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A Science Fiction Argosy
Contents include: Green Thoughts by John Collier / The Red Queen's Race by Isaac Asimov / The Cure by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore / Consider Her Ways by John Wyndham / An Ornament to His Profession by Charles L. Harness / The Third Level by Jack Finney / One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts by Shirley Jackson / Bernie the Faust by William Tenn / Light of Other Days by Bob Shaw / The Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith / Becalmed in Hell by Larry Niven / Apology to Inky by Robert M. Green / The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (novel) / Day Million by Frederik Pohl / Manna by Peter Phillips / Can You Feel Anything When I Do This? by Robert Sheckley / Somerset Dreams by Kate Wilhelm / He Walked around the Horses by H. Beam Piper / Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-Tah-Tee by Fritz Leiber / Sea Wrack by Edward Jesby / Man in His Time by Brian W. Aldiss / Four Brands of Impossible by Norman Kagan / Built Up Logically by Howard Schoenfeld / Judgment Day by L. Sprague de Camp / Journeys End by Poul Anderson / More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon (novel).
828 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
2 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Damon Knight
580 books97 followersDamon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 25, 2015
Fantastic collection of short stories, plus Bester's "Demolished Man" (5 stars) and Ted Sturgeon's "More than Human" (meh).
The gem is Charles L. Harness's "An Ornament to His Profession", the best SF short story you've never heard of. It also must be the only SF short story written by, and about, chemical patent attorneys. The law on which the story turns, I assure you, is accurate. And don't just believe me--my course in Patent Law was taught by the then US Commissioner of Patents. He gave an in-class final that he proctored. While we took the exam, I lent him my copy of "An Ornament to His Profession". He loved it; I got an "A".
The gem is Charles L. Harness's "An Ornament to His Profession", the best SF short story you've never heard of. It also must be the only SF short story written by, and about, chemical patent attorneys. The law on which the story turns, I assure you, is accurate. And don't just believe me--my course in Patent Law was taught by the then US Commissioner of Patents. He gave an in-class final that he proctored. While we took the exam, I lent him my copy of "An Ornament to His Profession". He loved it; I got an "A".
October 26, 2020
This is simply one of the best collections of classic science fiction ever published. It includes two classic novels in their entirety, The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester and More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon, as well as a couple of dozen short stories and novelettes by the masters of the genre. Writers such as Shirley Jackson and John Collier, known more in literary circles than for genre work, are joined with classic British writers such as John Wyndham and Bob Shaw, as well as classic golden age American writers like Isaac Asimov and L. Sprague DeCamp, modern writers like Kate Wilhelm and Larry Niven (remember the book appeared in 1972), and fan favorites like Cordwainer Smith and H. Beam Piper. And I didn't even mention Fritz Leiber or Poul Anderson or Frederik Pohl or Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore... It's a really superior survey of the first five decades or so of science fiction as an individual genre.
January 14, 2016
I have read many science fiction anthologies in the past couple of years. And I have read Damon Knight's book on writing lately. This book cements my positive regard for Damon Knight as a practitioner of anthology. This might be the best science fiction anthology I have ever read. It is light on conventional science fiction, not a lot of space travel for instance. But its exploration of what it means to be human is outstanding in a way that I did not expect.
There are two full novels among the stories in this book. One, "The Demolished Man", was very familiar to me and I knew its worth. The other, "More Than Human", was an eye-opener of the first order, and has made me want to learn more about Theodore Sturgeon.
I believe my favorite story in the book was "The Light of Other Days", by Bob Shaw. I had read some Bob Shaw before, and he did not stand out in my memory. And I have read a novel with this same title before, unrelated to this story, of course. But this story will break your heart.
If you get a chance to read this book, and if you love science fiction, unusual science fiction, give this one a try. It's different.
There are two full novels among the stories in this book. One, "The Demolished Man", was very familiar to me and I knew its worth. The other, "More Than Human", was an eye-opener of the first order, and has made me want to learn more about Theodore Sturgeon.
I believe my favorite story in the book was "The Light of Other Days", by Bob Shaw. I had read some Bob Shaw before, and he did not stand out in my memory. And I have read a novel with this same title before, unrelated to this story, of course. But this story will break your heart.
If you get a chance to read this book, and if you love science fiction, unusual science fiction, give this one a try. It's different.
July 30, 2014
This is an awesome book with old sci fi short stories. Half of them were enjoyable and the other half were excellent. I have devoted more than a year to this thick volume and I will keep it close to my bedside for many more years.
October 8, 2025
About 2007, I found a free copy of this. This is one of the very few science fiction anthologies that I've read at least twice, despite the small print and hefty weight. This was published in 1972, so predictions about great scientific discoveries or World War III happening by 1999 did make me wince. Although I loved science fiction movies and TV shows when I was a kid, I had a terrible time trying to read it. This argosy helped me see how how you could fall in love with science fiction in the printed form.
The only problem with it is that not all of the stories fit into the usual definition of science fiction. Several are more fantasy or horror. Back in 1972, the definition of science fiction seemed to be pretty broad. Remember, The Twilight Zone was often described as a science fiction show, when most of the stories clearly weren't.
It is amusing to read that everyone smoked ... although it's not always clear what was being smoked. Men on Earth almost always wore hats, and most women wore dresses or skirts.
Selections:
Part One
* "Introduction" by Damon Knight. Here, he gives a reason why he bothered making this anthology.
* "Green Thoughts" by John Collier. This is a parody of an obscure H. G. Wells' story, "The Flowering of a Stranfe Orchid", but you don't need to read that to understand this. It's a blend of horror and sci-fi, about an orchid collector ... although he's nowhere near as smart as Nero Wolfe.
* "The Red Queen's Race" by Isaac Asimov. The corpse of a brilliant scientist is discovered in a nuclear power plant. This story has popped up in several anthologies, for a good reason.
* "The Cure" by Harry Kuttner & C. L. Moore. A successful 20th century New Yorker keeps having a powerful hallucination.
* "Consider Her Ways" by John Wyndham. This was about parthenogenesis ... written in 1956. Since then, many more species have been discovered to reproduce this way.
* "An Ornament to His Profession" by Charles L. Harness. A complicated retelling of Faust, which makes more sense the older you get.
* "The Third Level" by Jack Finney. J. K. Rowling wasn't the first writer to imply that there is a magical part to train stations.
* "One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts" by Shirley Jackson. Yes, that Shirley Jackson. This is a horror/fantasy story without any sci-fi. It's one of the weakest in the anthology.
* "Bernie the Faust" by William Tenn (real name Philip J. Klass). Yes, another Faust reference, but an extremely loose and darkly funny retelling.
* "Light of Other Days" by Bob Shaw. One of the most memorable and chilling stories in the anthology. It's sci-fi at it's best, where it combines a new technology with old human problems.
* "The Game of Rat and Dragon" by Cordwainer Smith. Out of the entire anthology, this is the story I remember best. A brilliant story of war in space by a brilliant writer. Highly recommended for cat lovers.
* "Becalmed In Hell" by Larry Niven. Two astronauts are in deep trouble when their ship mysteriously fails to work during an assignment to Venus.
* "Apology to Inky" by Robert M. Green, Jr. This is a fantasy, not science fiction, story I both love and hate. If you love dogs, it's a real punch to the gut.
* The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. Yup. The whole novel. It's the 2300's, and society is still ruled by the super rich ... and telepaths, or "peepers." Very playful and inventive use of language here.
Part Two
* "Day Million" by Frederick Pohl. The happiest love story you'll ever read.
* "Manna" by Peter Phillips. It's the Miracle Meal! Futuristic technology meets two ghosts of monks.
* "Can You Feel Anything When I Do This" by Robert Sheckley. A robot made by GE falls in love with a woman. Sure to piss off feminists, but it's a story about humanity in general.
* "Somerset Dreams" by Kate Wilhelm. This is written in a trippy, dream-like way. The Somerset is in America, not England. This is one of Wilhelm's most famous stories, but not one of her best.
* "He Walked Around the Horses" by H. Beam Piper. An alternative world thing, set in 1809. Nothing really about horses.
* "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum ..." by Fritz Lieber. I ain't typing all of that title, Fritz. Set sometime when Salvador Dali was alive (because he appears here), the ultimate earworm is unleashed on the world.
* "Sea Wrack" by Edward Jesby. Set in the future, but the 1% still rule the world, just in a different fashion. Some people have given up living on land and return to the sea, hunting and planning.
* "Man In His Time" by Brian W. Aldis. The only astronaut survivor on a mission to Mars returns to Earth, where he lives about three and a half minutes ahead of time than anyone else, including his tortured wife.
* "Four Brands of Impossible" by Norman Kagan. This is another one of those stories that made more sense to me as I got older. A mathematics professional graduate student unexpectedly gets involved in a summer job that he later realizes will make him obsolete. This isn't just a cynical look at science, but the agony of aging. The story is set in the 1980s. Kagan didn't correctly predict the technology of that decade, but was spot on capturing the arrogance and selfishness that many successful Americans had. For all my nostalgia of it, the 1980s was when it all started to go to hell.
* "Built Up Logically" by Howard Schoenfeld. I'm a failed writer, so I loved this genuinely amusing story about who really writes stories ... science fiction or otherwise.
* "Judgement Day" by L. Sprauge de Camp. Although best known for his funny fantasies, de Camp shows an insightful and serious side here. It won't be God judging you on Judgement Day, but a middle-aged scientist, abused and bullied all of his life.
* "Journey's End" by Poul Anderson. A lonely telepath goes looking for love. Much different, though equally brilliant story than Bester's novel.
* More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. Yes -- another whole novel.
The only problem with it is that not all of the stories fit into the usual definition of science fiction. Several are more fantasy or horror. Back in 1972, the definition of science fiction seemed to be pretty broad. Remember, The Twilight Zone was often described as a science fiction show, when most of the stories clearly weren't.
It is amusing to read that everyone smoked ... although it's not always clear what was being smoked. Men on Earth almost always wore hats, and most women wore dresses or skirts.
Selections:
Part One
* "Introduction" by Damon Knight. Here, he gives a reason why he bothered making this anthology.
* "Green Thoughts" by John Collier. This is a parody of an obscure H. G. Wells' story, "The Flowering of a Stranfe Orchid", but you don't need to read that to understand this. It's a blend of horror and sci-fi, about an orchid collector ... although he's nowhere near as smart as Nero Wolfe.
* "The Red Queen's Race" by Isaac Asimov. The corpse of a brilliant scientist is discovered in a nuclear power plant. This story has popped up in several anthologies, for a good reason.
* "The Cure" by Harry Kuttner & C. L. Moore. A successful 20th century New Yorker keeps having a powerful hallucination.
* "Consider Her Ways" by John Wyndham. This was about parthenogenesis ... written in 1956. Since then, many more species have been discovered to reproduce this way.
* "An Ornament to His Profession" by Charles L. Harness. A complicated retelling of Faust, which makes more sense the older you get.
* "The Third Level" by Jack Finney. J. K. Rowling wasn't the first writer to imply that there is a magical part to train stations.
* "One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts" by Shirley Jackson. Yes, that Shirley Jackson. This is a horror/fantasy story without any sci-fi. It's one of the weakest in the anthology.
* "Bernie the Faust" by William Tenn (real name Philip J. Klass). Yes, another Faust reference, but an extremely loose and darkly funny retelling.
* "Light of Other Days" by Bob Shaw. One of the most memorable and chilling stories in the anthology. It's sci-fi at it's best, where it combines a new technology with old human problems.
* "The Game of Rat and Dragon" by Cordwainer Smith. Out of the entire anthology, this is the story I remember best. A brilliant story of war in space by a brilliant writer. Highly recommended for cat lovers.
* "Becalmed In Hell" by Larry Niven. Two astronauts are in deep trouble when their ship mysteriously fails to work during an assignment to Venus.
* "Apology to Inky" by Robert M. Green, Jr. This is a fantasy, not science fiction, story I both love and hate. If you love dogs, it's a real punch to the gut.
* The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. Yup. The whole novel. It's the 2300's, and society is still ruled by the super rich ... and telepaths, or "peepers." Very playful and inventive use of language here.
Part Two
* "Day Million" by Frederick Pohl. The happiest love story you'll ever read.
* "Manna" by Peter Phillips. It's the Miracle Meal! Futuristic technology meets two ghosts of monks.
* "Can You Feel Anything When I Do This" by Robert Sheckley. A robot made by GE falls in love with a woman. Sure to piss off feminists, but it's a story about humanity in general.
* "Somerset Dreams" by Kate Wilhelm. This is written in a trippy, dream-like way. The Somerset is in America, not England. This is one of Wilhelm's most famous stories, but not one of her best.
