Unknown

by John W. Campbell

The original first issue of John W. Campbell's Unknown.

162 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 1939

About the author

Check also main profile under John W. Campbell Jr.

Reviews

[JoeK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was determined to read an entire issue of Unknown because I had heard so many things about it. It has had a very high reputation among SF fans and I got the impression that during its heyday, it was better than Weird Tales as a source for fantasy fiction. Science fiction historian Mike Ashley claims it was responsible for creating the modern fantasy genre. I know that Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series got its start here, but I didn’t much care for those stories either. Campbell’s stated goal was to inject humour and make monsters into characters, instead of fantasy being all about "gloom and terror". I think of all the stories in this issue, only Trouble with Water was successful in this regard. So after the first seven stories, I can’t say that I can see what the hubbub was about. I don’t think it was any better (or worse) than an issue of Weird Tales. I can only suppose that it got better or at least funnier.

I really felt that there was more science fiction than fantasy in this magazine. There was really only one fantasy story (the aforementioned Trouble with Water) and one ghost story ("Where Angels Fear—") the rest were pretty typical SF for the time. While I consider psychic phenomenon (ESP etc.) to be debunked fantasy material, at the time it seemed to many in the SF community to be scientifically plausible. John Campbell was certainly pushing it forward and it certainly crops up in many of these tales.

Here is my breakdown of the issue. I have reviewed Sinister Barrier separately since I read the reprinted version that updated and changed the story somewhat from the original

Sinister Barrier by Eric Frank Russell — 3 stars
Who Wants Power? by Mona Farnsworth — 4 stars
Dark Vision by Frank Belknap Long — 2.5 stars
Trouble with Water by H. L. Gold — 3.5 stars
"Where Angels Fear—" by Manly Wade Wellman — 1.5 stars
Closed Doors by A. B. L. Macfadyen, Jr. — 3.5 stars
Death Sentence by Robert Moore Williams — 4 stars

**Spoiler** A special note about Death Sentence. This story predates Alfred Bester’s “The Demolished Man" by a number of years, but has the same surprise finish — in the future, criminals aren't imprisoned, or killed — they have their memories erased and are reeducated to become productive members of society. This was a primary concept even earlier in the Doc Savage novels, but seems much more drastic when pulled out as a last minute surprise for the reader. I'd be curious to know who came up with the concept first.