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The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon #1
The Ultimate Egoist
The Ultimate Egoist, the first volume of The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, contains the late author's earliest work, written from 1937 to 1940. Although Sturgeon's reach was limited to the lengths of the short story and novelette, his influence was strongly felt by even the most original science fiction stylists, including Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and Gene Wolfe, each of whom contributes a laudatory foreword.
The more than 40 stories here showcase Sturgeon's masterful knack with clever, O. Henry-ish plot twists, sparkling character development and almost archetypal 'Why didn't I think of that?' story ideas. Early Sturgeon masterpieces include 'It', about the violence done by a creature spontaneously born from garbage and mud, and 'Helix the Cat', about an inventor's bizarre encounter with a disembodied soul and the cat that saves it. Sturgeon's unique genius is timelessly entertaining.
The more than 40 stories here showcase Sturgeon's masterful knack with clever, O. Henry-ish plot twists, sparkling character development and almost archetypal 'Why didn't I think of that?' story ideas. Early Sturgeon masterpieces include 'It', about the violence done by a creature spontaneously born from garbage and mud, and 'Helix the Cat', about an inventor's bizarre encounter with a disembodied soul and the cat that saves it. Sturgeon's unique genius is timelessly entertaining.
387 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1995
123 people are currently reading
968 people want to read
About the author
Theodore Sturgeon
723 books770 followersTheodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is considered one of the godfathers of contemporary science fiction and dark fantasy. The author of numerous acclaimed short stories and novels, among them the classics More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and To Marry Medusa, Sturgeon also wrote for television and holds among his credits two episodes of the original 1960s Star Trek series, for which he created the Vulcan mating ritual and the expression "Live long and prosper." He is also credited as the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut's recurring fictional character Kilgore Trout.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
January 17, 2019
I'm giving this book FIVE STARS
in one sense and only TWO STARS
in another sense.
So, five stars because it's great that there is this magnificently done huge 13 book long series of the Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon. Along with five or six other SF writers, he deserves nothing less. Also, it's done with love and care - the story notes at the back are delightfully comprehensive. Really great stuff.
Now the two stars.
I read the first nine stories here and only one of them wasn't a turkey. And I thought - why are these stories so bad? This is Theodore Sturgeon, whom I love dearly. But of course it's because this is VOLUME ONE of the complete stories. So here we have the 46 stories he wrote BETWEEN THE AGES OF 19 AND 22. Out of the 46 only 6 were ones I already knew and I that's because they are the only good ones here.
(And the best one is "It" - the original source for Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, possibly The Hulk too.)
This collection is therefore rather sadly like The Beatles Anthology One - when the Anthology TV show was launched all the fans and many good plain folks who thought they were fans rushed out to buy Anthology One (60 tracks, 2 cds) and found that most of it was stuff they didn't ever need to hear (The Sheik of Araby, Besame Mucho) or almost identical versions of stuff they already had.
So modern readers of The Ultimate Egoist will have to be charitable towards very young authors who think titles like "Accidentally on Porpoise" are rib tickling. They're really not.
in one sense and only TWO STARS
in another sense.
So, five stars because it's great that there is this magnificently done huge 13 book long series of the Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon. Along with five or six other SF writers, he deserves nothing less. Also, it's done with love and care - the story notes at the back are delightfully comprehensive. Really great stuff.
Now the two stars.
I read the first nine stories here and only one of them wasn't a turkey. And I thought - why are these stories so bad? This is Theodore Sturgeon, whom I love dearly. But of course it's because this is VOLUME ONE of the complete stories. So here we have the 46 stories he wrote BETWEEN THE AGES OF 19 AND 22. Out of the 46 only 6 were ones I already knew and I that's because they are the only good ones here.
(And the best one is "It" - the original source for Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, possibly The Hulk too.)
This collection is therefore rather sadly like The Beatles Anthology One - when the Anthology TV show was launched all the fans and many good plain folks who thought they were fans rushed out to buy Anthology One (60 tracks, 2 cds) and found that most of it was stuff they didn't ever need to hear (The Sheik of Araby, Besame Mucho) or almost identical versions of stuff they already had.
So modern readers of The Ultimate Egoist will have to be charitable towards very young authors who think titles like "Accidentally on Porpoise" are rib tickling. They're really not.
May 15, 2020
I have a dream.
That one day--when we have sold out the tenth reprint of the Bulgarian translation of The Innkeeper's Song and the thirtieth of The Last Unicorn (the electronic one too), and we have exposed a million Bulgarian readers to A Requiem for Homo Sapiens--I shall sit down and sublimate my impressions and compile a collection called The Ultimate Sturgeon. Or some such.
In reading this volume, I've taken another step to that dream.
Interestingly, I don't think that any of the stories contained here will make it into my Ultimate Sturgeon. They lack maturity. (That is, "Maturity.") None of them would have made me yearn to read more of this Sturgeon fellow.
Yet--I did like them. For the sheer variety of their vocabulary. (I've been snatching bits and pieces as I translate Наследникът into English.) And for offering me the chance to watch one of my role models take his first steps, and falter, and not give up. Watch him grow.
...
Read the full review here:
https://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtop...
That one day--when we have sold out the tenth reprint of the Bulgarian translation of The Innkeeper's Song and the thirtieth of The Last Unicorn (the electronic one too), and we have exposed a million Bulgarian readers to A Requiem for Homo Sapiens--I shall sit down and sublimate my impressions and compile a collection called The Ultimate Sturgeon. Or some such.
In reading this volume, I've taken another step to that dream.
Interestingly, I don't think that any of the stories contained here will make it into my Ultimate Sturgeon. They lack maturity. (That is, "Maturity.") None of them would have made me yearn to read more of this Sturgeon fellow.
Yet--I did like them. For the sheer variety of their vocabulary. (I've been snatching bits and pieces as I translate Наследникът into English.) And for offering me the chance to watch one of my role models take his first steps, and falter, and not give up. Watch him grow.
...
Read the full review here:
https://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtop...
November 10, 2017
This book is full of Ted Sturgeon's earliest recorded stories, both published and unpublished. In later volumes of this 13 (!) piece collection, there are hardly any unpublished works, but these are early days, and if you want to see the evolution of Sturgeon as a writer, some of this "ephemera" becomes rather interesting.
Actually, the previously unpublished early stuff here is often among the most interesting in the book, from the perspective of someone who wants to do a kind of study of Sturgeon's work. I didn't much care for "Accidentally on Porpoise", for instance, but I can see why Sturgeon was fond of it, and while I've a long way to go before I can say I'm an expert, I feel like there are resonances of this tale to be found in more developed, later work.
A lot of the stuff here was syndicated for US newspapers between 1938 and 1939. They're all short, thankfully, because -- they're not very good. They're usually light romantic stuff or else sea stories with a somewhat patriotic bent, which I found surprising as I always thought of Sturgeon as being somewhat immersed in counter-culture, and a spokesman for the kind of "loose morals" that old-school America would have frowned upon. There's evidence, from some of the correspondence and such exerpted in the back of the book, that Sturgeon didn't like these very much and did them because they earned him a few bucks. I will say that while I found these stories a little on the corny side and they blend together quite a bit, they were still rather well-written and often contained some nice dialogue.
So, it's with a sense of relief that I greeted "A God in the Garden", because it marks the beginning of the submissions to Unknown and Astounding, the magazines which John W. Campbell JR. helmed. Say what you will about Campbell: the man knew how to recognise and nurture talent, and he acknowledged the worthiness of style in SF/fantasy literature. There are still a few newspaper pieces after this point, but it's clear that Campbell's market gave Sturgeon a lot more freedom to do what he wanted, and with stuff like "Ether Breather", the aforementioned Garden Idol piece, "It", "The Ultimate Egoist", etc, Sturgeon was really beginning to flourish and blossom into a fantastic writer with his own, magnetic style.
Some of the stories that were unpublished during the time period this volume covers were in fact given official publication later, but because the books chronicle the writing history rather than the publication one, they're included here rather than later, and I think it's great. It really helps to throw those newspaper pieces into contrast, too, showing how he must have chafed under the need to write to a formula, and how he was already capable of better things and did not then have a market for them. "Cellmate" and "Fluffy" ended up in the pages of Weird Tales in the 40s, though written in 1938, and they're both great, especially the former, a nice horror piece where you first see a theme that shows up later in Sturgeon: two or more people living in a single host body, with in this case a rather parasitic and pathological relationship. "Bianca's Hands" was met with disgust when Sturgeon tried to pass it to American publishers, but won first prize in a UK writing competition (Graham Greene won second), and earned him a handsome thousand bucks. it's rather unlike anything else here: very eerie psychological horror with something uncanny lurking siren-like beneath the surface. The implications are awful and the ending just makes you feel bad. I loved it, in part because it has that thing that all great horror stories that stick in the mind possess: you finish them and don't know quite what to make of them or what happened (see Robert Aickman).
I'm impressed with the variety on display here, too. Sturgeon didn't really get his start with SF/fantasy, it just became the market he was most comfortable in. he continually wrote other stuff, and submitted it to other venues regularly. The fact that some of these stories didn't meet with an audience until later doesn't necessarily speak to their quality; only suggesting that the life of a writer is a difficult one and sometimes talent is not recognised as it should be. Nevertheless, it's evident that the young Sturgeon could really write, and some folks outside of Mclure's newspaper syndicate and their silly formula, like the judges of the UK writing competition, took notice.
Twelve more volumes to go. He really did write a lot of stories. Of course, I've read some of them before, but the vast majority of these are new to me, so i'm pretty excited about continuing more-or-less chronologically through the short-story output.
Actually, the previously unpublished early stuff here is often among the most interesting in the book, from the perspective of someone who wants to do a kind of study of Sturgeon's work. I didn't much care for "Accidentally on Porpoise", for instance, but I can see why Sturgeon was fond of it, and while I've a long way to go before I can say I'm an expert, I feel like there are resonances of this tale to be found in more developed, later work.
A lot of the stuff here was syndicated for US newspapers between 1938 and 1939. They're all short, thankfully, because -- they're not very good. They're usually light romantic stuff or else sea stories with a somewhat patriotic bent, which I found surprising as I always thought of Sturgeon as being somewhat immersed in counter-culture, and a spokesman for the kind of "loose morals" that old-school America would have frowned upon. There's evidence, from some of the correspondence and such exerpted in the back of the book, that Sturgeon didn't like these very much and did them because they earned him a few bucks. I will say that while I found these stories a little on the corny side and they blend together quite a bit, they were still rather well-written and often contained some nice dialogue.
So, it's with a sense of relief that I greeted "A God in the Garden", because it marks the beginning of the submissions to Unknown and Astounding, the magazines which John W. Campbell JR. helmed. Say what you will about Campbell: the man knew how to recognise and nurture talent, and he acknowledged the worthiness of style in SF/fantasy literature. There are still a few newspaper pieces after this point, but it's clear that Campbell's market gave Sturgeon a lot more freedom to do what he wanted, and with stuff like "Ether Breather", the aforementioned Garden Idol piece, "It", "The Ultimate Egoist", etc, Sturgeon was really beginning to flourish and blossom into a fantastic writer with his own, magnetic style.
Some of the stories that were unpublished during the time period this volume covers were in fact given official publication later, but because the books chronicle the writing history rather than the publication one, they're included here rather than later, and I think it's great. It really helps to throw those newspaper pieces into contrast, too, showing how he must have chafed under the need to write to a formula, and how he was already capable of better things and did not then have a market for them. "Cellmate" and "Fluffy" ended up in the pages of Weird Tales in the 40s, though written in 1938, and they're both great, especially the former, a nice horror piece where you first see a theme that shows up later in Sturgeon: two or more people living in a single host body, with in this case a rather parasitic and pathological relationship. "Bianca's Hands" was met with disgust when Sturgeon tried to pass it to American publishers, but won first prize in a UK writing competition (Graham Greene won second), and earned him a handsome thousand bucks. it's rather unlike anything else here: very eerie psychological horror with something uncanny lurking siren-like beneath the surface. The implications are awful and the ending just makes you feel bad. I loved it, in part because it has that thing that all great horror stories that stick in the mind possess: you finish them and don't know quite what to make of them or what happened (see Robert Aickman).
I'm impressed with the variety on display here, too. Sturgeon didn't really get his start with SF/fantasy, it just became the market he was most comfortable in. he continually wrote other stuff, and submitted it to other venues regularly. The fact that some of these stories didn't meet with an audience until later doesn't necessarily speak to their quality; only suggesting that the life of a writer is a difficult one and sometimes talent is not recognised as it should be. Nevertheless, it's evident that the young Sturgeon could really write, and some folks outside of Mclure's newspaper syndicate and their silly formula, like the judges of the UK writing competition, took notice.
Twelve more volumes to go. He really did write a lot of stories. Of course, I've read some of them before, but the vast majority of these are new to me, so i'm pretty excited about continuing more-or-less chronologically through the short-story output.
May 29, 2010
3.5 to 4.0 stars. I have not read all of the stories in this volume so this review is for the stories listed below (I will update the review periodically as I read more stories):
Heavy Insurance - Sturgeon's first published story about an attempted insurance scam that has unintended consequences. 2.5 stars.
Heart - Early short story about a lovers wish having disastrous consequences. 3.5 stars.
Bianca's Hands - One of Sturgeon's best horror stories ever. Chilling, original and haunting. 4.5 to 5.0 stars.
It - Another classic Sturgeon horror story in the running for being one of his best. 4.5 stars.
Heavy Insurance - Sturgeon's first published story about an attempted insurance scam that has unintended consequences. 2.5 stars.
Heart - Early short story about a lovers wish having disastrous consequences. 3.5 stars.
Bianca's Hands - One of Sturgeon's best horror stories ever. Chilling, original and haunting. 4.5 to 5.0 stars.
It - Another classic Sturgeon horror story in the running for being one of his best. 4.5 stars.
October 28, 2018
The 3 stars only reflect the average of the stories, not the edition itself.
The 13 volume collection of all of Theodore Sturgeon’s short stories is an ambitious and beautiful work. Paul Williams put together excerpts of the author’s correspondence and interviews to allow a glimpse of Sturgeon’s literary life, his struggles with himself, with editors, with the need to have money to eat. I love reading those notes nearly as much as I love reading the stories themselves. I have lived with Sturgeon all of my adult life (he was the author who brought me singlehandedly into appreciate SF literature), yet this is the first time I learn to know so much about the man behind the stories. And I adore that opportunity.
Sturgeon wrote the stories in this first volume at age 19-22. There are a lot of 2-4 pagers that have nothing to do with SF and read like fillers for newspapers. His precise style already shows in glimpses, but the plots are mediocre. They are romances and seafaring shorts that do absolutely nothing for me.
The first story where I found the Sturgeon I learned to love was „A God in the Garden“ (1939), here his writing is witty, tongue-in-cheek and the plot has the typical intelligent twist near the end.
Other stories in the category „who comes up with such crazy ideas?“ are
„Helix the Cat“, where a soul wants to be saved by a cat,
„Bianca’s Hands“, one oft he most chilling and simultaneously beautiful horror stories I know,
„Derm Fool“, with an extremely unusual business concept,
„The Ultimate Egoist“, where being almighty is thought through to the end, and
„It“, one of Sturgeon’s most famous horror stories.
I’m extremely grateful to Paul Williams that he undertook this effort for the works of an author who is nowadays not widely known, but for me always will be the god of SF. I’m looking forward to the long chronological journey through Sturgeon’s literary life.
The 13 volume collection of all of Theodore Sturgeon’s short stories is an ambitious and beautiful work. Paul Williams put together excerpts of the author’s correspondence and interviews to allow a glimpse of Sturgeon’s literary life, his struggles with himself, with editors, with the need to have money to eat. I love reading those notes nearly as much as I love reading the stories themselves. I have lived with Sturgeon all of my adult life (he was the author who brought me singlehandedly into appreciate SF literature), yet this is the first time I learn to know so much about the man behind the stories. And I adore that opportunity.
Sturgeon wrote the stories in this first volume at age 19-22. There are a lot of 2-4 pagers that have nothing to do with SF and read like fillers for newspapers. His precise style already shows in glimpses, but the plots are mediocre. They are romances and seafaring shorts that do absolutely nothing for me.
The first story where I found the Sturgeon I learned to love was „A God in the Garden“ (1939), here his writing is witty, tongue-in-cheek and the plot has the typical intelligent twist near the end.
Other stories in the category „who comes up with such crazy ideas?“ are
„Helix the Cat“, where a soul wants to be saved by a cat,
„Bianca’s Hands“, one oft he most chilling and simultaneously beautiful horror stories I know,
„Derm Fool“, with an extremely unusual business concept,
„The Ultimate Egoist“, where being almighty is thought through to the end, and
„It“, one of Sturgeon’s most famous horror stories.
I’m extremely grateful to Paul Williams that he undertook this effort for the works of an author who is nowadays not widely known, but for me always will be the god of SF. I’m looking forward to the long chronological journey through Sturgeon’s literary life.
March 26, 2012
This book was given me as a gift by the writer, Lawrence P. Santoro, probably on the occasion of Christmas of 2003. The first volume of Sturgeon's collected works, it is a fine, well-constructed book. Larry was also considerate in presenting the hardcover edition of this volume, knowing that I generally eschew paperbacks.
Sadly, despite my general love for Sturgeon and his works, these earliest short stories were, as might be expected, not his best writing.
Sadly, despite my general love for Sturgeon and his works, these earliest short stories were, as might be expected, not his best writing.
June 29, 2019
I've been excited by the prospect of this book for quite some time. Imagine all the Sturgeon short stories collected in a series of volumes, and not just the ones that were published or previously collected, but all of them. Edited and with notes, to top it off, by that most meticulous of literary executors, Paul Williams (the man behind the Collected Philip K. Dick). Unfortunately, Sturgeon never attracted the same fanaticism that Dick did, and this project was on shaky ground for some time. The first book is finally out, and it definitely lives up to the expectations for it.
"Heavy Insurance" -- Sturgeon's first published and possibly first completed work. A clever short short revolving around the, then, unusual properties of dry ice. With short shorts I am always reminded of Jack Ritchie's Little Boxes of Bewilderment, and this story, even as early in Sturgeon's career as it was, can stand among those tales.
"The Heart" -- A more obvious early story. The dialogue is nice, but this is the kind of story and ending that would receive a rejection slip these days with a note scribbled on it saying, "So what?" A trunk story that was fished out by Sturgeon years later after he had already made his name. I understand his feeling for it: I have a couple of little darlings in my trunk as well.
"Cellmate" -- The word choices and the "so what" ending give this one away as an early piece. (A prisoner, no matter how hip in the 50s, is not going to call a jail a bastille.) The story itself is a little eerie, but nothing to be excited over. Some nice touches, but overlong for the limited punch.
"Fluffy" -- A few awkward wording moments, but they don't detract from the joy of a clever little twist story. This would have been a page from Jonathan Carroll except Sturgeon has to have a "logical" explanation (well, OK, an explanation--Carroll wouldn't have felt the need for any) for the basic conceit. However, it's still just a twist story. Sturgeon quickly moved beyond it.
"Alter Ego" -- Almost a study in what not to do in a story, this previously unpublished piece reeks of the new writer, for it is all tell and no show. It spans years, yet there is not time sense. There are some specifics, but no details. While the plot itself could become something, it's too pithy for this treatment and too pathetic for longer. It's not too surprising that this one didn't see print in its time.
"Mailed Through a Porthole" -- Might have worked better as a poem. From the first line I knew where it was headed, and it never drifted from that resolution. It needed a twist to turn it around. Even so, the writing was nice and clear.
"A Noose of Light" -- Another unpublished one--this one probably because it is all tell, and no show--although it could easily have been rewritten to be show. The trouble when you've written a tell story is that you've worked so hard thinking and producing that draft, that you block trying to do the draft that you should have done first all along.
"Strangers on a Train" -- More of a vignette than a story, for it's pretty obvious the connection here between the two people. However, there is something in Sturgeon's knowledge of human psychology and relationships--something that will be shown as genius in one of my favorite Sturgeon stories,
"It's You." This unpublished piece is like a working artist's sketch for the oil painting of that later story.
"Accidentally on Porpoise" -- The first thing that would have to change is the atrocious title, which isn't even an especially clever pun. There are some things here that could have been good, like the play on people having shark and dolphin characteristics, the concept of a human being having to be recreated (an idea, according to the notes, intrigued Sturgeon, much like the definition of "human" drove much of Phil Dick's work). But it's too long for its subject, making it seem forced and static.
"The Right Line" -- A simple little love story, based on Sturgeon's real merchant marine experience, no doubt. The style is fine, similar in kind to the early Wodehouse, but where Wodehouse used language for amusement, Sturgeon uses it to duplicate reality.
"Golden Day" -- A short short without much payoff. As a fan of the form, I tend to be highly critical. But then, I favor a particular type--the clever or twist short. Much of what gets published under 1,000 words tends to be character vignettes, which I don't care for.
"Permit Me My Gesture" -- Ah! The exact opposite reaction from "Golden Day"--this is my kind of short short: neat set up, perfect background, and clever ending twist. The notes include a letter from Sturgeon to his wife; in it, he calls this kind of story a gadget plot, and "Golden Day" a gag. I'll have to check my reactions to see if gadgets are always what I term as clever.
"Watch My Smoke" -- Sure enough, I liked this clever little thing that Sturgeon also termed a gadget story. The difference? A gag story is a "fool the reader," a story based on making the reader perceive one thing early in the story and have it be something else. A gadget is a twist story. Both kinds were the makings of the Twilight Zone series, but I largely prefer the twist.
"The Other Cheek" -- Clever and sweet. Obviously Sturgeon had discovered a market for short shorts (the McClure newspaper syndicate) and he worked on the plots for these exclusively. A short short is a perfect story to practice storytelling as well, because it depends on being very economical with words.
"Extraordinary Seaman" -- A little longer than the others, and not quite as twisty as it could have been. This one is more like "The Right Line"--a little love story akin to the early stories of P.G. Wodehouse. Boy-meets-girl, girl hates boy, girl loves boy sort of thing. Does this stuff get written and sold anymore?
"One Sick Kid" -- A short based on Sturgeon's personal experience, kind of a "true life" op-ed piece. A bit formless, though, without a genuine payoff, i.e., life isn't as clever as fiction.
"His Good Angel" -- A little romantic bit that contains a little bit of clever but nothing major. It was of the light vein that Wodehouse started in as well. Sturgeon would follow the clever track while Wodehouse had followed the romantic comedy lead.
"Some People Forget" -- These early stories are marked as going for the emotions--Sturgeon was trying to learn how to pull the heart strings. In "One Sick Kid" it was patriotism, here it is grief and guilt. Maybe it was the tenor of the times, where a story could go for the gut like this, but today the only people to get away with this are Hollywood scriptwriters.
"A God in a Garden" -- Here is the raison d'etre for this volume, for the admiration that writers and readers have for Sturgeon is based on stories like this one. The perfect twist tale--what some people would term a Twilight Zone story. A man with a character flaw (he lies to his wife), a conflict (his wife knows about the lying, and is upset), and the twist (he digs up a god in his garden that gives him the ability to always tell the truth--not the actual truth, but whatever he says becomes the truth). Sturgeon handles it all brilliantly. The notes seem to agree. This story--Sturgeon's first sale to John W. Campbell for Unknown--was like his coming out party. Finally he had found a market that didn't require formula (the string-tugging as described under "Some People Forget" above), yet welcomed cleverness.
"Fit for a King" -- A patriotic string tugger, with some interesting insights into Sturgeon's feelings at the time. The notes say that Sturgeon would continue to write these stories for the McClure newspaper syndicate while writing the stories for Unknown.
"Ex-Bachelor Extract" -- A romantic string puller, with a little cleverness between the title and the ending.
"East is East" -- Another nice little boy-meets-girl story. These things are essentially vignettes--character studies with a defined formula to them. While they are not the stuff of genius, they proved essential to Sturgeon finding a range of characterization.
"Three People" -- A patriotism string-tugger, but this one must have tried too hard because it went unpublished. Based on a childhood incident, but too clearly aimed at the marketplace, rather than coming from the heart.
"Eyes of Blue" -- Williams' question in the notes asks us if all these stories of slumming rich girls who fall for forceful guys who turn out to be of the best class tells us something of Sturgeon's psyche. The answer is yes, although we can't go too far with it. As Williams says, some of it also has to do with Sturgeon's knowledge of the marketplace--knowing that things had to work out for the better because the syndicate market demanded a payoff.
"Ether Breather" -- A bit dated by technology--that is, an atomic powered TV set is overkill and we have color TV without all this other stuff--and by the language--in the future people speak like the hip of the 1940/50s? But for all that, an OK piece of SF work. It's a first contact piece with a twist, and probably couldn't get published in a magazine today, but Sturgeon was part of the writing group that defined what SF was, and this was just another piece of that definition.
"Her Choice" -- A neat little Con game/twisty romantic short short. Nothing but plot, but a nice one.
"Cajun Providence" -- I guess this was a twist story at one time, though I find it a little hard to believe that even in the 40s people outside Louisiana didn't think of crawfish as food. I guess that's my southern upbringing coming out.
"Strike Three" -- Not to my taste, as it was a little tame and seemingly unrealistic given my recollections of school. Of course, the strange tenor of the P.G. Wodehouse boys school stories strike me the same way. In each, there is a world that to us seems like a fantasy.
"Contact!" -- These last ones seem to be stretching it even for the McClure's syndicate. It could be that this, as Sturgeon called it, "pen prostitution" had reached that point for him where it was easy enough to get the reader hooked, that a merely satisfying experience was enough to provide as his contracted duty. The difference between these and earlier, more heartfelt ones, and the SF/fantasy ones is becoming apparent.
"The Call" -- A gag story, and one on which I gagged. I definitely do not like these dipsy-doodle, "fool the reader" stories. I do not like to be fooled; I want to be amused or impressed.
"Helix the Cat" -- A cute and clever little SF fantasy about souls and the "uplifting" (to use Brin's term) of a cat. There's lots of good twists and turns in this one, almost enough to forgive the rather poorly represented characters. All in all, a good story though.
"To Shorten Sail" -- A gag story, but one that I didn't mind as much. Part of it was the subject material--I'm sure that I'd be next to useless on a sailing vessel, but I love to read about them.
"Thanksgiving Again" -- A wonderful gimmick--the fact that Thanksgiving in the U.S. and Canada is different--and a wonderfully heartfelt romantic string tugger. This one was a little longer than the others, which might also have given it a slight edge, enabling the reader to get to know the characters a little better.
"Bianca's Hands" -- A disturbing little fantasy/horror piece, showing the depth of Sturgeon's mastery of character, mood, and language. Yes, there's a plot, but the plot is nothing besides the description. It is so well done--this description of Bianca's hands and Ran's love for them--that is is close to erotic. Of course, Sturgeon was no stranger to that genre, although his take on it would not be fully revealed until years later with the novels Some of Your Blood and Godbody.
"Derm Fool" -- Given a little more conflict between the two main characters, this could have been a screwball SF story. It's pretty screwy as its written, a strange little SF/fantasy about shedding skin. There's something you don't read about everyday.
"He Shuttles" -- This was a strange one, and I'm not quite sure how to take it. The setup is nothing new--a man with three wishes--but I didn't follow the plot and its conclusion. Basically, as many an editor has said of my own stories, I didn't get it.
"Turkish Delight" -- A gimmick story based on Sturgeon's merchant marine knowledge. It doesn't quite work, because he has to explain the gimmick. It's best when the gimmick is self-evident, but only at the end of the story.
"Niobe" -- A pleasant try, mixing poetry with a gothic inspired plot, but the edges are fuzzy. It works too suddenly--ghost stories require that a mood be built, some sense of normality before the horror.
"Mahout" -- Not so much a gimmick or gag story, although that's what it's meant to be, but a tall tale. Again, Sturgeon is working under the first rule of a beginning writer--write what you know. Sturgeon knew the sea and sailors.
"The Long Arm" -- A gag story--fooling the reader by having the main character think "man and woman" early on in the story as a red herring. I don't like the gag's because they're not honest with the reader. It's not even like a story with an untrustworthy narrator; in those types of stories, the length of the tale lets you start suspecting the narrator before receiving confirmation that something is not right, rather than having it sprung on you in surprise.
"The Man on the Steps" -- A sickly patriotic gag story. Sturgeon must have achieved some kind of plateau with the McClure syndicate, because they accepted this later one, while rejecting "Three People," just as sickly patriotic, earlier.
"Punctuational Advice" -- A nice one, from punny title to name gimmick. Of course, it's because I go for the gimmick ones. This has an early red herring, but it's not a true red herring, but more of a feint.
"Place of Honor" -- These short shorts are starting to wear on me--they were not meant to be read consecutively like this, but one a day in the special slot of a newspaper. Too many in a row, and the edges start to show.
"The Ultimate Egoist" -- The logical extreme of the philosophical question best answered by Rene Descartes when he wrote, "Cogito, ergo sum." Whatever Woody thinks is, and what he doubts isn't, and it doesn't take long for him to break under the strain.
"It" -- Probably one of the most famous Sturgeon stories, spawning at least two comic creatures: DC's Swamp Thing and Marvel's Man-Thing. Actually what Sturgeon accomplishes here is the envy of every horror writer--he invents a new monster. Unfortunately he did it in a short story rather than a novel or a movie, so his creation has yet to join the full pantheon to which it belongs, taking its place beside Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
"Butyl and the Breather" -- Sequel to the earlier "Ether Breather." I didn't much like the first story, and the sequel wasn't an improvement. Too much of an "as you know, Bob" or "talking head" story.
I hope that this project--to collect all of Sturgeon's short stories--continues apace. Paul Williams' earlier effort in this vein was the incredible Collected Philip K. Dick, and while the Dick was interesting, PKD was a writer who excelled at novels, not really the short. Sturgeon, on the other hand, was the opposite. I learned a lot about writing from the Dick volumes, and I hope to learn even more from Sturgeon.
"Heavy Insurance" -- Sturgeon's first published and possibly first completed work. A clever short short revolving around the, then, unusual properties of dry ice. With short shorts I am always reminded of Jack Ritchie's Little Boxes of Bewilderment, and this story, even as early in Sturgeon's career as it was, can stand among those tales.
"The Heart" -- A more obvious early story. The dialogue is nice, but this is the kind of story and ending that would receive a rejection slip these days with a note scribbled on it saying, "So what?" A trunk story that was fished out by Sturgeon years later after he had already made his name. I understand his feeling for it: I have a couple of little darlings in my trunk as well.
"Cellmate" -- The word choices and the "so what" ending give this one away as an early piece. (A prisoner, no matter how hip in the 50s, is not going to call a jail a bastille.) The story itself is a little eerie, but nothing to be excited over. Some nice touches, but overlong for the limited punch.
"Fluffy" -- A few awkward wording moments, but they don't detract from the joy of a clever little twist story. This would have been a page from Jonathan Carroll except Sturgeon has to have a "logical" explanation (well, OK, an explanation--Carroll wouldn't have felt the need for any) for the basic conceit. However, it's still just a twist story. Sturgeon quickly moved beyond it.
"Alter Ego" -- Almost a study in what not to do in a story, this previously unpublished piece reeks of the new writer, for it is all tell and no show. It spans years, yet there is not time sense. There are some specifics, but no details. While the plot itself could become something, it's too pithy for this treatment and too pathetic for longer. It's not too surprising that this one didn't see print in its time.
"Mailed Through a Porthole" -- Might have worked better as a poem. From the first line I knew where it was headed, and it never drifted from that resolution. It needed a twist to turn it around. Even so, the writing was nice and clear.
"A Noose of Light" -- Another unpublished one--this one probably because it is all tell, and no show--although it could easily have been rewritten to be show. The trouble when you've written a tell story is that you've worked so hard thinking and producing that draft, that you block trying to do the draft that you should have done first all along.
"Strangers on a Train" -- More of a vignette than a story, for it's pretty obvious the connection here between the two people. However, there is something in Sturgeon's knowledge of human psychology and relationships--something that will be shown as genius in one of my favorite Sturgeon stories,
"It's You." This unpublished piece is like a working artist's sketch for the oil painting of that later story.
"Accidentally on Porpoise" -- The first thing that would have to change is the atrocious title, which isn't even an especially clever pun. There are some things here that could have been good, like the play on people having shark and dolphin characteristics, the concept of a human being having to be recreated (an idea, according to the notes, intrigued Sturgeon, much like the definition of "human" drove much of Phil Dick's work). But it's too long for its subject, making it seem forced and static.
"The Right Line" -- A simple little love story, based on Sturgeon's real merchant marine experience, no doubt. The style is fine, similar in kind to the early Wodehouse, but where Wodehouse used language for amusement, Sturgeon uses it to duplicate reality.
"Golden Day" -- A short short without much payoff. As a fan of the form, I tend to be highly critical. But then, I favor a particular type--the clever or twist short. Much of what gets published under 1,000 words tends to be character vignettes, which I don't care for.
"Permit Me My Gesture" -- Ah! The exact opposite reaction from "Golden Day"--this is my kind of short short: neat set up, perfect background, and clever ending twist. The notes include a letter from Sturgeon to his wife; in it, he calls this kind of story a gadget plot, and "Golden Day" a gag. I'll have to check my reactions to see if gadgets are always what I term as clever.
"Watch My Smoke" -- Sure enough, I liked this clever little thing that Sturgeon also termed a gadget story. The difference? A gag story is a "fool the reader," a story based on making the reader perceive one thing early in the story and have it be something else. A gadget is a twist story. Both kinds were the makings of the Twilight Zone series, but I largely prefer the twist.
"The Other Cheek" -- Clever and sweet. Obviously Sturgeon had discovered a market for short shorts (the McClure newspaper syndicate) and he worked on the plots for these exclusively. A short short is a perfect story to practice storytelling as well, because it depends on being very economical with words.
"Extraordinary Seaman" -- A little longer than the others, and not quite as twisty as it could have been. This one is more like "The Right Line"--a little love story akin to the early stories of P.G. Wodehouse. Boy-meets-girl, girl hates boy, girl loves boy sort of thing. Does this stuff get written and sold anymore?
"One Sick Kid" -- A short based on Sturgeon's personal experience, kind of a "true life" op-ed piece. A bit formless, though, without a genuine payoff, i.e., life isn't as clever as fiction.
"His Good Angel" -- A little romantic bit that contains a little bit of clever but nothing major. It was of the light vein that Wodehouse started in as well. Sturgeon would follow the clever track while Wodehouse had followed the romantic comedy lead.
"Some People Forget" -- These early stories are marked as going for the emotions--Sturgeon was trying to learn how to pull the heart strings. In "One Sick Kid" it was patriotism, here it is grief and guilt. Maybe it was the tenor of the times, where a story could go for the gut like this, but today the only people to get away with this are Hollywood scriptwriters.
"A God in a Garden" -- Here is the raison d'etre for this volume, for the admiration that writers and readers have for Sturgeon is based on stories like this one. The perfect twist tale--what some people would term a Twilight Zone story. A man with a character flaw (he lies to his wife), a conflict (his wife knows about the lying, and is upset), and the twist (he digs up a god in his garden that gives him the ability to always tell the truth--not the actual truth, but whatever he says becomes the truth). Sturgeon handles it all brilliantly. The notes seem to agree. This story--Sturgeon's first sale to John W. Campbell for Unknown--was like his coming out party. Finally he had found a market that didn't require formula (the string-tugging as described under "Some People Forget" above), yet welcomed cleverness.
"Fit for a King" -- A patriotic string tugger, with some interesting insights into Sturgeon's feelings at the time. The notes say that Sturgeon would continue to write these stories for the McClure newspaper syndicate while writing the stories for Unknown.
"Ex-Bachelor Extract" -- A romantic string puller, with a little cleverness between the title and the ending.
"East is East" -- Another nice little boy-meets-girl story. These things are essentially vignettes--character studies with a defined formula to them. While they are not the stuff of genius, they proved essential to Sturgeon finding a range of characterization.
"Three People" -- A patriotism string-tugger, but this one must have tried too hard because it went unpublished. Based on a childhood incident, but too clearly aimed at the marketplace, rather than coming from the heart.
"Eyes of Blue" -- Williams' question in the notes asks us if all these stories of slumming rich girls who fall for forceful guys who turn out to be of the best class tells us something of Sturgeon's psyche. The answer is yes, although we can't go too far with it. As Williams says, some of it also has to do with Sturgeon's knowledge of the marketplace--knowing that things had to work out for the better because the syndicate market demanded a payoff.
"Ether Breather" -- A bit dated by technology--that is, an atomic powered TV set is overkill and we have color TV without all this other stuff--and by the language--in the future people speak like the hip of the 1940/50s? But for all that, an OK piece of SF work. It's a first contact piece with a twist, and probably couldn't get published in a magazine today, but Sturgeon was part of the writing group that defined what SF was, and this was just another piece of that definition.
"Her Choice" -- A neat little Con game/twisty romantic short short. Nothing but plot, but a nice one.
"Cajun Providence" -- I guess this was a twist story at one time, though I find it a little hard to believe that even in the 40s people outside Louisiana didn't think of crawfish as food. I guess that's my southern upbringing coming out.
"Strike Three" -- Not to my taste, as it was a little tame and seemingly unrealistic given my recollections of school. Of course, the strange tenor of the P.G. Wodehouse boys school stories strike me the same way. In each, there is a world that to us seems like a fantasy.
"Contact!" -- These last ones seem to be stretching it even for the McClure's syndicate. It could be that this, as Sturgeon called it, "pen prostitution" had reached that point for him where it was easy enough to get the reader hooked, that a merely satisfying experience was enough to provide as his contracted duty. The difference between these and earlier, more heartfelt ones, and the SF/fantasy ones is becoming apparent.
"The Call" -- A gag story, and one on which I gagged. I definitely do not like these dipsy-doodle, "fool the reader" stories. I do not like to be fooled; I want to be amused or impressed.
"Helix the Cat" -- A cute and clever little SF fantasy about souls and the "uplifting" (to use Brin's term) of a cat. There's lots of good twists and turns in this one, almost enough to forgive the rather poorly represented characters. All in all, a good story though.
"To Shorten Sail" -- A gag story, but one that I didn't mind as much. Part of it was the subject material--I'm sure that I'd be next to useless on a sailing vessel, but I love to read about them.
"Thanksgiving Again" -- A wonderful gimmick--the fact that Thanksgiving in the U.S. and Canada is different--and a wonderfully heartfelt romantic string tugger. This one was a little longer than the others, which might also have given it a slight edge, enabling the reader to get to know the characters a little better.
"Bianca's Hands" -- A disturbing little fantasy/horror piece, showing the depth of Sturgeon's mastery of character, mood, and language. Yes, there's a plot, but the plot is nothing besides the description. It is so well done--this description of Bianca's hands and Ran's love for them--that is is close to erotic. Of course, Sturgeon was no stranger to that genre, although his take on it would not be fully revealed until years later with the novels Some of Your Blood and Godbody.
"Derm Fool" -- Given a little more conflict between the two main characters, this could have been a screwball SF story. It's pretty screwy as its written, a strange little SF/fantasy about shedding skin. There's something you don't read about everyday.
"He Shuttles" -- This was a strange one, and I'm not quite sure how to take it. The setup is nothing new--a man with three wishes--but I didn't follow the plot and its conclusion. Basically, as many an editor has said of my own stories, I didn't get it.
"Turkish Delight" -- A gimmick story based on Sturgeon's merchant marine knowledge. It doesn't quite work, because he has to explain the gimmick. It's best when the gimmick is self-evident, but only at the end of the story.
"Niobe" -- A pleasant try, mixing poetry with a gothic inspired plot, but the edges are fuzzy. It works too suddenly--ghost stories require that a mood be built, some sense of normality before the horror.
"Mahout" -- Not so much a gimmick or gag story, although that's what it's meant to be, but a tall tale. Again, Sturgeon is working under the first rule of a beginning writer--write what you know. Sturgeon knew the sea and sailors.
"The Long Arm" -- A gag story--fooling the reader by having the main character think "man and woman" early on in the story as a red herring. I don't like the gag's because they're not honest with the reader. It's not even like a story with an untrustworthy narrator; in those types of stories, the length of the tale lets you start suspecting the narrator before receiving confirmation that something is not right, rather than having it sprung on you in surprise.
"The Man on the Steps" -- A sickly patriotic gag story. Sturgeon must have achieved some kind of plateau with the McClure syndicate, because they accepted this later one, while rejecting "Three People," just as sickly patriotic, earlier.
"Punctuational Advice" -- A nice one, from punny title to name gimmick. Of course, it's because I go for the gimmick ones. This has an early red herring, but it's not a true red herring, but more of a feint.
"Place of Honor" -- These short shorts are starting to wear on me--they were not meant to be read consecutively like this, but one a day in the special slot of a newspaper. Too many in a row, and the edges start to show.
"The Ultimate Egoist" -- The logical extreme of the philosophical question best answered by Rene Descartes when he wrote, "Cogito, ergo sum." Whatever Woody thinks is, and what he doubts isn't, and it doesn't take long for him to break under the strain.
"It" -- Probably one of the most famous Sturgeon stories, spawning at least two comic creatures: DC's Swamp Thing and Marvel's Man-Thing. Actually what Sturgeon accomplishes here is the envy of every horror writer--he invents a new monster. Unfortunately he did it in a short story rather than a novel or a movie, so his creation has yet to join the full pantheon to which it belongs, taking its place beside Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
"Butyl and the Breather" -- Sequel to the earlier "Ether Breather." I didn't much like the first story, and the sequel wasn't an improvement. Too much of an "as you know, Bob" or "talking head" story.
I hope that this project--to collect all of Sturgeon's short stories--continues apace. Paul Williams' earlier effort in this vein was the incredible Collected Philip K. Dick, and while the Dick was interesting, PKD was a writer who excelled at novels, not really the short. Sturgeon, on the other hand, was the opposite. I learned a lot about writing from the Dick volumes, and I hope to learn even more from Sturgeon.
August 4, 2007
If you want to know what pulp writers could do when pulps were pulps, read this.
October 9, 2013
Брилянтен сборник с разкази от брилянтен писател, преведени на български от брилянтен преводач! Това е Върховният Егоист, Том първи от събрани разкази на Eдуард Хамилтън Уолдо, известен с творческия си псевдоним Теодор Стърджън. Кой е последният ли? Ами, това не просто е авторът на Бленуващите Кристали, Повече от Човешки и От Кръвчицата Ти. Той е Бащата, оригиналът, творецът, пред който се прекланят титани като Кинг, Бредбъри, Кларк, Хайнлайн, Дилейни, Андерсън, Улф и кой ли още не.
По същината си този сборник съдържа най-най първите творби на Стърджън. Фантастика, фентъзи и хорър (о, да, и то какъв!) се редуват с чиста реалистика и творби, пропити от доброта. С интерес научих, че макар да е автор едва на шепа романи, то сборниците му с разкази са повече от дузина. Три години от живота си (от 17-а до 20-ата си година) Стърджън е плавал на търговски кораб, което дава отражение и на творчеството му - във "Върховния Егоист" има немалко морски разкази. Творбите са общо 45, мдааа, доста са кратички, повечето са буквално по 3-4 страници. Най-добрите обаче са по-дългите, ооо, определено. Малко ми е трудно да говоря за всичките шедьоври, защото в книгата слаб разказ НЯМА, но ще отбера поне за мен това, което бе най-доброто от доброто, спирайки се на петнадесет творби, или 1/3 от сборника:
1. Обявена стойност - Стърджън е майстор в това да ви покаже едно, вие да си помислите друго, а накрая да излезе съвсем т��ето!
2. Сърцето - омразата притежава чутовна сила, определено.
3. Съкилийник - може би любимият ми в сборника. Страховит хорър, човече!
4. Пухчо - ай, че малък сладък писан! Или...
5. Примка от светлина - всяка жена постига целите си с това, което природата я е надарила.
6. Позволи ми малък жест - отмъщението може да бъде така изтънчено...
7. Пушек - смелостта да вземеш правилните решения когато трябва определено си струва.
8. Някои хора забравят - проста история за това как леко и беззлобно може да зашлевиш простака така, че да не може да се опомни и да разбере откъде му е дошло.
9. Бог в градината - чудесен разказ за откритията, които можем да направим в задния двор!
10. Достойно за крал - поуката е една: винаги бъди смел и отстоявай позициите си, без да те е страх.
11. Котаракът Хеликс - определено съм почти сигурен, че Стърджън не си пада много по котките :-) За сметка на това няма равен да те убеди във факта, че фикционната реалност, създадена от него е по-могъща от истинската.
12. Ръцете на Бианка - силна доза еротика, умело нагнетяване на напрежението и съвсем неочаквана развръзка.
13. Кожна болест - как би реагирал, ако всяка сутрин кожата на цялото ти тяло се изхлузва като на змия, за да направи място на новата? Ами, когато живота ти поднесе лимон, направи си лимонада.
14. Махаут - "едни дребосъци от Цейлон. Носят дълги остени с куки накрая и рекат ли, могат да изправят слон на задните му крака."
15. То - страшно, ужасяващо и страховито! Само първото изречение от три думи е достатъчно да ви подготви - "ТО БРОДЕШЕ ИЗ ГОРИТЕ."
Шапки долу за чудесния превод на Любомир Николов - един от най-добрите съвременни български преводачи. Прочетете, прочее.
По същината си този сборник съдържа най-най първите творби на Стърджън. Фантастика, фентъзи и хорър (о, да, и то какъв!) се редуват с чиста реалистика и творби, пропити от доброта. С интерес научих, че макар да е автор едва на шепа романи, то сборниците му с разкази са повече от дузина. Три години от живота си (от 17-а до 20-ата си година) Стърджън е плавал на търговски кораб, което дава отражение и на творчеството му - във "Върховния Егоист" има немалко морски разкази. Творбите са общо 45, мдааа, доста са кратички, повечето са буквално по 3-4 страници. Най-добрите обаче са по-дългите, ооо, определено. Малко ми е трудно да говоря за всичките шедьоври, защото в книгата слаб разказ НЯМА, но ще отбера поне за мен това, което бе най-доброто от доброто, спирайки се на петнадесет творби, или 1/3 от сборника:
1. Обявена стойност - Стърджън е майстор в това да ви покаже едно, вие да си помислите друго, а накрая да излезе съвсем т��ето!
2. Сърцето - омразата притежава чутовна сила, определено.
3. Съкилийник - може би любимият ми в сборника. Страховит хорър, човече!
4. Пухчо - ай, че малък сладък писан! Или...
5. Примка от светлина - всяка жена постига целите си с това, което природата я е надарила.
6. Позволи ми малък жест - отмъщението може да бъде така изтънчено...
7. Пушек - смелостта да вземеш правилните решения когато трябва определено си струва.
8. Някои хора забравят - проста история за това как леко и беззлобно може да зашлевиш простака така, че да не може да се опомни и да разбере откъде му е дошло.
9. Бог в градината - чудесен разказ за откритията, които можем да направим в задния двор!
10. Достойно за крал - поуката е една: винаги бъди смел и отстоявай позициите си, без да те е страх.
11. Котаракът Хеликс - определено съм почти сигурен, че Стърджън не си пада много по котките :-) За сметка на това няма равен да те убеди във факта, че фикционната реалност, създадена от него е по-могъща от истинската.
12. Ръцете на Бианка - силна доза еротика, умело нагнетяване на напрежението и съвсем неочаквана развръзка.
13. Кожна болест - как би реагирал, ако всяка сутрин кожата на цялото ти тяло се изхлузва като на змия, за да направи място на новата? Ами, когато живота ти поднесе лимон, направи си лимонада.
14. Махаут - "едни дребосъци от Цейлон. Носят дълги остени с куки накрая и рекат ли, могат да изправят слон на задните му крака."
15. То - страшно, ужасяващо и страховито! Само първото изречение от три думи е достатъчно да ви подготви - "ТО БРОДЕШЕ ИЗ ГОРИТЕ."
Шапки долу за чудесния превод на Любомир Николов - един от най-добрите съвременни български преводачи. Прочетете, прочее.
September 9, 2007
I received The Ultimate Egoist: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon - Volume 1 for Christmas last year & finally dug it out of the TBR pile.
Even though I consider Sturgeon to be an SF writer, the majority of the short stories in this collection don't really fit that category. He was writing for several mainstream sources early in his career, and they often gave him topics upon which to write. There are quite a few romantically themed stories (probably written for the female market) and a good portion of the stories reflect Sturgeon's time in the merchant marines; but he runs the gamut of genres. "It" is a spooky horror tale, and "Bianca's Hands" a chilling example of magical realism. "Derm Fool" and "Ether Breather" foreshadow his future in the sci-fi world.
Although some of the stories are a bit dated in facts & (to an extent) feel, the ideas are clever and the writing pulls you right in, even in a short-short story of just a couple pages. I do wish that the editor had placed the story notes in relation to the stories themselves, rather than at the end, as I found myself flipping back & forth to refresh my memory.
Recommended to anyone looking for an introduction to an excellent short story writer who covers a variety of topics and tones in a single volume.
Even though I consider Sturgeon to be an SF writer, the majority of the short stories in this collection don't really fit that category. He was writing for several mainstream sources early in his career, and they often gave him topics upon which to write. There are quite a few romantically themed stories (probably written for the female market) and a good portion of the stories reflect Sturgeon's time in the merchant marines; but he runs the gamut of genres. "It" is a spooky horror tale, and "Bianca's Hands" a chilling example of magical realism. "Derm Fool" and "Ether Breather" foreshadow his future in the sci-fi world.
Although some of the stories are a bit dated in facts & (to an extent) feel, the ideas are clever and the writing pulls you right in, even in a short-short story of just a couple pages. I do wish that the editor had placed the story notes in relation to the stories themselves, rather than at the end, as I found myself flipping back & forth to refresh my memory.
Recommended to anyone looking for an introduction to an excellent short story writer who covers a variety of topics and tones in a single volume.
my-library
February 12, 2012Included stories:
Heavy Insurance
The Heart
Cellmate
Fluffy
Alter Ego
Mailed through a Porthole
A Noose of Light
Strangers on a Train
Accidentally on Purpose
The Right Line
Golden Day
Permit Me My Gesture
Watch My Smoke
The Other Cheek
Extraordinary Seaman
One Sick Kid
His Good Angel
Some People Forget
A God in a Garden
Fit for a King
Ex-Bachelor Extract
East is East
Three People
Eyes of Blue
Ether Breather
Her Choice
Cajun Providence
Strike Three
Contact!
The Call
Helix the Cat
To Shorten Sail
Thanksgiving Again
Bianca's Hands
Derm Fool
He Shuttles
Turkish Delight
Niobe
Mahout
The Long Arm
The Man on the Steps
Punctuational Advice
Place of Honor
The Ultimate Egoist
It
Butyl and the Breather
Heavy Insurance
The Heart
Cellmate
Fluffy
Alter Ego
Mailed through a Porthole
A Noose of Light
Strangers on a Train
Accidentally on Purpose
The Right Line
Golden Day
Permit Me My Gesture
Watch My Smoke
The Other Cheek
Extraordinary Seaman
One Sick Kid
His Good Angel
Some People Forget
A God in a Garden
Fit for a King
Ex-Bachelor Extract
East is East
Three People
Eyes of Blue
Ether Breather
Her Choice
Cajun Providence
Strike Three
Contact!
The Call
Helix the Cat
To Shorten Sail
Thanksgiving Again
Bianca's Hands
Derm Fool
He Shuttles
Turkish Delight
Niobe
Mahout
The Long Arm
The Man on the Steps
Punctuational Advice
Place of Honor
The Ultimate Egoist
It
Butyl and the Breather
March 23, 2019
Finished reading the first book of Sturgeon shot stories today, and these are definitely an up and down experience, as we see at the end of the book, that these consists of short stories, which Sturgeon wrote at the start of his career as a writer.
I found the below stories especially remarkable
1. It
Although this does not has a clown in which he terrorizes children of town, but this a story of two brothers who loved the same women, but while one enjoys martial life, other has done peace with himself, but thinks about it from time to time.
Thrown in this mix is a super natural creature, who wakes up in the forest, and starts tearing through all things living.
2. Helix the cat
This is about a biochemist who in his experiments manages to trap a soul of a dead person in the bottle, now the he starts communicating with this entity. But it is not enough for this entity to exist in a bottle like a genie, but he wants to exist in something living.
Now the biochemist is a lonely person, and only company he has is his cat Helix, now the entity convinces him that he can posses the cat, but before that he must make the cat smart, so they end up developing the brain of the cat, by which he is able to speak and make his own decisions.
Now we all know how cats are by nature, and the biochemist regrets the decision of his cat getting smarter because he always that the cat loved him.
The story definitely ends on twist.
3. The Ultimate Egoist
The namesake story of the book is also interesting, because here we meet a pompous young man, who claims that the universe is his own idea, and the world exists because he imagined the whole thing.
What ends up happening is that we discover that it is actually so, and the end of the story is tragic.
There were definitely some good stories in this collection, but the remaining were an average read.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
I found the below stories especially remarkable
1. It
Although this does not has a clown in which he terrorizes children of town, but this a story of two brothers who loved the same women, but while one enjoys martial life, other has done peace with himself, but thinks about it from time to time.
Thrown in this mix is a super natural creature, who wakes up in the forest, and starts tearing through all things living.
2. Helix the cat
This is about a biochemist who in his experiments manages to trap a soul of a dead person in the bottle, now the he starts communicating with this entity. But it is not enough for this entity to exist in a bottle like a genie, but he wants to exist in something living.
Now the biochemist is a lonely person, and only company he has is his cat Helix, now the entity convinces him that he can posses the cat, but before that he must make the cat smart, so they end up developing the brain of the cat, by which he is able to speak and make his own decisions.
Now we all know how cats are by nature, and the biochemist regrets the decision of his cat getting smarter because he always that the cat loved him.
The story definitely ends on twist.
3. The Ultimate Egoist
The namesake story of the book is also interesting, because here we meet a pompous young man, who claims that the universe is his own idea, and the world exists because he imagined the whole thing.
What ends up happening is that we discover that it is actually so, and the end of the story is tragic.
There were definitely some good stories in this collection, but the remaining were an average read.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
August 17, 2017
This is the first volume in a 13-part series which collects all Theodore Sturgeon’s fiction shorter than novel length, both published and unpublished. The stories are presented in chronological order of writing, and as such this volume contains Sturgeon’s earliest work, from his first published story ‘Heavy Insurance’ in 1938 to ‘Butyl and the Breather’ published in 1940.
The majority of the stories in this volume are very short, two or three page stories written for newspaper syndication. Most of them are instantly-forgettable, formulaic rubbish — a fact the author was well aware of — with the odd exception, such as ‘Heavy Insurance’ which has a neat, twist ending. The rest are mostly ‘boy meets girl’ stories, with quite a few set at sea, as Sturgeon was working as a merchant seaman at the time and was obviously following the advice to ‘write what you know’.
The six or seven longer stories in the volume, all but one sold to John W. Campbell for publication in either Astounding or Unknown magazines, are by far a step up in quality. They include the title story ‘The Ultimate Egoist’, in which a man with an enormous ego finds he can will objects out of existence; what is probably one of Sturgeon’s best and most well-known stories ‘It’, about a monster learning about life and death; and the creepy and unsettling ‘Bianca’s Hands’, which the author was sure would sell to Unknown, but was rejected and not published for another eight years until Sturgeon submitted it to a competition in the British Argosy magazine and it won.
If you have never read any Sturgeon and are looking for an introduction to his work, don’t start here or you will be severely disappointed. This is a collection for the completist only, for someone who intends to collect the entire series. All of the worthwhile stories in this volume can be found in other Sturgeon anthologies, which will give a better overview of the author’s talent.
There are story notes at the back of the book, where the editor Paul Williams gives the dates of writing and first publication of the stories, and comments on each one. He also includes extracts from Sturgeon’s correspondence relating to the stories. These notes would have been better placed at the end of each story, to prevent constant flipping backwards and forwards, especially considering how short most of the stories are — there was a lot of flipping!
Recommended for Sturgeon completists only.
The majority of the stories in this volume are very short, two or three page stories written for newspaper syndication. Most of them are instantly-forgettable, formulaic rubbish — a fact the author was well aware of — with the odd exception, such as ‘Heavy Insurance’ which has a neat, twist ending. The rest are mostly ‘boy meets girl’ stories, with quite a few set at sea, as Sturgeon was working as a merchant seaman at the time and was obviously following the advice to ‘write what you know’.
The six or seven longer stories in the volume, all but one sold to John W. Campbell for publication in either Astounding or Unknown magazines, are by far a step up in quality. They include the title story ‘The Ultimate Egoist’, in which a man with an enormous ego finds he can will objects out of existence; what is probably one of Sturgeon’s best and most well-known stories ‘It’, about a monster learning about life and death; and the creepy and unsettling ‘Bianca’s Hands’, which the author was sure would sell to Unknown, but was rejected and not published for another eight years until Sturgeon submitted it to a competition in the British Argosy magazine and it won.
If you have never read any Sturgeon and are looking for an introduction to his work, don’t start here or you will be severely disappointed. This is a collection for the completist only, for someone who intends to collect the entire series. All of the worthwhile stories in this volume can be found in other Sturgeon anthologies, which will give a better overview of the author’s talent.
There are story notes at the back of the book, where the editor Paul Williams gives the dates of writing and first publication of the stories, and comments on each one. He also includes extracts from Sturgeon’s correspondence relating to the stories. These notes would have been better placed at the end of each story, to prevent constant flipping backwards and forwards, especially considering how short most of the stories are — there was a lot of flipping!
Recommended for Sturgeon completists only.
December 20, 2015
Some interesting stuff, raw material, but being the earliest of Sturgeon's published work, this is definitely not his best. Probably his worst.
September 27, 2022
I'm not usually into short stories but I have to admit that I liked this one. So this is written by Theodore Sturgeon who was a sailor from America around the 1930s but this book of short stories was written around the end of the 1930s and the start of the 1940s. It's really quirky and quite different which I really liked. So my favorite short stories were: "strangers on a train”, “a God in the garden” and “it”. That title of that last book may sound familiar to you and yes Stephen King did happen to be a big fan of Theodore Sturgeon and double yes the story “it” that Theodore sturgeon writes is also about a monster which comes out of nowhere and I am 100% convinced that Stephen King would have taken some inspiration from this story and merged it into his now infamous story about the killer clown that we all know and love :) anyway enough from me here are some of the best bits from this book:
no one has ever lived to describe the solidness of hate when it begins to form into something real.
Certainly I've been thinking about you. I believe that you have been called everything imaginable but ugly. We must be original you know. So to avoid being like anyone else I call you ugly. She felt her cheeks flame and was glad of the dark. What he said was perfectly true and could be called a tribute of sorts. She realized suddenly that he was laughing at himself too and that was quite a revelation. Woman like her began to hate him less the more he harmlessly insulted her.
Louise exuded a magic all of her own completely original and completely devastating. She made Carl think of his mother and when a woman achieves that she has tied the binding knot and needs only to pull it tight.
He drew back, really perplexed: and it was a new experience for him. He took her by the shoulders forced her to look at him. Come on child give what's the trouble? I love you: you know that don't you? Don't you? There was something approaching desperation in his tone.
She kept all of his letters and numbered them to. When she had ten of them she felt that she had known him all her life: and when she had 30 he seemed more than someone she knew: he was a part of her.
Perfection is an unnatural thing, and against laws that cannot be broken.
I was not afraid for fear is an emotion based on hope, hope of escape and there was no hope for me.
no one has ever lived to describe the solidness of hate when it begins to form into something real.
Certainly I've been thinking about you. I believe that you have been called everything imaginable but ugly. We must be original you know. So to avoid being like anyone else I call you ugly. She felt her cheeks flame and was glad of the dark. What he said was perfectly true and could be called a tribute of sorts. She realized suddenly that he was laughing at himself too and that was quite a revelation. Woman like her began to hate him less the more he harmlessly insulted her.
Louise exuded a magic all of her own completely original and completely devastating. She made Carl think of his mother and when a woman achieves that she has tied the binding knot and needs only to pull it tight.
He drew back, really perplexed: and it was a new experience for him. He took her by the shoulders forced her to look at him. Come on child give what's the trouble? I love you: you know that don't you? Don't you? There was something approaching desperation in his tone.
She kept all of his letters and numbered them to. When she had ten of them she felt that she had known him all her life: and when she had 30 he seemed more than someone she knew: he was a part of her.
Perfection is an unnatural thing, and against laws that cannot be broken.
I was not afraid for fear is an emotion based on hope, hope of escape and there was no hope for me.
January 9, 2018
It's very difficult not to give this book a 5-star rating, as it is absolutely essential to developing a thorough understanding of this Science Fiction Grandmaster's life & work. The presence (nearly 50% of the book) of so many of Sturgeon's early non-SF stories -- short-shorts written for a newspaper syndicate, with subject matter that encompasses personal relationships and events drawn from his time spent in the merchant marines -- dilutes the strength and impact of this first volume to a certain degree (though glimmers of the genius to come are to be found even in these stories -- trifles that many of them are -- as well).
But then there are his earliest SF stories, from the entertaining ("Ether Breather") to more serious and resonant pieces, including an undeniable classic of the genre, "Bianca's Hands," a story so good that it should never be described -- just read.
Just read Sturgeon; you will be better for having done so.
But then there are his earliest SF stories, from the entertaining ("Ether Breather") to more serious and resonant pieces, including an undeniable classic of the genre, "Bianca's Hands," a story so good that it should never be described -- just read.
Just read Sturgeon; you will be better for having done so.
January 1, 2025
First of thirteen volumes collecting all of Sturgeon's prodigious short fiction, much of this early material (forty-odd stories written in about four years!) unpublished, so it's fascinating to chart the emerging talent of an author who wrote because he was compelled to, and how he got better and better, and eventually found his niche.
So, early stories here, the majority of which set at sea (as was the author), very short tales designed to be syndicated to newspapers, and with a humorous twist to the ending. These are, overall—ironically—more successful than the few later SF tales, though of these, 'Bianca's Hands' and 'It' are standouts, and point the way to some of Sturgeon's later horror writing.
So, early stories here, the majority of which set at sea (as was the author), very short tales designed to be syndicated to newspapers, and with a humorous twist to the ending. These are, overall—ironically—more successful than the few later SF tales, though of these, 'Bianca's Hands' and 'It' are standouts, and point the way to some of Sturgeon's later horror writing.
December 31, 2017
I started reading SF in the 50s. Wonderful authors such as Andre Norton, C.J. Kornbluth,Gordon R. Dickson, Clifford D. Simak and of course the awesome titans Authur C. Clark, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein ,Poul Anderson, Robert Silverberg...I could go on for paragraphs.....
...but the cleverest of all to my mind was the absolutely amazing Theodore Sturgeon who stimulated my "Wonder gland", thus providing the early impetus for my absolute craving for quality Science Fiction.
Thank you Mr. Sturgeon...sincerely.
...but the cleverest of all to my mind was the absolutely amazing Theodore Sturgeon who stimulated my "Wonder gland", thus providing the early impetus for my absolute craving for quality Science Fiction.
Thank you Mr. Sturgeon...sincerely.
May 8, 2023
Sturgeon is well-known as an author of science fiction, but there is precious little of that in this collection of his earliest stories. Here we have a very young Sturgeon who is mainly interested in romance, sailing, and trying to be O. Henry. He's inexperienced as a writer, not nearly as clever as he thinks he is, and painfully old-fashioned from a modern perspective. I'd weakly recommend reading "It" and the title story (two of the later and relatively mature pieces), and strongly recommend skipping the rest.
September 12, 2017
This book is simply amazing. I was familiar enough with Sturgeon's later fantasy & sf (and love it), but this book showed a whole new side to Sturgeon. Mostly "straight" stories, of the sort that could be published in The Saturday Review. Astounding writing for an author breaking into the slick magazine world at age 18! These stories require no apologia as juvenilia; they are mature writing, in the style of the period, and every one enjoyable.
June 15, 2020
I enjoyed reading the early writing of Sturgeon and the notes at the end of the book are fascinating for glimpsing his thought process and his life. Some of these are quite good, like It, Fluffy, A God in a Garden, Permit Me My Gesture. Some I like for a mood or idea. The notes at the end are really great for seeing the mixed feelings Sturgeon had as a young writer- reassuring to my own bouts of uncertainty as a writer.
May 16, 2024
I wanted to read his story 'It' because of the ties to many of the 'swampy' comic book characters and this book was the only one I could find containing the story. I did read the rest. I can't refrain from reading a book.
Sturgeon was, in my opinion, certainly a good writer. Has a knack for writing good conversations.
The stories didn't quite click with me though. Outside of 3 or 4, most feel too mundane.
Sturgeon was, in my opinion, certainly a good writer. Has a knack for writing good conversations.
The stories didn't quite click with me though. Outside of 3 or 4, most feel too mundane.
October 26, 2017
Take it as it is. This is the beginning of an anthology of all of the short works, so not everything is sci-fi and not every one is great. There are some great short stories in here and a lot of twists. Some hit and some miss. My favorites were Cellmate, God in a Garden, Ether Breather, Derm Fool, It, and Butyl and the Breather. I'm looking forward to reading volume two.
September 24, 2018
This is the 100th anniversary of Sturgeon's birth, and an article noting that fact particularly recommended his short stories. Evidently he wrote a ton of them. Judging from the first couple and a couple picked at random from the middle of the book, I don't much care for them.
February 18, 2024
The problem is that the editors decided to publish everything of his that was shorter than a novel, and to do it chronologically. This is great for scholars, but this first collection both shows his inexperience and ages very poorly from the late 1930s. I'm going to skip ahead a couple of volumes.
April 25, 2024
Stories from a master
It's always interesting to me to read how a famous artist starts out. Where his inspiration comes from.
Having been a fan of Sturgeon since reading the comic book versions of "It" and "Killdozer" when I was a kid, it was refreshing to start at the beginning of his writing career and watch his progress and evolution into the Science Fiction Grand Master he became.
It's always interesting to me to read how a famous artist starts out. Where his inspiration comes from.
Having been a fan of Sturgeon since reading the comic book versions of "It" and "Killdozer" when I was a kid, it was refreshing to start at the beginning of his writing career and watch his progress and evolution into the Science Fiction Grand Master he became.
September 29, 2024
It’s only natural that a lot of the stories in this collection fall kinda flat since these volumes order their work based on when Sturgeon wrote them. That being said, there’s still some gems in here that made it all worth it. Big fan of the one where the protag teaches his cat how to smoke.
September 30, 2025
The first of many volumes of Ted Sturgeon's work with his earliest published, and unpublished, work. With a couple of exceptions, the stories are more of academic interest than brilliant stories, but it's fascinating to read his early work.
June 21, 2019
I can never put down one of Sturgeon's stories without pondering it for a long time after.
March 22, 2020
About 50-50 In terms of worthiness.
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