Caviar

by Theodore Sturgeon, Les Edwards (Cover Artist)

9 • Bright Segment • (1955)
33 • Microcosmic God • (1941)
61 • Ghost of a Chance • (1943)
77 • Prodigy • (1949)
88 • Medusa • (1942)
109 • Blabbermouth • (1945)
132 • Shadow, Shadow, on the Wall
142 • Twink • (1955)

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

Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is considered one of the godfathers of contemporary science fiction and dark fantasy. The author of numerous acclaimed short stories and novels, among them the classics More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and To Marry Medusa, Sturgeon also wrote for television and holds among his credits two episodes of the original 1960s Star Trek series, for which he created the Vulcan mating ritual and the expression "Live long and prosper." He is also credited as the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut's recurring fictional character Kilgore Trout.

Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.

Reviews

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Desde perspectivas generales, no entre lo mejor del autor.-

Género. Relatos.

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Caviar (publicación original: Caviar, 1955) es una recopilación de relatos del autor, escritos durante los años cuarenta y la mitad de los cincuenta del siglo XX, que nos permitirán conocer, entre otros, a una tripulación enfrentada a una anomalía magnética catastrófica planetaria, a un hombre que acoge a una mujer herida, diferentes clases de relaciones o a un científico misántropo con investigaciones de alcance.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of short stories by Theodore Sturgeon, the real-life prototype for Vonnegut's Kilgore Trout. I have never discovered what Sturgeon thought about the joke. He seems to have been a nice guy, so maybe he took it in good part.

The story I liked best was the first one, "Bright Segment", which isn't science-fiction at all. The protagonist, a mentally subnormal janitor, finds an attractive young woman lying in front of his house. She's apparently been sliced up and left to bleed to death. He brings her in, and nurses her back to life. He has a lot of practical skills, and the process is described in great detail, from his perspective. "We fix," he murmurs, as he patches her up. He's happy.

She's very grateful; it's a long time since anyone's been nice to her. She's smart and street-wise. It transpires that she tried to double-cross someone in a drug deal: she tries to explain to him what happened, he doesn't understand. One night, she offers him sex. He isn't interested, or even clear about what she's offering. She's sad. He doesn't know why, and tries clumsily to comfort her.

One day, she says she has to leave. She's quite healed; she can't stay for ever. He's desolated. He'll have no reason to live any more. She feels terrible about it. He holds out his arms for a farewell embrace. She runs towards him, and doesn't see what he's holding in his hand. He crashes the heavy flat-iron into the back of her head.

As she lies bleeding on the floor, he gets out his things. "We fix!" he says happily.

I've always thought that this simple and unpretentious story makes a certain point about relationships better than many far more ambitious works of literature.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodore Sturgeon fue uno de los grandes de la Edad de Oro de la ciencia ficción, aunque actualmente es un gran desconocido. Es más, está considerado como uno de los mejores escritores de relatos norteamericano. Estilísticamente no se le puede poner ningún pero, si bien es cierto que el contenido de las historias me ha parecido irregular.

Los ocho cuentos incluidos en ‘Caviar’ (1955), fueron escritos entre 1941 y 1955. Hay ciencia ficción, pero también suspense, terror y fantasía. Son estos:

-La claridad de una rendija. Un hombre recoge en la calle a una mujer gravemente herida y se la lleva a su casa. Pronto sabremos lo especial que es el individuo.
-Un dios microscópico. Un científico loco solo se dedica a inventar e investigar, mientras su banquero se va aprovechando.
-Fantasma por truco.
-Prodigio.
-Medusa.
-Chismosa.
-Sombras chinescas.
-Twink.

La antología empieza magníficamente con ‘La claridad de una rendija’, un relato de los que dejan huella. El que sigue, ‘Un dios microscópico’, es otro estupendo relato.

[Julio Bernad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodore Sturgeon es el mejor cuentista de género que existe. Y punto. Con un apellido así, obviamente falso, lo único que puedes producir es caviar. Chiste de mierda pero muy necesario dada la excelente calidad de este narrador heterodoxo, que se movía como pez en el agua tanto por la ciencia ficción como la fantasía, sin olvidar el terror, claro. Y paro ya con las metáforas piscícolas. Sin embargo, esta colección no es representativa del talento de este autor, y no se muy bien a que se debe. Bueno, quizá sí: los dos primeros cuentos son tan buenos que mantener ese nivel hubiera sido milagroso. No hay recogido ningún relato que sea obsceno o un atentado al buen gusto y las buenas maneras, hay cuentos buenos y mediocres, los peores. Vamos a enumerar, pero antes, un aviso:

Esta reseña se ha llevado a cabo siguiendo la edición de Ultramar, con traducción de María Teresa Vidal Parellada, de los años 60. Hay otras ediciones del libro, como la de Minotauro, que cuentan con otra traducción. Desconozco la calidad de esta última, pero la de esta ya os la puedo decir: muy mejorable. Parte del problema leyendo este libro es la traducción y no tanto la calidad de los cuentos. Dicho esto, ya podemos hablar de los cuentos.

La claridad de una rendija (*****): Un hombre encuentra a una mujer moribunda en la carretera, su cuerpo surcado por numerosas heridas y golpes. El protagonista, un hombre limitado pero resuelto, auxilia a la muchacha y cura sus heridas en una escena tan gráfica como tensa. Dado que el protagonista lo hace todo requetebién, logra salvarle la vida, que quedará convaleciente bajo su cuidado hasta la entera recuperación de la muchacha, momento en que las cosas comenzaran a volverse muy, muy turbias. Este es un relato de psicópatas que se aleja mucho del esquema de Bloch y se adelanta, salvando mucho las distancias, a la claustrofóbica pesadilla que es Misery. Es tan bueno este relato inicial que el resto empalidecen muy a su pesar.

Un dios microscópico (****): Una historia de científico loco con sabor clásico que, pese a ello, desde el inicio sabes que vas a leer algo fuera de la norma:

Ésta es la historia de un hombre que tuvo demasiado poder y de otro hombre que cobraba demasiado dinero; pero no se preocupen, no voy a empezar a hablar de política: el hombre que tenía poder se llamaba James Kidder y el otro era un banquero.

Esta es la historia de James Kidder, un verdadero sabio capaz de dominar todas las disciplinas para inventar los más variados prodigios. Literalmente, cambia el mundo, y todo lo que pide en agradecimiento a su desinteresada labor científica es que le dejen en paz en su isla inventando. El socio capitalista, en cambio, solo busca lucrarse al máximo posible a costa de los ingenios del científico, por lo que lo espolea constantemente con nuevos desafíos que produzcan nuevas patentes de las que cobrar buenos dividendos. Con su último acicate, el banquero obliga a Kidder a superarse, y diseña por generación espontanea unos seres microscópicos con su tasa evolutiva acelerada. Kidder, demiurgo curioso y absoluto, manipula y moldea el desarrollo de sus animálculos con la esperanza de que lo superen en inteligencia en un espacio de menos de un año. Por supuesto, aquí es cuando la cosa empieza a complicarse... y sería muy despiadado si os dijera que pasa después, así que solo me queda invitaros a leerlos. Es, como decía, un relato clásico, que conserva parte de la ingenuidad de la Edad de Oro pero ya adulterada por la mala leche propia de Sturgeon. De esas historias que entienden a la perfección qué es el sentido de la maravilla, ausente en todas las historias actuales escritas -al menos, las escritas por occidentales.

Fantasma por truco (****): un hombre se enamora de una mujer que sufre una peculiar maldición: todo aquel que salga con ella será molestado, incordiado, golpeado y hasta atacado por una celosa entidad desconocida. Y he ahí el quid de la cuestión, por lo que no diré más. Una historia sobrenatural con mucha socarronería, especialmente el final, que si te pilla poco espabilado te hará sonreir.

Prodigio (****): Uno de los temas predilectos de Sturgeon es la telepatía, el que consideraba el siguiente paso en nuestra evolución. Son muchas las historias que giran en torno a esta idea. En esta ocasión, una sociedad del futuro, post guerra atómica, ha creado una institución para tratar con individuos no funcionales dentro de los cánones de esta nueva sociedad. Una de las empleadas de esta institución velará por un niño, Andi, cuyo poder pone muy nervioso a todos los que le rodean. Un relato con un fondo triste y final sorprendente, en el que queda muy clara la postura del autor en cuanto al don de la telepatía.

Medusa (**): desde el nombre sabemos que esta historia no va a acabar bien. Esta medusa no es de la que petrifica a la gente ni de las que te jode el día de playa en Santa Pola; no, en el mundo marinero, medusa es un nombre estrechamente ligado a un navío francés del siglo XIX con un final luctuoso. En esta ocasión, seguimos al psicólogo de esta nave rumbo a un planeta con la capacidad de enloquecer a cualquiera receptivo a sus ondas mentales. Si de por sí el itinerario se presenta complicado, la naturaleza de la tripulación será otra vuelta de tuerca, pues el alto mando ha decidido que, ya que el planeta ejerce una influencia malsana, toda la tripulación esté constituida por enfermos mentales funcionales. Con una premisa así el relato tendría que ser brutal, pero a Sturgeon se le escapa, se le vuelve demasiado confuso, o al menos eso me ha parecido a mí. Tanto es así que lo releeré y quizá cambie mis impresiones respecto a este relato.

Chismosa (***): un locutor de radio exitoso conoce a una mujer de la que queda completamente prendado. En su primer acercamiento, ésta le deja claro que salir con ella no es recomendable, pues padece de una peculiar maldición: es poseída por espíritus insidiosos que brotan de los malos pensamientos de las personas hacia sus semejantes. Estas entidades la obligan a confesar al desprevenido interfecto qué barrabasadas le está diciendo a sus espaldas ese amigo tan querido, esa esposa o marido tan amantísimo, ese socio especulador de manos suaves, etc. No es de las mejores historias de Sturgeon, pero es una trama que solo podría habérsele ocurrido a Sturgeon ¡Y qué diálogos!

Sombras chinescas (***): un chiquillo es maltratado sistemáticamente por su madrastra, obligado a permanecer castigado en su cuarto, a oscuras y sin juguetes. Su única diversión, hacer sombras con sus manos aprovechando un resquicio de luz que entra por su ventana. Gracias a las figuras que logra recortar contra la luz se entretiene y juega, y su talento para darles forma es tal que, más que forma, parece que las dotara de vida propia. Un cuento de terror simpático, con un final muy satisfactorio, como debe ser en las historias en las que se involucre el maltrato infantil.

Twink (***): volvemos a encontrar la telepatía en este relato, aunque limitada y rudimentaria. El protagonista, tras un accidente automovilístico en que quedan implicados su mujer y su hija, Twink, deberá utilizar su don para salvar la vida de su pequeña. Es de estos casos en que el final salva la historia entera, que parecía dar vueltas sobre si misma por lo poco peso que tenía la idea.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rec. by: Microcosmic gods
Rec. for: Completists only, I'm afraid

If, as popular wisdom would have it, house guests and fish begin to stink after three days, what must fish eggs smell like, after they've been out of the jar for more than fifty years?

On the whole, I don't think Theodore Sturgeon's collection Caviar, first published in 1955, has aged very well at all... despite Sturgeon's undeniable stature in the field of speculative fiction, and despite this book's undeniably majestic title pun.

When I ran across this slim paperback in a little shop on the Oregon coast, I had to snap it up. I had never seen Caviar before—never even heard of it, as far as I know.

And now I know why.

The first story, "Bright Segment," isn't even sf. A man sees a bleeding girl dumped out of a car, and takes her back to his apartment—an ambulance would've arrived too late—to nurse her back to health. His tender if unskilled ministrations work surprisingly well—at least for awhile—but it's an untenable situation in the long run. And it does run long... I'm not sure what led the (uncredited) editor of Caviar to pick this story to start off with, but I don't think its length and the rather unpleasant twist ending made for anything like a strong start.

On the other hand, "Microcosmic God" is definitely a classic SF story, and the strongest entry here—although you can certainly find it elsewhere. Its title has even inspired a whole anthology, 1980's Microcosmic Tales. Kidder's a genius inventor, but his inventions are not entirely his own work...

"Ghost of a Chance" introduces us to Gus. Gus hates wimmen, but he's a contrary sort, so when the dame slaps him silly without any obvious reason, he decides he likes her... and her baggage. Gus is a simple guy, with simple tastes and a simple solution to Iola's seemingly-complicated problem.

Everyone just wanted Andi to be normal—but he couldn't be. He just wasn't born that way. The last line of "Prodigy" delivered a twist I did not see coming.

"Medusa" brings us another plainspoken protagonist, an aw-shucks Everyman kinda like Gus, who just doesn't get the situation... yet. And then he finds out. A manly tale of Man against the universe, and a menace that can only be met with... madness.

Speaking of madness... open yer mind far enough and something might move in. In "Blabbermouth," Maria found that out too late—and now Eddie's the poor sap who has to figure out how to stay married to her.

Mommy Gwen did not want Bobby. That was all right—Bobby didn't want Mommy Gwen either.
—"Shadow, Shadow on the Wall," p.143

Bobby makes his own fun. This one reminded me of at least one Richard Matheson short story.

"Twink" isn't what you might expect from the title—that word has changed meanings since 1955. But the psychology of parenthood is much the same...

"I think the way motherhood makes people crazy is one of the nicest things around."
—p.156

Another twist ending to end the book. This story's sf too, but the psychic powers aren't even the main thing.

*

In 2017, I observed that Theodore Sturgeon was "one of the most influential and prolific fabulists of the mid-20th Century. In an era when most writers of speculative fiction (by which I mean to encompass fantasy, horror, science-fiction, magical realism, slipstream—all of the many varieties of fiction that aren't limited to our tired old reality) seemed to be content to keep repeating the sins of SF's pulp-fictional roots—the same flat characters, rickety plots and purple prose—Sturgeon wrote stories that were literary and lyrical, mature and complex, and in so doing helped elevate genre fiction as a whole."

That was upon rereading Sturgeon's later (and substantially more polished) collection E Pluribus Unicorn.

However, as Sturgeon himself said more than once, in various ways,

Sturgeon's Law (heavily paraphrased):
90% of science fiction is crud. But then, 90% of everything is crud.

Mostly, I'm afraid, Caviar seems to fall somewhere within that 90%.

Sorry, Ted.

[Temucano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente demostración de la calidad narrativa de Sturgeon. Me parece que hubiera sido genial en cualquier género literario que hubiera elegido, lo que es una suerte para los fanáticos que haya sido la ciencia ficción.

Esta antología tiene cuatro joyas a mi parecer:
-"La claridad por una rendija": excelente comienzo, deja la vara alta para los otros cuentos.
- "Un Dios Microcósmico": entretenida aventura científica con caldos de cultivo vivientes y pensantes.
- "Prodigo": relato maestro, de triste final (en especial por mi condición de padre reciente)
- "Medusa", de lo más clásico que le conozco (al menos sale una nave espacial). La Idea de Xantippa es apocalíptica.
(12.10.2004)

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average rating: 3.14

8 stories (of which I read only 7 completely). They were ok/good. Nothing amazing. The first story Bright Segment was the best in the collection with a 4-stars. The last story Twink I was unable to finish. Somehow I could not even figure out what was even going on in that one, and never bothered to pay attention later, so much was i bored of this book.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/10. Media de los 6 libros leídos del autor : 6,5/10

Relatos. Y no soy de relatos. De Sturgeon leed "Venus mas X". 9/10.

[K. Axel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review-in-progress, which means that I will post short reviews of each story as I read them. I don't tend to read a whole shortstory collection after I've begun it, I might return to it again and again, slowly digging my way through the (hopefully) wonderful stories.

It should also be known that I am a big fan of Theodore Sturgeon.

Bright Segment (27 pages) is the story about how a lonely (and simple) man finds a woman on the streets, left to die. She is in a bad shape and we, as the main character, wonders what has happened to her. This, as most TS stories, is a story with a twist. Who is the man that has found her, and why is he so bend on "fixing" her... even when she really doesn't need fixing. A dark read that takes you deep into the mind of a man...

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each story has its own appeal. Some charm, some terrify, some impress. It does help to be a fan of older/ classic SF, and willing to put up with a few scientific anachronisms and a bit of sexism. These aren't one-note adventures for teen boys, or gimmick 'Twilight Zone' episodes, but full-on stories for both male and female adults, and will be enjoyed more if read with care.

"Twink" especially is interesting. I note one GR reviewer said it was one the very best stories he'd read anywhere, and another said to skip it. I give it four stars myself, for the idea and the writing, with a star missing because I didn't feel the characters as authentic. I think part of the appeal of that one depends on how much the situation itself resonates with you.

