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Comic Tales of Fantasy #1
The Wizards of Odd
Featuring the masters of science fiction and fantasy at their whimsical, humorous best, a treasury of delightful tales includes unexpected offerings from such luminaries as Arthur C. Clarke, Ursula K. LeGuin, Terry Pratchett, H. G. Wells, C. S. Lewis, and many others. Reprint.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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5900 people want to read
About the author
Peter Haining
331 books99 followersPeter Alexander Haining was an English journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk. Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names "Ric Alexander" and "Richard Peyton" on a number of crime story anthologies. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming.
In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. A check of the website Old Bailey at for "Associated Records 1674-1834" for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference; in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in "Goree" Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Peter Haining's most recent project was a series of World War Two stories based on extensive research and personal interviews: The Jail That Went To Sea (2003), The Mystery of Rommel's Gold (2004), Where The Eagle Landed (2004), The Chianti Raiders (2005) and The Banzai Hunters (2007).
He won the British Fantasy Awards Karl Edward Wagner Award in 2001.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
April 13, 2022
I love anthologies like this one, not because I love all the stories (that doesn’t happen often), but because it allows me to discover amazing new authors and new stories from authors I already love. The book is divided in sections, the comic fantasy one, then the one about knights and sword, and lastly the sci-fi one.
There’s a few authors here I already knew and I enjoyed reading their lesser known short stories, like ‘Theatre of Cruelty’ by Terry Pratchett, and ‘Captain Wyxtpthll’s Flying Saucer’ by Arthur C. Clarke. But there were so many I didn’t know and I had quite a blast with some of them. I finally had the chance to read ‘2BR02B’ by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., which I had heard about but hadn’t seen it anywhere. ‘Mythological Beasts’ by Stephen Donaldson was also quite a surprise and a very unexpected fantasy story about a man turning into a mythological beast. ‘The Adventure of the Snowing Globe’ by F. Anstey was a mixture of law and fantasy that I had never seen before. I mean, who has heard of a lawyer rescuing a princess? But it works! ‘Playboy and the Slime’ by Issac Asimov was something my I never expected if him, I read so many of his stories, but never anything as funny as this.
My favourite one of the book though was ‘There’s a Wolf in my Time Machine’ by Larry Niven. What a wonderful story about parallel Earths! If he has more books like that, I’d totally read them.
There’s a few authors here I already knew and I enjoyed reading their lesser known short stories, like ‘Theatre of Cruelty’ by Terry Pratchett, and ‘Captain Wyxtpthll’s Flying Saucer’ by Arthur C. Clarke. But there were so many I didn’t know and I had quite a blast with some of them. I finally had the chance to read ‘2BR02B’ by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., which I had heard about but hadn’t seen it anywhere. ‘Mythological Beasts’ by Stephen Donaldson was also quite a surprise and a very unexpected fantasy story about a man turning into a mythological beast. ‘The Adventure of the Snowing Globe’ by F. Anstey was a mixture of law and fantasy that I had never seen before. I mean, who has heard of a lawyer rescuing a princess? But it works! ‘Playboy and the Slime’ by Issac Asimov was something my I never expected if him, I read so many of his stories, but never anything as funny as this.
My favourite one of the book though was ‘There’s a Wolf in my Time Machine’ by Larry Niven. What a wonderful story about parallel Earths! If he has more books like that, I’d totally read them.
February 23, 2024
3.5 stars. Basically history of humor in fantasy and science fiction (through 1997, at least), via short stories. It was sad to see how many of the authors were alive when the collection was published but have since died.
March 15, 2017
THE WIZARDS OF ODD is a short story anthology themed around comic fantasy. It's edited by the popular anthologist Peter Haining and is mainly centred around modern British and American authors, although there are some classic authors included too.
Terry Pratchett's THEATRE OF CRUELTY opens the collection and it's a good introduction to his Discworld series, featuring some character favourites such as Corporal Nobbs and Death. It's extremely short too. HOW NUTH WOULD HAVE PRACTISED HIS ART UPON THE GNOLES is by Lord Dunsany, a portrait of a sly thief who encounters some mystical creatures. A lot of depth is packed into just a few pages. HELL HATH NO FURY sees John Collier writing of an angel and demon arriving on Earth in human form, and contains some wry passages of well-observed observation.
Henry Kuttner's THE TWONKY is by an author who tried his hand at all kinds of genres. It's a simple thing about a radio built by aliens, but very engaging and funny to boot. A GREAT DEAL OF POWER sees Eric Frank Russell telling of a robot assigned to kill people with too much power, liberally peppering his story with humour and a surprise twist. Ray Bradbury's DOODAD is about a journalist on the run from a gangster who buys an odd curio and is as near perfectly written as you could wish for.
NOT BY ITS COVER is Philip K. Dick's tale of book publishers on Mars, and is quite indescribable; for what it's worth, I enjoyed it. Ursula K. Le Guin's THE RULE OF NAMES is a whimsical piece about rival wizards, and well worth a look for fantasy fans. MYTHOLOGICAL BEAST sees Stephen Donaldson telling of a man in the future who finds a horn growing from his forehead, mixing dystopian themes with some fantastic elements to grand effect. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SNOWING GLOBE, by F. Anstey, is a real delight, a Victorian tale with a simple story and good characters.
James Branch Cabell contributes AFFAIRS IN POICTESME, an extract that left me completely cold, the writing too dry and obscure for my liking. Fredric Brown's THE RING OF HANS CARVEL is another short short from the author, blackly comic but perhaps a bit too obscure. THE BAIT is more like it, one of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories, mildly amusing but at just two pages too short to do very much. Thankfully, Robert Bloch's A GOOD KNIGHT'S WORK rights things considerably, a likeable black comedy filled with sophisticated humour that recalls Twain at his very best.
POOR LITTLE WARRIOR is by Brian W. Aldiss and concerns time travel and dinosaurs. I found it overwritten, but others may disagree. Avram Davidson's THE ODD OLD BIRD is even worse, depicting a fantasy world really not to my liking; give me Pratchett over this any day. YOUNG ZAPHOD PLAYS IT SAFE is, of course, by Douglas Adams, and a HITCHHIKER's spin-off; I found the writing style quite cold and detached, although there are plenty of bizarre elements to enjoy. H.G. Wells contributes THE WILD ASSES OF THE DEVIL, a traditional Hell-themed effort every bit as inventive as the author's better-known science fiction fare.
MINISTERING ANGELS comes from the pen of C.S. Lewis and paints an isolated Martian landscape pretty well, although the narrative is quite dreary and I didn't care for it much. Reginald Bretnor's THE GNURRS COME FROM THE VOODVORK OUT is a dated story about a crazed Swedish professor and his new invention and has plenty of risque humour. Arthur C. Clarke's CAPTAIN WXYTPTHLL'S FLYING SAUCER tells of relations between aliens and humans gone awry, and the author wrings every drop of humour from the situation. Isaac Asimov's PLAYBOY AND THE SLIME GOD is even funnier, an ingenious tale about the battle between the sexes. Then we get Larry Niven's THERE'S A WOLF IN MY TIME MACHINE, charting the adventures of a time machine and adding werewolves, a wolf girl, and an existential traveller. The final story is Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s 2 B R O 2 B, a bleak futuristic tale with a rather obvious twist.
Terry Pratchett's THEATRE OF CRUELTY opens the collection and it's a good introduction to his Discworld series, featuring some character favourites such as Corporal Nobbs and Death. It's extremely short too. HOW NUTH WOULD HAVE PRACTISED HIS ART UPON THE GNOLES is by Lord Dunsany, a portrait of a sly thief who encounters some mystical creatures. A lot of depth is packed into just a few pages. HELL HATH NO FURY sees John Collier writing of an angel and demon arriving on Earth in human form, and contains some wry passages of well-observed observation.
Henry Kuttner's THE TWONKY is by an author who tried his hand at all kinds of genres. It's a simple thing about a radio built by aliens, but very engaging and funny to boot. A GREAT DEAL OF POWER sees Eric Frank Russell telling of a robot assigned to kill people with too much power, liberally peppering his story with humour and a surprise twist. Ray Bradbury's DOODAD is about a journalist on the run from a gangster who buys an odd curio and is as near perfectly written as you could wish for.
NOT BY ITS COVER is Philip K. Dick's tale of book publishers on Mars, and is quite indescribable; for what it's worth, I enjoyed it. Ursula K. Le Guin's THE RULE OF NAMES is a whimsical piece about rival wizards, and well worth a look for fantasy fans. MYTHOLOGICAL BEAST sees Stephen Donaldson telling of a man in the future who finds a horn growing from his forehead, mixing dystopian themes with some fantastic elements to grand effect. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SNOWING GLOBE, by F. Anstey, is a real delight, a Victorian tale with a simple story and good characters.
James Branch Cabell contributes AFFAIRS IN POICTESME, an extract that left me completely cold, the writing too dry and obscure for my liking. Fredric Brown's THE RING OF HANS CARVEL is another short short from the author, blackly comic but perhaps a bit too obscure. THE BAIT is more like it, one of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories, mildly amusing but at just two pages too short to do very much. Thankfully, Robert Bloch's A GOOD KNIGHT'S WORK rights things considerably, a likeable black comedy filled with sophisticated humour that recalls Twain at his very best.
POOR LITTLE WARRIOR is by Brian W. Aldiss and concerns time travel and dinosaurs. I found it overwritten, but others may disagree. Avram Davidson's THE ODD OLD BIRD is even worse, depicting a fantasy world really not to my liking; give me Pratchett over this any day. YOUNG ZAPHOD PLAYS IT SAFE is, of course, by Douglas Adams, and a HITCHHIKER's spin-off; I found the writing style quite cold and detached, although there are plenty of bizarre elements to enjoy. H.G. Wells contributes THE WILD ASSES OF THE DEVIL, a traditional Hell-themed effort every bit as inventive as the author's better-known science fiction fare.
MINISTERING ANGELS comes from the pen of C.S. Lewis and paints an isolated Martian landscape pretty well, although the narrative is quite dreary and I didn't care for it much. Reginald Bretnor's THE GNURRS COME FROM THE VOODVORK OUT is a dated story about a crazed Swedish professor and his new invention and has plenty of risque humour. Arthur C. Clarke's CAPTAIN WXYTPTHLL'S FLYING SAUCER tells of relations between aliens and humans gone awry, and the author wrings every drop of humour from the situation. Isaac Asimov's PLAYBOY AND THE SLIME GOD is even funnier, an ingenious tale about the battle between the sexes. Then we get Larry Niven's THERE'S A WOLF IN MY TIME MACHINE, charting the adventures of a time machine and adding werewolves, a wolf girl, and an existential traveller. The final story is Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s 2 B R O 2 B, a bleak futuristic tale with a rather obvious twist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2011
Very wide range of light short stories, so everyone will probably find something just for himself. The ones that made themselves memorable for me are the following:
- P. K. Dick's story about the wub's skin and its immortalizing qualities (nice choice of experimental "wubby" texts, e. g. Lucretius)
- F. Austey's epic of how a lawyer transported to the world of glass ball saved the princess by defeating the dragon with rat repellent
- A. Davidson's deploring the irreparable loss of the last living bog pterodactyle, by mistake devoured by an Australian food savvy
- P. K. Dick's story about the wub's skin and its immortalizing qualities (nice choice of experimental "wubby" texts, e. g. Lucretius)
- F. Austey's epic of how a lawyer transported to the world of glass ball saved the princess by defeating the dragon with rat repellent
- A. Davidson's deploring the irreparable loss of the last living bog pterodactyle, by mistake devoured by an Australian food savvy
October 17, 2013
Collection of humorous fantasy and sci fi, including such heavy hitters as C.S. Lewis, Arthur C. Clarke, Kurt Vonnegut, Terry Pratchett, and Issac Asimov, to name just a few.
Good stories, as you'd imagine, from such great names. The humor stays smart, thoughtful, with just a tinge of blue here and there. The only complaint I might have is that Ursula Le Guin is the only female author in the bunch. But honestly, everything in it is so good, I can forgive the editor this oversight.
Good stories, as you'd imagine, from such great names. The humor stays smart, thoughtful, with just a tinge of blue here and there. The only complaint I might have is that Ursula Le Guin is the only female author in the bunch. But honestly, everything in it is so good, I can forgive the editor this oversight.
November 4, 2008
Has some funny stories and some not so funny. Roughly half are funny, so it's a pretty mixed bag.
July 12, 2013
Got this for Pratchett
Learned about some new authors
Must check those guys out
Learned about some new authors
Must check those guys out
May 25, 2017
Worth it just for Douglas Adams astronomically vivid short story.
October 30, 2017
How can you go wrong with a collection of 25 stories that includes heavyweights such as Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Douglas Adams, Ursula K. Le Guin, Terry Pratchett, C.S. Lewis, Fritz Leiber, Phil K. Dick, Brian W. Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, and more?
To be honest, I only enjoyed about half of them. My favorites include:
"The Twonky" by Henry Kuttner - When Kerry Westerfield's brand new cabinet radio begins walking around the house dictating Kerry's every move, he calls in psychiatrist pal Mike Fitzgerald, but this radio is constructed like no other... and it defends itself against anyone who might pose a threat—with fatal results.
"A Great Deal of Power" by Eric Frank Russell - When military scientists create an android assassin to kill top officials and scientists in the enemy's ranks, they program its mind with a pure hatred of power... but what will the android do when the enemy is eliminated and those giving the orders become the powerful?
"Doodad" by Ray Bradbury - Running from the mob, Gyp Crowell finds himself in a shop called Thingamabobs, Doodads, Whatchamacallits, Hinkies, Formodaldafrays, Hootenannies, Gadgets, and Doohingies. While there, Gyp finds a device that might help him out of his predicament... in ways he didn't expect.
“A Good Knight’s Work” by Robert Bloch – Sir Pallagyn of the Black Keep is hurled forward in time by the legendary Merlin to find the Cappadocian Tabouret in a “house of the past.” First, however, he decides to help a new found friend defeat the local mob boss…
"Not By Its Cover" by Phil K. Dick - When a special, translated edition of an ancient Latin book is published with animal hide cover, it is quickly discovered that certain passages in the book have been translated differently that in the paperback version, which leads to an astonishing conclusion about the animal hide covers...
"The Rules of Names" by Ursula K. Le Guin - Mr. Underhill lives a reclusive life in the village, practicing his wizardry with often questionable results... until a pirate named Blackbeard arrives with certain suspicions and accusations against Underhill. In response, the old bumbling sorcerer shows his true colors...
"Mythological Beast" by Stephen Donaldson - Norman is a librarian in an age of ignorance when so many among the population can barely read. Norman has a problem when he notices a horn growing in the middle of his forehead. Shortly after, his entire body begins to change into the shape of a creature than cannot be allowed to exist in a controlled society...
"The Adventure of the Snowing Globe" by F. Antsey - A man stops into a toy shoppe to purchase a present and is drawn to a snow globe containing a miniature castle. After shaking the globe, the man is transported to the real castle, meets a real princess being held prisoner by her cruel, oppressive uncle, and finds himself face to face with a real dragon...
"Zaphod Plays It Safe" by Douglas Adams - Zaphod Beeblebrox is hired by the Safety and Reassurance Administration to retrieve items of secretive nature from a crashed ship in the depths of an alien ocean. Despite Zaphod's increasing misgivings, the authorities assure him that "it's all perfectly safe"...
"The Odd Old Bird" by Avram Davidson - When the frivolous Prince Vlox indicates to two royal scientists that his property has been frequently visited by a rare bird, the Emperor's wizard Eszterhazy requests that the prince capture the bird and have it sent to him. However, there is some confusion on the part of the temporary help when the bird is delivered around the same time as the cook was expecting a chicken...
"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodwork Out" by Reginald Bretnor - Quack inventor Papa Schimmelhorn arrives at the local Secret Weapons Bureau determined to demonstrate how his new invention, which resembles a bassoon, will win the war... in the most unimaginable way!
"Captain Wyxtpthll's Flying Saucer" by Arthur C. Clarke - A pair of hapless aliens land in England on a mission to find and retrieve an intelligent human specimen only to end up incarcerated by the local police as mental patients... until the town drunk helps them escape!
"There's A Wolf in My Time Machine" by Larry Niven - A time traveller finds himself in a parallel dimension where mankind evolved from wolves instead of apes.
"2BRO2B" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - In order for newborns to be permitted to live in a dystopian future under strict population control, someone must volunteer to die. What happens when a married couple is expecting triplets, but could locate only one volunteer?
To be honest, I only enjoyed about half of them. My favorites include:
"The Twonky" by Henry Kuttner - When Kerry Westerfield's brand new cabinet radio begins walking around the house dictating Kerry's every move, he calls in psychiatrist pal Mike Fitzgerald, but this radio is constructed like no other... and it defends itself against anyone who might pose a threat—with fatal results.
"A Great Deal of Power" by Eric Frank Russell - When military scientists create an android assassin to kill top officials and scientists in the enemy's ranks, they program its mind with a pure hatred of power... but what will the android do when the enemy is eliminated and those giving the orders become the powerful?
"Doodad" by Ray Bradbury - Running from the mob, Gyp Crowell finds himself in a shop called Thingamabobs, Doodads, Whatchamacallits, Hinkies, Formodaldafrays, Hootenannies, Gadgets, and Doohingies. While there, Gyp finds a device that might help him out of his predicament... in ways he didn't expect.
“A Good Knight’s Work” by Robert Bloch – Sir Pallagyn of the Black Keep is hurled forward in time by the legendary Merlin to find the Cappadocian Tabouret in a “house of the past.” First, however, he decides to help a new found friend defeat the local mob boss…
"Not By Its Cover" by Phil K. Dick - When a special, translated edition of an ancient Latin book is published with animal hide cover, it is quickly discovered that certain passages in the book have been translated differently that in the paperback version, which leads to an astonishing conclusion about the animal hide covers...
"The Rules of Names" by Ursula K. Le Guin - Mr. Underhill lives a reclusive life in the village, practicing his wizardry with often questionable results... until a pirate named Blackbeard arrives with certain suspicions and accusations against Underhill. In response, the old bumbling sorcerer shows his true colors...
"Mythological Beast" by Stephen Donaldson - Norman is a librarian in an age of ignorance when so many among the population can barely read. Norman has a problem when he notices a horn growing in the middle of his forehead. Shortly after, his entire body begins to change into the shape of a creature than cannot be allowed to exist in a controlled society...
"The Adventure of the Snowing Globe" by F. Antsey - A man stops into a toy shoppe to purchase a present and is drawn to a snow globe containing a miniature castle. After shaking the globe, the man is transported to the real castle, meets a real princess being held prisoner by her cruel, oppressive uncle, and finds himself face to face with a real dragon...
"Zaphod Plays It Safe" by Douglas Adams - Zaphod Beeblebrox is hired by the Safety and Reassurance Administration to retrieve items of secretive nature from a crashed ship in the depths of an alien ocean. Despite Zaphod's increasing misgivings, the authorities assure him that "it's all perfectly safe"...
"The Odd Old Bird" by Avram Davidson - When the frivolous Prince Vlox indicates to two royal scientists that his property has been frequently visited by a rare bird, the Emperor's wizard Eszterhazy requests that the prince capture the bird and have it sent to him. However, there is some confusion on the part of the temporary help when the bird is delivered around the same time as the cook was expecting a chicken...
"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodwork Out" by Reginald Bretnor - Quack inventor Papa Schimmelhorn arrives at the local Secret Weapons Bureau determined to demonstrate how his new invention, which resembles a bassoon, will win the war... in the most unimaginable way!
"Captain Wyxtpthll's Flying Saucer" by Arthur C. Clarke - A pair of hapless aliens land in England on a mission to find and retrieve an intelligent human specimen only to end up incarcerated by the local police as mental patients... until the town drunk helps them escape!
"There's A Wolf in My Time Machine" by Larry Niven - A time traveller finds himself in a parallel dimension where mankind evolved from wolves instead of apes.
"2BRO2B" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - In order for newborns to be permitted to live in a dystopian future under strict population control, someone must volunteer to die. What happens when a married couple is expecting triplets, but could locate only one volunteer?
June 9, 2024
I feel as if I have owned this book forever... I must have bought it when my edition was published (in 1997) and I have often carried it about with me since. I would dip into it occasionally, but only this year did I decide to get the thing done with and read all the stories I hadn't yet read...
And what a mixed bag! Firstly let me state that this is an anthology of hunorous fantasy but most of the stories in it aren't funny. Most are mildly amusing at best, a few are awfully unfunny, only one or two rise above the level of mediocre in terms of humour. The anthology shouldn't have been subtitled "Comic Tales of Fantasy" but something more like "Moderately Whimsical Stories by Mostly Famous Authors".
Theatre of Cruelty by Terry Pratchett.
2.5/5. I am a fan of Pratchett and this tale is nice enough, but it isn't anywhere near spectacular.
How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles by Lord Dunsany.
3.5/5. Reasonably high marks for prose style and maybe atmosphere, the two things Dunsany was good at. There are no original ideas here, no plot worth mentioning, no insights. But the language! I love his use of language.
Hell Hath No Fury by John Collier.
2.5/5. The first of several sexist-toned stories in this book. Collier manages to get away with it, only just, probably because he seems more honest than some of the other writers. Women exist and how they exist is a mystery but it's a certainty that they exist for the prurient delectation of men. That's what all these stories seem to be saying deep down, even in stories where the woman triumphs. I am hardly a feminist but even I roll my eyes when I keep encountering these lazy and pedatory cliches in older fiction. No wonder feminists are annoyed and want to tear down the patronising patriarchy. I feel embarassement when I read so much 20th Century fiction of this kind, because these stories didn't have to be like this. There were many male writers of that era who didn't play this battle-of-the-sexes game... Anyway, demons in womanly form.
The Twonky by Henry Kuttner.
4/5. I have read many anthologies of science fiction and fantasy from the 1930s and 1940s and whenever there is a Kuttner story included, I know it is going to be better than most (or all) of the other stories in the book. Kuttner had style. He also had ideas. He was better than most of his magazine contemporaries and I find it a shame that this fact isn't generally recognised.
A Great Deal of Power by Eric Frank Russell.
2.5/5. A good writer but not a particularly enjoyable yarn. At the same time, it's not a bad one.
Doodad by Ray Bradbury.
3/5. Not really like the Bradbury I am familiar with, with a much less lyrical prose style for a start. This is a science fiction tale that reads like proto-PKD, and it's awkward in places but quite good nonetheless.
Not by its Cover by Philip K Dick.
2.5/5. Although he is considered to be one of the greatest SF writers of all time, I am frequently left unmoved by the work of PKD. This tale was reasonably good but nothing special. It is about regeneration and longevity.
The Rule of Names by Ursula K. Le Guin.
4/5. An excellently constructed fantasy told in good solid prose with a dragon as a major player. Apparently this story is connected to her Earthsea series, which I haven't yet read but which I plan to read, probably sometime in the next few years.
Mythological Beast by Stephen Donaldson.
3/5. A fantasy hidden inside a science fiction story, and while the science fiction elements aren't very convincing or well done, the fantasy element is really not bad at all.
The Adventure of the Snowing Globe by F. Anstey.
3/5. Charming and witty story about a lawyer who is transported into a snow globe where he has to fight a dragon. The ending is perhaps a little weak, but considering the story was published in 1906 it has stood the test of time very well indeed.
Affairs in Poictesme by James Branch Cabell.
3/5. A writer I love, but this is just an extract from one of his novels and shouldn't be in this book. Readers should read his best novels instead.
The Ring of Hans Carvel by Frederic Brown.
1.5/5. Another very good writer, one of the best flash fiction writers ever, but here is a sexist tale, not even amusing, and not even original. A man wants his wife to remain faithful. In his dream the devil appears and offers to give him a ring. If he wears it, his wife will be physically unable to cheat on him. He wakes up with his finger in her yoni. The end.
The Bait by Fritz Leiber.
2/5. The 'Fafhrd and Gray Mouser' stories are among the best in all fantasy literature. And here is a 'Fafhrd and Gray Mouser' adventure! Surely it must be excellent? Alas, no. It's very short and very inconsequential and includes the unsavoury scene of a naked thirteen year old girl who both the heroes feel lust for. Not a good look. Leiber could have added ten years to her age for the sake of decency. What it is with these older writers? Seriously.
A Good Knight's Work by Robert Bloch.
2.5/5. Mildly amusing. I have a feeling that this story could have been a lot better than it was. It might be that I just didn't connect with Bloch's prose style.
Poor Little Warrior by Brian Aldiss.
4/5. Aldiss is nearly always good. Even when he's not good, he is usually interesting. This is a good story, short and pithy and well written.
The Odd Old Bird by Avram Davidson.
5/5. Probably the best story in the anthology. This is the first Avram Davidson story I have ever read but it certainly won't be the last. The prose style is lovely, exactly the kind of prose style I enjoy reading, muscular and lyrical at the same time, musical. And the ideas are good and worked out by the plot in a very satisfying manner.
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe by Douglas Adams.
2/5. Funny in the sense that the language is funny. The incidents in the story are less so. It could have been a superb story but it is let down by an anticlimactic ending that is precisely topical to the 1980s, when the story was written, and thus the twist has lost most of its force.
The Wild Asses of the Devil by H.G. Wells.
3/5. Not exactly classic Wells but enjoyable enough. A simple satire, deftly handled.
Ministering Angels by C.S. Lewis.
1/5. Oh dear. Sexist nonsense again but this time adjusted with religious nonsense. The writing is fairly good, which is why it gets one star instead of zero stars.
The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out by Reginald Bretnor.
1.5/5. Disappointing. I was hoping this was going to be ingenious and amusing, but it turned out to be (yet again) sexist and the resolution itself was rather lame.
Captain Wyxtpthll's Flying Saucer by Arthur C. Clarke.
3/5. Of the so-called 'big three' SF writers of the 20th Century, Clarke is by far my favourite. In fact he's the only one of the three I can bear to read. This story was genuinely amusing in parts. The prose is a little clunky but I can forgive him that.
Playboy and the Slime God - Isaac Asimov.
0/1. Absolute rubbish. Embarassing stuff from a writer who liked to boast about how much better he was than other writers. This is poorly written and corny and the theme involves molestation of women without consent, which I suppose means that Asimov was writing from personal experience.
There's a Wolf in my Time Machine by Larry Niven.
3/5. I suspect this is rather a good story, apparently one of a series involving the same character. But it didn't quite work for me and I am not sure why.
2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut.
5/5. If the Avram Davidson story isn't the best one in the anthology, then this one is. Vonnegut was a much better novelist than he was a short story writer, but his best short stories are great. And this is one of them.
And now finally I have read the anthology! I will never read it again...
And what a mixed bag! Firstly let me state that this is an anthology of hunorous fantasy but most of the stories in it aren't funny. Most are mildly amusing at best, a few are awfully unfunny, only one or two rise above the level of mediocre in terms of humour. The anthology shouldn't have been subtitled "Comic Tales of Fantasy" but something more like "Moderately Whimsical Stories by Mostly Famous Authors".
Theatre of Cruelty by Terry Pratchett.
2.5/5. I am a fan of Pratchett and this tale is nice enough, but it isn't anywhere near spectacular.
How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles by Lord Dunsany.
3.5/5. Reasonably high marks for prose style and maybe atmosphere, the two things Dunsany was good at. There are no original ideas here, no plot worth mentioning, no insights. But the language! I love his use of language.
Hell Hath No Fury by John Collier.
2.5/5. The first of several sexist-toned stories in this book. Collier manages to get away with it, only just, probably because he seems more honest than some of the other writers. Women exist and how they exist is a mystery but it's a certainty that they exist for the prurient delectation of men. That's what all these stories seem to be saying deep down, even in stories where the woman triumphs. I am hardly a feminist but even I roll my eyes when I keep encountering these lazy and pedatory cliches in older fiction. No wonder feminists are annoyed and want to tear down the patronising patriarchy. I feel embarassement when I read so much 20th Century fiction of this kind, because these stories didn't have to be like this. There were many male writers of that era who didn't play this battle-of-the-sexes game... Anyway, demons in womanly form.
The Twonky by Henry Kuttner.
4/5. I have read many anthologies of science fiction and fantasy from the 1930s and 1940s and whenever there is a Kuttner story included, I know it is going to be better than most (or all) of the other stories in the book. Kuttner had style. He also had ideas. He was better than most of his magazine contemporaries and I find it a shame that this fact isn't generally recognised.
A Great Deal of Power by Eric Frank Russell.
2.5/5. A good writer but not a particularly enjoyable yarn. At the same time, it's not a bad one.
Doodad by Ray Bradbury.
3/5. Not really like the Bradbury I am familiar with, with a much less lyrical prose style for a start. This is a science fiction tale that reads like proto-PKD, and it's awkward in places but quite good nonetheless.
Not by its Cover by Philip K Dick.
2.5/5. Although he is considered to be one of the greatest SF writers of all time, I am frequently left unmoved by the work of PKD. This tale was reasonably good but nothing special. It is about regeneration and longevity.
The Rule of Names by Ursula K. Le Guin.
4/5. An excellently constructed fantasy told in good solid prose with a dragon as a major player. Apparently this story is connected to her Earthsea series, which I haven't yet read but which I plan to read, probably sometime in the next few years.
Mythological Beast by Stephen Donaldson.
3/5. A fantasy hidden inside a science fiction story, and while the science fiction elements aren't very convincing or well done, the fantasy element is really not bad at all.
The Adventure of the Snowing Globe by F. Anstey.
3/5. Charming and witty story about a lawyer who is transported into a snow globe where he has to fight a dragon. The ending is perhaps a little weak, but considering the story was published in 1906 it has stood the test of time very well indeed.
Affairs in Poictesme by James Branch Cabell.
3/5. A writer I love, but this is just an extract from one of his novels and shouldn't be in this book. Readers should read his best novels instead.
The Ring of Hans Carvel by Frederic Brown.
1.5/5. Another very good writer, one of the best flash fiction writers ever, but here is a sexist tale, not even amusing, and not even original. A man wants his wife to remain faithful. In his dream the devil appears and offers to give him a ring. If he wears it, his wife will be physically unable to cheat on him. He wakes up with his finger in her yoni. The end.
The Bait by Fritz Leiber.
2/5. The 'Fafhrd and Gray Mouser' stories are among the best in all fantasy literature. And here is a 'Fafhrd and Gray Mouser' adventure! Surely it must be excellent? Alas, no. It's very short and very inconsequential and includes the unsavoury scene of a naked thirteen year old girl who both the heroes feel lust for. Not a good look. Leiber could have added ten years to her age for the sake of decency. What it is with these older writers? Seriously.
A Good Knight's Work by Robert Bloch.
2.5/5. Mildly amusing. I have a feeling that this story could have been a lot better than it was. It might be that I just didn't connect with Bloch's prose style.
Poor Little Warrior by Brian Aldiss.
4/5. Aldiss is nearly always good. Even when he's not good, he is usually interesting. This is a good story, short and pithy and well written.
The Odd Old Bird by Avram Davidson.
5/5. Probably the best story in the anthology. This is the first Avram Davidson story I have ever read but it certainly won't be the last. The prose style is lovely, exactly the kind of prose style I enjoy reading, muscular and lyrical at the same time, musical. And the ideas are good and worked out by the plot in a very satisfying manner.
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe by Douglas Adams.
2/5. Funny in the sense that the language is funny. The incidents in the story are less so. It could have been a superb story but it is let down by an anticlimactic ending that is precisely topical to the 1980s, when the story was written, and thus the twist has lost most of its force.
The Wild Asses of the Devil by H.G. Wells.
3/5. Not exactly classic Wells but enjoyable enough. A simple satire, deftly handled.
Ministering Angels by C.S. Lewis.
1/5. Oh dear. Sexist nonsense again but this time adjusted with religious nonsense. The writing is fairly good, which is why it gets one star instead of zero stars.
The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out by Reginald Bretnor.
1.5/5. Disappointing. I was hoping this was going to be ingenious and amusing, but it turned out to be (yet again) sexist and the resolution itself was rather lame.
Captain Wyxtpthll's Flying Saucer by Arthur C. Clarke.
3/5. Of the so-called 'big three' SF writers of the 20th Century, Clarke is by far my favourite. In fact he's the only one of the three I can bear to read. This story was genuinely amusing in parts. The prose is a little clunky but I can forgive him that.
Playboy and the Slime God - Isaac Asimov.
0/1. Absolute rubbish. Embarassing stuff from a writer who liked to boast about how much better he was than other writers. This is poorly written and corny and the theme involves molestation of women without consent, which I suppose means that Asimov was writing from personal experience.
There's a Wolf in my Time Machine by Larry Niven.
3/5. I suspect this is rather a good story, apparently one of a series involving the same character. But it didn't quite work for me and I am not sure why.
2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut.
5/5. If the Avram Davidson story isn't the best one in the anthology, then this one is. Vonnegut was a much better novelist than he was a short story writer, but his best short stories are great. And this is one of them.
And now finally I have read the anthology! I will never read it again...
November 12, 2020
90 % Terry Pratchett: Divadlo krutosti
50 % Lord Dunsany: Jak by byl Nuth býval využil svého umění na Gnoly
80 % John Collier: V pekle není lític
80 % Henry Kuttner & Catherine Lucille Moore: Harmonizátor
70 % Eric Frank Russell: Značná moc
80 % Ray Bradbury: Udělátko
70 % Philip K. Dick: Ne v této vazbě
70 % Ursula K. Le Guin: Pravidlo jmen
70 % Stephen R. Donaldson: Bájné zvíře
60 % F. Anstey: Dobrodružství se skleněným těžítkem
40 % James Branch Cabell: Záležitosti v Poictesme
60 % Fredric Brown: Prsten Hanse Carvela
40 % Fritz Reuter Leiber: Návnada
90 % Robert Albert Bloch: Bez bázně a hany
40 % Brian W. Aldiss: Ubohý bojovníčku
50 % Avram J. A. Davidson: Podivné pravěké ptáče
60 % Douglas Adams: Mladý Zafod hraje na jistotu
90 % H. G. Wells: Divocí oslové pekelní
70 % C. S. Lewis: Ministrující andělé
60 % Reginald Bretnor: Gnurrové vylésli ze všéch škfír
80 % Arthur C. Clarke: Létající talíř kapitána Wyxtpthlla
100 % Isaac Asimov: Playboy a slizký bůh
60 % Larry Niven: V mém stroji času je vlk
90 % Kurt Vonnegut, jr.: B-1-TC-1-NEB-1-T
50 % Lord Dunsany: Jak by byl Nuth býval využil svého umění na Gnoly
80 % John Collier: V pekle není lític
80 % Henry Kuttner & Catherine Lucille Moore: Harmonizátor
70 % Eric Frank Russell: Značná moc
80 % Ray Bradbury: Udělátko
70 % Philip K. Dick: Ne v této vazbě
70 % Ursula K. Le Guin: Pravidlo jmen
70 % Stephen R. Donaldson: Bájné zvíře
60 % F. Anstey: Dobrodružství se skleněným těžítkem
40 % James Branch Cabell: Záležitosti v Poictesme
60 % Fredric Brown: Prsten Hanse Carvela
40 % Fritz Reuter Leiber: Návnada
90 % Robert Albert Bloch: Bez bázně a hany
40 % Brian W. Aldiss: Ubohý bojovníčku
50 % Avram J. A. Davidson: Podivné pravěké ptáče
60 % Douglas Adams: Mladý Zafod hraje na jistotu
90 % H. G. Wells: Divocí oslové pekelní
70 % C. S. Lewis: Ministrující andělé
60 % Reginald Bretnor: Gnurrové vylésli ze všéch škfír
80 % Arthur C. Clarke: Létající talíř kapitána Wyxtpthlla
100 % Isaac Asimov: Playboy a slizký bůh
60 % Larry Niven: V mém stroji času je vlk
90 % Kurt Vonnegut, jr.: B-1-TC-1-NEB-1-T
October 11, 2022
Dieses Buch habe ich nur wegen der Kurzgeschichte von Douglas Adams gekauft. Und auch wenn sich die Geschichte von Adams nicht als meine liebste entpuppte, so bin ich ihm doch dankbar, dass er mich auf diese unterhaltsame Sammlung aufmerksam gemacht hat.
Diese Sammlung beinhaltet einige grosse Namen. Nicht nur Douglas Adams ist hier zu finden, sondern auch Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, HG Wells, Le Guin... nur um ein paar zu nennen. Jedoch durfte ich auch viele neue Autoren kennenlernen, von denen ich bisher noch nie gehört hatte.
Somit eignet sich dieses Buch hervorragend für Leser/innen, die sich einen Überblick über diverse Autoren des Fantasy/Sci-Fi-Genres machen wollen. Ich zum Beispiel konnte endlich meine Scheu vor Ursula K. Le Guin ablegen. Leider ist die Auswahl der Texte, gesellschaftlich und historisch bedingt, sehr männerlastig. Eine neue Version fände ich eine gute Idee und würde das Buch dann auch definitiv lesen.
Die Texte sind, aufgrund der breiten Auswahl an Autoren, sehr unterschiedlich, was für mich ein positiver Punkt ist. Manche sind sehr witzig, manche eher leicht beängstigend, manche gar nichts für mich. Aber ich bin mir sicher, dass bei dieser Kollektion jede und jeder etwas für sich finden wird.
Diese Sammlung beinhaltet einige grosse Namen. Nicht nur Douglas Adams ist hier zu finden, sondern auch Terry Pratchett, Isaac Asimov, HG Wells, Le Guin... nur um ein paar zu nennen. Jedoch durfte ich auch viele neue Autoren kennenlernen, von denen ich bisher noch nie gehört hatte.
