Godenschemering en andere verhalen

by Edmond Hamilton

Bevat:

Het eiland van de slaper
Godenschemering
De herberg buiten de wereld
Hoe is het daar?
De koning der schaduwen
Slangenprinses
De sterren, mijn broeders
Transuranië
Uitgestoten
De wachter der tijden
De wereld van een dromer
Zonnevuur

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies, Horror, Literature

311 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Edmond Moore Hamilton was a popular author of science fiction stories and novels throughout the mid-twentieth century. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania. Something of a child prodigy, he graduated high school and started college (Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania) at the age of 14--but washed out at 17. He was the Golden Age writer who worked on Batman, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and many sci-fi books.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of a dozen stories by Hamilton that first appeared from 1941 to 1962. Hamilton was known as a master of space opera, but only four of these are from science fiction magazines, two each from the pulp Thrilling Wonder Stories and the digest-sized 1962 Amazing Stories. One is from an early Sam Moskowitz anthology, and all of the rest are from Weird Tales. It was surprising to me that the writer of Captain Future did so much horror and fantasy earlier in his career. (I later learned that he wrote tons of DC comics back in the day, too.) This volume appeared in 1974 and isn't as definitively representative as "The Best of" volume that came out three years later (there's surprisingly little overlap between the two), but it has some good and interesting stuff. The title story is something of a classic, and I also especially remember liking Transuranic, The Inn Outside the World, and most especially Castaway.

[Sara]

Transuranic
the story our
and life at start
our laughing over many atom lab
without oth many time pass
and we wait to what
to kill the begning
why at our sad moment was there
wounded to kill baby
soul in many oval
but how much we want to see that face
by toy killed
our laugh will countino
the hero like us
what asuny future was wait us
plz our eys wait moment
the love and miss there was
and by toy we kill a baby
to be hero as phill
wounded haert
crazy to belive what we done

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilled I found these Hamilton shorts in the wild. Enjoyed the grim journey of a an astronaut going home in “What’s It Like Out There” and “Transuranic” could be adapted to a Trek episode. “Sunfire” reminded us that we may be playing second fiddle to what or who is out there.

[James Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s it Like out there? and other stories


I was surprised to see so few reviews of this excellent collection from Hamilton. He is one my favorite authors, so I wanted to offer my perspective.

Overall. I would say the quality of these older stories is solid, with many strong tales within. Mined from the likes of Weird Tales, and to a lesser extent other pulps such as Amazing Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories, ranging from the early 1940s to the late 60s.

There are some real treasures to be found here. Some that stood out to me:

~What’s it like Out There?, the titular story, was apparently considered to be just too dark and gritty for when it was first written, back in the thirties. Twenty years later, with his wife's encouragement, he pulled it out again, made some revisions, and it was finally published to much acclaim. It remains a classic SF tale of the difficult challenges the protagonist has faced in an expdedition to Mars.

~The King of Shadows begins as a lost city story, then quickly evolves into something much more. An older, but colorful, large-scale story, full of mystery, action, and as always the case with Hamilton, a very fast-pace. It's an easy hook once you realize that the lost city the protaganist has been searching for to find a friend in Asia is far more than meets the eye.

~Dreamer’s Worlds is probably my favorite in the entire collection. Poor Henry Stevens. Imagine you are just an ordinary person, with an ordinary life. But when you go to sleep at night, you are literally somebody else entirely living an entirely different life on another world. You have been this way for as long as you can remember. But who is the real person, and who is the dream? Henry Stevens? The alien Khal Kan? Or neither? A wonderful tale with seamless transitions physically and in style between the exotic alien world of Thar and quiet suburban Illinois. I found it to be vivd, and compelling all at once.

~The Stars My Brothers is a nice little story about a man who becomes frozen in time after an orbital station where he is working meets disaster. The rest of the story is gritty, relentless action as the disoriented protagonist (Reed Kieran) is revived in the middle of a battle by people who are trying to use him politically. Another thing I liked about this story is just how Kieran wound up joining the space service to begin with. It’s a bit cruel, yet hilarious.

~Castaway is a short, but highly effective tribute to Edgar Allen Poe, originally written for an anthology edited by Sam Moskowitz. It's brief, but quite atmospheric. Not to be missed.

~Sunfire is a quiet tale concerning an astronaut's homecoming after having encountered an alien species native to space itself. The effect that this meeting has had on him is compelling, but I don't want to give it away.

Think of this collection as a strong companion-piece to The Best of Edmond Hamilton, edited by his wife, the equally great Leigh Brackett, who is now mostly remembered for cowriting the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back. That in itself is great but, like her husband, she gave so much more to SF fans than most people realize today. Either way, if you are looking for some great old-school SF, this is an excellent collection (and affiorementioned Best of Edmond Hamilton) is bursting with stories still worth exploring. Needs a reprint!

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this when I was a teenager. Then I spent decades trying to find it again. Finally, just last year, I was able to find a copy. It is every bit as good as I remember.

I recommend this to any SF fan, most especially fans of classic SF.

[Forked Radish]

What’s it Like Out There? *
The King of Shadows
Castaway
Serpent Princess
The Stars, My Brothers *
Dreamer’s World *
Twilight of the Gods *
Sunfire! *
The Inn Outside the World
The Watcher of the Ages ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A light that shined and never went out.” .. The only “vain dream” was the hope that man would ever become even an iota wiser.
Tranuranic *
The Isle of the Sleeper *
*See separate listing

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's It Like Out There? Reflection on tour of Mars

[Forked Radish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space travel isn’t all fun and games.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about some one returning to normal life