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Famous Science Fiction Stories
- GenresScience Fiction
483 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 7, 2020
I started this long-overdue book in the lockdown. It is a collection of some of the classics. It wouldn't be fair to talk about the whole book together as these stories have different genres and score differently on how appealing they are.
FORGETFULNESS - Don A. Stuart
In a distant future, mankind is searching desperately for more and more habitable planets. We then come across a search frigate which takes around 6 years to reach a potential new planet. But there are already some species living there. Can we coexist? This reminded me of James Cameron's Avatar. However, the narrative is extremely scattered. Probably because it's an old classic and I was not ready to jump in time of older writing styles, but much of the story felt far too cryptic for no reason.
THE SANDS OF TIME - P. Schuyler Miller
A time machine. A genius way to tackle the grandfather paradox. I loved that part of the story here. For the first half, it kept me glued to the narrative. It also has dinosaurs. Then for some absurd reason, the story went haywire. The author brought in some other humans and failed to connect it with his initial concepts. The later part completely failed for me.
THE PROUD ROBOT - Lewis Padgett
This is the first science fiction short story comedy I've come across and it's hilarious. This is nowhere near Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but what is?
This inventor creates a robot in an alcoholic stupor and forgets the purpose of his invention. The robot is sentient and chooses to admire himself in the mirror for the whole time. This inventor is also involved in a media war between two big companies. Out of the stories till now, this has a bigger canvas and a few more characters. The overall effect is very entertaining and fun. The science part is quite good and imaginative.
TIME LOCKER - Lewis Padgett
How about a locker which hides the things stored in it in the space-time continuum? Another inventor without memory of creation creates something just out of the blue.
This seems to be a common thread between some of the stories. It's easier for the author to explain away inventions without any scientific phenomenon when you show the inventor under influence.
How this invention helps(?) In an ongoing legal case is an interesting read. Conceptually thin, but still a decent small tale of a legal drama.
MECHANICAL MICE - Maurice A. Hugi
First science fiction thriller of this book. Mother of Robots, slowly building herself for some ultimate goal. We know not the motive, we know not the weakness. The language of this one is very fluent. It manages to create tension and is successful in keeping you engaged.
WHO GOES THERE - Don A. Stuart
In an expedition in Antarctica, a group of scientists discover a frozen alien. They can thaw the thing for research, or just incinerate it, what would they choose?
This is a brilliant science fiction novella which has some really good science bits. most of the cliches do exist. You have a group of people away in the sandbox, no impact on civilisation so story happens in its own independent time. There is one killer among many. Despite these elements, the book manages to hold your interest for a while. However, soon the claustrophobia settles in, and slowly the narrative goes deranged.
In a single read, this might hold the interest throughout, but I had to read it between various small bursts and that made me wonder if the story is moving at all. Not a long read, worth giving a try for its science part.
TIME-TRAVEL HAPPENS - A. M. Phillips
This was thoroughly entertaining and a one of kind fiction I've read till now. The tone is of a newspaper article and it tries to convince that two ladies have done time travel and visited an old French village. The article reads that how the investigation was undertaken to make sure their narrative is truthful. There are no specific science elements here, but that is at the backdrop. This is something unique and really enjoyable.
ROBOT'S RETURN - Robert Moore Williams
Three robots return to Earth in search of their inventors. They encounter a long lost and rusted remains of civilization but no human in sight. This feels like the inspiration behind Netflix's Love, Death Robots series episode, Three Robots. A short one but entertaining.
THE BLUE GIRAFFE - L. Sprangue De Camp
After the sands of time, this is the next biological science fiction. I felt it to be definitely better than the previous. This would be an inspiration for Michael Criton's works. This is just speculation, I am yet to read Criton's works. Here is a story where an African Safari lands suddenly start encountering weird and unnatural mutations in the animals. In those lands, there is a scientist has lost in the woods. Are they related? I liked the concept and it held my attention till the very end. The start is a bit rocky, with many names and languages overwhelms you in some places.
FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS - Webb Marlowe
You put a German V2 rocket on some serious steroids, add a flavour of post-world war scenario and you get a very entertaining read. There is a defeated faction which believes in their leader. This belief is so strong that they are not willing to take the defeat and look past. They are building a great spaceship to escape the earth regime, only to come back and hit hard. This is really a well-written story considering the outlandish ambitions.
THE WEAPONS SHOP - A.E. Van Vogt
This, I think, is my favourite of the bunch. There is an empire and a private enterprise which does not heed to that authority. However, even with the large stake, the story unfolds from a perspective of a simple village auto mechanic. The power struggles and larger themes are mere backdrops making the microscopic personal narrative important. The larger themes reminded me of Frank Herbert's Dune, but the personal story is perfectly carved out piece for a short story.
THE STAR MOUSE - Fredric Brown
Another humorous entry in the science fiction world. There are not many which tackle comedy genre in science fiction in this collection. Here is the best comedy in the collection. One scientist is building a rocket to go to the moon, and this is before Apollo missions. He sends a mouse for that trip. The poor creature does not reach moon but makes a stop somewhere midway before returning back to planet earth. What is that stop? The only trouble is the attempt the write the accented English of the scientist, as is which makes the reading pretty hard and not fluent as much this story deserves.
BRAIN - S. Fowler Wright
I guess I was a bit tired by the end of this, so frankly did not comprehend the ending. It was quick and unsatisfactory to the amount of build-up it created. The world is now run by scientists, who believe science is the only answer to politics and offers the best form of government. However, even scientists are not above ego and oneupmanship. You couple that with inventions which make you more intelligent, and then, in theory, you have a very good set of ingredients. To my dismay, this story pretty much squandered it, or at least did not work for me.
FAREWELL TO THE MASTER - Harry Bates
The final story in this collection inspired a movie, The Day Earth Stood Still. I have not seen it, but I can understand after reading, how it can make a fast-paced movie. An alien race makes the first contact with humans, but with our insecurities, we end up killing one among the two. Will this lead to a war of the worlds? This is written nicely and really closest to the modern style of writing.
===
When we think of science fiction, the usual names come to mind are many times limited to Issac Asimov, HG Wells etc, but there are many more names and even more works which deserve our attention. This science fiction stories collection introduced a few authors to me. I might end up reading more works from some of these authors, especially, Van Vogt, and Fredrick Brown.
FORGETFULNESS - Don A. Stuart
In a distant future, mankind is searching desperately for more and more habitable planets. We then come across a search frigate which takes around 6 years to reach a potential new planet. But there are already some species living there. Can we coexist? This reminded me of James Cameron's Avatar. However, the narrative is extremely scattered. Probably because it's an old classic and I was not ready to jump in time of older writing styles, but much of the story felt far too cryptic for no reason.
THE SANDS OF TIME - P. Schuyler Miller
A time machine. A genius way to tackle the grandfather paradox. I loved that part of the story here. For the first half, it kept me glued to the narrative. It also has dinosaurs. Then for some absurd reason, the story went haywire. The author brought in some other humans and failed to connect it with his initial concepts. The later part completely failed for me.
THE PROUD ROBOT - Lewis Padgett
This is the first science fiction short story comedy I've come across and it's hilarious. This is nowhere near Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but what is?
This inventor creates a robot in an alcoholic stupor and forgets the purpose of his invention. The robot is sentient and chooses to admire himself in the mirror for the whole time. This inventor is also involved in a media war between two big companies. Out of the stories till now, this has a bigger canvas and a few more characters. The overall effect is very entertaining and fun. The science part is quite good and imaginative.
TIME LOCKER - Lewis Padgett
How about a locker which hides the things stored in it in the space-time continuum? Another inventor without memory of creation creates something just out of the blue.
This seems to be a common thread between some of the stories. It's easier for the author to explain away inventions without any scientific phenomenon when you show the inventor under influence.
How this invention helps(?) In an ongoing legal case is an interesting read. Conceptually thin, but still a decent small tale of a legal drama.
MECHANICAL MICE - Maurice A. Hugi
First science fiction thriller of this book. Mother of Robots, slowly building herself for some ultimate goal. We know not the motive, we know not the weakness. The language of this one is very fluent. It manages to create tension and is successful in keeping you engaged.
WHO GOES THERE - Don A. Stuart
In an expedition in Antarctica, a group of scientists discover a frozen alien. They can thaw the thing for research, or just incinerate it, what would they choose?
This is a brilliant science fiction novella which has some really good science bits. most of the cliches do exist. You have a group of people away in the sandbox, no impact on civilisation so story happens in its own independent time. There is one killer among many. Despite these elements, the book manages to hold your interest for a while. However, soon the claustrophobia settles in, and slowly the narrative goes deranged.
In a single read, this might hold the interest throughout, but I had to read it between various small bursts and that made me wonder if the story is moving at all. Not a long read, worth giving a try for its science part.
TIME-TRAVEL HAPPENS - A. M. Phillips
This was thoroughly entertaining and a one of kind fiction I've read till now. The tone is of a newspaper article and it tries to convince that two ladies have done time travel and visited an old French village. The article reads that how the investigation was undertaken to make sure their narrative is truthful. There are no specific science elements here, but that is at the backdrop. This is something unique and really enjoyable.
ROBOT'S RETURN - Robert Moore Williams
Three robots return to Earth in search of their inventors. They encounter a long lost and rusted remains of civilization but no human in sight. This feels like the inspiration behind Netflix's Love, Death Robots series episode, Three Robots. A short one but entertaining.
THE BLUE GIRAFFE - L. Sprangue De Camp
After the sands of time, this is the next biological science fiction. I felt it to be definitely better than the previous. This would be an inspiration for Michael Criton's works. This is just speculation, I am yet to read Criton's works. Here is a story where an African Safari lands suddenly start encountering weird and unnatural mutations in the animals. In those lands, there is a scientist has lost in the woods. Are they related? I liked the concept and it held my attention till the very end. The start is a bit rocky, with many names and languages overwhelms you in some places.
FLIGHT INTO DARKNESS - Webb Marlowe
You put a German V2 rocket on some serious steroids, add a flavour of post-world war scenario and you get a very entertaining read. There is a defeated faction which believes in their leader. This belief is so strong that they are not willing to take the defeat and look past. They are building a great spaceship to escape the earth regime, only to come back and hit hard. This is really a well-written story considering the outlandish ambitions.
THE WEAPONS SHOP - A.E. Van Vogt
This, I think, is my favourite of the bunch. There is an empire and a private enterprise which does not heed to that authority. However, even with the large stake, the story unfolds from a perspective of a simple village auto mechanic. The power struggles and larger themes are mere backdrops making the microscopic personal narrative important. The larger themes reminded me of Frank Herbert's Dune, but the personal story is perfectly carved out piece for a short story.
THE STAR MOUSE - Fredric Brown
Another humorous entry in the science fiction world. There are not many which tackle comedy genre in science fiction in this collection. Here is the best comedy in the collection. One scientist is building a rocket to go to the moon, and this is before Apollo missions. He sends a mouse for that trip. The poor creature does not reach moon but makes a stop somewhere midway before returning back to planet earth. What is that stop? The only trouble is the attempt the write the accented English of the scientist, as is which makes the reading pretty hard and not fluent as much this story deserves.
BRAIN - S. Fowler Wright
I guess I was a bit tired by the end of this, so frankly did not comprehend the ending. It was quick and unsatisfactory to the amount of build-up it created. The world is now run by scientists, who believe science is the only answer to politics and offers the best form of government. However, even scientists are not above ego and oneupmanship. You couple that with inventions which make you more intelligent, and then, in theory, you have a very good set of ingredients. To my dismay, this story pretty much squandered it, or at least did not work for me.
FAREWELL TO THE MASTER - Harry Bates
The final story in this collection inspired a movie, The Day Earth Stood Still. I have not seen it, but I can understand after reading, how it can make a fast-paced movie. An alien race makes the first contact with humans, but with our insecurities, we end up killing one among the two. Will this lead to a war of the worlds? This is written nicely and really closest to the modern style of writing.
===
When we think of science fiction, the usual names come to mind are many times limited to Issac Asimov, HG Wells etc, but there are many more names and even more works which deserve our attention. This science fiction stories collection introduced a few authors to me. I might end up reading more works from some of these authors, especially, Van Vogt, and Fredrick Brown.
August 3, 2024
A good book to open a person to science fiction books.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews