Paperback Library, 1964. Paperback, 1st printing. Introduction by the editor, and these stories: "Monument" (1961) by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.; "The Plague" (1961) by Teddy Keller; "Remember the Alamo!" (1961) by T. R. Fehrenbach; "The Hunch" [Federation of Humanity]" (1961) by Christopher Anvil; "Barnacle Bull" (1960) by Poul Anderson [as by Winston P. Sanders]; "Join Our Gang?" (1961) by Sterling E. Lanier; "Sleight of Wit" (1961) by Gordon R. Dickson; "Prologue to an Analogue" (1961) by Leigh Richmond.
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction (later called Analog Science Fiction and Fact), from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.
Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in science fiction ever, and for the first ten years of his editorship he dominated the field completely."
As a writer, Campbell published super-science space opera under his own name and moody, less pulpish stories as Don A. Stuart. He stopped writing fiction after he became editor of Astounding.
This is the first of a series of anthologies that John Campbell edited that showcased stories from Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact Magazine, which he edited for many years both before and after the name was changed from Astounding Science Fiction. ASF dominated the field in the 1940's and held its own through most of the 1950's, but F & SF and Galaxy and others had gradually taken over the role. The eight stories that Campbell selected here from the first couple of years of the renamed version (1960-1961) aren't bad, but aren't as memorable as the best of other magazines. (It probably didn't help that Doubleday gave the book the most boring cover of the year.) The best stories are by Sterling E. Lanier, Winston P. Sanders (which was a pseudonym of Poul Anderson), Gordon R. Dickson, and Christopher Anvil. My favorite is Monument by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
7- This was at less than 170 pages a slight book and a quick read. The most well known authors in here are Lloyd Biggle and Gordon Dickson. All the other authors are now forgotten. And reading this collection there's no compelling reason they shouldn't be. That is not to say their stories are worthless, but just that they fit the Campbellian mould neatly and do not venture beyond that really, so they are strictly 'of their time'. There's no transcending the trappings of fourties and fifties SF here, with flat, one dimensional characters, stock space fleet settings and humanoid aliens. Knowing that is what you will get on reading this helps to enjoy this for what it is: a snapshot of Sf-culture of a specific time (in which the tropes got stale and soon a new wave would wash them away). The opening story 'Monument' was a great reversal of the usual type of story, where an indiginous population gets to keep their planet (even though they need a earth human to teach them how). 'Remember the Alamo' was the freshest tale of the bunch, shining another light on a well known part of history. The other tale of note was 'Prologue to an Analogue' by Leigh Richmond which looks at the influence of media in a world on the brink of war - but in a very fascinating way. Even a seemingly inocuous commercial can change history ...
Astounding Science Fiction was one of the most influential science fiction magazines from the 1930s to the 1950s. But long-time editor John W. Campbell had felt for years that the title did not reflect the more mature, “hard” science fiction he preferred to run. So in 1960, he finally got permission to transition the magazine over a period of months to Analog Science Fact and Fiction.
This volume is a collection of stories from that first year of Analog and as such is a time capsule of the science fiction genre at that moment. The opening editorial is perhaps a little hubristic, claiming that “mainstream literature” is just a subset of science fiction. Mr. Campbell touts the fun of science fiction being the way it allows the mind to stretch and struggle with new concepts. Then we begin the eight feature stories.
“Monument” by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. concerns a planet that is a tropical paradise, inhabited by primitive, peaceful humanoids. A lone spaceman stumbles on the place, and lives out his life in peace…until near his death, he realizes that inevitably more humans will come, and given the history of tropical paradises on Earth, this will result in disaster for the natives. He comes up with a plan. Some time later, galactic civilization indeed comes calling. All unfolds as O’Brien had foreseen–greedy developers, broken treaties, military men with their hands tied by regulations. The people of Langri have the Plan, but will it come off in time?
This is the longest piece in the volume, being a full-fledged novella. The critique of colonialism is pointed enough to sting a bit. The greedy capitalist who doesn’t really hate the natives, but doesn’t understand that their interests should come ahead of his own, and so does them dirt, is the major villain of the piece. He’ll be quite willing to employ the locals as maids and laborers in the hotels he’s building, once they’re properly put in their place. He’s blind to the way he’s being outmaneuvered, and even the sympathetic military men don’t quite grok what the natives are really up to.
