No Time Like the Future

by Nelson S. Bond, Richard M. Powers (illustrator)

BEYOND THE HORIZONS OF TIME...

A race of intelligent beings so small to be invisible to the naked eye, a burial place on Earth that holds a secret twenty-five centuries old, a satellite of destruction hovering in space, a super ship that flew years through space — to nowhere...

these are only a few of the amazing and imaginative borders you will cross with Nelson Bond in the superb and exciting collection of truly fine science-fiction stories.

(Source: back cover)

First paperback of this collection of 12 short stories from one of the forgotten figures of the late 40s/early 50s in scifi.
Vital Factor (1951) story
The Voice from the Curious Cube (1937) story
Button, Button (1954) story
Conqueror's Isle (1946) (aka Conquerors' Isle) story
Life Goes On (1950) story
Uncommon Castaway (1949) story
The Cunning of the Beast (1942) story
The Last Outpost (1948) novelette
And Lo! The Bird (1950) story
This Is the Land (1951) story
The World of William Gresham (1951) novelette
The Silent Planet (1951) story

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Collections

221 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Nelson Slade Bond was a writer, primarily of short stories, antiquarian bookseller, and playwright. His works included books, magazine articles, and scripts used in radio, for television and on the stage.

The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories, most of which appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book magazine, though Bond largely retired from fiction writing after the 1950s. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in science fiction.

Reviews

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a little ancient book I have. An older cousin gave me a trunk full of old Sci-Fi books when I was a kid.
Yellowed old pages even then.

The best story that really scared me was "And Lo the Bird " by Nelson Bond.
A monstrous avian shaped object is spotted careening towards our solar system.

It lingers around the small dark outermost lifeless rock Pluto. It circles many times as if confirming something.

Then it heads for Neptune.

Of course, the scientific community denies, denies, and denies. It's impossible.

This can't be a bird! Well, the shape knocks and taps at the planet. It shudders and pieces fall away.

Impossible. But what is emerging?? A wet mass stretching and shaking wings.

Now, a race for survival of the earth begins.
What a ridiculous story. It was wonderful.!!!

I still have that little yellowed pocket book taped together. -

[Temucano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Autor clásico de ciencia ficción más desconocido, Nelson Bond suele aparecer esporádicamente en algunas antologías, con cuentos simples pero ingeniosos, principalmente sobre temas referentes al holocausto y al fin de la Tierra humana tal como la conocemos. A veces peca de inocente y tiene ese gusto efectista de sorprender con la última frase, lo que no siempre queda bien, pero en general mantiene un buen nivel de ideas, fatalistas la mayoría.

Con esta recopilación hay que tener paciencia, recién por la segunda mitad aparecen los mejores, acá mis favoritos:

"La astucia de la bestia" , con implicaciones bíblicas, el más lejano y mejor armado.
"¡Vedlo! el pájaro", original armageddon.
"Esta es la tierra", una excelente declamación apocalíptica.
"¡El cohete lunar aterriza!", paradoja en búsqueda de la vida inteligente.

[Ken Bickley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually a paperback I've owned since 1954. It contains short stories by a writer who is virtually unknown today, but who received a Nebula Lifetime Achievement Award from sci-fi writers in 1998. He wrote almost exclusively for magazines (remember those?) before retiring in the late 1950s to concentrate on his public relations business. He died at the age of 98 in 2006 without ever resuming his writing career. These stories are good, though obviously dated. Most are tales of apocalyptic events expected to be brought about by America's cold war with the Soviet Union (remember them?). It's worth reading if you can find it. Don't ask for my copy though - it fell apart as I read it.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of the author's short stories (science fiction of the mid-20th century) which I read many years ago when I was in High School. The one story I remember most is "The Cunning of the Beast" which tells the story of a scientist named Yawa Eloem who has set up two creatures in a paradisiacal garden and is complaining to his fellow scientists about his difficulties in keeping them under control.

[Janith Pathirage · Rating 3 out of 5]

'The Silent Planet' is one of the most innovative sify stories I came across in a very long time. In this story Nelson Bond talks about a new concept on life out of earth and inter-dimensional beings.Such a concept will never become a popular theme in the movie world, but its a real feast of thoughts for any fan of sify literature.

[Nacho Urenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una colección breves con el común denominador (excepto quizá el último) de tratar del fin del mundo. Muy acordes con el momento de la guerra fría en que fueron escritos.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Forgettable collection of a dozen sf stories by Nelson Slade Bond (1908-2006).