Some creative and absurd, others poignant and deep (4/5)
Just this month, I read my first William Tenn
novel: Of Men and Monsters (1968). Though this latter book is more than
ten years later than his short work in this reviewed collection, it still shows
his knack for creativity, zaniness, and depth, three words of which would also
describe Fritz Leiber and Robert Sheckley.
Two stories seemed familiar, but it took me a while
to realize that I had them before: I had read “Project Hush” before in Asimov’s
50 Short Science Fiction Tales (1963) and “Party of the Two Parts” in
Santesson’s Gentle Invaders (1969). The latter of which is bizarrely
unique story of alien oddities and galactic law. This one steals the show out
of the entire collection. In close second is “The Servant Problem”. This story
isn’t one of blunt humor, but a cultural introspection of the familiar theme of
“absolute power corrupts absolutely”—it’s poignant yet absurd.
Project Hush (1954,
shortstory) – 4/5
The printed budget for
the Army’s project—codenamed Project Hush—is also listed as miscellaneous and
grows every year. Their grand plan: fly to the moon in total secrecy in order
to establish a base. With phase one of the project complete, the scientists and
top-brass unpack their crates and erect a dome, only to get word that there’s
another dome on the moon. When the scout investigates, communication goes
silent. Speculation stirs until the scout returns, silent about his absence. 7
pages
The Discovery of
Morniel Mathaway (1955, shortstory) – 4/5
Monochromatic smudged
upon monochromatic smudges—this is what Morniel Mathaway considers to the
revolutionary modern art comparable to Picasso and Roualt. Popular
opinion—read: everyone—thinks it’s utter garbage, yet Morniel still speaks at
length about his art, his vision, and his greatness. His ego is overloaded when
a time-traveler arrives to visit him, the most famous artist of all time. When
the time-traveler sees Morniel’s artwork, he’s greatly disappointed and
disgusted. When he shows Morniel his paintings from the future, Morniel sees
opportunity. 17 pages
Wednesday’s Child (1956,
shortstory) – 3/5
Fabian Balik is a
micromanaging office manager concerned about the efficiency of his company’s
secretary pool. One secretary by the name of Wednesday Gresham has regular
absences on a week- and month-long basis every year. In order to satisfy his
curiosity more than anything, Fabian invites Wednesday to lunch, where he
probes with questions. In turn, she concedes and her answers are incredible: she
gets her appendix removed and her teeth all fall out… every year. Curiosity
turns to fascination and love as Fabian digs for the truth behind his beautiful
bride. 22 pages
The Servant Problem
(1955, novelette) – 5/5
More than 99% of the
world’s people are reverently loyal to Garomma, who they consider to be the
Slavey of Civilization, the Servant of all, and the World’s Drudge. Though they
worship his supposed servitude, in reality they are all his brainwashed
subjects, of whom 99% isn’t enough for complete control. Behind the megalithic
ego of Garomma is his own servant—Moddo—who has his own plans to control
Garomma and hence the world. Filled with stress, Moddo visits Loob the healer
to allay his pain, but Loob also has plans to control Moddo, who controls
Garomma, who controls the world. 32 pages
Party of the Two
Parts (1954, novelette) – 5/5
Earth is under the
watchful eye of the Galactic Patrol as it’s a budding civilization (Stage 15)
nearly ready to join the galactic community; however, the Patrol’s existence
onn Earth is a secret. Meanwhile, Gtet is at Stage 19—a primary interstellar
citizen. Their worlds’ clash when L’payr, a habitual criminal with 2,343
felonies, escapes to Earth because of his most recent crime: peddling smut to
the amoebae youth of his planet. On Earth, he must find fuel for his ship while
not breaking any galactic laws. His crafty legal mind finds Mr. Osborne Blatch.
24 pages
The Flat-eyed
Monster (1955, novelette) – 3/5
While in a pleasant
evening slumber on the university campus on which he works, a comparative
literature assistant professor is teleported from his comfortable bed to an
alien examination table. The multi-tentacled, suitcase-sized, bulb-eyed beings
ignore his spoken pleas of communication all the while Clyde Manship—the humble
professor—receives their telepathic conversations and idle thoughts. Once he
escapes a paper bag, he enters the alien city, where they have been put on
alert about his deadly high-frequency death rays from his eyes. 35 pages
The Human Angle
(1948, shortstory) – 3/5
Out in the sticks, a
reporter drives through the pouring rain to find the right people to interview
for the town’s big news, which is laughable to him: vampires have attacked and
killed three children. The farmers are monosyllabic, so he seeks out the right
kind of average Joe or Jane. In the rain, he comes across one such regular lass
who’s a bit plump to be a mountain redneck, but the reporter can already
envision his characterization of the sodden girl. As his cars nears her home,
he cranes his neck forward. 6 pages
A Man of Family
(1956, shortstory) – 3/5
With Stewart Raley’s
promotion to Ganymede Department Chief over a year ago, he and his wife decided
to have a fourth child in their New Hampshire home because he was entitled to
it with his 9,000 territs per year salary. Unfortunately, he’s been made
superfluous due to a takeover and now he finds himself demoted and under the
yearly salary that allows him to have his fourth child. Without hope for
entering that salary bracket again, the couple considers which child to make an
orphan. 16 pages
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