Worlds of Tomorrow: Science Fiction with a Difference

by August Derleth (Editor)

Short-Story Anthology includes:

"The Tinkler": Poul Anderson
"The Smile": Ray Bradbury
"The Fires Within": Arthur C. Clarke
"Superiority": Arthur C. Clarke
"McIlvaine's Star": August Derleth
"Brothers Beyond the Void": Paul W. Fairman
"Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful!": Stuart Friedman
"The Dead Planet": Edmond Hamilton
"Like A Bird, Like a Fish": H.B. Hickey
"The Gentleman Is An EPWA": Carl Jacobi
"The Enchanted Forest": Fritz Leiber
"The Great Cold": Frank Belknap Long
"Line to Tomorrow": Lewis Padgett
"The Business, As Usual": Mack Reynolds
"The Gardener": Margaret St. Clair
"The Martian and the Moron": William Tenn
"Strange Harvest": Donald Wandrei

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies

351 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the Cosmic Horror genre, as well as his founding of the publisher Arkham House (which did much to bring supernatural fiction into print in hardcover in the US that had only been readily available in the UK), Derleth was a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography

A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augus...]

Reviews

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these "Golden Age" SF stories. They had uncomplicated plots and straightforward storytelling - also science reigned supreme in them (though it was never complex). They were mostly set in the future, and almost all stories had space travel. So what if the characterisation was a bit flat, and there were no philosophical questions asked? You could enjoy a thumping good story.

This enchanting collection contains ten tales, all set in the future.

1. The Tinkler by Poul Anderson: A cautionary tale for kids who visit their relatives on an unfamiliar planet. Mildly enjoyable.

2. Superiority by Arthur C. Clarke: The master comes up with a brilliant story on the perils of too much technological sophistication. It resonated with me especially, since I encounter this problem every day as a specialist in Industrial Safety!

3. McIlvaine's Star by August Derleth: A humdrum story about extraterrestrials - till the very end, when the tale takes an unexpected turn. The ambiguous ending is very effectively done.

4. Brother's Beyond the Void by Paul F. Fairman: The perils of taking extraterrestrials lightly. Rather predictable.

5. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful by Stuart Friedman: A tiny philosophical tale which questions the nature of beauty. I felt it was a bit weak.

6. The Dead Planet by Edmond Hamilton: A space exploration story in the classical mould. Predictable towards the end, but enjoyable all the same.

7. Like a Bird, Like a Fish by H. B. Hickey: Mind-bending time travel plus religion in a Mexican village. It might be a bit difficult to wrap your head around the concept, but the tale is so well-written that you can't stop in-between.

8. The Gardener by Margaret St. Clair: I have a hard time deciding whether this is an SF story masquerading as horror or vice-versa. An arrogant man getting his just desserts for the breaking of a taboo is old hat; but the tale is anything but! Chilling.

9. Null-P by William Tenn: A hilarious satire on humanity. I never thought I would see statistics used to such devastating effect in fiction! My favourite in the collection.

10. Strange Harvest by Donald Wandrei: A weird theme about sentient vegetation, weirdly executed. A fun read.

Overall verdict: worth the while of any SF aficionado.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one! Many small tales of men finding themselves strange new experiences or in new lands. The final two parts I can't say I enjoyed but all others are quite fun.

[Eric Winter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apparently an abbreviated ppb edition, missing a few stories. Some weird (Null-P), some creepy (The Enchanted Forest), some classic (The Dead Planet). A pleasant but unremarkable read.

[Steven Lomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful set of SF short story classics. All are fairly simple but a couple are thought provoking. My favourites are 'Gardener' and 'Null-P'.

[SciFiOne]

1976 no grade

short stories