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The Infinite Arena: Seven Science Fiction Stories About Sports
Will there be sports in man's future? Science fiction says, "Well, yes and no." Yes, there will be sports-- of a sort. No, they won't necessarily be the same sports we know today. Editor Terry Carr has collected the views of seven science-fiction veterans on this subject and presents them here in an anthology about the ways in which men may compete in centuries to come. - In "Joy in Mudville,"the bear-faced natives of Toka defend their baseball championship of the Interbeing League. - In "Bullard Reflects," the Dazzle Dart champions turn their athletic gifts against a crew of murderous invaders. - In "The Body Builders," a fighter exchanges his own heavyweight frame for the body of a jockey, and is promptly challenged to fight. - In "The Great Kladnar Race," bored earthmen try to get up a morning line from among the low-slung, six-legged kladnars of Gornik VII. - In "Mr. Meek Plays Polo," a visitor to Saturn finds his game of space polo being masterminded by a group of educated bugs. - In "Sunjammer," space vehicles are powered only by their vast, mile-high plastic sails which are propelled by the sun. - In "Run to Starlight," earthling footballers are faced with a team of squat, super-powerful Brish-diri. Sports fans or not, readers will enjoy this engaging compendium--- fantastic athletes, frantic coaches, and all.
189 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1977
3 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Terry Carr
219 books31 followersCarr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley from 1954 to 1959.
Carr discovered science fiction fandom in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of fanzines, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. (He was one of the two fans responsible for the hoax fan 'Carl Brandon' after whom the Carl Brandon Society takes its name.) Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine (1959–1961, 1967–1968), winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer (1971–1973), winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at ConFederation in 1986.
Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at Ace Books, establishing the Ace Science Fiction Specials series which published, among other novels, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin.
After conflicts with Ace head Donald A. Wollheim, he worked as a freelancer. He edited an original story anthology series called Universe, and a popular series of The Best Science Fiction of the Year anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times (1973–1975, 1977–1979, 1981–1987), winning twice (1985 and 1987). His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won.
Carr taught at the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University in 1978, where his students included Richard Kadrey and Pat Murphy.
Carr discovered science fiction fandom in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of fanzines, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. (He was one of the two fans responsible for the hoax fan 'Carl Brandon' after whom the Carl Brandon Society takes its name.) Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine (1959–1961, 1967–1968), winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer (1971–1973), winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at ConFederation in 1986.
Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at Ace Books, establishing the Ace Science Fiction Specials series which published, among other novels, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin.
After conflicts with Ace head Donald A. Wollheim, he worked as a freelancer. He edited an original story anthology series called Universe, and a popular series of The Best Science Fiction of the Year anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times (1973–1975, 1977–1979, 1981–1987), winning twice (1985 and 1987). His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won.
Carr taught at the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University in 1978, where his students included Richard Kadrey and Pat Murphy.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 17, 2020
There have been a lot of themed anthologies containing stories about sports and games, but Carr published one of the first with The Infinite Arena. The book contains seven stories, ranging from first publication in 1941 to 1974. I enjoyed the Malcolm Jameson and Arthur C. Clarke stories, as well as the very amusing Mr. Meek Plays Polo by Clifford D. Simak. Carr's introduction to George R.R. Martin's football story, Run to Starlight, calls him a young man who has reached the top in just a few years... makes me feel old. My favorite story is the Hoka story by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson, Joy in Mudville, a baseball story based on the famous poem. It's a real delight for baseball fans. Casey finds redemption after all these years...
June 15, 2016
This anthology of seven science fiction short stories involving sports was published in 1977. It is really a throwback to a more innocent time. Although some of the stories are quite compelling, they are all very tame by 2016 standards. No sex, extreme violence, or bad language. Very refreshing, really.
Wow, Arthur C. Clarke can really write. Sunjammer, about a race of sailing ships in space, is the best story in this anthology. The pacing, the narrative, and the ending all add up to a really fine short story. Published in 1964, it’s a great example of the imagination of science fiction writers before we walked on the moon.
My favorite after Sunjammer was Bullard Reflects by Malcolm James. Great buildup to a terrific ending. Bullard Reflects kept me guessing – I really wasn’t sure where it was going.
The most interesting thing about the George R.R. Martin story, Run to Starlight, is the introduction of the author as “a young man who has become one of the top writers of science in fiction in just a few years.” I think of Martin as a fantasy writer, but he is certainly a well-known writer today. It’s funny to imagine a world in the future where humans are playing human games against aliens, and the teams are still sponsored by companies like “Ken’s Computer Repair” and “Blastoff Inn.”
I very much enjoyed Clifford D. Simak’s Mr. Meek Plays Polo. Mr. Meek was an interesting and likeable anti-hero – bespectacled and elderly, with white hair and watery eyes - who triumphed in the end. And it includes bugs that solve mathematical problems!
The weakest story in my mind was the first, unfortunately. Even though Joy in Mudville by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson was about my favorite sport, baseball, I found it dull and too long. The Body Builders by Keith Laumer also did not do a lot for me. The Great Kladnar Race by Robert B. Silverberg and Randall Garrett was brief with a surprise ending but pretty forgettable.
Overall, a quick and enjoyable read, covering a variety of sports. If you like classic science fiction and sports, read it if you can get your hands on a copy.
Wow, Arthur C. Clarke can really write. Sunjammer, about a race of sailing ships in space, is the best story in this anthology. The pacing, the narrative, and the ending all add up to a really fine short story. Published in 1964, it’s a great example of the imagination of science fiction writers before we walked on the moon.
My favorite after Sunjammer was Bullard Reflects by Malcolm James. Great buildup to a terrific ending. Bullard Reflects kept me guessing – I really wasn’t sure where it was going.
The most interesting thing about the George R.R. Martin story, Run to Starlight, is the introduction of the author as “a young man who has become one of the top writers of science in fiction in just a few years.” I think of Martin as a fantasy writer, but he is certainly a well-known writer today. It’s funny to imagine a world in the future where humans are playing human games against aliens, and the teams are still sponsored by companies like “Ken’s Computer Repair” and “Blastoff Inn.”
I very much enjoyed Clifford D. Simak’s Mr. Meek Plays Polo. Mr. Meek was an interesting and likeable anti-hero – bespectacled and elderly, with white hair and watery eyes - who triumphed in the end. And it includes bugs that solve mathematical problems!
The weakest story in my mind was the first, unfortunately. Even though Joy in Mudville by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson was about my favorite sport, baseball, I found it dull and too long. The Body Builders by Keith Laumer also did not do a lot for me. The Great Kladnar Race by Robert B. Silverberg and Randall Garrett was brief with a surprise ending but pretty forgettable.
Overall, a quick and enjoyable read, covering a variety of sports. If you like classic science fiction and sports, read it if you can get your hands on a copy.
April 10, 2020
It is a shame that it kind of got lost, but I really liked the idea of this collection and the stories in it are awesome. They are cheeky, entertaining stories with great ideas linked to sports. The most interesting one was GRR Martin's; I wished he had written a Game of Thrones-style Space Opera setting, that would have been awesome. Clark's story is touching and wonderful to visualise in the mind. The book also made me buy a Poul Anderson book. I will check Carr's other anthologies, he knows how to do it.
The Sport/Sci-fi relation is an interesting one; the nature of sports is highly driven by technology too, so actually they are highly relevant. Thus, a sun sail race, space polo etc. are really interesting Sci-fi material.
The Sport/Sci-fi relation is an interesting one; the nature of sports is highly driven by technology too, so actually they are highly relevant. Thus, a sun sail race, space polo etc. are really interesting Sci-fi material.
December 16, 2025
I recently read Future Sports, edited by Gardner R. Dozois and Jack Dann, and wasn't happy with it. I stumbled across this one, published years before, and thought I'd give it a go, despite it being edited by Terry Carr. I usually don't like Terry Carr's anthologies, but this one was a pleasant surprise.
This book's most recent story was from 1974, so if you like your sci-fi more recent, then skip this. If you're interested in the history of sci-fi, want to read more than shoot 'em ups or New Wave (and have a laugh), then crack this open and enjoy. It's certainly more entertaining than watching real sports.
Selections:
* "Introduction" by Our Editor. Your basic two page introduction.
* "Joy in Mudville" by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson. This is part of a series the duo wrote about aliens called the Hoka who come from Toka ... the latter name giving a possible explanation for how this story came to be. This time around, the Hoka fad is for baseball. If you don't know anything about baseball AND do not know the poem "Casey At the Bat", skip. This does have some funny moments, but it really is about 10 pages too long.
* "Bullard Reflects" by Malcolm Jameson. This 1941 story is from the Space Patrol series, pulp fiction fun on a Mystery Science Theater 3000 level. The sport here is a modified football game called Dazzle Dart, which you really don't need to understand to get the goofiness.
* "The Body Builders" by Keith Laumer. A surprisingly humorous story about wearing bodies as if they were changes of clothes. The body models were based on celebrities of 1966, when this story was first published. One major quibble -- at the beginning of the novella, Our Protagonist is wearing an Eddie Arcaro (jockey) and loses a fist fight. The real Arcaro was incredibly strong (you have to be to control 1ooo pound Thoroughbreds gojng over 40 mph), and could've won in dirty street fighting against Sonny Liston.
* "The Great Kladnar Race" by Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett. Originally published under the pen name Robert Randall ... I think. Anyway, this is a short parody of horse racing, complete with a tote board, although these steeds seem more like giant, six-legged caterpillars.
* "Mr. Meek Plays Polo" by Clifford D. Simak. Part of a series of stories about Mr. Meek, where he gets scammed into coaching and playing space polo -- a game he only saw once as a youth. No horses were hurt in this, as space polo is played with spaceships. Although meant to be funny, trying to exterminate sentient insects was disturbing.
* "Sunjammer" by Arthur C. Clarke. Also published under the title "The Wind From the Sun." It's about sailboats racing in space, where ships sail the solar winds. Although racing hasn't happened yet, solar sails have become a reality. You can find this story in a zillion other anthologies.
* "Run to Starlight" by George R. R. Martin. Before he became famous for not writing fantasy, Martin wrote sci-fi. This 1974 effort is one of his least known sci-fi stories, about American football in the future, where an alien species decides to play. Odd to read in the intro of Martin being described as "a young man." I live in the greater Philadelphia area, so it was even older to have humans give the alien team the nickname of "Baldy Eagles" ... which was meant as an insult.
This book's most recent story was from 1974, so if you like your sci-fi more recent, then skip this. If you're interested in the history of sci-fi, want to read more than shoot 'em ups or New Wave (and have a laugh), then crack this open and enjoy. It's certainly more entertaining than watching real sports.
Selections:
* "Introduction" by Our Editor. Your basic two page introduction.
* "Joy in Mudville" by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson. This is part of a series the duo wrote about aliens called the Hoka who come from Toka ... the latter name giving a possible explanation for how this story came to be. This time around, the Hoka fad is for baseball. If you don't know anything about baseball AND do not know the poem "Casey At the Bat", skip. This does have some funny moments, but it really is about 10 pages too long.
* "Bullard Reflects" by Malcolm Jameson. This 1941 story is from the Space Patrol series, pulp fiction fun on a Mystery Science Theater 3000 level. The sport here is a modified football game called Dazzle Dart, which you really don't need to understand to get the goofiness.
* "The Body Builders" by Keith Laumer. A surprisingly humorous story about wearing bodies as if they were changes of clothes. The body models were based on celebrities of 1966, when this story was first published. One major quibble -- at the beginning of the novella, Our Protagonist is wearing an Eddie Arcaro (jockey) and loses a fist fight. The real Arcaro was incredibly strong (you have to be to control 1ooo pound Thoroughbreds gojng over 40 mph), and could've won in dirty street fighting against Sonny Liston.
* "The Great Kladnar Race" by Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett. Originally published under the pen name Robert Randall ... I think. Anyway, this is a short parody of horse racing, complete with a tote board, although these steeds seem more like giant, six-legged caterpillars.
* "Mr. Meek Plays Polo" by Clifford D. Simak. Part of a series of stories about Mr. Meek, where he gets scammed into coaching and playing space polo -- a game he only saw once as a youth. No horses were hurt in this, as space polo is played with spaceships. Although meant to be funny, trying to exterminate sentient insects was disturbing.
* "Sunjammer" by Arthur C. Clarke. Also published under the title "The Wind From the Sun." It's about sailboats racing in space, where ships sail the solar winds. Although racing hasn't happened yet, solar sails have become a reality. You can find this story in a zillion other anthologies.
* "Run to Starlight" by George R. R. Martin. Before he became famous for not writing fantasy, Martin wrote sci-fi. This 1974 effort is one of his least known sci-fi stories, about American football in the future, where an alien species decides to play. Odd to read in the intro of Martin being described as "a young man." I live in the greater Philadelphia area, so it was even older to have humans give the alien team the nickname of "Baldy Eagles" ... which was meant as an insult.
August 13, 2024
Overall: 4/5 stars
- Joy in Mudville by Poul Anderson & Gordon R. Dickson: 5/5
- Bullard Reflects by Malcolm Jameson: 3.5/5
- The Body Builders by Keith Laumer: 4/5
- The Great Kladnar Race by Robert Silverberg & Randall Garrett: 4/5
- Mr. Meek Plays Polo by Clifford D. Simak : 2/5
- Sunjammer by Arthur C. Clarke: 4/5
- Run to Starlight by George R. R. Martin: 4/5
The year of short story collections continues with The Infinite Arena, an anthology of sports-related sci-fi short fiction cobbled together in the late 70’s by editor Terry Carr. Overall, I really enjoyed this and felt it was one of the stronger collections I’ve read this year. It’s definitely interesting to read a lot of older stories and have blurbs that say things like calling George R.R. Martin a “young man” who has a promising sci-fi writing career ahead of him. Great job clocking that I guess though he’s known more for fantasy now.
The stories themselves are mostly great. Carr did a nice job collecting strong outings from some authors I’ve heard of and others I haven’t whether these were published before or were debuts in this anthology. “Joy in Mudville” was the standout for me, blending humor and sports shenanigans with surprisingly deep worldbuilding and some nice stakes to elevate it above a shallower comedic experience. It’s, for me at least, the quintessential short story: entertaining with plenty of meat to chew on while only having to commit for a shorter experience. It seems Anderson and Dickson wrote many short stories in this world, so I may seek out more.
Most of the other stories were similarly strong if not quite reaching the same heights. Martin’s “Run to Starlight” has some similar elements with aliens playing a human sport, and it did a good job staying faithful to American football while having fun with the alien stuff. “Sunjammer” by Arthur C. Clarke is probably the best written in terms of prose, though I was slightly disappointed by the ending. “The Body Builders” has aged a bit in its view of women and masculinity but was wildly entertaining and creative despite this. Finally, “The Great Kladnar Race” is a short, entertaining little race betting romp with some alien shenanigans that come back to rightfully bite the silly humans in their asses by the end.
Aside from these, the other two stories were definitely a bit weaker. I hate to put “Bullard Reflects” in this category because it wasn’t bad. It just kind of read like a typical pulpy military sci-fi adventure that only tied into the fictional sport it created a bit. Honestly, it read like a typical Star Trek story a bit. This probably impressed more back when it was first published. “Mr. Meek Plays Polo” was bad though. These characters are morons and not in the entertaining way. Their decisions make no sense to who they are as characters, and it all just turns into a jumbled mess. The main character of Mr. Meek is so weirdly inconsistent too that there was very little to latch onto. A shame as some of the sci-fi ideas and the world were somewhat interesting.
Overall, I think Carr did a great job wrangling 7 (mostly) entertaining stories together. This book can be purchased for pretty cheap used on Amazon, so give it a whirl. It’s got some really great quality stories for something that’s otherwise faded into the past.
- Joy in Mudville by Poul Anderson & Gordon R. Dickson: 5/5
- Bullard Reflects by Malcolm Jameson: 3.5/5
- The Body Builders by Keith Laumer: 4/5
- The Great Kladnar Race by Robert Silverberg & Randall Garrett: 4/5
- Mr. Meek Plays Polo by Clifford D. Simak : 2/5
- Sunjammer by Arthur C. Clarke: 4/5
- Run to Starlight by George R. R. Martin: 4/5
The year of short story collections continues with The Infinite Arena, an anthology of sports-related sci-fi short fiction cobbled together in the late 70’s by editor Terry Carr. Overall, I really enjoyed this and felt it was one of the stronger collections I’ve read this year. It’s definitely interesting to read a lot of older stories and have blurbs that say things like calling George R.R. Martin a “young man” who has a promising sci-fi writing career ahead of him. Great job clocking that I guess though he’s known more for fantasy now.
The stories themselves are mostly great. Carr did a nice job collecting strong outings from some authors I’ve heard of and others I haven’t whether these were published before or were debuts in this anthology. “Joy in Mudville” was the standout for me, blending humor and sports shenanigans with surprisingly deep worldbuilding and some nice stakes to elevate it above a shallower comedic experience. It’s, for me at least, the quintessential short story: entertaining with plenty of meat to chew on while only having to commit for a shorter experience. It seems Anderson and Dickson wrote many short stories in this world, so I may seek out more.
Most of the other stories were similarly strong if not quite reaching the same heights. Martin’s “Run to Starlight” has some similar elements with aliens playing a human sport, and it did a good job staying faithful to American football while having fun with the alien stuff. “Sunjammer” by Arthur C. Clarke is probably the best written in terms of prose, though I was slightly disappointed by the ending. “The Body Builders” has aged a bit in its view of women and masculinity but was wildly entertaining and creative despite this. Finally, “The Great Kladnar Race” is a short, entertaining little race betting romp with some alien shenanigans that come back to rightfully bite the silly humans in their asses by the end.
Aside from these, the other two stories were definitely a bit weaker. I hate to put “Bullard Reflects” in this category because it wasn’t bad. It just kind of read like a typical pulpy military sci-fi adventure that only tied into the fictional sport it created a bit. Honestly, it read like a typical Star Trek story a bit. This probably impressed more back when it was first published. “Mr. Meek Plays Polo” was bad though. These characters are morons and not in the entertaining way. Their decisions make no sense to who they are as characters, and it all just turns into a jumbled mess. The main character of Mr. Meek is so weirdly inconsistent too that there was very little to latch onto. A shame as some of the sci-fi ideas and the world were somewhat interesting.
Overall, I think Carr did a great job wrangling 7 (mostly) entertaining stories together. This book can be purchased for pretty cheap used on Amazon, so give it a whirl. It’s got some really great quality stories for something that’s otherwise faded into the past.
January 25, 2017
Science fiction, in a way, is a very broad genre, that can easily contain stories of other genres within itself. Thus space westerns, fantastic romance, star war novels and so forth. In this case, we have a sample of sports stories set in science fiction terms.
Lead batter in the lineup is “Joy in Mudville” by Poul Anderson & Gordon Dickson. It’s a Hoka story as the imaginative aliens that look like sentient teddy bears have taken up the sport of baseball. As is their wont, they have assumed the identities of fictional ballplayers of Earth, including the Mighty Casey, their best batter. Unfortunately, their latest opponents, the Sarenn Snakes, are masters of psychological warfare. Alexander Jones, the ambassador from Earth, must summon one of his rarely-appreciated talents to save the day. It’s all very silly.
“Bullard Reflects” by Malcolm Jameson begins with the Space Patrol celebrating the Jovian armistice with athletic contests, including the sport of Dazzle Dart, played with flashlights and mirrors. But it turns out not all the Jovians are honoring the armistice, and Captain Bullard’s Pollux is sent to track down diehards who’ve taken over an experimental weapons testing station. Things look dark for the Patrol when they are ambushed and disarmed, but Bullard figures out a way to make the situation a Dazzle Dart game…to the death! A fine bit of pulp writing, but Mr. Jameson piles the awesomeness of his heroes a shade high. Not only are they the fleet champions in Dazzle Dart, but are best at all the other athletic contests too, and the Pollux is the only ship in condition to fly when the crisis arises as all the others slacked off when peace was declared.
“The Body Builders” by Keith Laumer posits a future in which most people who can afford it store their physical bodies away and use humaniform robots by telepresence. Dueling has become a frequent occurrence thanks to the more or less disposable extra bodies, and the protagonist is a professional gladiator. Which is all well and good until he’s tricked into a duel in his weak “pretty boy” body used for dates, as opposed to the monstrosity he uses for combat. He sees no way out except to tarnish his honor temporarily in an effort to get to his backup bodies, but is eventually forced to resort to his original organic form–if this one dies, it’s curtains! Some of the celebrities name-dropped as body models are now obscure, which may make reading the story a chore for the young.
“The Great Kladnar Race” by Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett has Earthlings stuck on a backwater planet try to create some excitement by organizing a race of the local beasts of burden. The twist ending is one that could have been thwarted easily if any of the Earthlings had bothered to ask the natives relevant questions.
“Mr. Meek Plays Polo” by Clifford D. Simak involves space polo. Don’t know how that’s played? Neither does Mr. Meek, a retired bookkeeper now touring the Solar System in the spaceship it took him a lifetime to save up for. But he did see a game once, which is more than anyone else in the rowdy frontier of Saturn’s rings has to their credit. So when the radioactive moss harvesters are talked into a game by a social worker trying to civilize them, Mr. Meek is drafted as a coach for one team, and eventually a replacement player.
As you might guess from his name, Mr. Meek is a timid fellow who tries to explain the reality of the situation, but no one is listening until he is so riled up that he bets his ship on the contest. (Apparently, he keeps getting into this sort of situation.) Oh, and there’s an infestation of metal-eating bugs to deal with; that can’t be good. Things sort themselves out in the end.
“Sunjammer” by Arthur C. Clarke is more “hard” SF than most of the other stories, as solar yachts use the pressure of sunlight to have a race from Earth orbit to the Moon. One of the ships is manned by the inventor of solar sails, after decades of work finally able to compete; but this will be his last chance. Soon, solar flares will make it too dangerous to yacht, and he’ll be too old for the sport by the time it’s safe again. This one has a bittersweet ending.
“Run to Sunlight” by George R.R. Martin is comparatively light considering his reputation. A spaceport’s amateur football league is thrown into chaos when a team of heavy-worlders apply to play. The government doesn’t want the coordinator of the league to reject the application as they’re trying to keep a peace treaty going, and this is an obvious propaganda moment. But the aliens prove to have major advantages in the sport, and the war may start again if they can prove how weak the Earthling really are. Good use of strategizing and using strengths and weaknesses, but true victory goes to the person with their priorities straight.
I liked the Laumer and Clarke stories best. The stories were written from the 1940s to the 1970s, so there are none that feature female athletes, and the few women that do appear are largely useless in plot terms. (The Laumer story has the protagonist choosing between a young woman who hates artificial bodies but genuinely likes his personality and a flashier woman who wants to get married for a five-year trial period so she doesn’t have to work anymore.)
Recommended to fans of “strange sports” stories and fans of particular authors who haven’t seen these stories before. Check interlibrary loan or the finer used book stores.
For more pulp reviews, visit SKJAM! Reviews at http://www.skjam.com/tag/pulp/
Lead batter in the lineup is “Joy in Mudville” by Poul Anderson & Gordon Dickson. It’s a Hoka story as the imaginative aliens that look like sentient teddy bears have taken up the sport of baseball. As is their wont, they have assumed the identities of fictional ballplayers of Earth, including the Mighty Casey, their best batter. Unfortunately, their latest opponents, the Sarenn Snakes, are masters of psychological warfare. Alexander Jones, the ambassador from Earth, must summon one of his rarely-appreciated talents to save the day. It’s all very silly.
“Bullard Reflects” by Malcolm Jameson begins with the Space Patrol celebrating the Jovian armistice with athletic contests, including the sport of Dazzle Dart, played with flashlights and mirrors. But it turns out not all the Jovians are honoring the armistice, and Captain Bullard’s Pollux is sent to track down diehards who’ve taken over an experimental weapons testing station. Things look dark for the Patrol when they are ambushed and disarmed, but Bullard figures out a way to make the situation a Dazzle Dart game…to the death! A fine bit of pulp writing, but Mr. Jameson piles the awesomeness of his heroes a shade high. Not only are they the fleet champions in Dazzle Dart, but are best at all the other athletic contests too, and the Pollux is the only ship in condition to fly when the crisis arises as all the others slacked off when peace was declared.
“The Body Builders” by Keith Laumer posits a future in which most people who can afford it store their physical bodies away and use humaniform robots by telepresence. Dueling has become a frequent occurrence thanks to the more or less disposable extra bodies, and the protagonist is a professional gladiator. Which is all well and good until he’s tricked into a duel in his weak “pretty boy” body used for dates, as opposed to the monstrosity he uses for combat. He sees no way out except to tarnish his honor temporarily in an effort to get to his backup bodies, but is eventually forced to resort to his original organic form–if this one dies, it’s curtains! Some of the celebrities name-dropped as body models are now obscure, which may make reading the story a chore for the young.
“The Great Kladnar Race” by Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett has Earthlings stuck on a backwater planet try to create some excitement by organizing a race of the local beasts of burden. The twist ending is one that could have been thwarted easily if any of the Earthlings had bothered to ask the natives relevant questions.
“Mr. Meek Plays Polo” by Clifford D. Simak involves space polo. Don’t know how that’s played? Neither does Mr. Meek, a retired bookkeeper now touring the Solar System in the spaceship it took him a lifetime to save up for. But he did see a game once, which is more than anyone else in the rowdy frontier of Saturn’s rings has to their credit. So when the radioactive moss harvesters are talked into a game by a social worker trying to civilize them, Mr. Meek is drafted as a coach for one team, and eventually a replacement player.
As you might guess from his name, Mr. Meek is a timid fellow who tries to explain the reality of the situation, but no one is listening until he is so riled up that he bets his ship on the contest. (Apparently, he keeps getting into this sort of situation.) Oh, and there’s an infestation of metal-eating bugs to deal with; that can’t be good. Things sort themselves out in the end.
“Sunjammer” by Arthur C. Clarke is more “hard” SF than most of the other stories, as solar yachts use the pressure of sunlight to have a race from Earth orbit to the Moon. One of the ships is manned by the inventor of solar sails, after decades of work finally able to compete; but this will be his last chance. Soon, solar flares will make it too dangerous to yacht, and he’ll be too old for the sport by the time it’s safe again. This one has a bittersweet ending.
“Run to Sunlight” by George R.R. Martin is comparatively light considering his reputation. A spaceport’s amateur football league is thrown into chaos when a team of heavy-worlders apply to play. The government doesn’t want the coordinator of the league to reject the application as they’re trying to keep a peace treaty going, and this is an obvious propaganda moment. But the aliens prove to have major advantages in the sport, and the war may start again if they can prove how weak the Earthling really are. Good use of strategizing and using strengths and weaknesses, but true victory goes to the person with their priorities straight.
I liked the Laumer and Clarke stories best. The stories were written from the 1940s to the 1970s, so there are none that feature female athletes, and the few women that do appear are largely useless in plot terms. (The Laumer story has the protagonist choosing between a young woman who hates artificial bodies but genuinely likes his personality and a flashier woman who wants to get married for a five-year trial period so she doesn’t have to work anymore.)
Recommended to fans of “strange sports” stories and fans of particular authors who haven’t seen these stories before. Check interlibrary loan or the finer used book stores.
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February 9, 2020
I have had a long-time affection for Sci-Fi written before I was born. The stories included in this collection have original publication dates ranging across all decades from the 40s to the 70s. It was fun to read things all tied together with a common theme (sports) with a wide range of ideas and sensibilities. Several of these stories seem like very typical fare written to appeal to the magazine readers of the time, with cookie-cutter characters and cliched dialogue. I must say that Keith Laumers The Body Builders has some central elements that share an uncanny resemblance to what the 2009 movie Surrogates uses to base its plot on. Laumer deserves a credit!
Arthur C. Clarke's wonderful Sunjammer, originally published in 1964, stands head and shoulders above the rest of the collection.
Arthur C. Clarke's wonderful Sunjammer, originally published in 1964, stands head and shoulders above the rest of the collection.
November 30, 2012
Science fiction is ever mutable and variable, encompassing many fields of thought, science and human interest. That is never more so in evidence than in “The Infinite Arena” where nine different notable writers bring their knowledge or quirky curiosity into the modified warfare that is the sports circle. Whether played on a field or in open space, the thrill of (mostly) bloodless competition is brought palpably alive by famous authors such as Poul Anderson, Robert Silverberg, Arthur C. Clark, et al.
This anthology of short stories is fun to read and genuinely engrossing. Whether you care for sports or not, “The Infinite Arena” is definitely worth a look.
This anthology of short stories is fun to read and genuinely engrossing. Whether you care for sports or not, “The Infinite Arena” is definitely worth a look.
June 1, 2010
Seven stories ... 3 of the 4 stories were excellent : "Sunjammer" by Arthur C. Clarke, "Run to Starlight" by George R. R. Martin and "Joy in Mudville" by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson. The other four stories were OK.
August 6, 2013
3 of the 7 stories are pretty good: Bullard Reflects, The Great Kladnar Race, and Sunjammer. The Body Builders is ok. Joy in Mudville is pretty bland.
If you read anything from here, read Starjammer by Clarke. The rest are probably hit or miss depending on personal tastes.
If you read anything from here, read Starjammer by Clarke. The rest are probably hit or miss depending on personal tastes.
November 29, 2014
This was a good book and played out like an old Twilight zone episode. I recommend it as you will enjoy this fun quirky read.
Mr. Joe
Mr. Joe
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