Deadly City

by Paul W. Fairman

He was a huge man, and the place of concealment of the Chicago Avenue police station was very small—merely an indentation low in the cement wall behind two steam pipes. The big man had lain in this niche for forty-eight hours. He had slugged a man over the turn of a card in a poolroom pinochle game, had been arrested in due course, and was awaiting the disposal of his case.
He was sorry he had slugged the man. He had not had any deep hatred for him, but rather a rage of the moment that demanded violence as its outlet. Although he did not consider it a matter of any great importance, he did not look forward to the six month's jail sentence he would doubtless be given.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

47 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2010

About the author

Paul Warren Fairman (1909-1977) was an editor and writer in a variety of genres under his own name and under pseudonyms.

In 1952, he was the founding editor of If, but only edited four issues. In 1955, he became the editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic. He held that dual position until 1958. His science fiction short stories "Deadly City" and "The Cosmic Frame" were made into motion pictures.

Wrote the "Man from S.T.U.D." series of espionage spoofs under the pseudonym of F.W. Paul.

He also wrote under the pseudonym Ivar Jorgensen

Reviews

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fairman has a way of writing women and it's bad. This book started with the first couple of pages introducing Nora and by Nora I mean Nora's looks. We learn almost nothing about Nora including her name until she starts to meet and interact with the other characters. When it comes to the plot it feels generic and boring.

[Camille Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang, this was a fun read. A short horror/thriller that definitely deserves to be more well-known. The author captures the tension and the fear masterfully. It is very clear he knows how to set a mood. It did feel, however, that after setting the story’s stage with a fantastic atmosphere, Fairman didn’t have much idea in mind for how to end it. You go from the threat being the unknown, to monsters, to aliens, to a psychopath, then back to aliens so quickly it nearly gives you whiplash. I imagine his thought process going something like this:

“Okay so I have this city being completely - completely and totally - empty except for these five people. Excellent. That’s excellent. But why is the city empty? Hmmmm… this is a tough one. Aliens? Yeah, aliens sounds good. I’ll write these creepy alien monsters into the story. And I’ll have one nearly break down the door in a really terrific scene. Yeah! This is fun. But wait… what am I going to do with the aliens? Reveal that a member of the group has secretly been one the whole time? No, that’s too hard. Hmm… I know! I’ll throw in a psychopath with a gun! That’ll spice things up! Okay, things are going along nicely now. This is good… excellent. And now the psychopath plot line is taken care of! Yay… wait. Dangit, I need to wrap up the alien invasion plot. Hmmm, what to do? Throw in a cool plot about how the aliens are actually peaceful and it’s the humans that have to prove their morality? Yeah… no. That’s to much work. I’ll just scatter in a few lines about that. Instead I’ll just have the army miraculously show up as a deuce ex machina. And I’ll get rid of the aliens using the “earths atmosphere is poisonous to aliens” method from War of the Worlds. Yeah! I’m such a genius.” :)


All criticisms aside though; I would ardently encourage Deadly City as required reading to anybody wanting to learn how to capture a story’s mood with minimal exposition and show-don’t-tell technique. In that at least, it undeniably excels.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖋️ This short story follows four people – Frank Brooks and Nora Spade; Wilson and Minna – in deserted Chicago – deserted due to a mass evacuation carried out because of an invasion by hostile beings. I enjoyed this story and greatly enjoyed the mentions of locations – streets such as Wells, Washington, Clark, Madison, et al; hotels like the Drake, Sherman, and Morrison; and a mention of Evanston. The characters are interesting, and the fifth one is memorable. The only thing that is not Chicago is calling the two- and three flats “tenements.” Chicago does not have tenements – there are greystones, brownstones, and flats.
📙 This short story was published in IF Worlds of Science Fiction, 1953 March.
🟢The e-book version can be found on Project Gutenberg.
🟣Kindle.
🚀●▬●💫🪐💫●▬●🚀

🎥 1954 movie version with Richard Denning and Virginia Grey.
🖊 Movie review: I need to watch it.
📙+🎥 = 🖊 Comparing short story to movie: TBA.
📽 ●▬● 📙 ●▬● 📽

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering this short story is from 1953, it dealt with human foibles pertinent to our own time. The protection of psychotic killers simply because they come from wealthy families. Women surviving via one of two means even as either destroys them. Men choosing hedonism over betterment. Men grasping at an evanescent idea of being noble but letting it slip away. Men following unlawful orders because they cannot fully reason the existence of alternatives. People watching extra-terrestrials die with such a blasé lack of interest they cannot even wonder why the aliens came to this planet. We must not slip past caring.

[Manny Arocho · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off very strong and kept my interest. The writing is good, the characterization also very fleshed out. We have three (or possibly four) strong characters. There is also a passing character similar to Gary in the novel Bird Box who becomes a loose cannon and wreaks similar damage. Despite a lot of build-up and possible interesting scenarios-- as it stands, Chicago is under siege of unknown "forces" -- but the story fizzles out and we are left scratching our heads with very little. Is it, Are we our own worst enemies? The weakest ending ever, as if the writer became bored with the story and gave up.

[Scott Delgado · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because of the old sci-fi movie "Target Earth" which was based on it. I liked this novella more than the movie. The movie tries to beef up the plot by bringing in more military. I liked how the book focused on the main characters and their struggles. A neat old sci-fi read.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started off with such intrigue and ended up in disappointment.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved it until the last few pages when the author wrapped things up too quickly.

[Harry Linley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story by Paul W. Fairman. Fast paced, interesting, violent, unbelievable female characterisation. Science fiction about an alien invasion. People are too busy killing each other and the atmosphere kills the aliens. Author Paul Warren Fairman dabbled in a number of different genres and styles over the course of his career. "Deadly City" is one his most successful science-fiction outings, eventually making its way to the silver screen as the basis for a movie adaptation called Target Earth. In it, a Chicago man finds himself seemingly alone on the planet after a brutal siege has taken place. Eventually, he falls in with a motley crew of a few other survivors.

[Bill Meehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strangers forced together in a deserted Chicago in a War of the Worlds situation.
OK, quick read.