Two Timer

by Fredric Brown

“Here is a brace of vignettes by the Old Vignette Master ... short and sharp ... like a hypodermic”

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

12 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2010

About the author

Fredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was one of the boldest early writers in genre fiction in his use of narrative experimentation. While never in the front rank of popularity in his lifetime, Brown has developed a considerable cult following in the almost half century since he last wrote. His works have been periodically reprinted and he has a worldwide fan base, most notably in the U.S. and Europe, and especially in France, where there have been several recent movie adaptations of his work. He also remains popular in Japan.

Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.

Reviews

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of free Kindle edition
A Public Domain book
Publication date: March 24, 2011
Language: English
ASIN: B004TQH3CE

The two stories in this volume do not match the description posted on Goodreads They have nothing to do with Jack Breton, his double John or their wife Kate.

Originally published in the February 1954 issue of GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, these two short stories or vignettes as Brown called them are about a page each. Too short for much in the way of plot or character development, the points of both are humorous endings with what were most likely unexpected twists at the time. The second one has subsequently been used many times. It was much fresher in 1954.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

So all the editions of this book on Goodreads have the wrong description. Even Google books has the wrong description. So do several other websites. Someone, somewhere, mixed up Fredric Brown’s work with another book and people ever since have been repeating that mistake without checking their facts.

Other reviewers on Goodreads have described the two short stories that make up Brown’s Two Timer. But as far as I can tell the summary that was originally given in Galaxy Science Fiction when it was published in 1954 was -

“Here is a brace of vignettes by the Old Vignette Master ... short and sharp ... like a hypodermic”

The description incorrectly given for Brown’s stories is actually that of a book by Bob Shaw called The Two Timers. You can find it on Goodreads, with its correct description.

It took me less than ten minutes on Google to track this information down. It’s frustrating that publishers and other websites haven’t bothered to take ten minutes to check their facts before publishing incorrect information.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Two-Fer.

🖊 There are two flash fiction stories inside:

“Experiment” – a tale of a time machine gone awry. ★★★★★

“Sentry” – a glimpse of what is normal in the world. ★★★★★

📕Published in Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 7, No. 5A, February 1954.
🎨Illustrated.

જ⁀🟢The e-book version on Project Gutenberg .
༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻ ༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻






My ratings for both of these short stories:
Content: ★★★★★
Grammar: ★★★★★
Writing style: ★★★★★
Ease of reading: ★★★★★
My recommendation: ★★★★★
My total rating for this work: ★★★★★ (5.0)

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scifi short story by a master, well done!!

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

might be 3 1/2.

Both had a surprise ending. Though the second one is an old surprise now. I’ll bet it was new new when the author used it.

[Akrabar · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story

available for free here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fHSH...

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook.

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Timer: two separate, distinct stories stuck together for convenience sake. I guess the common thread between the two being "Perception".

1. Experiment - 4 stars

Wow! That's some Paradox!

Of course, I wonder that.....

....if Time Travel is dependent upon where one Establishes the Grounding Point of their Space-Time Coordinates, wouldn't that Theoretically mean that The Universe, as perceived by the Reader of this story, has actually not, in "Reality" Vanished so much as it now may have an Existence in a Place of Space and Time that the Reader's Limited Field of Perception no longer has access to it......

.....as with any great Time Travel story one shouldn't bother trying to figure the Paradoxes out.......Just Go With It......

(Isn't that a quote from the movie "Looper"?)

Anyways ...Great story.

Slim. Fast. Sharp. And Quick.


2. Sentry - 4 stars

Oh YUCK! No Scales? Now that's just Gross.

A Great, Short, To-The-Point Quicky Story.

No matter how much we try to ignore it, just to be Alive and to be Human......

......to Sweat, to Eat, to Fart, to Poop, to Fornicate, to Drool, to Touch Flesh......

.....it really is all just Gross!