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The Night Shapes
When Kit Kennedy leads an expedition into the African jungle, he fights for his life against a powerful witch-priestess
- GenresScience FictionFiction
125 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
61 people want to read
About the author
James Blish
454 books327 followersJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling Jr.
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
In the late 1930's to the early 1940's, Blish was a member of the Futurians.
Blish trained as a biologist at Rutgers and Columbia University, and spent 1942–1944 as a medical technician in the U.S. Army. After the war he became the science editor for the Pfizer pharmaceutical company. His first published story appeared in 1940, and his writing career progressed until he gave up his job to become a professional writer.
He is credited with coining the term gas giant, in the story "Solar Plexus" as it appeared in the anthology Beyond Human Ken, edited by Judith Merril. (The story was originally published in 1941, but that version did not contain the term; Blish apparently added it in a rewrite done for the anthology, which was first published in 1952.)
Blish was married to the literary agent Virginia Kidd from 1947 to 1963.
From 1962 to 1968, he worked for the Tobacco Institute.
Between 1967 and his death from lung cancer in 1975, Blish became the first author to write short story collections based upon the classic TV series Star Trek. In total, Blish wrote 11 volumes of short stories adapted from episodes of the 1960s TV series, as well as an original novel, Spock Must Die! in 1970 — the first original novel for adult readers based upon the series (since then hundreds more have been published). He died midway through writing Star Trek 12; his wife, J.A. Lawrence, completed the book, and later completed the adaptations in the volume Mudd's Angels.
Blish lived in Milford, Pennsylvania at Arrowhead until the mid-1960s. In 1968, Blish emigrated to England, and lived in Oxford until his death in 1975. He is buried in Holywell Cemetery, Oxford, near the grave of Kenneth Grahame.
His name in Greek is Τζέημς Μπλις"
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 19, 2015
This author was unknown to me until I scored a bunch of his books (with original artwork covers) at a flea market. I have quickly become a fan of his writing. The first outing: ‘The Night Shapes.’ Very un-PC for our day, (published in 1962), even then dinosaurs-in-the-dark-heart-of-Africa weren't exactly a new idea; but this forgotten novel from an almost forgotten master is good fun and more intelligent than most outings of the sort (think: similar to ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth'). There are some visceral and detailed descriptions of the African landscape—and who doesn’t like a lost valley full of cannibals and dinosaurs? Action, adventure and a tempestuous but sort-of friendly boa constrictor. I love it that the author felt compelled to include a glossary of African words and phrases. As if we haven’t seen all those movies from the 50’s. Right bwanna?
October 26, 2025
Honestly, this work isn’t as compelling as other science fiction about dinosaurs or prehistoric creatures. The jungle adventure is engaging and strongly reveals how a white writer of the time viewed the forest and the people within it—whom he had never truly encountered or understood. The depiction of the jungle and its landscape is also appealing: vivid and sensory. However, when it comes to the core of the story—namely the monsters or indescribable beings—the narrative rather falls flat. The creatures end up serving mostly as a backdrop to fairly ordinary colonial and extractive conflicts, with characters whose moral compasses tend to jump about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2022
This is my first time reading James Blish and I was, to the very least, entertained by this novella. "The Night Shapes" was one of his earlier sci-fi novels before he focused on Star Trek.
If you are interested in reading old sci-fi works, I say give this one a try. But, written in 1962 and the story is set in Africa during the time of colonialism, this book has select words that modern readers will definitely find offensive.
If you are interested in reading old sci-fi works, I say give this one a try. But, written in 1962 and the story is set in Africa during the time of colonialism, this book has select words that modern readers will definitely find offensive.
March 23, 2025
It's not surprising that this seems to be one of the least known books by Blish.
It written in what, by modern standard, is a very poor choice of language regarding races, and it lacks the modernity of most of the author's books - indeed, had I read this title 'ten James Blish books ago', I would have doubted said authorship.
"The Night Shape" is a curious beast. Michael Crichton MUST have read it, as it blends together elements from three of his works: Congo, Jurassic Park, and The eaters of the dead.
At the same time, Blish has at least three major inspirations dating back to the turn of the century: Tarzan (and we know he loved at least his John Carter of Mars), The Lost World by Conan Doyle, and a bunch of stuff from Rider Haggard (who is mentioned in the book). The setting and the style itself confirm this.
Anyway, there is a lot to be loved in this little book even today.
Kit/Ktendi is an interesting, well rounded character, with a haunting past (memorable the passages where it blends with his present reality), many skills and a good dose of luck, and he bridges the world of the Western man with the African man perfectly, unhesitantly favouring the latter all the time. Indeed, the respect that he feels for the African civilization is nothing short of exceptional for his era, but this is made perfectly believable throughout the plot.
It's the nail on the coffin for anyone who could ever believe that Blish had any racist bias after all (in another story, set in the far future, he made one of the characters say that there was a time when, ridiculously, men discriminated other men because of their complexion), and the blow is not softened by the classic literary device of using a white man in the African jungle, as he does not think of himself as white - he is white only because the author's public was white, and not because of any possible superiority, a concept that gets constantly ridiculed.
Certainly, Blish learned from John Carter of Mars' example, and improved on it by making his character a more conscientious hero, a notch above the typical, glorified Robinson Crusoe.
As often happens with sci-fi pulp titles, covers and synopsis of the book focus on the most marketable subject - this time around, dinosaurs. It turns out, this book does not focus on them. It's more an "adventure in dark Africa" kind of story.
Best character, of course, Manalendi, and we'll leave it at that.
Trigger warning: this is the only book by the author were I've read quite gruesome descriptions. If it's not for you, be ready to skip a few passages inherent mutilation, and something worse.
It written in what, by modern standard, is a very poor choice of language regarding races, and it lacks the modernity of most of the author's books - indeed, had I read this title 'ten James Blish books ago', I would have doubted said authorship.
"The Night Shape" is a curious beast. Michael Crichton MUST have read it, as it blends together elements from three of his works: Congo, Jurassic Park, and The eaters of the dead.
At the same time, Blish has at least three major inspirations dating back to the turn of the century: Tarzan (and we know he loved at least his John Carter of Mars), The Lost World by Conan Doyle, and a bunch of stuff from Rider Haggard (who is mentioned in the book). The setting and the style itself confirm this.
Anyway, there is a lot to be loved in this little book even today.
Kit/Ktendi is an interesting, well rounded character, with a haunting past (memorable the passages where it blends with his present reality), many skills and a good dose of luck, and he bridges the world of the Western man with the African man perfectly, unhesitantly favouring the latter all the time. Indeed, the respect that he feels for the African civilization is nothing short of exceptional for his era, but this is made perfectly believable throughout the plot.
It's the nail on the coffin for anyone who could ever believe that Blish had any racist bias after all (in another story, set in the far future, he made one of the characters say that there was a time when, ridiculously, men discriminated other men because of their complexion), and the blow is not softened by the classic literary device of using a white man in the African jungle, as he does not think of himself as white - he is white only because the author's public was white, and not because of any possible superiority, a concept that gets constantly ridiculed.
Certainly, Blish learned from John Carter of Mars' example, and improved on it by making his character a more conscientious hero, a notch above the typical, glorified Robinson Crusoe.
As often happens with sci-fi pulp titles, covers and synopsis of the book focus on the most marketable subject - this time around, dinosaurs. It turns out, this book does not focus on them. It's more an "adventure in dark Africa" kind of story.
Best character, of course, Manalendi, and we'll leave it at that.
Trigger warning: this is the only book by the author were I've read quite gruesome descriptions. If it's not for you, be ready to skip a few passages inherent mutilation, and something worse.
January 25, 2024
This slim paperback (my 1983 Avon edition is just 122 pages of text, plus a 3-page Appendix of Swahili terms) is a fix-up of two earlier pieces: "The Snake-Headed Spectre" originally published in 1949; and "Serpent's Fetish" from 1948. So far, so good. Blish often expanded shorter pieces into novels. (For example, see his award-winning novel A Case of Conscience.) Blish wrote only the second piece. His wife at the time, Virginia Kidd, wrote "The Snake-Headed Spectre." (For verification, check out the relevant entries at isfdb.org.) The problem is that Kidd is not credited either on the cover or on the copyright page.
Kidd is best remembered as a superlative literary agent--her list of clients reads like a who's who of SF authors, including, among others, Gene Wolfe, Anne McCaffrey, R. A. Lafferty, and Alan Dean Foster. And she was an accomplished writer in her own right. In fact, her part of The Night Shapes is by far the longer and better-written piece. (4 stars for her, 2 stars for Blish). It seems inexcusable that she receives no byline here.
Kidd is best remembered as a superlative literary agent--her list of clients reads like a who's who of SF authors, including, among others, Gene Wolfe, Anne McCaffrey, R. A. Lafferty, and Alan Dean Foster. And she was an accomplished writer in her own right. In fact, her part of The Night Shapes is by far the longer and better-written piece. (4 stars for her, 2 stars for Blish). It seems inexcusable that she receives no byline here.
November 13, 2024
Kit Kennedy is a European explorer who journeys through the Congo forest with his companion Tombu. The dark forest is ruled by spirits, shamans and black magic. Many parts of Africa are still unexplored and that is the dwelling place for the night shapes. I will not tell what the night shapes are because it will spoil the story. Kit runs into a python snake which he calls Manalendi and the snake follows him on his sojourn. Blish uses Swahili phrases throughout the book. He provides a small dictionary at the back of the book with definitions. This is not Blish's best work, see A Case of Conscious which is his best writing. Overall the book is decent read.
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August 25, 20101ST ARROW EDITION.
March 5, 2011
Grade C-
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews