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The Worlds of If
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24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1935
About the author
Stanley G. Weinbaum
395 books78 followersFull name: Stanley Grauman Weinbaum.
"In his short career, Stanley G. Weinbaum revolutionized science fiction. We are still exploring the themes he gave us." —Poul Anderson
"Stanley G. Weinbaum's name deserves to rank with those of Wells and Heinlein—and no more than a handful of others—as among the great shapers of modern science fiction." —Frederik Pohl
"In his short career, Stanley G. Weinbaum revolutionized science fiction. We are still exploring the themes he gave us." —Poul Anderson
"Stanley G. Weinbaum's name deserves to rank with those of Wells and Heinlein—and no more than a handful of others—as among the great shapers of modern science fiction." —Frederik Pohl
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 15, 2020
An interesting twist on time travel stories
Time travel of a sort, romance and, of course, a conundrum. A protagonist who is always late finds romance.
Weinbaum published his first story in July 1934. He wrote several more but died in 1935. A crater on Mars is named in his honor.
Time travel of a sort, romance and, of course, a conundrum. A protagonist who is always late finds romance.
Weinbaum published his first story in July 1934. He wrote several more but died in 1935. A crater on Mars is named in his honor.
April 2, 2020
Ah, the curse of always being late.
Sideways in time? The fascination with time travel waxes and wanes in sci fi. One wonders if you could see sideways in time could you collect scandals that are revealed by accident?
Sideways in time? The fascination with time travel waxes and wanes in sci fi. One wonders if you could see sideways in time could you collect scandals that are revealed by accident?
October 3, 2023
This is the first short story of Stanley G. Weinbaum that I have read but it certainly shan't be the last. Following this moving vintage sci-fi tale of poor timekeeping and missed opportunities, I shall definitely keep reading.
The Worlds of If is a simple and dated tale: an early 20th Century writer's vision of the distant future (the 2010s). Nevertheless it's such a joy to discover a golden age science fiction author who writes charming characters.
Dixon Wells is a young businessman who is late for all occasions until the day he makes a chance encounter with his old professor Haskel van Manderpootz. As it happens, the vain genius scientist has created the subjunctivisor, a way of looking into alternate realities based on personal experiences. Applying the Horsten psychomat, a pre-existing device which offers minds a canvas to replay their memories, Manderpootz helps Wells see what would have happened on seemingly important occasions where he was tardy.
As one might expect from classic sci-fi, this leads to a lucky break but also a missed connection. Indeed The Worlds of If ends with surprising action followed by bitter irony. It's a cautionary tale that goes places.
Perhaps I'm trying to nourish a discovery that feels uniquely personal, but reading Weinbaum's weird yet human storytelling makes me excited. This tale alone suggests that Weinbaum is a writer unfairly neglected by the speculative fiction community. He seems to deserve remembering just as much as the likes of Burroughs and Wells. As I continue to read his back catalogue, I hope to find more reasons to champion this writer.
In the meantime, I recommend The Worlds of If to anyone who enjoys a slightly naive but still vibrant tale exploring what could have been.
The Worlds of If is a simple and dated tale: an early 20th Century writer's vision of the distant future (the 2010s). Nevertheless it's such a joy to discover a golden age science fiction author who writes charming characters.
Dixon Wells is a young businessman who is late for all occasions until the day he makes a chance encounter with his old professor Haskel van Manderpootz. As it happens, the vain genius scientist has created the subjunctivisor, a way of looking into alternate realities based on personal experiences. Applying the Horsten psychomat, a pre-existing device which offers minds a canvas to replay their memories, Manderpootz helps Wells see what would have happened on seemingly important occasions where he was tardy.
As one might expect from classic sci-fi, this leads to a lucky break but also a missed connection. Indeed The Worlds of If ends with surprising action followed by bitter irony. It's a cautionary tale that goes places.
Perhaps I'm trying to nourish a discovery that feels uniquely personal, but reading Weinbaum's weird yet human storytelling makes me excited. This tale alone suggests that Weinbaum is a writer unfairly neglected by the speculative fiction community. He seems to deserve remembering just as much as the likes of Burroughs and Wells. As I continue to read his back catalogue, I hope to find more reasons to champion this writer.
In the meantime, I recommend The Worlds of If to anyone who enjoys a slightly naive but still vibrant tale exploring what could have been.
November 29, 2016
When I added this to iBooks from Gutenberg, I thought, with that title, it was a collection of stories. But this is a single story about the “subjunctivisor”, a Calvin & Hobbes-ish device that, rather than allowing time travel, allows viewing of alternate time paths. “What if” I did that instead of this? The subjunctivisor will let you see it!
The inventor’s motto: “it might have been— worse!”
Weinbaum milks this for the humor of it—the main character is always late, and so people wonder, what if he’d been on time for various things.
Interestingly, the story takes place almost in the present: about 2022, that is, eight years since 2014, so all of the dates match of up with recent years. He was in college in 2014; there was the Pacific War of 2004, the Crash of 2010. It’s always weird reading old science fiction stories set far into the future of years that have long-since past; it’s weirder reading one that’s set in what is now the present.
The inventor’s motto: “it might have been— worse!”
Weinbaum milks this for the humor of it—the main character is always late, and so people wonder, what if he’d been on time for various things.
Interestingly, the story takes place almost in the present: about 2022, that is, eight years since 2014, so all of the dates match of up with recent years. He was in college in 2014; there was the Pacific War of 2004, the Crash of 2010. It’s always weird reading old science fiction stories set far into the future of years that have long-since past; it’s weirder reading one that’s set in what is now the present.
November 22, 2017
Absolutely loved the professor, he made the book. The rest of the book was very ..meh. Ending was extremely rushed.
September 7, 2018
More of a short story than an actual book, but it was funny as hell! Good story, and a super fast read. 10/10 would recommend.
July 22, 2026
The is the Best of the Three Dixon Wells has a Hard-On Stories.
Hard-On # 1 - The Dead Girl
In this story H. van VanderPoop, (whose Ego is His own Permanent Hard-On), has Invented the Subjunctivizor, a Machine that allows a Viewer to "See Sideways in Time". Simply because it's easy to do.
Moving in Time into the Future takes Too Much Energy to Move Forward even a Second. While to Move into the Past would take More Energy than will ever exist in the Entire Life Span of the Universe. It's all just Relative in a Time/Space sense. Or at least Conditional.
So Sideways it is, into The Worlds of If, Relatively Speaking. And the Relative Mind of the Viewer is what furnishes the Background of Their Past upon which He will see His Own Personal "Worlds of If" inside the Subjunctivisor. Future Possibilities upon the Path the Life of Dixon Wells Could Have Taken. If Only He hadn't been Five Minutes late and missed Passage on the Transport Rocket the "Baikal". Which had Crashed while in flight, leaving only 100 Survivors of the 500 Passengers Aboard. (It's always He in a S.G.W. story, btw.)
So this brings Us to the story of Dixon "Dick" Wells' Hard-On. (Everyone calls Him Dick for shortness, btw.)
Upon His first Viewing through The Subjunctivizer, He is Semi-Erect as He sees what a Possible Future could have been like with His Old Flame, Whimsy White, erstwhile star of television and premiere of the "Vision Varieties of '09." She who has now become Fat and Bitchy. Frustrated with His Golf Game, He realizes it was just a Premature Ejaculation.
And then He meets the Siver-Eyed, Love of His Life, Joanna Caldwell. Full on Hard-On here.
Upon His Second Viewing into the Subjunctivisor, He sees what His Possible Future could have been like If.....He had only been hard On Time and was on the Baikal when it crashed.
He would have met Siver-Eyed Joanna Caldwell, wanna be Art Student, on Her way to Paris to jump start Her Career. Dick and Jo meet Onboard during the flight, Dick falls Passionately in Love with Her Eyes....And they Both Die when the Rocket Crashes. [Sob!]
And Dick Wells is distraught because He is now Madly in Love with a Dead Girl.
But in The Real World, where Dick Wells was late for the Flight of the Baikal...Joanna Caldwell Survived the Crash, rescued by Intrepid Onboard Navigator, and All-Round-Hero, Orris Hope. A Real Man's Man. And Dick is ecstatic until He discovers that Joanna Caldwell, recognizing that Orris Hope is a Manly Man, falls in Love with Him and they are now Married.
And thus this is how All these Dick's Hard-On Stories End. With Dick being Cock-Blocked by Marriage.
So....dispite the Heartbreak, I actually Liked this story in a way. It has a Solid Narrative that is Reflective of a typical Harlequin Romance Story. Except for the Subverted Expectations of the Unfulfilled Ending. No Happy Ever After for Dick here.
And as an Aside.....speaking of Hard-Ons......S.G.W. has a real Hard-On for The Mircle of Atomic Energy. It's His Real Wonder Drug for the Possibilties of Unlimited, Clean Power in the Future. With no fear of Radiation to Cock-Block that Dream. Oh.....If Only If!
Hard-On # 1 - The Dead Girl
In this story H. van VanderPoop, (whose Ego is His own Permanent Hard-On), has Invented the Subjunctivizor, a Machine that allows a Viewer to "See Sideways in Time". Simply because it's easy to do.
Moving in Time into the Future takes Too Much Energy to Move Forward even a Second. While to Move into the Past would take More Energy than will ever exist in the Entire Life Span of the Universe. It's all just Relative in a Time/Space sense. Or at least Conditional.
So Sideways it is, into The Worlds of If, Relatively Speaking. And the Relative Mind of the Viewer is what furnishes the Background of Their Past upon which He will see His Own Personal "Worlds of If" inside the Subjunctivisor. Future Possibilities upon the Path the Life of Dixon Wells Could Have Taken. If Only He hadn't been Five Minutes late and missed Passage on the Transport Rocket the "Baikal". Which had Crashed while in flight, leaving only 100 Survivors of the 500 Passengers Aboard. (It's always He in a S.G.W. story, btw.)
So this brings Us to the story of Dixon "Dick" Wells' Hard-On. (Everyone calls Him Dick for shortness, btw.)
Upon His first Viewing through The Subjunctivizer, He is Semi-Erect as He sees what a Possible Future could have been like with His Old Flame, Whimsy White, erstwhile star of television and premiere of the "Vision Varieties of '09." She who has now become Fat and Bitchy. Frustrated with His Golf Game, He realizes it was just a Premature Ejaculation.
And then He meets the Siver-Eyed, Love of His Life, Joanna Caldwell. Full on Hard-On here.
Upon His Second Viewing into the Subjunctivisor, He sees what His Possible Future could have been like If.....He had only been hard On Time and was on the Baikal when it crashed.
He would have met Siver-Eyed Joanna Caldwell, wanna be Art Student, on Her way to Paris to jump start Her Career. Dick and Jo meet Onboard during the flight, Dick falls Passionately in Love with Her Eyes....And they Both Die when the Rocket Crashes. [Sob!]
And Dick Wells is distraught because He is now Madly in Love with a Dead Girl.
But in The Real World, where Dick Wells was late for the Flight of the Baikal...Joanna Caldwell Survived the Crash, rescued by Intrepid Onboard Navigator, and All-Round-Hero, Orris Hope. A Real Man's Man. And Dick is ecstatic until He discovers that Joanna Caldwell, recognizing that Orris Hope is a Manly Man, falls in Love with Him and they are now Married.
And thus this is how All these Dick's Hard-On Stories End. With Dick being Cock-Blocked by Marriage.
So....dispite the Heartbreak, I actually Liked this story in a way. It has a Solid Narrative that is Reflective of a typical Harlequin Romance Story. Except for the Subverted Expectations of the Unfulfilled Ending. No Happy Ever After for Dick here.
And as an Aside.....speaking of Hard-Ons......S.G.W. has a real Hard-On for The Mircle of Atomic Energy. It's His Real Wonder Drug for the Possibilties of Unlimited, Clean Power in the Future. With no fear of Radiation to Cock-Block that Dream. Oh.....If Only If!
March 3, 2025
An arrogant physicist named van Manderpootz invents a unique time travel device called the subjunctivisor. After a disastrous accident with a passenger rocket, one of his former students uses the device to see what would have happened had the rocket’s launch been delayed by five minutes to wait for his arrival instead of leaving without him.
January 1, 2021
Excellent entertaining reading 📚
A very will written fantasy novella about what if I would have or would have made a in action would the result be different. I would recommend this novella to anyone who is looking for a quick entertaining read. Enjoy reading 🔰2021
A very will written fantasy novella about what if I would have or would have made a in action would the result be different. I would recommend this novella to anyone who is looking for a quick entertaining read. Enjoy reading 🔰2021
July 30, 2024
fun story by a master
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews