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Prime Number
Orbit 1991 edition paperback new book In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
3 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Harry Harrison
1,250 books1,038 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 13, 2022
Bought for a dollar based solely on the awesome cover.
It's classic 60/s70s science fiction short stories, the kind of story aimed at SF magazines of the day. They are not overly complicated, they're fast-paced, and they don't stick in your memory for very long.
It's classic 60/s70s science fiction short stories, the kind of story aimed at SF magazines of the day. They are not overly complicated, they're fast-paced, and they don't stick in your memory for very long.
November 18, 2021
It is a tenant of mine that I don't much like short story collections. They are just too, well, short! Over too fast, too annoying and interrupted to read for any length of time. Nevertheless, with classic sci-fi one almost HAS to read short stories, they are iconic to the American sci-fi classic scene because so much of the early work revolved around magazines.
Also, I outright adore Harry Harrison I don't think I have ever read anything of his I did not enjoy so I could not resist this book and it was great, so I am glad I overcame my short story bias. Another thing about short story collections, they are hard to review because often the central themes are very different to each other and you like some more than others. In this collection some are definite sci-fi, others less so and some not at all. Some stories are very heavily social critique, some are just for fun, others have pretty hefty punch lines. There are nineteen in this book, I can't review them all, so here are just a few thumbnails:
CONTACT MAN - Was a very martial, very strong sci-fi concept and a lot of fun with a really excellent punch line and a pretty subtle dig at social organisation and war politics. Great ending!
THE SECRET OF STONEHENGE - Has a pretty nifty sci-fi concept, with a device that can reach into the past and take pictures of a pre-entered time. An American goes out to take a photo of the builders. Again, a GREAT punchline.
YOU MEN OF VIOLENCE - Now this has a strong social commentary but it is an exciting escape from prison and chase on an airless planet. This was a really good story with some good hypotheses about future evolution of humanity and I will be re-reading it for sure.
DOWN TO EARTH - Is the story of the first moon landing as it never happened for real but with a twist. The twist is the time/dimension travel that follows the return to Earth. Another excellent one.
A STORY OF THE DAY AFTER THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW - Has aged badly. It comes across as sexist, misogynistic and... to be honest... more than a bit rapey. Harrison has imagined a far enough future tech that bars are fully automated and private copters standard. BUT in which a girl who has consensual sex is still "ruined". Also, coming from the 2000's where no means no, a story where a man takes 'no' to mean; I just need to find the right amount of money/technology to convince you... well... Ick, but consistent to the era (I am guessing 60's), though I am a bit sad that Harrison could not see beyond it.
A CRIMINAL MIND - An interesting perspective on human population limiting tactics in the future. Now I approve of a civilisation that limits to breeding, I am not sure that Harrison does, this is a very VERY debatable story. There is a lot in here to discuss, even aside from the fact that it has ages poorly (being quite sexist) by making a man wholly responsible for number of children with the woman not even seeming to be mentioned in the law.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS - the final story is a perfect one to end the compendium on. In it a erratic genius of a professor builds a device to listen in on the far past. The snippets of conversation from different eras that we read would all make perfects good stories in themselves. Another killer of a twist for an ending.
Also, I outright adore Harry Harrison I don't think I have ever read anything of his I did not enjoy so I could not resist this book and it was great, so I am glad I overcame my short story bias. Another thing about short story collections, they are hard to review because often the central themes are very different to each other and you like some more than others. In this collection some are definite sci-fi, others less so and some not at all. Some stories are very heavily social critique, some are just for fun, others have pretty hefty punch lines. There are nineteen in this book, I can't review them all, so here are just a few thumbnails:
CONTACT MAN - Was a very martial, very strong sci-fi concept and a lot of fun with a really excellent punch line and a pretty subtle dig at social organisation and war politics. Great ending!
THE SECRET OF STONEHENGE - Has a pretty nifty sci-fi concept, with a device that can reach into the past and take pictures of a pre-entered time. An American goes out to take a photo of the builders. Again, a GREAT punchline.
YOU MEN OF VIOLENCE - Now this has a strong social commentary but it is an exciting escape from prison and chase on an airless planet. This was a really good story with some good hypotheses about future evolution of humanity and I will be re-reading it for sure.
DOWN TO EARTH - Is the story of the first moon landing as it never happened for real but with a twist. The twist is the time/dimension travel that follows the return to Earth. Another excellent one.
A STORY OF THE DAY AFTER THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW - Has aged badly. It comes across as sexist, misogynistic and... to be honest... more than a bit rapey. Harrison has imagined a far enough future tech that bars are fully automated and private copters standard. BUT in which a girl who has consensual sex is still "ruined". Also, coming from the 2000's where no means no, a story where a man takes 'no' to mean; I just need to find the right amount of money/technology to convince you... well... Ick, but consistent to the era (I am guessing 60's), though I am a bit sad that Harrison could not see beyond it.
A CRIMINAL MIND - An interesting perspective on human population limiting tactics in the future. Now I approve of a civilisation that limits to breeding, I am not sure that Harrison does, this is a very VERY debatable story. There is a lot in here to discuss, even aside from the fact that it has ages poorly (being quite sexist) by making a man wholly responsible for number of children with the woman not even seeming to be mentioned in the law.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS - the final story is a perfect one to end the compendium on. In it a erratic genius of a professor builds a device to listen in on the far past. The snippets of conversation from different eras that we read would all make perfects good stories in themselves. Another killer of a twist for an ending.
March 4, 2020
A bundle with well known and lesser known stories by Harry Harrison. Some of the stories are in my view not even SciFi in any sense, sometime due to the fact that the idea described already materialized as contemporary issues like The Ghoul Squad that deals with organ donorship by default. Some of the stories nowadays classify as grounded SciFi like in the Black Mirror series. In fact, if Harrison would still be alive he might very well be writing for Black Mirror.
Harrison writes well, his short stories are no longer than they need to be to convey the idea he wants to present to the reader. What pervades the bundle, even with the darker stories is an optimistic and positive atmosphere. Harrison loves the world and the humans in it, we never descend in utter darkness. My favourite one in this bundle is Down to Earth, a story in which the existence of alternative realities depend on the observer rather than existing as a ding an sich as explained in the story by a alternative reality Einstein. That one had me thinking for a while.
All in all an very rewarding read.
Harrison writes well, his short stories are no longer than they need to be to convey the idea he wants to present to the reader. What pervades the bundle, even with the darker stories is an optimistic and positive atmosphere. Harrison loves the world and the humans in it, we never descend in utter darkness. My favourite one in this bundle is Down to Earth, a story in which the existence of alternative realities depend on the observer rather than existing as a ding an sich as explained in the story by a alternative reality Einstein. That one had me thinking for a while.
All in all an very rewarding read.
September 17, 2022
4 / 5 for 'Prime Number' by Harry Harrison
Another brilliant collection of short stories from one of the GrandMasters of Sci-Fi. Every story contains tension, humour, excellent world-building and snappy dialogue, always based around some form of sci-fi concept. My personal highlights were "A CRIMINAL MIND" and "YOU MEN OF VIOLENCE".
This book only loses one star because "A STORY OF THE DAY AFTER THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW" has aged very badly, and even for the 1960s when it was written, it feels a little TOO misogynistic and even somewhat rapey. Not good.
Other than that one blemish, this is a wonderful sci-fi collection from a wonderful sci-fi author.
4 / 5
Another brilliant collection of short stories from one of the GrandMasters of Sci-Fi. Every story contains tension, humour, excellent world-building and snappy dialogue, always based around some form of sci-fi concept. My personal highlights were "A CRIMINAL MIND" and "YOU MEN OF VIOLENCE".
This book only loses one star because "A STORY OF THE DAY AFTER THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW" has aged very badly, and even for the 1960s when it was written, it feels a little TOO misogynistic and even somewhat rapey. Not good.
Other than that one blemish, this is a wonderful sci-fi collection from a wonderful sci-fi author.
4 / 5
October 1, 2021
Amazing variety of tales. Fantasy stories that take you to other worlds and different times. Great
December 23, 2022
Great collection of sci fi and horror stories. Well worth reading. Harry Harrison is such a great sci fi writer. If you have not read him before, what are waiting for?
September 23, 2025
This is a collection of 19 short stories. I like number 4, “The Powers of Observation”, and reread it occasionally. I don’t remember the others, at least not from their titles.
October 18, 2025
Prime Number by Harry Harrison.
A collection of Harry Harrison's short stories, showing his imagination and good humour.
My favourites were 'The Final Battle'- a caveman declares everlasting peace with the advent of an ultimate weapon; the bow and arrow, 'The finest hunter in the world'- with an unexpected finest hunter, 'Not me, not Amos Cabot!'- an old man cleans up his lifestyle to live longer out of spite.
A fine collection with most stories moderately short.
A collection of Harry Harrison's short stories, showing his imagination and good humour.
My favourites were 'The Final Battle'- a caveman declares everlasting peace with the advent of an ultimate weapon; the bow and arrow, 'The finest hunter in the world'- with an unexpected finest hunter, 'Not me, not Amos Cabot!'- an old man cleans up his lifestyle to live longer out of spite.
A fine collection with most stories moderately short.
January 6, 2015
An entertaining short story collection of variable quality. For me the stand-out was "Toy Shop".
November 14, 2015
A collection of short stories, some of which were quite good. Most were a little more serious than the adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat, and even thought-provoking.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews