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Towards Infinity
Nine outstanding SF adventures... stories of a beligerent Jupiter, the frightened problems of rejuvenation, an expedition which reaches Mars only to find that nobody there cares, and of aliens discovering Earth and a monster - who is Man...
Fiction today, but fact, perhaps, tomorrow...
Fiction today, but fact, perhaps, tomorrow...
284 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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27 people want to read
About the author
Damon Knight
580 books97 followersDamon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 30, 2013
I've read this anthology before, or at least most of the shortstories, but to tell you the truth, its been a while and I can't really remember any of them, except perhaps the first one. This then, is my second try and this time around I will write short reviews of each story to better remember them.
This is another review-in-progress and I will review the stories as I reread them, starting (of course) at the absolute beginning.
The Man Who Lost the Sea (by Theodore Sturgeon) is a Theodore Sturgeon story and if you have read anything by that guy, you'll know what I mean. It is the story of an old man lying, sick, in the sand. He sees a boy run past him with a helicopter, and tries slowly to make sense of his world. Why is he here... or even more importantly... where is here? I love the voice of this shortstory, a voice that invites you into the story. This voice is all its own, and I bet you won't ever find another shortstory written like this. Poetic, beautiful and even at the end... hopeful. It comes highly recommended! (5 stars)
March Hare Mission (by Ford McCormack) tells the story of a very dangerous mission into enemy territory, a mission that has all the reasons to fail. I mean, who would willingly let themselves be captured by the enemy only to be drugged and possibly killed, all for the sake of a secret weapon that needs to be protected. Ok, so I was never in the military and I will probably never understand what it means to sacrifice yourself for your country, but I can still enjoy this story which is well-written and has an interesting idea to drive it. Without revealing too much, this reminded me of a little film called Memento... (3.5 stars)
The Earth Men (by Ray Bradbury) is the story of how man came to Mars, only to find that they weren't really welcome, or worse yet, that the martians thought they were insane. This story just feels wrong. It has the feel of being written for children and not in a good way. It feels like old Ray was just getting lazy as he wrote that story, and for that reason... (0 stars)
Who goes there? (by John W. Campbell) is the story that the movie the Thing was based on. It starts back at camp where the scientists have brought back the creature and tries to make sense of it. What is this creature, where did it come from and more importantly, if they thaw it, will it endanger the entire camp? It should also be noted here that they are not really worried about bringing the creature back to life, but are instead worried about bacteria and a possible virus. Overall, I liked the beginning a lot. The discussion asks as many questions as it answers and by the end of it, we are no further to an conclusion, much like the scientists. However, the story is a bit too long and the end becomes a lot of the same. Perhaps I would have a different view of this if I didn't know the movie, but that... is pure speculation. If you liked the movie, you will definitely like the shortstory. (2.5 stars)
In Hiding (by Wilmar H. Shiras) is one of those stories that just never captivated me, and in fact, I've not finished it. It is about a boy, a shrink and... not sure why it is here in this anthology, as it has nothing to do with science fiction really. Anyways, you might enjoy it, so give it a try. (0 stars)
Not Final! (by Isaac Asimov) is the story of how the Jovians of Jupiter threatened humanity. It is a story that is a little too interested in all the science bits that it forgets the most basic elements of a good story. The reader has no idea what the jovians are, no idea why he should be fearful of them, and in the end doesn't really care about what happens. Not recommended. (1 star)
Now that I've gotten this far into the anthology, I must admit that there is no coherency among the stories. A title such as "Towards Infinity" inspires exploration in space, but that is only true for two of the stories so far. It seems very much like an anthology where the stories were thrown in at random, with little thought... sadly. Anyways, onwards towards infinity...
And be merry... (by Katherine Maclean) is the story of how a woman discovered how to beat old age, but also found that there is no way to beat... death. This story has it all. It is personal, yet delves into the science of things and lastly, it asks some of the greatest questions ever asked... If only Mr. Asimov had read this story before writing his own, perhaps then... his would have been better. This story might not explore space, but it certainly explores science and finds some disturbing answers. Highly recommended! (5 stars)
The Witches of Karres (by James H. Schmitz) is what I would call a space-opera. It involves a fairly unlucky captain who finds himself purchasing three witches from the planet Karres. Now, the captain is an honorable man and wants nothing more than to return the three young witches, but that might not prove as easy... This story is well-written, funny and worth every minute spent in its company. (3 stars)
Resurrection (by A.E. Van Vogt) is a mysterious story about an alien race, the Ganae, who finds earth.... devoid of all life except for the trees. Now, the aliens have the technology to reconstruct the dead, and in their eagerness to find out what happened to the planet, does this... This shortstory leaves you with a lot of questions by the end, which in my oppinion is always a good thing, yet... there is still something about the story that leaves me hesitant to recommend it completely. (2.5 stars)
Overall, a few excellent reads within these pages, but also a few to be avoided. By the end, more of the stories followed the idea of Towards Infinity, but most still feels out of place here. Anyways, go read the book for yourself and find out what you think!
This is another review-in-progress and I will review the stories as I reread them, starting (of course) at the absolute beginning.
The Man Who Lost the Sea (by Theodore Sturgeon) is a Theodore Sturgeon story and if you have read anything by that guy, you'll know what I mean. It is the story of an old man lying, sick, in the sand. He sees a boy run past him with a helicopter, and tries slowly to make sense of his world. Why is he here... or even more importantly... where is here? I love the voice of this shortstory, a voice that invites you into the story. This voice is all its own, and I bet you won't ever find another shortstory written like this. Poetic, beautiful and even at the end... hopeful. It comes highly recommended! (5 stars)
March Hare Mission (by Ford McCormack) tells the story of a very dangerous mission into enemy territory, a mission that has all the reasons to fail. I mean, who would willingly let themselves be captured by the enemy only to be drugged and possibly killed, all for the sake of a secret weapon that needs to be protected. Ok, so I was never in the military and I will probably never understand what it means to sacrifice yourself for your country, but I can still enjoy this story which is well-written and has an interesting idea to drive it. Without revealing too much, this reminded me of a little film called Memento... (3.5 stars)
The Earth Men (by Ray Bradbury) is the story of how man came to Mars, only to find that they weren't really welcome, or worse yet, that the martians thought they were insane. This story just feels wrong. It has the feel of being written for children and not in a good way. It feels like old Ray was just getting lazy as he wrote that story, and for that reason... (0 stars)
Who goes there? (by John W. Campbell) is the story that the movie the Thing was based on. It starts back at camp where the scientists have brought back the creature and tries to make sense of it. What is this creature, where did it come from and more importantly, if they thaw it, will it endanger the entire camp? It should also be noted here that they are not really worried about bringing the creature back to life, but are instead worried about bacteria and a possible virus. Overall, I liked the beginning a lot. The discussion asks as many questions as it answers and by the end of it, we are no further to an conclusion, much like the scientists. However, the story is a bit too long and the end becomes a lot of the same. Perhaps I would have a different view of this if I didn't know the movie, but that... is pure speculation. If you liked the movie, you will definitely like the shortstory. (2.5 stars)
In Hiding (by Wilmar H. Shiras) is one of those stories that just never captivated me, and in fact, I've not finished it. It is about a boy, a shrink and... not sure why it is here in this anthology, as it has nothing to do with science fiction really. Anyways, you might enjoy it, so give it a try. (0 stars)
Not Final! (by Isaac Asimov) is the story of how the Jovians of Jupiter threatened humanity. It is a story that is a little too interested in all the science bits that it forgets the most basic elements of a good story. The reader has no idea what the jovians are, no idea why he should be fearful of them, and in the end doesn't really care about what happens. Not recommended. (1 star)
Now that I've gotten this far into the anthology, I must admit that there is no coherency among the stories. A title such as "Towards Infinity" inspires exploration in space, but that is only true for two of the stories so far. It seems very much like an anthology where the stories were thrown in at random, with little thought... sadly. Anyways, onwards towards infinity...
And be merry... (by Katherine Maclean) is the story of how a woman discovered how to beat old age, but also found that there is no way to beat... death. This story has it all. It is personal, yet delves into the science of things and lastly, it asks some of the greatest questions ever asked... If only Mr. Asimov had read this story before writing his own, perhaps then... his would have been better. This story might not explore space, but it certainly explores science and finds some disturbing answers. Highly recommended! (5 stars)
The Witches of Karres (by James H. Schmitz) is what I would call a space-opera. It involves a fairly unlucky captain who finds himself purchasing three witches from the planet Karres. Now, the captain is an honorable man and wants nothing more than to return the three young witches, but that might not prove as easy... This story is well-written, funny and worth every minute spent in its company. (3 stars)
Resurrection (by A.E. Van Vogt) is a mysterious story about an alien race, the Ganae, who finds earth.... devoid of all life except for the trees. Now, the aliens have the technology to reconstruct the dead, and in their eagerness to find out what happened to the planet, does this... This shortstory leaves you with a lot of questions by the end, which in my oppinion is always a good thing, yet... there is still something about the story that leaves me hesitant to recommend it completely. (2.5 stars)
Overall, a few excellent reads within these pages, but also a few to be avoided. By the end, more of the stories followed the idea of Towards Infinity, but most still feels out of place here. Anyways, go read the book for yourself and find out what you think!
June 4, 2023
Old school sci-fi, back from before I was born. Some classics in here I'd heard of but never read, and some obscure ones as well. My favorites were "The Earth Men," by Ray Bradbury and "The Witches of Karres," by James Schmitz. Your opinions may vary.
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August 14, 2013I just spent ninety seconds trying to figure out how to open the window that would allow me to write this review. I am a casual user of this site and I am forgetful. This site is clearly not made for users like me.
Anyway, Towards Infinity.
Resurrection by A.E. (Alfred Elton) van Vogt: When given a choice of what to wear, a future guy wears a shiny future tunic for no reason that I can tell other than that shininess and tunicy looseness are futuristic properties of future clothing in this short story. Read 15 Aug 2013.
Anyway, Towards Infinity.
Resurrection by A.E. (Alfred Elton) van Vogt: When given a choice of what to wear, a future guy wears a shiny future tunic for no reason that I can tell other than that shininess and tunicy looseness are futuristic properties of future clothing in this short story. Read 15 Aug 2013.
March 7, 2010
A collection of short stories with a paragraph by the editor before each one introducing it. This was a great collection with contributions from Asimov, Bradbury, Sturgeon and Van Vogt, all of whose work I enjoy. It also contained the story Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell which was the basis of John Carpenter's The Thing. A great collection of golden age and new wave writing.
April 15, 2010
Great collection of masters.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews