Assignment in Tomorrow

by Frederik Pohl (Editor / Contributor), Theodore Sturgeon (Contributor), Fredric Brown (Contributor)

A rocketing voyage into the worlds of tomorrow. This new anthology brings together a short novel, three novelettes, and twelve short stories. Such top-flight authors as Ray Bradbury, Fletcher Pratt, H.L. Gold, and C. M. Kornbluth give a provocative preview of a future of unpredictable robots, supersonic speeds, and exploration of strange worlds in stranger machines - of the worlds that lie just beyond the horizons of our imagination. But this is not a mere collection of gimmick tales. Concerned rather with the plight of man trying to survive in an ever-more-complicated world, these ingenious tales range from the powerful and tense account of a man who could not resist his destructive urge to power, to the tale of an interplanetary hobo in search of a shot of whiskey. From the question of what forms the devil might assume to the horrors wreaked by a manufactured philosopher-king, here is an exciting, often amusing, and always entertaining sampling of speculation on the worlds to come.

Contents
Introduction (Assignment in Tomorrow) essay by Frederik Pohl
5,271,009 (1954) novelette by Alfred Bester
Mother (1953) novelette by Philip José Farmer
We Don't Want Any Trouble (1953) short story by James H. Schmitz
Mr. Costello, Hero (1953) novelette by Theodore Sturgeon
Hall of Mirrors (1953) short story by Fredric Brown
The Big Trip Up Yonder (1954) short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Back to Julie (1954) short story by Richard Wilson
The Frightened Tree (1953) short story by Algis Budrys (aka Protective Mimicry)
A Matter of Form (1938) novella by Horace L. Gold
Helen O'Loy (1938) short story by Lester del Rey
The Peddler's Nose [Quarantine] (1951) short story by Jack Williamson
She Who Laughs… (1952) short story by Peter Phillips (aka She Who Laughs)
The Adventurer (1953) short story by C.M. Kornbluth
Angels in the Jets (1952) short story by Jerome Bixby
Official Record (1952) novelette by Fletcher Pratt
Subterfuge (1943) short story by Ray Bradbury

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies

317 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Frederik George Pohl, Jr. was an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy magazine and its sister magazine IF winning the Hugo for IF three years in a row. His writing also won him three Hugos and multiple Nebula Awards. He became a Nebula Grand Master in 1993.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Assignment in Tomorrow is one of Pohl's best, a good anthology with a fine cross-section of newer and classic authors and works (remember the book was published in 1954), and a nice variety of lengths, themes, and topics. It has classics like Helen O'Loy by Lester del Rey, 5,271,009 by Alfred Bester, Angels in the Jets by Jerome Bixby (his -other- famous story), and Mother by Philip Jose Farmer (though it was a new story, not a classic, at the time of this appearance). It also has some good reads by Fredric Brown, Theodore Sturgeon, James H. Schmitz, C.M. Kornbluth, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Ray Bradbury, Jack Williamson, H.L. Gold, etc.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

ASSIGNMENT IN TOMORROW is a regular collection of sci-fi short stories, edited by Frederick Pohl and released in 1953; pretty much all of the stories date from the previous year. It's generally a mixed collection with a few stories above average, some below, and most hitting the average mark. To begin with, Theodore Sturgeon's MR. COSTELLO, HERO offers a different kind of outer space villain, far removed from comic book simplicity, and thus works a treat. The next one, Jerome Bixby's ANGELS IN THE JETS is even better, a fantastic little story about an alien planet with air that induces madness in those who breathe it; the treatment is wonderfully written and the ending particularly poignant. THE ADVENTURER, by C.M. Kornbluth, is a slice of political satire with a futuristic totalitarian setting; it will raise few eyebrows when read in the modern Trump era.

SUBTERFUGE is by the legendary Ray Bradbury and sees him trying his hand at a quirky, oddly humorous twist-in-the-tale type story, a la Robert Bloch; it's effective enough. Lester del Rey's HELEN O'LOY is an early robotic story of a human and robot's romance, oddly touching in its own unique way. 5,271,009 sees Alfred Bester tackling the weighty subject of alternate realities, but I found it unreadable due to the obtuse writing style which really put me off. THE BIG TRIP UP YONDER sees Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in his usual darkly funny territory as an invention banishes death, causing family strife; a big subject explored small scale. James H. Schmitz's WE DON'T WANT ANY TROUBLE is one of those old 'interview with an alien' type stories with a few good twists on the formulaic. Jack Williamson's THE PEDDLER'S NOSE is another unusual one, almost fantasy in its setting, with some nice darkly comic touches, while Algis Budrys' THE FRIGHTENED TREE starts out as an interstellar detective investigating a counterfeit gang and ends up being something entirely different, in a good way.

A MATTER OF FORM is by H.L. Gold and reaches novella length. A mad scientist is doing brain transplants, naturally, leaving one character with his mind inhabiting a dog's body. It sounds ridiculous but is handled rather well, with oodles of suspense. Richard Wilson's BACK TO JULIE is a short one about a president hunting for truth gas, but I found it rather insubstantial. Peter Phillips contributes SHE WHO LAUGHS..., which is a brief haunted house effort with a sci-fi twist, while Fletcher Pratt's OFFICIAL RECORD is another one about invaders of an alien planet finding themselves outwitted by the unusual inhabitants. Of the last two stories, Fredric Brown's HALL OF MIRRORS offers a clever spin on a different kind of time travel and immortality, while Philip Jose Farmer's MOTHER is a bizarre fable about a crash survivor finding himself trapped inside a giant sentient slug. As you do.

[Ryan Shoemaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a mixed bag, and being from the 1950's some of it is very dated, but there are several terrific stories here.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

exceland 1954 SF short stories