, Nebula Science Fiction Number 21, May 1957. A great story of isolation and depopulation, in an era where no one socializes except at the Mating Centre. There is love, but not for long, as the throwback daughter and the wild man kiss and blow up due to the mechanisms planted by the Mating Centre. I love J. Smithlao the psychodynamician, who visits the girl’s father to make him mad for business. Reprints include the Aldiss collection “The Canopy of Time“, 1959 Faber and Faber, “The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 4 1956-1965“, Michael Ashley editor, 1978 New English Library (which sounds very interesting by the title), and “Best SF Stories of Brian W. Aldiss“, 1988 Gollancz (see my review, “Man in His Time: The Best Science Fiction Stories of Brian W. Aldiss, 1989 Atheneum/ Macmillan“. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Canvas Pyramid“, a short story by Jane Roberts, F&SF March 1957. A great story of a religious con man who serves as the Judas goat for some unknowable alien con that probably has people going somewhere else and perhaps not coming back. Other than one French reprint in Fiction, the only reprint is in “Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women  Vol. 2 (1953-1957)“, Gideon Marcus editor, 2022 Journey Press. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Rat in the Labyrinth“, a novelette by Stanisław Lem, from the collection “The Truth and Other Stories“, 2021 The MIT Press, and translated from the original Polish story “Szczur w labiryncie” by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, from the Lem collection “Dzienniki gwiazdowe“, 1957 Iskry. A party of alien explorers come to Earth, with invasion a goal. They fall prey to a drunken yokel in a small town. Amusing but not major Lem. This might be the first English translation; there are a number of translations into other languages. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“The Gentle Earth“, a novella by Christopher Anvil, Astounding, November. I know I’ve read this before several times in Astounding back issues. Aliens land and want to conquer the Earth. They are challenged by the climate, which is more variable than their planet. The invasion brings humans together, to resist the aliens. They finally agree to a treaty. Not major but entertaining. There are no awards or Best Of anthology inclusion. It’s Analytical Laboratory showing in Astounding was a very strong #2 to Heinlein’s “Citizen of the Galaxy“, so the Astounding readers liked it. Anvil was a longstanding Astounding/Analog author and a pretty well known quantity to be editors and readers; not brilliant or challenging but humorous and reliable. There are a modest number of reprints, including “Analog’s Lighter Side“, Stanley Schmidt editor, 1982 Davis Publications, “The World Turned Upside Down”, Jim Baen, David Drake, & Eric Flint editors, 2005 Baen, and finally an Anvil collection in English, “The Trouble with Humans“, 2007Baen Books. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“St. Dragon and the George“, a novelette by Gordon R. Dickson, F&SF September 1957. A good, humorous fantasy, role reversal, dragons, and people (“georges”). I don’t remember reading this before. Reprints include “Dragon Tales“, Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg, Charles G. Waugh editors, 1982 Fawcett Crest/Ballantine, the Dickson collection “The Last Dream“, 1986 Baen, and “The World Turned Upside Down”, Jim Baen, David Drake, & Eric Flint editors, 2005 Baen. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“My Lady Greensleeves“, a novelette by Frederik Pohl, Galaxy February 1957. A very good story of a caste society and a prison riot. Reprints include the Pohl collection “The Case Against Tomorrow“, 1957 Ballantine Books, “Human and Other Beings“, Allen DeGraeff editor, 1963 Collier Books, and the Pohl collection “Platinum Pohl: The Collected Best Stories“, 2005 Tor. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Half Pair“, a short story by A. Bertram Chandler, New Worlds Science Fiction #65 November 1957. A rather lightweight story of a couple who are asteroid prospectors. She inadvertently causes one of his favorite cuff links to be expelled into space. He is livid and goes out to retrieve it, even though his wife has a horrible fear of being in a space suit after an unfortunate accident and the Space Regulations require two in suits for outside work. He finds the cuff link, but has an accident and thinks he will die. She rescues him, noting that she also does not want to have half a pair either. This issue of New Worlds Science Fiction, #65 November 1957, also featured the first of a series I loved a lot, “Sector General” by James White, which was the cover story. Other than the various Penguin reprints by Aldiss, there are five foreign language appearances. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Sector General”, a novelette and the first “Sector General” story by James White, New Worlds November. A young, idealistic and naive Earth doctor is assigned to Sector General, a multispecies galactic hospital. All hell breaks loose, and he is forced to become more tolerant. On reread, this did not even get to “Very good”, but I have fond memories. I’ll need to reread some of the other “Sector General” stories and see how I feel about them. First reprinted in the James White collection “Hospital Station” including five Sector General stories, 1962 Ballantine Books, along with a few foreign language reprints, and lastly in the superb “The Big Book of Science Fiction: The Ultimate Collection“, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, 2016 Vintage Crime/Black Lizard/Vintage Books. Rated 3.5/5

Bonus Stories: Rich Horton Hugo Nomination Recommendations: 1958 (1957)

“The Night of Light“, a Father Carmody novella by Philip José Farmer, F&SF June 1957. A very good origin story for Father John Carmody, and the third in the series after the 1953 short story “Attitudes” and then the 1955 novella “Father“. The murderous, amoral psychopath John Carmody bas shocking experiences during the Night of Light, emerging very changed. This lagged a bit for me which kept it from “Great”. Rather limited reprints including the Father Carmody collection by Farmer, “Father to the Stars“, 1981 Tor/Pinnacle (Jim Baen Presents), and several foreign language reprints. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“The Last Canticle“, a Saint Leibowitz novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr., F&SF February. I had read this before in somewhat different form as the last portion of Miller’s Hugo Award winning fix-up novel “A Canticle for Leibowitz “, 1959 J. B. Lippincott. Time has gone on since the last Saint Leibowitz story, the novella “And the Light is Risen”. The Albertina Order of Saint Leibowitz is still there, but in a much changed world with nuclear weapons and starships. The end times threaten. Single nuclear strikes are exchanged between the two great powers. Using many of the Order with the skills, a ship is sent to the stars to establish a new See. Within a much broader nuclear exchange, the abbot dies, and probably Earth too. With the novel version in print often, this novella has never been reprinted as it was written. Rated 4.2/5, or “Superlative”.

“The Lineman“, a novella by Walter M. Miller, Jr., F&SF August 1957. An okay story of a lineman on the moon, working on building a transmission line vital to the overall health of the moon settlements. No women are on moon crews, due to birth defects. A labor cell, kind of like the Wobblies, threatens the protagonist and perhaps the line. There is also a plot line concerning a ship full of sex workers, chartered in a country where it is legal. This could have been a good or great story, but it fell flat for me. Reprints include “A Wilderness of Stars: Stories of Man in Conflict with Space“, William F. Nolan editor, 1969 Sherbourne Press, “The Best of Walter M. Miller, Jr.“, 1980 Pocket Books, and “The World Treasury of Science Fiction“, David G. Hartwell editor, 1989 Little, Brown/BOMC (see my review, “The World Treasury of Science Fiction”, David G. Hartwell editor, 1989 Little Brown). Rated 3/5, or “Okay”.

“Lone Star Planet“, a novella by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire, Fantastic Universe March 1957. My thanks to Rich Horton for the nudge to read this novella. I own the novel, and probably read it 40 years ago. A great story of a Solar League Ambassador sent to New Texas, where politicians can be killed for being practicing politicians. The last Ambassador was murdered, and the new one must convince the very independent and ornery New Texans to sign a treaty against the nonhuman z’Srauff. He succeeds, marries the girl, and goes native. This is not the best by H. Beam Piper, but it is fun and damn entertaining. I have no idea how much was Piper and how much was McGuire. The novella and novel are very similar but not identical, including some improved wording and better post-Ambassador wrap up by those who sent him. I enjoyed the novella, but I think the novel is better. I am not sure the novel is actually novel length. This had a similar feel to the slightly later Retief stories by Keith Laumer, which first showed up in his novella “Diplomat-at-Arms” in 1960. There are very few reprints of this version, one of which is “Lone Star Planet“, 2009 LibriVox. There are more reprints of the novel length version, with two very different Ace Doubles included and some under the title “A Planet For Texans“. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

Various covers some of the versions of “Lone Star Planet”

“Get Out of My Sky“, a novella by James Blish, Astounding, January and February 1957. I suspect I read this in Astounding decades ago, but not remembered. Two worlds are about 250,000 miles apart in nearby Trojan positions. They both have an intelligent species who may destroy each other. Finally, a leader of one travels to the other for a last ditch attempt to prevent mutual destruction. They reluctantly teach him to use the “viosk” force to influence others, like charisma magnified. He goes back to his planet and becomes the Prophet, leading to worship of the other planet. An engaging story but not Blish at his best. A few reprints, including in the anthology “Get Out of My Sky“, Leo Margulies editor, 1960 Crest Books / Fawcett World Library, the Blish collection “Flights of Eagles“, 2009 NESFA Press, and several foreign language reprints. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Nuisance Value” interior artwork by Frank Kelly Freas

“Nuisance Value“, a novella by Eric Frank Russell, Astounding January 1957. One of a series of stories by Eric Frank Russell where the squirrelly, tricky Terrans outwit a planet full of alien enemies after deliberately getting captured to foster a revolt in a prison system. While entertaining, this is not major Eric Frank Russell for me. This has a modest number of reprints, including “The Seven Cardinal Virtues of Science Fiction“, Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg, & Charles G. Waugh editors, 1981 Fawcett Crest, “Major Ingredients: The Selected Short Stories of Eric Frank Russell“, 2009 NESFA Press, and two foreign language reprints. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Wilderness“, a novelette of the People by Zenna Henderson, F&SF January 1957. It’s always a pleasure to read Zenna Henderson and one of her stories of the People (or one of her non-People stories!). I probably have not read this in 40 years. Perdita is a young teacher in an isolated mountain mining town who is different. She makes friends with a young man who is different too. She finds out he is one of the People, with mental abilities like but unlike hers. He knows he is of the People, but orphaned and lost. In trying to help a developmentally disabled girl, they find the People. She is not of them, but belongs. “Perdita” means lost, which was amusing to realize pertained to her too. Reprints include “SF: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy: Third Annual Volume“, Judith Merril editor, Dell 1958, and the Zenna Henderson collections “Pilgrimage: The Book of the People“, 1961 Doubleday, and “Ingathering: The Complete People Stories“, 1995 NESFA Press. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

“It Opens the Sky“, a novelette by Theodore Sturgeon, Venture November 1957. Maybe not top tier Sturgeon, but a very good story of a man with dual identities, one a dull, timid man and the other very different . He is recruited by a rich man to save his son. While enroute, he meets and betrays a young woman named Tandy. Through all of this he evades the Angels, the positive and omnipresent and rather invulnerable agents of the law? Finally, he finds out he is being recruited by the Angels. He returns and spends the rest of his life with Tandy, becoming an Angel after she dies. Reprints include the Sturgeon collections “A Touch of Strange“, 1958 Doubleday, “The Man Who Lost the Sea: Volume X: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon“, 2005 North Atlantic Books, and a number of foreign language reprints. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Brake“, a Psychotechnic League novelette by Poul Anderson, Astounding August 1957. Nice to reread this probably 50 years later. A high speed ship is hijacked by a gang of passengers. The captain and crew fight back and prevail, although the hijackers dump fuel first. They end up floating in the atmosphere of Jupiter waiting for rescue. Reprints include the Poul Anderson collections “Beyond the Beyond“, 1969 Signet and “The Queen of Air and Darkness: The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson #2“, 2009 NESFA Press, and several foreign language reprints. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Ideas Die Hard“, a novelette by Isaac Asimov, Galaxy October 1957. A ship to the Moon with three volunteer crew members, in a space so tight they cannot get up. This feels like a psychological experiment. I dislike the plot and the characters, and don’t care what happens. For all that Asimov’s stories can be poorly written, I don’t think I’ve ever DNF one before. Reprints include “The Third Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1958 Doubleday, “First Flights to the Moon“, Hal Clement editor, 1970 Doubleday, the Asimov collection “The Winds of Change and Other Stories“, 1983 Doubleday, and a number of foreign language reprints. Others disagree, and I can live with that. Rated 2/5, or “Did not finish”.

“Nor Iron Bars“, a novelette by James Blish, Infinity November 1957. There is a lot to like about this very interesting approach to interstellar travel. The discoverer of the drive and captain is a scientist but not a trained officer or people person. In transit, they discover the ship is losing air that cannot be explained. They exit drive in an unplanned fashion, far from home and lost. A brash explorer and micro-astronomer finds the way home, although he and the captain are both too stubborn to cooperate well. The story kind of loses it at the ending, which kept this from great. Reprints include the Blish collections “Galactic Cluster“, 1959 Signet/New American Library and “In This World, or Another“, 2003 Five Star, and a number of foreign language reprints. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Journeys End“, a short story by Poul Anderson, F&SF February 1957. A great story, of a telepath who can only receive thoughts, normally from those close by. He cannot ignore anyone nearby, and it can be terrible. He passed a woman telepath going the other way in a passing train, and has been looking for her. They find each other, and find that they must hate someone who knows them that well. Reprints include “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1958 Doubleday, “Special Wonder: The Anthony Boucher Memorial Anthology of Fantasy and Science Fiction“, J. Francis McComas editor, 1970 Random House, the Poul Anderson collection “The Many Worlds of Poul Anderson“, 1974 Chilton, “Lovers & Other Monsters“, Marvin & Saralee Kaye editors, 1992 GuildAmerica Books/SFBC, and “Call Me Joe (The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson #1)“, Rick Katze & Lis Carey editors, 2009 NESFA Press. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

“The Elephant Circuit” (AKA “The Man Who Traveled in Elephants”), a short story by Robert A. Heinlein, Saturn Science Fiction and Fantasy October 1957. The Old Smoothies, like in the Steve Goodman song titled “Old Smoothies“ (I wonder if Goodman had read this story, or if they both inspired by some other cultural reference?), with “square dancers from Ojai and Cheyenne Mountain”, and an amazing cornucopia of Americana. Jonny and Martha travelled in elephants. She died, and their dog died, but they are reunited. A vision of Americana as heaven, I think. I don’t remember reading “Saturn Science Fiction and Fantasy” before. Even for SF of that era, that’s a pretty cheesy cover, although I do love “California is Doomed!”. Mostly reprinted in the Heinlein collections “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag“, 1959 Gnome Press, and “6 X H“, 1961 Pyramid Books, along with “The Best of All Possible Worlds“, Spider Robinson editor, 1980 Ace Books, and “New Destinies, Volume VI/Winter 1988“, Jim Baen editor, 1988 Baen Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”

“Manhole 69“, a short story by J. G. Ballard, New Worlds November 1957. Three men are guinea pigs for an experimental brain surgery that will eliminate sleep, hopefully leading to amazing improvements in productivity and perhaps other areas. The study’s lead is very optimistic; his teammate is not so sure after initial great results. Reprints include the Ballard collection “The Voices of Time and Other Stories“, 1962 Berkley Medallion (note the great Richard Powers cover), “Best Tales of Terror“, Edmund Crispin editor, 1962 Faber and Faber, and many other Ballard collections including “The Complete Stories of J. G. Ballard“, 2009 W. W. Norton & Company most recently. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

“Affair with a Green Monkey“, a short story by Theodore Sturgeon, Venture May 1957. Maybe not the best from Sturgeon, but great. A large and very smart man and his wife observe a serious beating. He intervenes and the mob of men disperse. She wants the victim to go to the hospital, but her husband insists the victim stays with them to recover. Her husband goes back to his job in Washington DC. Her husband finally counsels him on how to fit in, thinking he is homosexual. It turns out he is an alien, who leaves in a space ship, now knowing how to fit in. Her smart, know it all husband is clueless. Reprints include the Sturgeon collection “A Touch of Strange“, 1958 Doubleday, “Modern Science Fiction“, Norman Spinrad editor, 1974 Anchor Press/Doubleday, and “And Now the News …: Volume IX: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon“
Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Long Remembering“, a short story by Poul Anderson, F&SF November 1957. A great science-fantasy of a chemistry grad student who serves as a paid test subject sent to the past of an ancestor. He does this so he and his pregnant wife will have enough money. He ends up as an ancestor in the time of conflict with Neanderthals. His then wife Evavy was stolen by the Neanderthals. After getting her back, he returns to the present knowing he will always love Evavy. Reprints include “Science Fiction Showcase“, Mary Kornbluth editor (the wife of C. M. Kornbluth, with what I think this is her only anthology), 1959 Doubleday, the Poul Anderson collection “Homeward and Beyond“, 1975 Doubleday, “Trips in Time“, Robert Silverberg editor, 1977 Thomas Nelson, and “Neanderthals“, Martin H. Greenberg, Robert Silverberg, & Charles G. Waugh editors, 1987, Signet/New American Library. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“Build-Up” (aka “The Concentration City”), a short story by J. G. Ballard, New Worlds January 1957. A great story that relates conceptually to Ballard’s 1961 story “Billennium” in terms of overpopulation. An overcrowded world with no open space, just 1000s of levels of urban structure. A young man wants free space, but doesn’t find it. He wonders what was present before their urban world was built, but no one knows. He attempts to take the Supersleeper (train) to an open area, but after ten days he arrives back where he started with no one acknowledging the train changed directions, on the day he left. While I think the topology issues were not needed here, it’s still a great look at a very different world with great characters. According to the known world model, it’s not clear the world is round. I love this story. Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

“Forever Stenn” (aka “The Ridge Around the World”), a short story by Algis Budrys, Satellite December 1957. Wow. I’m not sure what to make of this story, but l just love it. Stenn lives on his own and farms his land, occasionally annoyed by those in power. He survives many, many peoples and lifetimes. Finally, the last human goes. Stenn is left. He keeps playing and farming, but there is no limit to the farm. It’s not clear to me who or what Stenn is. Still, I love this story. I am not at all sure how the other title, “The Ridge Around the World”, connects to this. I am surprised that the only reprint for this story was in the Algis Budrys collection “Blood and Burning“, 1978 Berkley Books. Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.

“The War is Over“, a short story by Algis Budrys, Astounding February 1957. A story of beings that have been building a spaceship for a long time, for an unknown reason. One has observed to another that their remains when they die are much smaller in the past. Finally, the ship is launched. A box is returned to Terrans. It turns out that a Terran spaceship carrying then vital information had crashed. The pilot’s AID (some kind of device that can think and multiply) survived and multiplied and drove the delivery, 400 years later. It does not matter by then. I found this interesting, but it could have used a bit more work. Not one of the best by Budrys. It has more than a few reprints in “13 Great Stories of Science Fiction“, Groff Conklin editor, 1960 Fawcett Gold Medal, and some foreign language reprints. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Help! I am Dr. Morris Goldpepper“, a short story by Avram Davidson, Galaxy July 1957. A brilliant story of a leading dentist held prisoner on another planet by toothless aliens. He is recruited under false pretenses, and held captive. He reluctantly uses defective dental prosthetics to send a message to the American Dental Association, which is an epistolary account of his dire situation. It turns out these aliens are emigrating to Earth to live on the dole. The ADA vows to fight back. The Don Martin, famous for Mad Magazine especially, illustrations are an amazing match to the story, see below. I’ve read this before, and it’s great to read again. It is deservedly fairly well reprinted, including “The Third Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1958 Doubleday, the Avram Davidson collection “Or All the Seas with Oysters“, 1962 Berkley Medallion, “Infinite Jests: The Lighter Side of Science Fiction“, Robert Silverberg editor, 1974 Chilton, and the Avram Davidson collections “The Best of Avram Davidson“, 1979 Doubleday, and “The Avram Davidson Treasury: A Tribute Collection“, Robert Silverberg & Grania Davis (ex-wife of Avram Davidson) editors, 1998 Tor. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.

“Featherbed on Chlyntha“, a short story by Miriam Allen deFord, Venture November 1957. A great story of an anthropologist kidnapped from near Mars by an alien race. Time goes on. He is in a zoo, and is studied as well. Finally, he discovers that the alien race is dying out, and they have been looking for “humans” like them to reverse that. They may use him as a breeder to see if they are interfertile. He finally concludes that their traditional life cycle and gender roles are not helpful. They promise to send him home if a trial shows this works. It does work, but we find out they put his stuffed body into a museum instead of letting him go. I am surprised this was only reprinted once, in the Miriam Allen deFord collection “Xenogenesis“, 1969 Ballantine Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Lady Was a Tramp“, a short story by “Rose Sharon” (Judith Merril), Venture March 1957. I like a lot of things about this story of a new graduate assigned to a rather decrepit tramp spaceship, where things are not what they seem. However, I’m not sure what to make of the ending, which dragged this down from “great” for me. Reprints include the Judith Merril collection “Out of Bounds“, 1960 Pyramid Books, “The Venus Factor“, Roger Elwood & Vic Ghidalia editors, 1972 Macfadden-Bartell, “New Eves: Science Fiction About the Extraordinary Women of Today and Tomorrow“, Forrest J Ackerman, Janrae Frank, & Jean Marie Stine, 1994 Longmeadow Press (This is an anthology new to me, co-edited by two women, and with apparently all women authors. I need to read this.), and “Homecalling and Other Stories: The Complete Solo Short SF of Judith Merril“, Elisabeth Carey editor, 2005 NESFA Press. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Mark Elf“, an Instrumentality of Mankind short story by “Cordwainer Smith” (Paul M. A. Linebarger), Saturn May, 1957. Reread, probably for the first time in almost 30 years in “The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Fiction of Cordwainer Smith“. It’s hard to believe this was his 3rd story published, or 4th if you count the 1928 “War No. 81Q“. Before the Rediscovery of Man, a True Man with mental powers, Laird, finds a 13,000 year old rocket in orbit, and nudges it out of orbit. There is a young woman in suspended animation in it, a Prussian, put there by her father at the end of WW2. She survives very interesting and dangerous adventures with the help of a Moron and the Middle-Sized Bear while surviving an encounter with a Menschenjager (millennia old killing machine for all non-Germans, even though no Germans are left). I love the Kaskasia Effect also. She will marry Laird and her wild old genes will lead to a very different future. This is not up there with his best stories, but it’s Cordwainer Smith through and through and great regardless. Reprints include the Cordwainer Smith collections “You Will Never Be the Same“, 1963 Regency Books, “The Instrumentality of Mankind“, 1979 Del Rey/Ballantine Books, “The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith“, 1993 NESFA Press, and “When the People Fell“, 2007 Baen Books. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Eithne“, a short story by “Idris Seabright” (Margaret St. Clair), F&SF July 1957. A very good story of a Victorian mother-to-be who goes to the sea shore for her pregnancy. Finally, she gives up her daughter Una to the sea folk, although she can’t go. Reprints are limited to “A Compendium of Margaret St. Clair“, 2020 Library and Archives Canada (Giants of Sci-Fi Collection #1), and one French reprint. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Warm Man“, a short story by Robert Silverberg, F&SF May 1957. Mr. Hallinan comes to live in a small town. He is single. He does not say much, but people feel better after talking to him. Finally, he encounters a lonely young man of nine. We find out the boy is a sender, and Hallinan an empath or a mental parasite. Mr. Hallinan dies. Reprints include the Ace Double “The Seed of Earth / Next Stop the Stars“, Robert Silverberg, 1962 Ace Books, “Special Wonder: The Anthony Boucher Memorial Anthology of Fantasy and Science Fiction“, J. Francis McComas editor, 1970 Random House, “The Best of Robert Silverberg“, 1976 Pocket Books, “A Whisper of Blood“, Ellen Datlow editor, 1991 William Morrow, and the Silverberg collection “Phases of the Moon“, 2004 Subterranean Press. I may be an outlier on this story. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Ifth of Oofth“, a short story by Walter Tevis, Galaxy April 1957. A wonderful story of topology and drinking and time travel, and the implied end of the world. Reprints include “The Sixth Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1962 Doubleday, the Walter Tevis collection “Far from Home“, 1981 Doubleday, and a number of foreign language reprints. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

Bonus Stories: SF:’58: The Year’s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy“, Judith Merril editor, 1958 Gnome

“The Wonder Horse“, a short story by George Byram, Atlantic Monthly August 1957. A great and humorous story of a mutant race horse, especially in the context of racing against non-mutated horses. At the time he wrote this, Byram was studying genetics for his horse breeding project. Other reprints include “Young Mutants“,  Isaac Asimov, Martin Greenberg, & Charles Waugh editors, 1984 Harper & Row, and “Horses!“, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois editors, 1994 Ace Books. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Now Let Us Sleep“, a short story by Avram Davidson, Venture September 1957. A great and horrific story of a race that is humanlike but not considered human, called “Yahoos” as in Gulliver’s Travels. A man tries to save them, but decides to die with them when he finds he cannot. Other reprints include the Avram Davidson collection “Or All the Seas with Oysters“, 1962 Berkley Medallion, “No Limits“, Joseph W. Ferman editor, 1964 Ballantine Books, “Time of Passage“, Martin Harry Greenberg & Joseph D. Olander editors, 1978 Robert Hale, “The Best of Avram Davidson“, 1979 Doubleday, “The Avram Davidson Treasury: A Tribute Collection“, Robert Silverberg & Grania Davis (ex-wife of Avram Davidson) editors, 1998 Tor, and “Vanishing Acts“, Ellen Datlow editor, 2000 Tor. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Flying High“, a short story by Eugène Ionesco, Mademoiselle October 1957. An interesting, surreal fantasy of a couple who have a dead man in their apartment. The dead man, instead of decaying, is growing. Finally, the dead man overwhelms the apartment. They take him outside, where the dead man gets lighter and floats off in the air with the man on top. The only reprint for this story in ISFDB is this Merril volume. I get the choice by her goals, but it’s not a great story for me. Others appear to agree; this the only reprint in or out of genre that I can find. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

Bonus Stories: “The Great SF Stories #19 (1957)“, Isaac Asimov & Martin H. Greenberg editors, 1989 DAW Books

“Strikebreaker” (AKA “Male Strikebreaker”), a short story by Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Stories January 1957. A very interesting story of an Earth sociologist visiting the unique planetoid Elsever, where all must be recycled for food and other necessities of life. The man who runs the sewage treatment plant is an outcast, not unlike an “untouchable”, from a caste of those of his family. He goes on strike, unhappy to be an outcast. The sociologist agrees to do the job. The Elseverans conclude any non-native will do, as they don’t care about caste. Of course, any non-native who takes the job will become outcast also. I don’t remember reading this before, but I am sure I have. Not one of his better stories. Other reprints include “17 X Infinity“, Groff Conklin editor, 1963 Dell, the Asimov collection “Nightfall and Other Stories“, 1969 Doubleday, “Anthropology Through Science Fiction“, Martin Harry Greenberg, Carol Mason, & Patricia Warrick editors, 1974 St. Martin’s Press, and many other Asimov collections. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“World of a Thousand Colors“, a short story by Robert Silverberg, Super-Science Fiction June 1957. A greedy, amoral man kills a Testee on the way to The Test on a far planet, taking his place. He is revealed and cast down to die by the other Testees, who all transcend. This is a very ordinary story, for all that it was reprinted in this Asimov/Greenberg anthology and several Silverberg collections. Rated 3.4/5, or “Good”.

“A Loint of Paw“, a short story by Isaac Asimov, F&SF August. 1957. An entertaining , short, short (one page) time travel story with a terrible pun as the punch line, “A niche in time saves Stein.” Other reprints “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1958 Doubleday, the Asimov collection “Asimov’s Mysteries“, 1968 Doubleday, and other Asimov collections. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Last Man Left in the Bar“, a short story by C. M. Kornbluth, Infinity October 1957. A story of a nuclear technician who may have stolen something from a cult in the future. He is in a bar, drinking. They want it back. After being thrown out of the bar at closing time, they find that he does not have it. I wanted to like this story, but structurally and stylistically it felt almost postmodern which obscured the plot and impacted my enjoyment. Other reprints include the Kornbluth collection “A Mile Beyond the Moon“, 1958 Doubleday, “The Best of C. M. Kornbluth“, 1976 Nelson Doubleday/SFBC, and “His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth“, 1997 NESFA Press. I’ve read all of those, but I don’t remember this story. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

Bonus Stories: “The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Seventh Series“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1958 Doubleday

“Adjustment“, a novelette by Ward Moore, F&SF May 1957. A story of a very down to earth bank employee engaged to provide some sanity by osmosis to a perhaps insane person. During this period, he finds a wonderful place of wishes fulfilled. I wanted to love this story, but we never got any explanation for what was going as far as I could tell. Other reprints are limited to “Introductory Psychology Through Science Fiction“,  Martin Harry Greenberg, Harvey A. Katz, Patricia S. Warrick editors, 1974 Rand McNally & Company, and one French reprint. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Mr. Stilwell’s Stage“, a short story by Avram Davidson, F&SF September 1957. I assume I’ve read this before as I owned the Davidson collection “What Strange Stars and Skies” but not remembered. A wonderful story of Mr. Bunsen of the Inventors Enterprise Company, and Mr. Stilwell and his stage, where miniature figures and unexplained lighting effects are seen. Although proclaimed to be a possible competitor in 1940 to the future television, it delivers a tale of “romance and revenge”. This story can easily be taken as either SF or fantasy. Other reprints include the Avram Davidson collection “What Strange Stars and Skies“, 1965 Ace Books and a French reprint. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“Rescue“, a short story by G. C. Edmondson, F&SF June 1957. A great story of a miner left on Mars after a cave-in at a mine. Mars is not very attractive financially, with the failing mine the only reason for anyone to be there. The other survivors of the cave-in think he is dead, and leave him and abandon Mars. He goes about his business of surviving. He is unable to repair the radio. Seven years later, it is realized he survived. A rescue expedition is sent, but it turns out he does not want to go back to Earth. He engineers a cave-in, and the rescuers leave thinking he is dead, again. He happily goes back to enjoying his solitary existence on Mars, although he is miffed that the rescuers helped themselves to souvenirs from his stuff. This does remind me of Andy Weir’s novel “The Martian“; I wonder if Weir had read this? This is a damn good story for someone I have only read two of their stories. The only other reprints include a German anthology, “16 Science Fiction-Stories“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1964 Heyne, and a French magazine. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Horror Story Shorter by One Letter Than the Shortest Horror Story Ever Written” “, a short story by Ron Smith, F&SF July 1957. A very amusing little joke, in response to the famous shortest horror story written, the 1948 “Knock” by Frederic Brown. This is the only reprint for this story. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“Between the Thunder and the Sun“, a novelette by Chad Oliver, F&SF May 1957. I was a bit skeptical of this story as I started to read it. I was afraid it was going to be like Godwin’s “The Cold Equations“, setting up an impossible situation where men must break the law to do the right thing to save a planet of lower technology/civilization beings undergoing impending ecological collapse. I was relieved to find this was a great story, of a man who arranged this and succeeds while making sure the outcome was so bad it would never occur again. Other reprints include the German anthology, “16 Science Fiction-Stories“, Anthony Boucher editor, 1964 Heyne, the Chad Oliver collection “A Star Above It and Other Stories“, Priscilla Olson editor, 2003 NESFA Press, and several other foreign language reprints. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“The Wild Wood“, a short story by Mildred Clingerman, F&SF January 1957. A great story of Christmas horror, with Mr. Cravolini the very creepy Christmas businessman and Mrs. Abbot, and an increasingly disturbing set of annual visits. Other reprints include “A Cupful of Space“, 1961 Ballantine Books, “Special Wonder: The Anthony Boucher Memorial Anthology of Fantasy and Science Fiction“, J. Francis McComas editor, 1970 Random House, Lovers & Other Monsters“, Marvin Kaye & Saralee Kaye editors, 1992 GuildAmerica Books/SFBC, and “The Clingerman Files“, 2017 Size 5 1/2 B Publishing. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“Dodger Fan“, a short story by Will Stanton, F&SF June 1957. A great short short of “Dem Bums” (the Brooklyn Dodgers) and a fan of theirs who is invited to Mars for a brief visit. Very amusing. One year later in the real world, the Dodgers moved to LA and broke hearts in Brooklyn again. This is quite timely to read soon after Opening Day. I could be missing something , but I find the Martians perhaps being a lot like humans to be unlikely, or perhaps Stanton purposefully is vague about that issue? Regardless, it’s a great, fun story that you don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this story. Other reprints include “Never in This World“, Idella Purnell Stone editor, 1971 Fawcett Gold Medal (I think I need to read this), “Arena: Sports SF“, Edward L. Ferman & Barry N. Malzberg editors, 1976 Robson Books, and “Worst Contact“, Hank Davis editor, 2016 Baen Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“Goddess in Granite“, a novelette by Robert F. Young, F&SF September. 1957. A good story of a human in love with the Goddess in Granite, a carved statue of many miles size. He is disappointed. The most interesting part of the story is his rock climbing gear, and even that is not extraordinary. It would have taken a much better writer for this to be a great story, someone like Theodore Sturgeon. Treatment of the women is out of touch also, although that might be ascribed to the times. Other reprints include “The Worlds of Robert F. Young“, 1965 Simon & Schuster, “Perilous Planets: An Anthology of Way-Back-When Futures“, Brian W. Aldiss editor, 1978 Weidenfeld & Nicolson, and several foreign language reprints. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

MS. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie“, a short story by C. M. Kornbluth, F&SF July 1957. I read this in the Kornbluth collection “The Marching Morons and Other Famous Science Fiction Stories” a long time ago. A science fiction author, C. M. K., tells a story of finding messages in Chinese Fortune Cookies of a plot by writers to keep an important answer from almost everyone, an answer only writers will find by dint of their broad and varied research. Very amusing, and it explains the best seller lists. Other reprints include “Yet More Penguin Science Fiction“, Brian W. Aldiss editor, 1964 Penguin, the Kornbluth collection “Thirteen O’Clock and Other Zero Hours“, 1970 Dell, “Laughing Space“, Isaac Asimov & J. O. Jeppson editors, 1982 Robson Books, and “His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth“, 1997 NESFA Press. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Big Trek“, a short story by Fritz Leiber, F&SF October 1957. More like a slice of life than a plot. A man finds himself on degraded, old, failed Earth, where the remaining humans want to drag you down. He leaves with the other aliens in the big trek. This could have been a great story but it did not get there. Other reprints include the Ace Double “Ships to the Stars / The Million Year Hunt“, by Kenneth Bulmer & Fritz Leiber, 1964 Ace Books, “The Best of Fritz Leiber“, 1974 Ballantine Books, “100 Astounding Little Alien Stories“, Stefan Dziemianowicz, Martin H. Greenberg, & Robert Weinberg editors, 1996 Barnes & Noble Books, and “Masters of Science Fiction: Fritz Leiber“, John Pelan editor, 2016 Wildside Press. More than a few people liked this story more than I did, and I can live with that. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Valise Macabre“, a poem by Winona McClintic, F&SF November 1957. Okay poem, with Dr. Caligari. I am not a poetry fan in general. However, as I’d written about Winona McClintic and her fiction (see “Winona McClintic – ‘Who?’”), I read it, and poetry fans might love this. This is the only reprint.

Bonus Stories: “Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 9th Series“, T. E. Dikty editor, 1958 Advent

“The Last Victory“, a short story by Tom Godwin, If August 1957. An adequate story of a crashed space ship with three factions and parasites making zombies of people. A dog saves them, which was my favorite thing about the story. This is the only reprint, which makes sense to me. Rated 3.3/5, or “Good”.

“Didn’t He Ramble“, a short story by Chad Oliver, F&SF April 1957. A rich old man in the future is tired of his life. He is a huge fan of early 1900s jazz. He signs a contract that the company will provide him with a simulated Storyville until he dies. He dies happy! I would not call this story conceptually brilliant, but I loved the warm affection for jazz and jazz musicians. Other reprints include Chad Oliver collections “The Edge of Forever: Classic Anthropological Science Fiction“, 1971 Sherbourne Press, and “Far from This Earth and Other Stories: Volume 2 Selected Stories“, Priscilla Olson editor, 2003 NESFA Press. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“The Queen’s Messenger“, a short story by John J. McGuire, Astounding May 1957. I read this in Astounding decades ago, but remembered nothing. There is a flock of messengers, but no queen that I can see. There is human settlement on Mars, but they are dependent on Earth for food. Furthermore, a flawed understanding of trace elements and human biology limits future expansion and encourages a global Grange that gets rich off the food supplied to Mars. Finally, a breakthrough occurs, and prisoners are recruited to serve as messengers, knowing that the Grange will try to kill them and prevent the vital knowledge from reaching Mars and giving them the freedom to reach the stars. With some subterfuge, they succeed. This story had potential, but it was not fully realized. This is the only reprint, which I can see. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

“Into Your Tent I’ll Creep“, a short story by Eric Frank Russell, Astounding September 1957. Although not one of the very best stories by Eric Frank Russell, I love this story every time I read it. A species of intelligent aliens have discovered humans and are excited to have partners in exploring the Galaxy. One of them discovers he is telepathic and can understand the thoughts of dogs, who are Earth’s real masters. He tries to warn others when he finds out a breeding pair is being sent with them, but dies of a seeming accident. Other reprints include the Eric Frank Russell Ace Double “The Space Willies / Six Worlds Yonder“, 1958 Ace Books, “101 Science Fiction Stories“, Martin H. Greenberg, Charles G. Waugh, & Jenny-Lynn Waugh editors, 1986 Avenel Books, the Russell collection “The Best of Eric Frank Russell“, 1986 Del Rey/Ballantine, “Major Ingredients: The Selected Short Stories of Eric Frank Russell“, 2009 NESFA Press, and “The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction“, Mike Ashley, 2002 Robinson. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“Nor Dust Corrupt“, a short story by James McConnell, If February 1957. I don’t think I’ve ever read any of his stories before; I’ll to really consider whether to read any more. This is the only reprint. One of the wealthiest men in the Galaxy has come back to Earth to talk about being buried there. Earth is immensely populated and it will take enormous funds and bribes. Finally, he decide to skip being buried there. However, we are shown automated gardener’s using fertilizer from his company. Perhaps he will have his remains added to the fertilizer? McConnell was not widely reprinted. Rated 3.3/5, or “Good”.

“Nightsound” (AKA “The Attic Voice”), a short story by Algis Budrys, Satellite Science Fiction February 1957. A great story of a veterinary student whose father was a farmer. His dad died, and he is helping his mom handle things. He finds an odd radio, and then discovers that his dad had been helping a crashed alien. He meets the alien, and he will help the alien. Great story, very understated and which wonderfully conveys the desperation of farm life and economics. This is the only reprint, so I guess I am in the minority on this story. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

Bonus Stories: “The Third Galaxy Reader“, H. L. Gold editor, 1958 Doubleday

“Time in the Round“, a novelette by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy May 1957. A great story of time viewing in the future, where things go very wrong but come out okay in the end. The character “Butcher” is a very scary kid, who is rewarded for being that. Other reprints include “Masters of Science Fiction: Fritz Leiber“, John Pelan editor, 2016 Wildside Press, and a French reprint. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

A Wind Is Rising“, a short story by “Finn O’Donnevan” (Robert Sheckley), Galaxy July 1957. A great early Sheckley story, of Planetary Observers on a one year assignment on a very, very windy planet. Although they think it’s bad, after a very dangerous blow they find out from the natives that the most windy time of year is coming up. They will probably not survive until the relief ship comes. Although completely different, this reminded me both of the planet Henriada from the1965 Cordwainer Smith novella “On The Storm Planet” and the planet Trenco from the 1938 E. E. “Doc” Smith serial/novel “Galactic Patrol“. This is another story I read in “The Third Galaxy Reader” a long time ago. Other reprints include Sheckley collection “Notions: Unlimited“, 1960 Bantam Books, “Space Suits & Gumshoes“, Richard Lunn editor, 1972 Macmillan of Canada (I love the title, and might have to read it on that basis), “The Collected Short Fiction of Robert Sheckley“, 1991 Pulphouse Publishing, and “The Masque of Mañana” (the major short fiction of Robert Sheckley), Sharon Sbarsky editor, 2005 NESFA Press. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Haunted Corpse“, a short story by Frederik Pohl, Galaxy January 1957. A great story of a mad scientist who can remove minds/souls and transfer them to a new body and a very ambitious Lieutenant Colonel. The title is more misdirection than not, and this story features great writing by Pohl. Other reprints include the Pohl collections “Tomorrow Times Seven“, 1959 Ballantine Books, and “The Frederik Pohl Omnibus“, 1966 Gollancz. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“Man in the Jar“, a short story by Damon Knight, Galaxy April 1957. A greedy Earth businessman traps an alien with special powers but is himself trapped and killed. Okay at best. Other reprints include the Pohl collections “Turning On: Thirteen Stories” 1966 Doubleday and “The Best of Damon Knight“, 1976 Pocket Books, and “Another World“, Gardner Dozois editor, 1977 Follett Publishing Company. Clearly others disagree with me. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

Bonus Stories: “The Fourth Galaxy Reader“, H. L Gold editor, 1959 Doubleday

“I Am a Nucleus“, a novelette by Stephen Barr, Galaxy February 1957. I am not sure what to make of this story, or if it is fantasy or SF or what. More and more improbable things happen around a man. It is deduced that he has been adopted as a nucleus of what is a giant diamond. This makes no sense to me. This story had some potential, but I don’t see it realized. While these “Galaxy Readers” were not explicitly a “Best of” series, I don’t know what H. L. Gold was thinking of when he chose this one. A few foreign language reprints, and nothing else. Rated 3.3/5, or “Good”.

“The Bomb in the Bathtub“, a short story by Thomas N. Scortia, Galaxy February 1957. I dearly love this story of alternate universes and a detective hired to deal with a bomb in a bathtub. It turns out the bomb is a mental health patient being treated by letting him destroy this best of all possible worlds. This is a story that is both wacky and inevitable. I have read this before, probably in both this anthology and Joe Haldeman’s wonderful anthology “Cosmic Laughter: Science Fiction for the Fun of It“, 1974 Holt Rinehart & Wilson. I love that Mad Magazine’s Don Martin does the interior art – very appropriate. The other reprint was in the Scortia collection “Caution! Inflammable!“, 1975 Doubleday. This story deserves to be more well known and remembered. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.

“You Were Right, Joe“, a short story by J. T. McIntosh, Galaxy November 1957. A very good story of a non-entity sent to the future, as a guinea pig and scout to report back to Joe. Although it can be very confusing, life ends up great for him, but Joe is in trouble. One French reprint, and this anthology. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“What’s He Doing in There?”, a short story by Fritz Leiber, Galaxy December 1957. Not major Leiber by any means, but an entertaining and humorous story of a Martian’s arrival on Earth and a cultural misunderstanding in the household of a cultural anthropologist. Other reprints include “Contact“, Noel Keyes editor, 1963 Paperback Library, “The Worlds of Fritz Leiber“, 1976 Ace Books, and “The Leiber Chronicles: Fifty Years of Fritz Leiber“, 1990 Dark Harvest (my favorite Leiber collection which surveys his whole career). Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

Bonus stories: “The Stories of Ray Bradbury“, 1980 Alfred A Knopf

“The Leave-Taking“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, The Saturday Evening Post, May 25, 1957 (original title “Good-By, Grandma”). Great grandma says goodbye, pleasant yet minor Bradbury. Other reprint was as part of Bradbury’s fix-up novel “Dandelion Wine“, 1957 Doubleday. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“Exorcism“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, original to Bradbury’s fix-up novel “Dandelion Wine“, 1957 Doubleday. Well written but very light story of two women in conflict. Aside from this reprint and “Dandelion Wine”, it was reprinted in “Witches’ Brew“, Yvonne Jocks editor, 2002 Berkley Books. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

“The Happiness Machine“, a Dandelion Wine short story by Ray Bradbury, Saturday Evening Post, September 14 1957. A man invents a Happiness Machine, but finds out that it’s more of a contrast and Sadness Machine. After its destruction, he observes that his family is a Happiness Machine. This might be my favorite of these rather minor 1957 Ray Bradbury stories. No other reprints. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Picasso Summer” (AKA “In a Season of Calm Weather”), a short story by Ray Bradbury, Playboy January 1957. A lovely story of a man who loves Picasso and encounters him at the beach at Biarritz. While I really like this story, I don’t see it as genre. Other reprints include the Bradbury collection “A Medicine for Melancholy“, 1959 Doubleday and many others, “Best Fantasy Stories“, Brian W. Aldiss editor, 1962 Faber and Faber, and “Playboy Stories: The Best of Forty Years of Short Fiction“, Alice K. Turner editor, 1994 Dutton. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Day It Rained Forever“, a short story by Ray Bradbury, Harpers July 1957. An engaging story of a drought stricken, almost gone hotel, and an aging musician who comes to stay with her harp and ends the drought. Other reprints include the Bradbury collection “A Medicine for Melancholy“, 1959 Doubleday, and other Bradbury collections. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

Stories Added by Dave for various and sometimes unknown reasons

“The Unreconstructed M“, a novelette by Philip K. Dick, Science Fiction Stories, January 1957. I read this because it’s in “The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick“, 2022, which I own. A not quite great story of a future where criminals are banished a random distance from Earth. They may be so far from Earth they will never return. A big slaver works to frame his opponent with the Big Brotherish Interior Department to exile him, but is finally found out and himself exiled. I did like some of the characters here, and the robotic McGuffin used in the frame attempt. There are some things about this Dick story that I really like, but also some things that don’t work at all for me, which kept it from “Great”. Not related to this, I never did figure out how the story title “The Unreconstructed M” related to the story – perhaps “Unreconstructed M” refers to the robotic machine in the story? Other reprints include the Dick collection “The Golden Man“, 1980 Berkley Books and a number of other Dick collections, and several foreign language reprints. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“The Most Sentimental Man“, a short story by Evelyn E. Smith, Fantastic Universe, August 1957. A story of the last man in the world. Everyone has moved to Alpha Centauri, and the Earth is being abandoned. A man stays, for not a very clear reason. I love “last man/person in the world” stories, but this is not one of the great ones as executed. Reprints include “Last Man on Earth“,  Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg, & Charles G. Waugh editors, 1982 Fawcett Crest/BB, and “Evelyn E. Smith Resurrected: Selected Stories of Evelyn E. Smith“, Greg Fowlkes editor, 2010 Resurrected Press. Rated 3.5/5, or “Good”.

“The Guest Rites“, a short story by Robert Silverberg, Infinity Science Fiction, February 1957. I read this because it’s in the the imaginary Table of Contents of the never published Ray Bradbury anthology “God On Tomorrow Morning” (my thanks to Phil Nichols). A pair of Venusian priests from neighboring temples encounter an Earthman who has stolen a priceless artifact from one of their temples. The Earthman has lost his compass and cannot find his way back to New Chicago. He will always have shelter as a guest, but he will die there sooner or later, and they will get the gem back. Nothing amazing here, but enjoyable. The only reprint is “Science Fiction Gems, Volume Two“, 2011 Armchair Fiction. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“The Light“, a short story by Poul Anderson, Galaxy March 1957. I read the because it was reprinted in “13 Great Stories of Science Fiction“, Groff Conklin editor, 1960 Fawcett Gold Medal. An American expedition to the Moon thinks they are the first, only to discover that someone else got their first. One of them concludes that it was Leonardo da Vinci, as the light on the Moon matches that on one of Leonardo’s paintings. Other reprints include the Poul Anderson collection “Past Times“, 1984 Tor, and several foreign language reprints. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.

“The Coffin Cure“, a short story by Alan E. Nourse, Galaxy April 1957. I read this because it was reprinted in “Best SF Seven: Science Fiction Storie“, Edmund Crispin editor, 1970 Faber and Faber. A great story of a team searching for a cure for the common cold. They find it, but the publicity hungry and credit hogging boss pushes it out too fast to complete adequate clinical trials. It turns out that curing the cold has the unfortunate side effect of improving the human sense of smell to be as good as dogs, and it’s unbearable. They find a cure for the cure, luckily, although the cold comes back with a vengeance. Nourse was a physician, and it shows here. Reprints include the Nourse collection “Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories“, 1961 David McKay (which I suspect I read 50 years ago), “Laughing Space“, Isaac Asimov & J. O. Jeppson editors, 1982 Robson Books, and “Alan E. Nourse Resurrected: The Works of Alan E. Nourse“, Greg Fowlkes editor, 2011 Resurrected Press. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.

“The Big Terrarium“, a novelette by James H. Schmitz, Saturn, May 1957. I read because I was hoping for a good story from James H. Schmitz, and this is his only 1957 story. This is not great Schmitz, but it’s entertaining. I believe I read it before in the Schmitz collection “Eternal Frontier”, but not remembered. Several people from a farm are gathered and kept in a zoo-like Little Place. There is a friendly alien the Cobrisol and an unfriendly one the Icien. Finally, one of them convinces some of those watching them that they should be sent back to Earth. Apparently, they were gathered by an immature life form that should not have done it. Not great, but some interesting aspects and I did want to find out what happened. The only reprint was in “Eternal Frontier“, Eric Flint and Guy Gordon editors, 2002 Baen Books, which was part of a project to reprint all James H. Schmitz fiction. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.

“You’ll Feel Better“, a short story by Carol Emshwiller, F&SF July. Read because it was in the same issue as “Eithne” and I love Carol Emshwiller. A story of a man with mental problems, and an Ego Builder bird robot. He has killed and dismembered a girl, perhaps partly due to the robot’s encouragement. Not one of her best, with the only reprints in “The Collected Stories of Carol Emshwiller Vol. 1“, 2011 Nonstop Press, and one French reprint. Rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.