[Nils Krebber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solide Sammlung an Speculative Fiction Stories (es geht von Sci-Fi über Geistergeschichten bis zu Flüchen), auch wenn die Erzählweise manchmal etwas altbacken und unpersönlich wirkt.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my long overdue introduction to Theodore Sturgeon’s short fiction. At first I was non-plussed. The first story, “Bright Segment,” is a somewhat dull (though still slightly terrifying) story of an autistic man taking care of a woman who has just survived a stabbing, whether she wants it or not. But from here on, though, the stories in this collection got progressively better.

Some favorites: "Microcosmic God", the story of a brilliant scientist who, in secret, evolves a race of beings that can solve the toughest scientific problems; "Shadow Shadow on the Wall," an excellent and convincing portrait, with all the right psychological shadings, of a young boy with a hateful step mother and shadows on a bedroom wall; and "Twink," the last story of the collection, which I can't describe other than to say that it was one of the best stories I've read in a long time.

[Derek Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

No, there was no one better than Sturgeon in '50s SF/fantasy, not even Bradbury.. "Bright Segment," the lead story, could make anyone's bones ache, not because it's a crafted SF tale, but because it's so frighteningly human.

[Debra]

Stephen King recommended book. Noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theodore Sturgeon was primarily a science fiction author known best for his five SF novels and for certain individual short stories, two of which are contained in this story collection. He did not write just science fiction. He also wrote a good deal of fantasy, horror, and even mainstream fiction, and in other genres. His fame today rests mostly on his SF work, however. He won awards for the best of his SF.

This is the fourth story collection he published, but not his best known one. That would be his second one, E Pluribus Unicorn. A Touch of Strange, his seventh story collection, was highly thought of at one time by horror fiction fans with an interest in the history of their genre, an ever-dwindling group, it saddens me to observe. This, his fourth story collection, was the third best regarded one published in his lifetime. I have no doubt this is purely because of the strength of the first two stories: "Bright Segment" and "Microcosmic God". The first is a horror story; the second pure SF. Both have become classics and of course have Wikipedia pages devoted to them if you haven't heard of them and are interested to know more. I give both stories my unqualified five-star rating. They are superb achievements of masterful plotting and writing.

Placing these two stories at the beginning clearly front loads the collection. The rest of the stories are not of this level, but contain some interest nevertheless. "Ghost of a Chance" (4 stars) was the third story and was an easy, fun read, much lighter than the two previous entries. It's about a woman on the run from a terror. She attracts our protagonist who wants to help, but she gives him all kinds of problems when he tries to render any.

4) "Prodigy". The only story that I disliked. Hey, every collection has to have one. Right? This story involved ESP, a mid-twentieth century obsession I find extremely tiresome these days, and hinges on the setting up of a surprise ending that defied its own logic. A truly awful story in every sense plotwise. The only thing it has going for it is its narration and ability to maintain suspense. Sturgeon is incapable of telling a story so badly it can't at least perform those two functions. (Two stars).

5) "Medusa" (Three stars). SF short story about space exploration with the twist that only crazy people could pull off the mission. This was mildly entertaining in the way most original series Star Treks now are. It shows its age in terms of its improbability for happening in the real world of the future.

6) "Blabbermouth" (Three stars). A light story in the same vein as "Ghost of a Chance" but with less charm. It hinges on the antagonist being able to read minds. If you concede the premise, it's a clever enough story in terms of its originality. I guess I prefer my SF to be meatier.

7) "Shadow, Shadow on the Wall" (Four stars). Just when I wondered if we were headed out of the collection on cutesy SF themes, we get this surprise of a horror story. A child, forced to amuse himself, makes shadow puppets on a wall. But these are more than just shadow puppets. I can't say concretely where I've seen this idea before, but it can't be original to this story and must have become a bit tired even by the 1950s. Still Sturgeon does it justice here.

8) "Twink" (Two stars). Another story that hinges on parapsychology motifs (like "Prodigy"). A man has a son who needs his help dealing with his psychic abilities, but the man isn't really capable of providing aid so the son suffers. I read the story twice to try to get something of value out of it, but couldn't.

I rated the collection four stars overall mostly on the strength of its four good stories, the first two of which are some of the best speculative fiction stories ever written.

[Fynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

1 · Bright Segment · 3/5
I expected sci-fi and got horror instead. Fine by me, just surprising. Loved the writing style in this and the main character was interesting. I saw that plot twist coming from a mile away, though – maybe it was a more innovative one in the 40s when the story was written. Not a fan of the ending.

2 · Microcosmic God · 5/5
A sci-fi story, and a classic one. The OG "pocket universe" story and a good example for the weird New Wave phase of the genre. A scientist genetically engineers a race of teeny-tiny humanoids that develop tech for him – much faster than any humans could. They, of course, view him as their god – and the reader, of course, is supposed to wonder about their own idea of god and religion. Plus, if I know my Sturgeon stories, I'm pretty sure it's meant to have gay subtext.

3 · Ghost of a Chance [“The Green-Eyed Monster”] · 1/5
This is well-written. It's also tremendously stupid. I didn't think it possible for Sturgeon to write rubbish like this, yet here we are. I think it's supposed to be funny.

4 · Prodigy · 3/5
Hell yeah, a eugenics story. Who doesn't love a good moral dilemma about killing children? It also comes with a twist. And that one did take me by surprise.

5 · Medusa · 2/5
Right, this is from the 40s, too. Normally I forget that Sturgeon's stuff is so old. But since this story hinges half on technobabble and half on some very outdated definitions of mental illnesses (schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, I couldn't even guess what the third one was supposed to be)... this genuinely hurt to read. If you can power through that, the plot does raise some interesting questions and is not that bad.

6 · Blabbermouth · 1/5
Almost as stupid as Ghost of a Chance. This one didn't try to be funny.

7 · Shadow, Shadow, on the Wall · 4/5
This one was great. It's a (mildly spooky) horror story about a boy, his abusive stepmother, and a mysterious being that may or may not live in the wall of the boy's room. Didn't expect Sturgeon to write a kid's POV that well but if course he did.

8 · Twink · 5/5
Thought this was pretty meh when I first finished it. Actually had to read it twice to even understand it but once it clicked I couldn't stop thinking about it. And after thinking about it for a week now I think this might be among my Sturgeon favourites. It's a lovely commentary on parenthood (especially fatherhood and how it usually differs from motherhood) and it's full of love. God.

[José Vázquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hace un tiempo detecté que casi todo lo que he leído es contemporáneo o, como mucho, de la década de los 1980. Dado que sobre todo leo cf no es tanto de extrañar, pero decidí hacer un poco por leer libros algo más antiguos. Sturgeon es uno de esos autores que siempre aparece en la lista de "olvidados", así que, gracias a un ejemplar de esta antología amarillento comprado a 1 € en alguna feria que ni recuerdo, decidí cubrir ese hueco.
La sensación ha sido un poco decepcionante. La mayoría de relatos me han parecido demasiado de giro final y han envejecido un poco mal, tanto por argumento como por estructura. No así por la prosa, aunque quizá haya algunas expresiones un poco raras que pueden ser fruto de una traducción extraña o de un cambio de expresiones que a mí me haya chirriado.
No es que me parezca mal, simplemente es que no me ha resultado especialmente memorable. Algún relato destaca, pero tengo la impresión de que todos se han quedado un poco antiguos.

[Mayte Razo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read quite of few of Sturgeon's work and I must say, this wasn't the best collection I've come across to. The stories (of course) are still fascinating and I'll be sure to reread them for centuries. However, they weren't as thought provoking as the previous collections I've read.

For example: Microcosmic God, I was inching out of my seat just to read it. I've heard countless of impressions on the story so when I was able to find a collection that had it, I was ecstatic. But I wasn't baffled by the story as I was in other stories of his. The story itself was still interesting yet it didn't shock me as much as I thought.

I say this again, I still enjoyed the collection (especially Prodigy) and Sturgeon's stories continue to entertain me.

[Glimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright Segment 3/5 Autistic guy finds girl bleeding to death in his patio obsesses on taking care of her.
Microcosmic God 4/5 about accelerationism and science(simulation theory)... very comedic and humorous.
Ghost of a Chance 2/5
Prodigy 3/5 baby bio engineering
Medusa 3/5 very cheesy man labeling game test
Blabbermouth 4/5 Radio host falls in love with a psychic girl with possession problems. After sacrificing a lot for this relationship, he learns to profit and keep his love with him.
Shadow, Shadow on the Wall 4/5 Child-dad relationship in absence of a shadow of a real mom.
Twink 5/5 about PTSD trauma coexisting with para natural events. the way it's told is really fascinating.

[Alessandro Migliori]

Per le raccolte di racconti Urania leggo i racconti in ordine sparso e li recensirò singolarmente.
Al momento ho letto:

- Piccolo grande dio (3/5) - L'idea c'è, è quella che molti anni dopo avrebbe ispirato anche un frammento di un episodio di Treehouse of Horros dei Simpson, ma lo svolgimento della storia è confuso e non molto interessante. Peccato perché con un incipit simile (uno scienziato che da vita ad un popolo di piccoli esseri, che si evolvono molto rapidamente) le possibilità erano molteplici. Come molti altri racconti di Sturgeon anche questo non porta da nessuna parte. Manca tensione perché manca un reale conflitto coinvolgente. Sufficiente.

LETTE 1 DI 8

[Jonathan Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sturgeon was very much a writer ahead of his time in exploring issues of sexuality and disability. The broken people in these stories are explored sensitively, even if some of what they do is horrific. The opening tale "Bright Segment" is by far the best - a horror story that manages to elicit sympathy in the reader, even with its shocking denouement. "Microcosmic God" is also well worth the entry fee, exploring the life of a loner who finds companionship in an unexpected way. The rest of the collection doesn't quite reach the same heights, though the remaining stories are strong and entertaining. One of the very best writers of the 'Golden Age' and a genuine literary pioneer.

[j · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection. Bright Segment is a sad and well-crafted tale of insular scale, but deeper implications. Microcosmic God is clever. Twink is very sweet, and through withholding the logistics of the story's proceedings until the very end, Sturgeon is able to make the central relationship it explores feel so much more like a prism, multi-dimensional and reflecting light into many corners of possibility. The rest of the stories are mostly cute. I like the romantic stories about ghosts (there are two).

[Daniel Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sturgeon has proved himself a top-tier (and I mean top, top) fantasist among his other hard science fiction accolades, and I'm so excited to explore his extensive short fiction oeuvre. His work is my current obsession, and I imagine it will be for some time. Known to be one of the early pioneers to introduce high literary themes into speculative fiction, Sturgeon's humanistic themes shine through in this wonderful collection. 5/5.

[Carl Barlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accessible, engaging, most enjoyable; and, considering their age, these tales still stand very well indeed - testimony to Sturgeon's ability. All bar the first have fantastic elements, with considerable variation in tone and subject matter (though, as was fashionable for the time, Mind Powers feature often). A fairly slight collection, that, if it is not not Required Reading, it is certainly Good Reading.

[Theo Imber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta selección de cuentos es simplemente brutal, muy superior al nivel de los textos de la ciencia ficción. Además, cada cuento cumple con la función del "golpe rápido" que requiere un buen texto corto; es decir, tanto temática como técnicamente, los cuentos son perfectísimos. Un libro que debería ser estudiado en las escuelas de literatura, tanto para la enseñanza del cuento como de la ciencia ficción.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 11 page short story by Theodore Sturgeon first appeared in the
February 1951 issue of Imagination magazine.

In 1965, this short story was re-printed in Alfred Hitchcock's
Monster Museum.

I know there is a group of people out there who
really love Theodore Sturgeon's writing. I
am not among that group of people. However,
this is one story by Theodore Sturgeon that I really
love just because it is so good.

I am not somebody who usually reads horror/scary
novels and/or short stories at all.

This really is a horror story and not a science fiction
story at all even though Theodore Sturgeon is known
primarily as a science fiction writer.

This story is truly creepy and truly macabre. IMO,
it is really not an appropriate story for younger children.

I find this a truly disturbing story in some ways.

The story is well-written and the plot is truly
unique and truly scary.

If you are interested in scary--or really horror--
short stories IMO this is one of the best.

[Rod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to take a trip into Sturgeon's uniquely odd world, reminding me of the the science fiction I was reading decades ago. The stories are uneven, but even some of the less successful ones hold narrative voices that stick with me. I found "Twink" to be one of those. Love the character and the insights offered.

[Ruskoley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for:
"Medusa"
"Microcosmic God"
"Prodigy"

Don't bother with "Twink" or "Ghost of a Chance." Casual quick writing style; okay ideas poor execution. Basically, not too much science fiction, but a lot of vaguely speculative fiction. I was a bit disappointed.

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from January 16, 1999

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of mostly good stories -- a couple of stand-outs, a couple that didn't send me.