* "He Walked Around the Horses" by H. Beam Piper. An alternative world thing, set in 1809. Nothing really about horses.
* "Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum ..." by Fritz Lieber. I ain't typing all of that title, Fritz. Set sometime when Salvador Dali was alive (because he appears here), the ultimate earworm is unleashed on the world.
* "Sea Wrack" by Edward Jesby. Set in the future, but the 1% still rule the world, just in a different fashion. Some people have given up living on land and return to the sea, hunting and planning.
* "Man In His Time" by Brian W. Aldis. The only astronaut survivor on a mission to Mars returns to Earth, where he lives about three and a half minutes ahead of time than anyone else, including his tortured wife.
* "Four Brands of Impossible" by Norman Kagan. This is another one of those stories that made more sense to me as I got older. A mathematics professional graduate student unexpectedly gets involved in a summer job that he later realizes will make him obsolete. This isn't just a cynical look at science, but the agony of aging. The story is set in the 1980s. Kagan didn't correctly predict the technology of that decade, but was spot on capturing the arrogance and selfishness that many successful Americans had. For all my nostalgia of it, the 1980s was when it all started to go to hell.
* "Built Up Logically" by Howard Schoenfeld. I'm a failed writer, so I loved this genuinely amusing story about who really writes stories ... science fiction or otherwise.
* "Judgement Day" by L. Sprauge de Camp. Although best known for his funny fantasies, de Camp shows an insightful and serious side here. It won't be God judging you on Judgement Day, but a middle-aged scientist, abused and bullied all of his life.
* "Journey's End" by Poul Anderson. A lonely telepath goes looking for love. Much different, though equally brilliant story than Bester's novel.
* More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. Yes -- another whole novel.
September 14, 2025
The older stories (1930s to mid 50s) were somehow less painfully dated- the "newer" (from the late 50s to mid 1960s) stories were clearly written in what I guess would be the Atomic Age and are filled with worries about bombs, The Russians, Communism, and eeek: ...marijuana. There's plenty of the expected casual sexism and racism from many of the authors that's meant to be 'complementary' if that makes sense. [eg: "Look, a *woman* space leader! With an 'ethnic' sounding name! She made it, boys!"]
But: the stories are varied and most of them are still good, even if it's in a time-capsule kind of way. I got the feeling that the editor really cared about sci-fi and wanted showcase authors with talent and imagination... and Theodore Sturgeon. eugh
But: the stories are varied and most of them are still good, even if it's in a time-capsule kind of way. I got the feeling that the editor really cared about sci-fi and wanted showcase authors with talent and imagination... and Theodore Sturgeon. eugh
April 23, 2025
A hit-and-miss 800-page science fiction anthology published in 1972. Mostly short stories, but includes two novellas.
Some of my favorites included:
The Third Level
Bernie the Faust
Light of Other Days
The Game of Rat and Dragon
He Walked Around the Horses
Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-Tah-Tee
Journey's End
More Than Human
Some of my favorites included:
The Third Level
Bernie the Faust
Light of Other Days
The Game of Rat and Dragon
He Walked Around the Horses
Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-Tah-Tee
Journey's End
More Than Human
June 28, 2010
A hefty anthology. My version was published in 1972. Book 1 contains science fiction by such writers as Isaac Asimov, John Wyndham, Cordwainer Smith, Larry Niven, and Alfred Bester. There are some classics here, such as Bester's "The Demolished Man."
Book 2? Authors include Frederick Pohl, Kate Wilhelm, Fritz Leiber, Brian Aldiss, L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson, and Theodore Sturgeon.
A nice compilation of sci-fi stories!
Book 2? Authors include Frederick Pohl, Kate Wilhelm, Fritz Leiber, Brian Aldiss, L. Sprague de Camp, Poul Anderson, and Theodore Sturgeon.
A nice compilation of sci-fi stories!
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August 22, 2008A Science Fiction Argosy by Damon knight (1972)
September 12, 2009
This collection of science fiction stories, novellae and novels edited by Damon Knight is a cut above average and spans several decades.
September 9, 2011
From one of the genre's best editors, this is worthy if somewhat eclectic collection of short stories and novellas. John Collier's "Green Thoughts" is an interesting inclusion.
January 7, 2015
Great compendium of classic sf stories. Picked it up at the Last Bookstore in L.A. for a song. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews