The Downstairs Room

by Kate Wilhelm

Unbirthday Party (1968)
Baby, You Were Great (1967)
When the Moon Was Red (1960)
Sirloin and White Wine (1968)
Perchance to Dream (1968)
How Many Miles to Babylon? (1968)
The Downstairs Room (1968)
Countdown (1968)
The Plausible Improbable (1968)
The Feel of Desperation (1964)
A Time to Keep (1962)
The Most Beautiful Woman in the World (1968)
The Planners (1968)
Windsong (1968)

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Kate Wilhelm’s first short story, “The Pint-Sized Genie” was published in Fantastic Stories in 1956. Her first novel, MORE BITTER THAN DEATH, a mystery, was published in 1963. Over the span of her career, her writing has crossed over the genres of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy and magical realism, psychological suspense, mimetic, comic, and family sagas, a multimedia stage production, and radio plays. She returned to writing mysteries in 1990 with the acclaimed Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl Mysteries and the Barbara Holloway series of legal thrillers.

Wilhelm’s works have been adapted for television and movies in numerous countries; her novels and stories have been translated to more than a dozen languages. She has contributed to Quark, Orbit,  Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, Locus, Amazing Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine,  Fantastic, Omni, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan.

Kate Wilhelm is the widow of acclaimed science fiction author and editor, Damon Knight (1922-2002), with whom she founded the Clarion Writers’ Workshop and the Milford Writers’ Conference, described in her 2005 non-fiction work, STORYTELLER. They lectured together at universities across three continents; Kate has continued to offer interviews, talks, and monthly workshops.

Kate Wilhelm has received two Hugo awards, three Nebulas, as well as Jupiter, Locus, Spotted Owl, Prix Apollo, Kristen Lohman awards, among others. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Kate was the recipient of one of the first Solstice Awards presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) in recognition of her contributions to the field of science fiction. 

Kate’s highly popular Barbara Holloway mysteries, set in Eugene, Oregon, opened with Death Qualified in 1990. Mirror, Mirror, released in 2017, is the series’ 14th novel.

Reviews

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Unbirthday Party" is an unpleasant story about a man trapped at a chaotic and faintly sinister party. "Baby, You Were Great" is a creepy story about the next step in entertainment. In "When the Moon Was Red", a mother watches her precocious child grow ever more stifled under her husband's overbearing "help." "Sirloin and White Wine" is the bittersweet tale of an old couple's last night in their family home. "Perchance to Dream" tells the story of a man who can't find a use for his precognition. In fact, it's more of a hindrance than a help. "How Many Miles to Babylon?" is the creepiest story in the book, and certainly the harshest. I didn't like "The Downstairs Room" much; it's basically just a retread of "The Yellow Wallpaper." "Countdown" is an intimate examination of the life and thoughts of one cog in the military/industrial complex. It's sad and terrible, and followed immediately by the amusing little "The Plausible Improbable," about the law of averages. In "The Feel of Desperation", a trapped wife fights against and then for the freedom her captor offers. Similarly, "A Time to Keep" is about one man's confrontation with his apathetic lifestyle. "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World" is a twisted tale of beauty, reminiscent of the Twilight Zone's "Eye of the Beholder." "The Planners" is disjointed story about intelligence, aggression, and the hierarchy of beings--I didn't like it much. The last story in the book, "Windsong," is about one scientist's struggle to create the ultimate battle machine--and what that means for his artistic ex-lover.

[Ari Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

[****] Unbirthday Party (1968)
[****] Baby, You Were Great (1967)
[**] When the Moon Was Red (1960)
[*] Sirloin and White Wine (1968)
[**] Perchance to Dream (1968)
[*] How Many Miles to Babylon? (1968)
[****] The Downstairs Room (1968)
[*] Countdown (1968)
[**] The Plausible Improbable (1968)
[**] The Feel of Desperation (1964)
[***] A Time to Keep (1962)
[***] The Most Beautiful Woman in the World (1968)
[**] The Planners (1968)
[*] Windsong (1968)

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare thing, in that I find each story's introduction preferable to the story itself. Haunting and delightful.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate Wilhelm comes into her own in this collection of stories (both sci-fi and not). I read some of her later works and have now been working from her earliest to latest pieces. In "The Mile-Long Spaceship", her collection of stories from the late 1950s and early 1960s, you had hints of her style: deep, psychological, strongly written characters, but only hints. With her late 1960s book "The Killer Thing" (1967), she seemingly had come into her own, with strong writing and good storytelling. With this collection of stories from the late 1960s, you can see she's confident, strong, and all the Wilhelm-esque techniques and styles are in place. A fantastic read, never wavered from a 5 * rating for me. As for the individual stories, I have a few light comment below. My favorite pieces were "Baby , You Were Great", "When The Moon Was Red", "How Many Miles To Babylon?", "Countdown", "A Time To Keep", "The Most Beautiful Woman In The World", and "Windsong". I know, a lot of favorites, but Kate Wilhelm *IS* that good.

* Unbirthday Party: early Wilhelm. Interesting but not emotionally fulfilling like her later work.

* Baby, You Were Great: dark Wilhelm. Not as subtle as she will become but this is her feel and utterly enjoyable.

* When the Moon Was Red: really good, dark Wilhelm. The style I fell in love with with her later work. Best story so far.

* Sirloin and White Wine: unusual story, well written psychology, her trait.

* Perchance to Dream: cute. Kind of like an Alfred Hitchcock 30 min light drama. Ended too quickly and too neat, though. Lots of paths to “Wilhelm” it that weren’t taken. Still, fun.

* How Many Miles to Babylon?: dark, disturbing.

* The Downstairs Room: good writing but I wasn’t interested in story.

* Countdown: good development, strong final two words. Was initially thinking not that great but the Zeitgeist nails it.

* The Plausible Improbable: meh

* The Feel of Desperation: again, good writing but final twist at end seems like a ploy.

* A Time to Keep: haunting story, great Wilhelm. A joy to read her words.

* The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: wow. Surface level great and then the deeper meaning as the story becomes clear in the end. Just wow.

* The Planners: an intriguing story with dark underlying tones. Won ‘69 Nebula award for best short story

* Windsong: excellent. Probably the most sci-Fi of the bunch but deeply psychological and thoughtful. Wilhelm was a gifted writer and storyteller. Great way to end this collection.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"By the late 60s Kate Wilhelm’s SF moved from generally uninspiring pulp (à la the collection The Mile-Long Spaceship) to psychologically taught and emotive mood pieces exploring the almost existential malaise of daily existence and the disturbing effects of “programmed” lives (especially the housewife). The fourteen short-stories in The Downstairs Room and Other [...]"