"The Playground" by Ray Bradbury

Think back to some of your fondest memories of childhood.  Most of them involve playing with your friends.  Remember the carefree days at the playground?  But, what if the playground was a place of terror?  What if the other kids mistreated you?  Then you grow up and have a son.  Your wife dies.  And circumstances lead to your son being sent to the same playground you grew up at.  It is scary enough...but then you see a familiar child at the playground...and he calls you by your childhood nickname...

Short Story Sunday - The Good Doctor Rebounds

Last Sunday's short story offering was a rare disappointment for me.  Isaac Asimov's "Button, Button" was one of his few stories that I did not care for.  This week the Good Doctor bounces back with two fun stories.

"The Monkey's Finger" by Isaac Asimov

First Publication:  Startling Stories, February 1953


Another good Asimov short story appeared behind this classic Ed Emshwiller cover.  It is loosely based on a discussion between the Good Doctor and editor Horace Gold.


A science fiction writer crafts what he thinks is a good story.  His editor disagrees.  In an effort to change the editor's mind, he takes him to a scientist who has developed a way of determining if a story is well written.  It involves a monkey, surgery, and a typewriter.  To tell any more of the plot would reveal too much.  The main theme deals with the difference between technically correct writing and writing with emotion.  I found this to be another very entertaining story.  It is definitely worth reading.


Among the other authors appearing in this issue were Fletcher Pratt, Philip Jose Farmer, and Damon Knight.  The letter column featured many names that are well known to fans of classic science fiction (John Brunner, Poul Anderson, and Richard E. Geis).

"Everest" by Isaac Asimov

First Publication:  Universe Science Fiction, December 1953


Asimov tells an interesting tale about the background of this story in his "Buy Jupiter and Other Stories" collection.  According to him, editor Bea Mahaffey was one of the best looking women that he ever met.  He stopped in to see her at her office one day.  Mahaffey asked why he didn't bring a story for her.  Asimov pulled up a chair, grabbed a typewriter and wrote this one while sitting in her office.


The story is a fun short story about why no one had been able to climb Mount Everest.  She liked it and bought it on the spot.  He took her out to eat with the money he made from the sale. Despite his best efforts, that was the end of the night.


The irony of it was that this took place in February 1953.  Later that year, before the story was published, the first team managed to climb the mountain and disproved Asimov's story.


Other writers in this issue included Otto Binder, Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson, and L. Sprague De Camp.

Short Story Sunday - A Rare Miss for the Good Doctor

"Button, Button" by Isaac Asimov


First Publication:  Startling Stories, January 1953


It is rare for me to find an Asimov story that misses the mark for me.  This is one of those incidents.


The plot is solid enough.  A lawyer is approached by his uncle who has invented a flute that can be played by the power of the mind.  When he tried to get a company to start producing them, his invention is turned into a weapon.  Now he wants to raise the money to make his own plant that will put his musical instrument on the market.  The lawyer comes up with a plan but fails to take one thing into account.


The thing that ruined the story for me was the dialect Asimov chose for the uncle.  He is an immigrant who speaks broken English.  I have no problem with his background but the way he writes the dialog took me out of the story.  


As you can see from the cover, Asimov was not the featured author on this cover.  A quick look at the table of contents shows many other name authors of that time:  Damon Knight, Murray Leinster, James Gunn, and Jack Vance.  There is even an essay written by Marion Zimmer Bradley.


Skip this one and read the many other short works by Asimov.  He has written many classics that should be read by fans today.

The Rose by Charles L. Harness

I remember when I "discovered" the science fiction magazines. It started with Galaxy and Worlds of IF when Jim Baen was editing them. Soon after that, Analog(edited by Ben Bova), Fantasy and Science Fiction(Ed Ferman), Amazing Stories and Fantastic(both edited by Ted White) were added to my must read stack. Some of my favorite science fiction memories are from these magazines.

I fondly remember...

...the excitement of a new Amber novel by Roger Zelazny in Galaxy.

...Brigadier Ffellowes by Sterling Lanier in Fantasy and Science Fiction.

...Poul Anderson's A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows in Worlds of IF.

...the many stories by John Varley in Galaxy.

...Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game in Analog.

I could keep doing this indefinitely but I did have a reason for listing these stories. The next one I was going to list was The Araqnid Window by Charles L. Harness. It appeared in the December 1974(hard to believe it has been that many long ago) issue of Amazing Stories.

The Araqnid Window had it all. How can you resist a mystery involving an ancient civilization on an alien world? Harness had me hooked from the start. I heard rumors of his novels but never saw them. A few years ago I was in a used book store and spotted The Rose and The Ring of Ritournel. I practically ran to the register to check out. I took them home and put them on the shelf. Sure, I would occasionally take them down and look at them. But I always put them back. I was afraid of disappointment. I was barely a teenager when I read The Araqnid Window. What if Harness was not the writer that I remembered?

After reading Carl Anderson's comments about Orson Scott Card and Isaac Asimov on his Stainless Steel Droppings site, I decided to read The Rose for the Sci-Fi Experience 2008.

The Rose is far from disappointing. In the introduction, Michael Moorcock says that Arthur C. Clarke, Damon Knight, Brian Aldiss, and Judith Merril have praised this story. I can see why.

The Rose is more of an experience than a story. The basic story is the final battle between science and art. I hesitate to say more than that. You have to read this story to understand it.

The focus is on three main characters.

On the side of art is Anna van Tuyl(composer and psychologist) and Ruy Jacques(Anna's lover). Opposing them is Ruy's wife-Martha(she is working on a weapon that will prove that science is superior to art). You will have a hard time finding three more dynamic characters.

If you don't already have this book, find it. It is a unique addition to any library.

Highly recommended.