What do you think?
Rate this book
The Servant Problem
Selling a whole town, and doing it inconspicuously, can be a little difficult . . . either giving it away freely, or in a more normal sense of “selling.” People don’t quite believe it . . . .Robert F. Young was a Hugo nominated author known for his lyrical and sentimental prose. His work appeared in Amazing Stories, Fantastic Stories, Startling Stories, Playboy, The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, Galaxy Magazine, and Analog Science Fact & Fiction.
35 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1962
3 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Robert F. Young
301 books29 followersRobert Franklin Young was a science-fiction author, primarily of short stories over a thirty-year career, plus five novels in the last decade of his life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 16, 2015
A real estate agent is contacted by a lovely woman to sell every property in an abandoned town. He is intrigued by both her and the mystery of the town. And then there is the dog…
A nice set up is squandered and the twist at the end is just plain silly. There is some good writing however. It makes me think that I may have just picked the wrong story to introduce myself to the work of Robert F. Young.
A nice set up is squandered and the twist at the end is just plain silly. There is some good writing however. It makes me think that I may have just picked the wrong story to introduce myself to the work of Robert F. Young.
August 22, 2023
I listened to this as part of The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack. It was an enteremting space story. I have listened to a number of novels by the author. I would recommend to readers of space opera novels. 2023
June 29, 2023
🖊 The ending surprised me; it kind of creeped me out. Bravo! The Project Gutenberg e-book has the original illustrations, while the Kindle version is devoid of them. This is a good short story from the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
📙 This book was published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 1962 November
🟢The e-book version can be found on Project Gutenberg.
🟣Kindle.
🚀●▬●💫 🪐 💫●▬●🚀
📙 This book was published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 1962 November
🟢The e-book version can be found on Project Gutenberg.
🟣Kindle.
🚀●▬●💫 🪐 💫●▬●🚀
November 12, 2012
It's not one of his best, yet the interesting themes deserve a novel.
A real estate agent is invited to a far-away town to do some business. He thinks he is there to appraise a house or two, but to his shock, he soon finds out the sole resident is demanding him to sell the entire town, under some very odd conditions. What is her secret?
It's fairly clumsy for Young, and lacks the elegance of his best work. But the idea is very interesting, and I think suffers from the short length. If it were extended, this would resemble Clifford Simak's works, and the potential is there. Just not so much as executed.
A real estate agent is invited to a far-away town to do some business. He thinks he is there to appraise a house or two, but to his shock, he soon finds out the sole resident is demanding him to sell the entire town, under some very odd conditions. What is her secret?
It's fairly clumsy for Young, and lacks the elegance of his best work. But the idea is very interesting, and I think suffers from the short length. If it were extended, this would resemble Clifford Simak's works, and the potential is there. Just not so much as executed.
June 3, 2012
This is a really cool short story which I can only describe as "charming". I could have read Robert F. Young and may have read one of his stories back in the old days but I really do not recall ever having heard of him.
This story is curiously similar to Cat and Mouse by Ralph Williams, which was nominated for a Hugo, but this story is better. It is just a different type of tale and not driven by excitement. The science discussion is better also.
This story is curiously similar to Cat and Mouse by Ralph Williams, which was nominated for a Hugo, but this story is better. It is just a different type of tale and not driven by excitement. The science discussion is better also.
February 15, 2012
A interesting short story, with with a twist at the end..
The story is told in a narrative and conversational style.
The narrator is well spoken, his voice is clear and easy to listen to.
The recording good is clean with out any background noises. There plenty of volume. The editing is seamless.
The story is told in a narrative and conversational style.
The narrator is well spoken, his voice is clear and easy to listen to.
The recording good is clean with out any background noises. There plenty of volume. The editing is seamless.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews