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A Gnome There Was
Contents
• A Gnome There Was
• What You Need
• The Twonky
• The Cure
• Exit the Professor
• See You Later
• Mimsy Were the Borogoves
• Jesting Pilot
• This is the House
• Rain Check
• Compliments of the Author
• A Gnome There Was
• What You Need
• The Twonky
• The Cure
• Exit the Professor
• See You Later
• Mimsy Were the Borogoves
• Jesting Pilot
• This is the House
• Rain Check
• Compliments of the Author
276 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
About the author
Lewis Padgett
105 books14 followersLewis Padgett was the joint pseudonym of the science fiction authors and spouses Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, taken from their mothers' maiden names. They also used the pseudonyms Lawrence O'Donnell and C.H. Liddell, as well as collaborating under their own names.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 24, 2025
4.5/5 estrellas.
De esta antología leí solamente "What You Need" y me pareció asombroso. Con un giro de trama inesperado y una historia en sí muy interesante.
Me gustó muchísimo. Sí, recomiendo.
De esta antología leí solamente "What You Need" y me pareció asombroso. Con un giro de trama inesperado y una historia en sí muy interesante.
Me gustó muchísimo. Sí, recomiendo.
April 23, 2025
John W. Campbell believed in the SF story as adventure, as hero, as man’s complete fulfillment of ultimate destiny: to master the machines and conquer the stars.
I mention this because C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner were surely not writing those kinds of stories. In fact, I’m surprised they got by him. Stories like Jesting Pilot, first published in the May 1947 issue of Astounding, is a dark, psychological future-trip about a population of human beings dwelling in an enclosed city, subject to an ambiguous form of hypnosis. This wasn’t a hero’s future—it was one where machines rule the psychological development of mankind.
Continuing the theme of machine control and modern psychosis is the impressive The Cure, first published in May 1946 in Astounding. It’s easy to see the influence this story likely had on writers like Philip K. Dick, Barry Malzberg, and Barrington J. Bayley. Another dark one that slipped past Campbell. A man named Howard begins to see and feel a windowpane pressed up against his nose, riddled with dust and reeking of dead flies—superimposed over the real world. He seeks psychiatric help, but the hallucinations persist. What is real and unreal begins to slide into shadow. In fact, this is an early conceptual sketch of a cultural Matrix. It occupies very similar terrain as A Maze of Death by PKD.
This Is the House is a clever science-horror piece about the erosion of self when confronted with intelligent machinery. I’m not sure if it was meant as cultural commentary, but if so, Kuttner and Moore had tremendous foresight.
The most memorable story is arguably Mimsy Were the Borogoves, which P. Schuyler Miller called a masterpiece. It’s one of the more enigmatic tales I’ve read in SF, and I’d teeter on calling the concept impressively original.
Rain Check is about a curious little alien species dwelling in a glass cube. It subtly manipulates the motives of humans who interact with it in order to maneuver itself toward destruction. Themes of suicidal ideation, cultural breakdown, and technological displacement resurface throughout the collection.
Most of these tales are set against a backdrop of 1940s suburban life. Happily married upper-middle-class couples, cigarettes and martinis in hand, slowly realize something is horribly amiss. Take The Twonky, where a man discovers his new radio is a malevolent robot—psychologically conditioning him according to the laws of some other world. These stories are hallmarked by a mostly grim vision of our technological future, but the Kuttners had a great sense of humor. You’ll get a chuckle or three—and be impressed that these stories are about to hit their 80th birthday.
I mention this because C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner were surely not writing those kinds of stories. In fact, I’m surprised they got by him. Stories like Jesting Pilot, first published in the May 1947 issue of Astounding, is a dark, psychological future-trip about a population of human beings dwelling in an enclosed city, subject to an ambiguous form of hypnosis. This wasn’t a hero’s future—it was one where machines rule the psychological development of mankind.
Continuing the theme of machine control and modern psychosis is the impressive The Cure, first published in May 1946 in Astounding. It’s easy to see the influence this story likely had on writers like Philip K. Dick, Barry Malzberg, and Barrington J. Bayley. Another dark one that slipped past Campbell. A man named Howard begins to see and feel a windowpane pressed up against his nose, riddled with dust and reeking of dead flies—superimposed over the real world. He seeks psychiatric help, but the hallucinations persist. What is real and unreal begins to slide into shadow. In fact, this is an early conceptual sketch of a cultural Matrix. It occupies very similar terrain as A Maze of Death by PKD.
This Is the House is a clever science-horror piece about the erosion of self when confronted with intelligent machinery. I’m not sure if it was meant as cultural commentary, but if so, Kuttner and Moore had tremendous foresight.
The most memorable story is arguably Mimsy Were the Borogoves, which P. Schuyler Miller called a masterpiece. It’s one of the more enigmatic tales I’ve read in SF, and I’d teeter on calling the concept impressively original.
Rain Check is about a curious little alien species dwelling in a glass cube. It subtly manipulates the motives of humans who interact with it in order to maneuver itself toward destruction. Themes of suicidal ideation, cultural breakdown, and technological displacement resurface throughout the collection.
Most of these tales are set against a backdrop of 1940s suburban life. Happily married upper-middle-class couples, cigarettes and martinis in hand, slowly realize something is horribly amiss. Take The Twonky, where a man discovers his new radio is a malevolent robot—psychologically conditioning him according to the laws of some other world. These stories are hallmarked by a mostly grim vision of our technological future, but the Kuttners had a great sense of humor. You’ll get a chuckle or three—and be impressed that these stories are about to hit their 80th birthday.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews