The Mindworm

Papa Schimmelhorn #1-1

by Anonymous

7 • Not to Be Opened • (1950) • novelette by Peter Grainger [as by Roger Flint Young]
45 • The Santa Claus Planet • (1951) • novelette by Frank M. Robinson
69 • The Mindworm • (1950) • short story by C. M. Kornbluth [as by Cyril Kornbluth]
83 • Process • (1950) • short story by A. E. van Vogt
89 • Contagion • (1950) • novelette by Katherine MacLean
119 • Trespass • short fiction by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson [as by Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson]
138 • To Serve Man • (1950) • short story by Damon Knight
146 • Born of Man and Woman • (1950) • short story by Richard Matheson
149 • The Fox in the Forest • (1950) • short story by Ray Bradbury
164 • The Last Martian • (1950) • short story by Fredric Brown
173 • Two Face • (1950) • short story by Frank Belknap Long

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical, solid anthology of "golden age" science fiction from the 1950s. One genuine classic (Damon Knight's "To serve man'), plus a few more obscure works which deserve to be better known (mainly by well-known authors). Only one or two below par stories, out of the dozen or so in the book. Certainly worth investigating for the obscurities. Wavering between 3 and 4 stars, except the book itself is fairly cheaply put together - no intro or information about the stories, not even any indication of who the editor was. Most likely a "publisher's sampler" by Tandem of some of their better-known writers.

[Andrewcharles420 · Rating 3 out of 5]

11 short stories from an anonymous editor--Not to be Opened: An intuitively-clever builder notices future tech being crafted under his very nose. The Santa Claus Planet: A wasteful materialist alien culture requires overzealous gift giving. The Mindworm: vagrant serial-killer. Process: An intelligent forest(!!) (re-)discovers the nuclear chain reaction. Contagion: There's only one way to adapt human life to an alien planet... Trespass: Time-travel prevention field catches someone from the future. To Serve Man: Benevolent aliens give humanity peace and prosperity, but why? Born of Man and Woman:
monster in the basement. The Fox in the Forest: Time police chase suspects back in time. The Last Martian: Sad man at a bar thinks he contains a martian's spirit. Two Face: How to deal with aliens with two timed temperments.


A varied mix of stories, some good, some less so. Some so famous I'm more familiar with their parodies (namely 'to serve man' and 'born of man and woman' have both been done on The Simpsons). I thought the title story was stupid and predictable--To Serve Man should be the focus of this collection!