ORBIT – Otherworldly Reads, Bold Ideas, and Tales. SF & F Short Stories and Novelettes discussion

After reading Bester’s mid-70s novel The Computer Connection I thought I’d follow up with Starburst, published 1958, the first collection of his short fiction to be published in book form. It collects 11 stories, a number of them famous genre classics.

"Disappearing Act" (Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2, 1953)
"Adam and No Eve" (Astounding 1941)
"Star Light, Star Bright" (F&SF 1953)
"The Roller Coaster" (Fantastic 1953)
"Oddy and Id" (Astounding 1950)
"The Starcomber" (F&SF 1954)
"Travel Diary" (original)
"Fondly Fahrenheit" (F&SF 1954)
"Hobson’s Choice" (F&SF 1952)
"The Die-Hard" (original)
"Of Time and Third Avenue" (F&SF 1951)

Disappearing Act . (1953.) This is one of those famous stories, reprinted a number of times. It is a satirical Cold War story, set in a militarized future USA engaged in an apparently endless war which central character General Carpenter, a “master of public relations”, proclaims is a fight for “the Ideal of civilization; for Culture, for Poetry, for the Only Things Worth Preserving”. Something peculiar is going on at a military hospital and Carpenter is determined to get to the bottom of it. Specialists are called in, each of them ignorant of everything outside their specialty. Finally a poet is called for…

This is an entertaining story whose satire targets several aspects of 50s American culture. 4 stars.

Adam and No Eve (Astounding, September 1941). The earliest of the stories collected here, and another famous one. (According to SF Encyclopedia Bester published about 14 stories 1939-42 before detouring to comics and other endeavours, returning to the sf field in 1950.)

This one centres on a character making his way across a devastated, lifeless landscape. In flashbacks we learn of his past as a headstrong genius inventor. Ultimately we get a variation on an ancient trope. What Oleksandr might call a “punchline” story, but an interesting one with allegorical elements as well.

Another story that deserves its fame. 4-5 stars.

Star Light, Star Bright was a 2004/1954 Retro Hugo finalist, and is very briefly discussed elsewhere in this group. Oleksandr and I both ranked it 4th of the 5 finalists. I thought it was clever and a fun read.

The Roller Coaster Fantastic, 1953. Well written, albeit ugly, variant of the (view spoiler)[”time traveling tourists” (hide spoiler)] trope. 3-4 stars.

I knew Bester mostly as a writer of SF novels (even if, as mentioned, we read his Hugo-nominated story) and for me he was less engaging than say Asimov, Simak or RAH - it can be just a matter of age and taste. I was looking for his short stories on YouTube and found his essay - MY AFFAIR WITH SCIENCE FICTION by Alfred Bester
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7gu2...

I don’t know that one. Generally I prefer paper copies, or at least “eye reading” over the aural experience of prose fiction. I may look for more Bester when I finish this current collection.

It’s many years since I read his famous 50s novels; I’m not sure how I’d react to them now. As you know I was unenthusiastic about The Computer Connection.

The text of Bester’s My Affair With Science Fiction is online at the Library of America site.

https://sciencefiction.loa.org/biogra...

I’ve read about half of My Affair With Science Fiction. It’s full of interesting anecdotes. One of them concerns his first and only meeting with John W. Campbell, which occurred when Bester submitted Oddy and Id to Astounding, which ended up publishing it. (1950.)

I’ve just read Oddy and Id. It’s a story about a young guy named Odyssey Gaul, nicknamed ‘Oddy’, who is incredibly lucky. Everything always turns out well for him, sometimes through a ridiculous chain of unlikely events and circumstances. The world is heading for what would be a disastrous war, and some academics get hold of Oddy, with the idea of getting him to identify with the cause of peace, so that his incredible luck will save the world from war. In the end there is a twist, having to do with the idea that what Oddy actually wants is governed by his “id”, i.e. subconscious desires, not his “rational” conscious wishes. (“Id” is a Freudian term.) The story is readable but disjointed in my opinion, and this ending isn’t strong. I think it’s a 3 star story.

In My Affair With Science Fiction, Bester describes being called to Campbell’s office in New Jersey, where Campbell tells him Freud is finished and tries to convert him to Dianetics. A colourful anecdote.

I’m surprised he doesn’t have a volume in the Ballantine series

https://www.worldswithoutend.com/list...

Allan wrote: "I’m surprised he doesn’t have a volume in the Ballantine series

https://www.worldswithoutend.com/list..."

Interesting point.

There was a 2-volume collection of his stories published around that time (mid-70s) by Berkeley, and there have been other collections since.

The Starcomber, originally published in F&SF in 1954 under the title “5,271,009”. A long complicated story in which a mysterious character with apparently supernatural powers, named Solon Aquila, puts artist Jeffrey Halsyon through a series of fantastic experiences in order to teach him to grow up, put juvenile fantasies of omnipotence behind him, and engage with the real world as an adult. These juvenile fantasies may have some resemblance to popular fiction. Another story with a somewhat Freudian basis. Energetic, original and generally entertaining. 4 stars.

Travel Diary Light, dull, short, would be humorous piece. Diary entries by a cliche American ‘50s female tourist on other planets, back in time at the Great Fire of London, etc. Hardly worth a rating, but I’ll say 2 stars.

Fondly Fahrenheit One of Bester’s most famous and brilliant stories. It’s in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964 and Science Fiction 101 (both edited by Silverberg) among other anthologies. The story concerns a man who rents out the services of a valuable android that from time to time becomes homicidal, which should be impossible because of an inbuilt “prime directive”. They roam from planet to planet to avoid capture. The brilliant writing includes frequent shifts from third person to first person narrative from different characters’ perspectives, and manic doggerel verse. I found the opening scene showing the search for a missing child particularly effective. There’s an element of “psychotic projection” in the psychology of the characters, perhaps supported by the shifts in point of view. And there’s a twist at the end.

For all that, it’s a nasty crime story and a horror story, not pleasant. But I think I have to give it 5 stars.

Hobson’s Choice Starts out with a statistician puzzled by anomalies in population data in the middle of a nuclear war; ends up showing the folly of time travel “escapism”. The story has something in common with “The Starcomber” and its treatment of peoples’ fantasies. I really liked the story. 4 stars.

The Die-Hard Interesting and well written brief piece about an irascible old man who has very few prostheses in his body, unlike the younger people around him who are 30-70% “mechanical”. He considers them to be “Robots! Monsters!” i.e. not human. Nice development at the end. 3-4 stars.

Of Time and Third Avenue Yet another story containing an argument against childish fantasies of using time travel for personal advantage. This one has a cute twist at the end. 3-4 stars.

This is a very good collection that includes only one or two weak stories and several classics. 5 stars.

Stephen wrote: "This is a very good collection that includes only one or two weak stories and several classics. 5 stars."

I'm glad to hear it! I plan to look for the author, either for an e-book or some old scan on Archive.org

I’ve ordered a used paperback copy of Starlight: The Great Short Fiction of Alfred Bester, a 70s collection. There are overlaps with Starburst, and there are more recent, more complete collections, but I don’t think I’m a completist with respect to Bester.

Looks interesting. archive.org has Starlight broken into two volumes:

https://archive.org/details/starlight...

https://archive.org/details/greatshor...

Allan wrote: "Looks interesting. archive.org has Starlight broken into two volumes:

https://archive.org/details/starlight...

https://archive.org/details/greatshor......"

I think it was originally published in two volumes.

Allan wrote: "Looks interesting. archive.org has Starlight broken into two volumes:."

Thanks for the links, Allan!