The Leech

by Robert Sheckley, Phillips Barbee (Pseudonym), Connell (Illustrator)

Short story that first appeared in the December 1952 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Horror

ebook

First published December 1, 1952

About the author

One of science fiction's great humorists, Sheckley was a prolific short story writer beginning in 1952 with titles including "Specialist", "Pilgrimage to Earth", "Warm", "The Prize of Peril", and "Seventh Victim", collected in volumes from Untouched by Human Hands (1954) to Is That What People Do? (1984) and a five-volume set of Collected Stories (1991). His first novel, Immortality, Inc. (1958), was followed by The Status Civilization (1960), Journey Beyond Tomorrow (1962), Mindswap (1966), and several others. Sheckley served as fiction editor for Omni magazine from January 1980 through September 1981, and was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001.

Reviews

[Chris Aldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat, for me , not only a new RS book but also a new source of audiobooks courtesy of a recommendation by my Goodreads pal-bots Akrabar, Isca Silurum, Dirk, and Jeremy ;). Ta.

[Louise Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated but excellent.

His premise that a vampire is a real being which simply wishes to feed and survive takes it out of the realm of magic and into science.

However, what he lost was the contract between the vampire and the host.

His leech is pure matter. There is no conversation about the soul.

[Katrina McCollough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid old-school sci-fi short.

[Akrabar · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeMmN...

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

✒️ The leech ate everything in its path – and not only vegetation! The dénouement is a shocker, yet I did have an inkling how this story would go.

📕Published — Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 5, No. 3, December 1952. In the public domain.
જ⁀🍋 Read on Project Gutenberg.
🎨 Illustrated.
༺༻༺༻ 💫🪐 ༺༻༺༻ 🪐 💫 ༺༻༺༻ 💫🪐 ༺༻༺༻

[Phil Giunta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A college professor's groundskeeper finds a strange rock while digging a ditch. The rock absorbs anything that touches it, including a sizable piece of the groundskeeper's shovel. The professor determines that the object is not a rock, but a lifeform that is consuming everything around it... and growing.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining listening 🎶🔰

Another will written fantasy space Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Robert Sheckley about a leech that falls on earth 🌎. Where it grows and grows out of control. The general wants to destroy it but is that the answer? I would highly recommend you give this novella a try and find out. Enjoy the adventure of novels 👍🔰 and books 📚. 2022 🗽😡🏠

[Alejandro Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short story about something that could happen and with an open ending that makes you think about rush human decisions.

[Timothy Morrison]

Yada yada bugger yada yada mass energy yada yada atomizer antigravity.

[EatCarbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun short story. Nothing groundbreaking. The themes are familiar. But it has that great Sheckley style.

[Forked Radish · Rating 4 out of 5]

It grew almost as malignantly as a government program.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scifi, short story by a master

[Morts. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The absurdity of cold war nuclear proliferation (written in the early fifties), insatiable, vampiric military expansionism, Multiple readings are possible for this one.

[Biblioworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Добротная SciFi в старом стиле.
Поскольку это рассказано на первых же страницах, думаю, не будет спойлером сказать, что речь о каком-то идеальном потребителе материи и энергии.
Непонятно, почему он не употребил на завтрак вообще всю вселенную.
Но в принципе, тут можно придумать различные объяснения. И общая стилистика выглядит старомодно комфортной, в стиле рассказов того времени, которых я перечитал немало в детстве.

Объем крайне небольшой, это рассказ.

[Katya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure, this tale is a bit cliched- the thing from outer space, the military man hellbent on destroying it, the aloof and usually squabbling group of scientists- but it still makes for a fun short read. An entertaining piece of sci fi from the 1950s!