“The Plague” by Teddy Keller is set in the then present day. The obscure Pentagon office of Protection from Germ Warfare had the previous officer retire a few weeks ago, and his replacement is tied up in red tape somewhere. So when a plague breaks out, Sergeant Major Andrew McCloud and Corporal Bettijean Baker are the spearhead of the effort to stop it, despite the military brass trying to interfere. A general is running interference, but if they don’t figure out why this illness has such a weird pattern of attack quickly, some new officer will be found to start all over.
The vector of spread is a clever one, and I have seen it in at least one other short story. Younger readers might not catch on until it is spelled out for them, as customs and technology have changed since 1960. There’s a whiff of the period’s sexism in regards to how grown women in the military are referred to as “girls.”
“Remember the Alamo!” by T.R. Fehrenbach is a time travel tale. A scholar has gone back to observe the Battle of the Alamo, infiltrating the small garrison to get the full details. Mr. Ord doesn’t quite grasp that the differences piling up between the history he knows and the events he is experiencing aren’t just trivialities he can dismiss. The end result is telegraphed because we see the thoughts of those around Ord, and what they’re not telling him, since he should already know it.
“The Hunch” by Christopher Anvil features scout ship pilot James Connely, who is informed that two scout ships have vanished in a certain sector, despite having the latest equipment. So his ship is being refitted with even newer equipment. Equipment he has no chance to test before being launched into that same sector. As it happens, his hunch that one of these devices is actually responsible for the disappearance of the other ships is correct. But which one of these newfangled gadgets is it? This story is heavy on the sarcastic humor.
“Barnacle Bull” by Winston P. Sanders is a rarity, in that the protagonists are a Norwegian space crew in the “near future” flying the Hellik Olav in an attempt to find a safe way through the asteroid belt. They discover why none of the other ships ever reported back. Space barnacles. This is one of those stories where the problem is in fact its own solution, looked at a different way.
“Join Our Gang?” by Sterling E Lanier concerns a galactic civilization attempting to convince a newly discovered planet to join them. Sadly, the aliens are refusing, so it is time to apply pressure. Turns out that invasive species are an Earth specialty. Not exactly a happy ending to this one, more of a “that’s just the way it goes.”
“Sleight of Wit” by Gordon R. Dickson stars another scout, Hank Shallo lands on the same planet, in almost the spot as, the first alien scout humanity has ever met. The alien’s ship is heavily armed, while Hank’s has no conventional weaponry. But as he warns the alien, Hank is in possession of the universe’s most deadly weapon, one that cannot be detected or stopped. Or is he bluffing? Does the alien dare find out for sure?
“Prologue to an Analogue” by Leigh Richmond is the sole non-“hard” SF story in the volume. We’re back in the present day, as an advertising campaign featuring “witches” proves successful in unexpected ways. For younger readers, I should mention that many television programs used to be wholly owned by a particular advertiser, so a cleaning product company hosting its own nightly newscast wouldn’t have been considered unusual. The story is also tied heavily to the politics of 1960, with tensions between the USA, the Soviet Union and Red China important to the way the plot unfolds. The actual mechanism of the events is never explained. Psionics? The will of God? Actual witches? Who knows? A rather frustrating tale, as intended.
These aren’t all-time classic stories, a couple are very dated, but are pretty good representatives of the magazine’s content. It’s been reprinted a few times, and some of the other covers are better–check your local library or used book store.
Rest assured Campbell would deliver a hard scifi short story collection with Analog 1 and I believe it contains half-baked but promising scifi concepts with vintage charm, my overall rating 3.5 out of 5:
"Monument" by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.: ...would you have continued to save a planet's natives from colonization even if you were to fade from history i.e. no legacy?
"The Plague" by Teddy Keller: lame mystery plot twist about an epidemic, lamer than a Nancy Drew case lol
"Remember the Alamo!" by T.R. Fehrenbach: "...it is manifest destiny that the Latin people of North America meet at the center of the continent. Canada and Mexico shall share the Mississippi," aka alternate reality
"The Hunch" by Christopher Anvil: a unique stance on logic vs intuition, machine vs man; reminds me of Stanislaw Lem's funny spaceman adventures in "The Star Diaries"
"Barnacle Bull" by Winston P. Sanders: interesting theories on the origins of the Asteroid Belt, including possible alien life; Asimov could've written this (very imaginative)
"Join Our Gang?" by Sterling E. Lanier: can't tell if pro-NATO or pro-communist; now that I think about it this is very clever in hiding the author's political stance in plain sight
"Sleight of Wit" by Gordon R. Dickson: a lightweight anecdote about playing mind games with an alien; just ok but endearing
"Prologue to an Analogue" by Leigh Richmond: from cleaning products with witches for mascots, to successfully landing a biodome on the moon... this is a bonkers but timely social commentary for divided nations to wake up and 'unite' before it's too late
Great little collection of sci fi stories from the 1960s, worth it for the inclusion of Monument by Lloyd Biggle, which is one of the best short stories I've read all year and I can see why it was later expanded into a full novel. Remember The Alamo by T R Fehrenbach is a fun time travel tale, and Sleight Of Wit by George R Dickson also stands out. But overall a worthwhile addition to any sci fi collection.
"Monument" (1961) by Lloyd Biggle Jr. 7/10 Biggle Jr. was a solid writer. He did use "brightly" two sentences in a row, however. He also used "lamely" once. This story was evidently expanded into a novel in 1974, but the novelette is good as is; it didn't need to be any longer. - Typos: "Thy will push our people..." (They) - "... getting the ork, going again." (work) - "... filed it way as unimportant..." (away) ...
"The Plague" (1961) by Teddy Keller 5/10 It's almost unfair for me to give this one a rating, as the back cover spoiled the ending for me. Interestingly, there are a couple of (possibly unintentional) puns at the end. ...
"Remember the Alamo!" (1961) by T.R. Fehrenbach 4/10 Perhaps if I had ever learned about the Alamo, then I might be able to remember it. But since I don't know the first thing about it... - I'm against historical fiction about real people and events. Things only ever played out in one specific way, and nothing will ever change that. I'm offended when authors treat historical figures as characters, giving them made-up lines they never spoke. Inserting how they think the real-life person would have felt/acted, and having them do things they never did. It's the literary equivalent of ripping someone's body from their casket and having a tea party with it; how would you feel if someone did that to you? I'm aware this story takes place in an alternate timeline; that changes nothing. ...
"The Hunch" (1961) by Christopher Anvil 5/10 This one is on the more humorous side, but I didn't get anything out of it. Maybe I just read it at the wrong time. - Uses of "here and there": 2 Uses of "[this] here and [that] there": 1 - Typos/mistakes: "The instruction for everything but the clothing are attached..." (this should be plural) ...
"Barnacle Bull" by Winston P. Sanders 4/10 This one is boring. Very boring. Oh... it was just Poul Anderson in disguise; no wonder... - Typos/mistakes: "... planetary robits." (orbits) - "I believe it highly probably, though." (probable) - [One missing quotation mark before a different character speaks.] - (I can't tell if the author meant to write, "... such an ugh situation?" or not.) ...
"Join Our Gang?" (1961) by Sterling E. Lanier 4/10 I... don't even remember this. All I can recall is something terribly vague about the weaponization of non-native sea creatures. It must not have been very good. ...
"Sleight of Wit" (1961) by Gordon R. Dickson 5/10 The first page really stumped me because of the parallel paragraphs. For several long moments, I didn't know whether or not it was intentional, or what the author was trying to do. Not a great way to pull the reader in. Also on the first page, "gleaming" is used two sentences in a row. - Typos/mistakes: "There was a monent's hesitation..." (moment's) - [Two more missing quotation marks before different characters speak.] ...
"Prologue to an Analogue" (1961) by Leigh Richmond 5/10 Oh boy, yet another epidemic... and even more tension between the Americans and the Russians. I wish writers of fiction would just stay away from it. Who wants to read about that crap? The story was... different, at least. --- "Witches of the world, unite—to make it clean, clean, clean, Witch clean—NOW!" --- Randolph chews his lip: "Randolph chewed his lip..." - "... said Randolph, chewing his lip." - "... he thought, chewing his lip..." - "Randolph chewed the thought in silence." - "Randolph chewed his lip a while in silence..." - "Randolph stood by the telephone, still chewing his lip." - "When Randolph shut off the TV that night, he was chewing his lip violently." - "Randolph chewed his lip..." - "... as Randolph chewed his lip." - "Randolph was quiet for a minute, chewing his lip." - "Oswald hurried on, knowing that Randolph had to go through a bit of lip chewing before he could interrupt..." - "Randolph was chewing his lip still as he went to bed that night." - "Randolph chewed his lip, standing there..." - "There wasn't even a pause for lip-chewing this time." - "The lip-chewing started again." --- There was some confusingly messed-up grammar: "Their reactions to the United Nations report were quite otherwise that those Oswald was experiencing." (???) - "Of course the thing was a curiosity natural..." (???) - "Some of the kids was crying..." (were) ...
A light read featuring eight stories from the early years of Analog. I have not read any of these stories in other anthologies. All but one are "hard" SF. I'd really like to get it 3.5 stars.