The Short Story Thread

[j d worthington]

Allamagoosa by Eric Frank Russell

A military ship prepares for inspection and goes to great lengths to produce an item that no one has any knowledge of whatsoever other than it appears on the ship's manifest, and so it must be produced one way or the other. Classic comedic SF short story.

Yes, this was my introduction to Russell, at the tender age of 8... in Groff Conklin's Great Stories of Space Travel, iirc.... Even once one knows the joke, the thing can still raise a chuckle after years and years, because it doesn't rely strictly on the punchline for its effectiveness....

 

[jojajihisc]

it doesn't rely strictly on the punchline for its effectiveness....

Very true. In fact, I liked just as much the way Cpt. McNaught interrogates various crew as to the whereabouts of the "offog" with a presumptuous, cover-your-ass air about him. The story had the same feel for me as another comedy from that era called The Spectre General by Theodore Cogswell.

 

[j d worthington]

"Honey in the Wall" by Oliver Onions.

A most strange story that starts out like a Jane Austin novel but takes an unusual turn. I wouldn't say I really understand what was going on...any explanations offered would be greatly appreciated!

I could have sworn I had posted a reply to this months ago... senility, senility.....

Well, I've not read the story for a very long time, but my memory of it prompts the following: As is usually the case with Onions, there are several possible interpretations: (1) There is no actual haunting; you are dealing with a strictly naturalistic story cast in a somewhat fantastic atmosphere; (2) the haunting is strictly psychological; that is, the character is fascinated with a figure from the past and "haunted" by that fascination; (3) there is a haunting here, but it is a benign one; an attempt to use modern people and situations to right something from the past; (4) the haunting is malefic; the dead are supplanting the living by gradually taking their place, living out the lives they wished to live, but which were interrupted by death. And, of course, elements of more than one of these can work in conjunction; i.e., the haunting may be benign, but the ghosts may be as much fascination as real, or they may be more or less controlling of the modern persons they are "living" through.

I tend to favor the idea that this is an actual haunting, especially given the increase in rate of the fading of the picture, the more the personality of the protagonist seems to take on the characteristics of the person represented in it (there is also the odor of the man's tobacco, which is used in such a way as to hint a ghostly presence; perhaps the very sort of tobacco used by the male figure of the past); but whether the haunting is benign or malefic... I am uncertain. I lean ever so slightly toward the latter, because, as the shift from the modern personality to the earlier one increases, there is something subtle here which seems to take on that intent to obliterate the modern personality and resume an earlier life, and make it go the way the personality intended (rather than as it really went); but this point is arguable.

The titular item also seems to me symbolic: a traditional association which lies hidden yet plays the driving force in many ways, which is bittersweet and wild and has "dominated" the figures here for a very long time, like the figure in the portrait.

At least, that is my reading based on my memories of the tale....

 

[Fried Egg]

Well, thanks for sharing your intrepretation of that story J.D. Unfortunately my memories of that story, read about a year ago now, have dissipated and I think I will need to re-read it in order to be able to properly take your comments on board. Turns out it wasn't one of the stories that stuck in my mind like others in the collection did.

 

[j d worthington]

Well, thanks for sharing your intrepretation of that story J.D. Unfortunately my memories of that story, read about a year ago now, have dissipated and I think I will need to re-read it in order to be able to properly take your comments on board. Turns out it wasn't one of the stories that stuck in my mind like others in the collection did.

Sorry to have not posted a response earlier... I'd have been willing to swear that I did, but no sign of it here.

As we're discussing not only our favorites, but short stories in general, the very short pieces in Bierce's "Fables" are proving a delight... if of a particularly sardonic kind (surprise! surprise!). He doesn't really leave many targets unscathed....

 

[jojajihisc]

I've been slowly reading (as with everything lately) Futures from Nature an anthology edited by Henry Gee which includes 100 short stories published in the magazine from 2001 to 2005. For stuff this short many are surprisingly good. The list is authors is a who's who of SF: Aldiss, Asher, Baxter, Bear, Benford, Clarke, Egan, Haldeman, Hamilton, Harrison, Kress, MacLeod, MacLeod, McDevitt, Moorcock, Pohl, Resnick, Rucker, Silverberg, Simmons and on and on it goes. Excellent choice if you like really short SF with an emphasis on S.

 

[Patrick Mahon]

Finished reading Dozois' The Year's Best Science Fiction: 28th Annual Collection. It features a remarkable amount of near-future earth-based SF, often of a dystopian, post-disaster and/or singularity nature. Also, while a few stories push the boundaries of what I can count as science fiction, only one crosses it.

Thanks for this J-Sun. I've just got hold of this anthology, and am looking forward to reading it.

For those in the UK, it's worth noting that this has just come out in the UK (released on 15 September), published by Robinson under the title of "The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 24".

 

[Connavar]

Dystopian, post disaster dominated anthology ? I must get 28th version, hopefully there is a cheap one online.

 

[blacknorth]

There was an absolutrly splendid story in Issue 235 of Interzone recently - Dawn by Al Robertson. It reminded me of some of Robert Holdstock's early stories, well worth tracking down if you require a leisurely read that somehow leaves you breathless.

 

[J-Sun]

Just finished reading (mostly re-reading) van Vogt's Monsters which is a collection apparently put together by Ackerman. I guess this would almost qualify as a horror month read except that I didn't do it on purpose and I doubt it's really "horror".

"Not Only Dead Men" was a good "things are not as they seem" story at sea. "War of Nerves" is a piece of The Voyage of the Space Beagle and is good, focusing on the Nexialist, Grosvenor, which deals with van Vogt's synthesist interest. "Enchanted Village" is a cool twist story - really vividly evokes a struggle for survival on a not-immediately fatal but decidedly unpleasant Mars. "The Sea Thing" is a story from Unknown about a murderous "shark god" which has definite "Who Goes There?" vibes. It's strange, though: the "reality" of the setting and the sheer "fantasy" of the concept combine to make this not entirely successful. His often dreamlike writing oddly needs at least a pseudo-scientific basis to be most effective - the fantasy basis makes it less forceful. And, given the relative realism, I wanted more convincing writing about the sailors and ships and all. This was neat, but not entirely successful. "Resurrection", on the other hand, is a quick blast of a story of times and scales. But probably the best story was "Vault of the Beast". It's bizarre that van Vogt had to sue Alien for ripping him off and Ellison sued over Terminator (which sounds pretty weak and Ellison sues everybody (this is parodic exaggeration, Harlan, so is protected speech - don't sue me), but I haven't read the Ellison original), yet I myself would have sued over T2. I did an online search to see if there had in fact been a lawsuit I hadn't heard about, but there doesn't seem to have been. I did find a really good post that makes my point more effectively than I could. Though I will say that, in "Vault" the creature is looking for a specific type of person (genius mathematician), rather than a specific individual, and that "Vault's" creature seems to only need to be near someone to pick up their physical and mental details, where the T2 critter needed to touch them, I think. But, regardless, a really spiffy story with a great "monster".

On the other hand, "Final Command", about a robot revolution, struck me as fairly weak and, strangely, "Concealment" didn't work very well. It's part of The Mixed Men (aka Mission to the Stars) which is one of my very favorite van Vogts but, rather than a story being incorporated into a novel, this felt like a piece of a novel broken out into an incomplete story. The section works fine in the book but, as a standalone, is weaker. Despite that, I still really really want some enterprising publisher (Ian!?) to bring out a series of books of van Vogt's complete stuff from 39-c.50 as they originally appeared in the magazines (correcting only actual typos/misprints). There are a few things that were "fixed up" into novels that never were collected individually.

Anyway - I'd wholeheartedly recommend this except the following had already been collected:

"Vault of the Beast" - Away and Beyond
"Resurrection" (aka "The Monster") and "Enchanted Village" - Destination: Universe
"The Sea Thing" - Out of the Unknown

And, as mentioned, the following had previously been "fixed up":

"Concealment" - Mission to the Stars aka The Mixed Men
"War of Nerves" - The Voyage of the Space Beagle

(though it is basically the only way to read those in a van Vogt book as individual stories). "Not Only Dead Men" and "Final Command" are the only ones purely unique to this collection.

 

[blacknorth]

Just read A Man of the Renaissance by Wyman Guin in his collection Beyond Bedlam - an absolutely superb story, brilliantly written and developed, with the writer's imagination in top flight. We don't hear much about Guin - is anyone familiar with his work?

 

[dask]

I'm positive I read the story "Beyond Bedlam" but can't recollect which anthology I read it in. It wasn't in the collection of the same name. I also have his novel THE STANDING JOY but haven't read it.

 

[dask]

Just checked my card catalog and found I have another Guin book, LIVING WAY OUT, purchased second hand in the early days so it's tucked away upstairs and don't know whether it's a novel or short story collection.

 

[Ian Whates]

I've been slowly reading (as with everything lately) Futures from Nature an anthology edited by Henry Gee which includes 100 short stories published in the magazine from 2001 to 2005. For stuff this short many are surprisingly good. The list is authors is a who's who of SF: Aldiss, Asher, Baxter, Bear, Benford, Clarke, Egan, Haldeman, Hamilton, Harrison, Kress, MacLeod, MacLeod, McDevitt, Moorcock, Pohl, Resnick, Rucker, Silverberg, Simmons and on and on it goes. Excellent choice if you like really short SF with an emphasis on S.

I agree, jojajihisc, this is an excellent anthology... and not just because there's one by me in there.

 

[blacknorth]

Just checked my card catalog and found I have another Guin book, LIVING WAY OUT, purchased second hand in the early days so it's tucked away upstairs and don't know whether it's a novel or short story collection.

My copy of Beyond Bedlam says it was originally published as Living Way Out - that's probably where you read the story. I'm about half way through - finished four stories thus far. Two long stories are outstanding, A Man of the Renaissance and The Delegate from Guapanga (astonishingly good - telepathic voting!). The two shorter stories were not so good. Which really makes me want to read the novel The Standing Joy because Guin really does seem in his element when he takes time to develop his material. Having said that, it seems quite hard to find.

Thanks for the info, dask, as ever.

 

[dask]

I think you're right, I just wish I had a more vivid memory of it. All I remember is that at one time I really liked him. When I can figure out how to get my new printer working I'll post my copy of THE STANDING JOY. Not the best copy around, looks like it's suffering from water damage or something.

 

[blacknorth]

I think you're right, I just wish I had a more vivid memory of it. All I remember is that at one time I really liked him. When I can figure out how to get my new printer working I'll post my copy of THE STANDING JOY. Not the best copy around, looks like it's suffering from water damage or something.

Beyond Bedlam is quite a complex story but very rewarding. I have a copy of The Standing Joy on order.

Last night attempted to read some John Varley stories but they didn't take with me at all. So for the time being I'm dipping into my old 30s volume, A Century of Creepy Stories, and my eye has fallen upon C.H.B. Kitchin.

 

[dask]

So for the time being I'm dipping into my old 30s volume, A Century of Creepy Stories, and my eye has fallen upon C.H.B. Kitchin.

Never heard of this. Is it as good as it sounds? Even if it isn't I'll keep my eye open. A title like that from the thirties is just too good to ignore.

 

[jojajihisc]

Last night attempted to read some John Varley stories but they didn't take with me at all.

Which ones did you try?

 

[blacknorth]

Never heard of this. Is it as good as it sounds? Even if it isn't I'll keep my eye open. A title like that from the thirties is just too good to ignore.

It's excellent - everyone is in there from Blackwood to Walpole. 1300 pages or so. There is a followup volume, A Second Century of Creepy Stories.