Somit eignet sich dieses Buch hervorragend für Leser/innen, die sich einen Überblick über diverse Autoren des Fantasy/Sci-Fi-Genres machen wollen. Ich zum Beispiel konnte endlich meine Scheu vor Ursula K. Le Guin ablegen. Leider ist die Auswahl der Texte, gesellschaftlich und historisch bedingt, sehr männerlastig. Eine neue Version fände ich eine gute Idee und würde das Buch dann auch definitiv lesen.
Die Texte sind, aufgrund der breiten Auswahl an Autoren, sehr unterschiedlich, was für mich ein positiver Punkt ist. Manche sind sehr witzig, manche eher leicht beängstigend, manche gar nichts für mich. Aber ich bin mir sicher, dass bei dieser Kollektion jede und jeder etwas für sich finden wird.
November 18, 2018
The back of my edition reads: "WARNING! READING IN ONE SITTING MAY RESULT IN ACHING RIBS AND SORE THROAT."
Nope, not a chance of that happening. I smiled a couple of times and chuckled maybe once, but there was no laughing. These stories are not funny.
The cover offers the subtitle "Comic Tales of Fantasy," but I was disappointed.
Some of the stories are witty or a bit clever, but none of them is amazing. Some of them are incredibly sexist, and what's worse is that the editor's introduction for such stories, decades later in some cases, defends or lauds them. In one case the editor even argues that the (sexist) story has survived the test of time and change in attitudes. Nonsense.
Read this book if you would like to see a few examples of bad fantasy/sci-fi, comic or otherwise.
Nope, not a chance of that happening. I smiled a couple of times and chuckled maybe once, but there was no laughing. These stories are not funny.
The cover offers the subtitle "Comic Tales of Fantasy," but I was disappointed.
Some of the stories are witty or a bit clever, but none of them is amazing. Some of them are incredibly sexist, and what's worse is that the editor's introduction for such stories, decades later in some cases, defends or lauds them. In one case the editor even argues that the (sexist) story has survived the test of time and change in attitudes. Nonsense.
Read this book if you would like to see a few examples of bad fantasy/sci-fi, comic or otherwise.
October 28, 2017
While some of these short stories were not that great (or just too short), this collection was on the whole fairly entertaining. Some of these authors have seriously warped senses of humor, which works perfectly for me, and I caught myself grinning quite a bit while reading various tales of the absurd. If you're only going to read one story out of this collection, make it The Rule of Names, by Ursula K. Le Guin. I paid a grand total of fifty cents for this book and it was worth it for that story alone. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
February 24, 2019
Man, what an anthology!
If you read one book in the genre of science fiction, this should be it.
It will routinely crack you up . But, it’s also such good writing, that you can’t GO wrong. Do not be surprised if this book leaves you wanting to dabble in science fiction yourself, because it will hyper accelerate your imagination .
Do not also be surprised if it turns out you’re quite shit... because this book sets quite the standard with its curation of short stories.
If you read one book in the genre of science fiction, this should be it.
It will routinely crack you up . But, it’s also such good writing, that you can’t GO wrong. Do not be surprised if this book leaves you wanting to dabble in science fiction yourself, because it will hyper accelerate your imagination .
Do not also be surprised if it turns out you’re quite shit... because this book sets quite the standard with its curation of short stories.
May 15, 2019
Fantastic collection of short stories by the absolute greats of the sci-fi and fantasy genre. While I wouldn't call most of the tales comic, they are a comprehensive cross-section of the sub-genres and styles in the two genres. I cannot even pick favourites to pinpoint - there are few stories that are in any way less interesting than the others, and every single one is elegant and masterfully done.
September 8, 2020
Líbilo se mi (na 5*) jen pár povídek. Takže dvě :D
Humor mám raději jiného ražení, takže povídky, které jsou prezentovány jako humorné, mi vůbec humorné nepřipadaly. Celkově mě sbírka nějak nenadchla. A ani povídky známých a oblíbených autorů nebyly lepší než ty ostatní. Čekala jsem asi víc sci-fi a méně fantasy. Zajímavé bylo setkání s některými mně neznámými autory, ale nemám už moc touhu objevovat jejich další díla.
Na ty, které už mám ale načtené, kvůli jedné blbé povídce nezanevřu.
Humor mám raději jiného ražení, takže povídky, které jsou prezentovány jako humorné, mi vůbec humorné nepřipadaly. Celkově mě sbírka nějak nenadchla. A ani povídky známých a oblíbených autorů nebyly lepší než ty ostatní. Čekala jsem asi víc sci-fi a méně fantasy. Zajímavé bylo setkání s některými mně neznámými autory, ale nemám už moc touhu objevovat jejich další díla.
Na ty, které už mám ale načtené, kvůli jedné blbé povídce nezanevřu.
July 21, 2022
I think we have different definitions of what's funny. These stories are more absurd than comic, thus the title. I liked the brief bios of each author, most with whom I am familiar. The stories are categorized into three sections of wizards, sorcerers, and space. Some I liked, some I couldn't follow. A simple selection of stories to allow readers to decide which, if any, of the authors to pursue further.
May 10, 2023
Nie jest to może idealny wybór, cześć opowiadań jest kontrowersyjna, a cześć kiepsko się czyta ze względu na to jak humor się zestarzał, ale poza tym myśle ze to najlepszy zbiór prozy fantastycznej jaki wpadł mi w ręce. Każdy autor otrzymał tu przed opowiadaniem cała stronę życiorysu, dzięki któremu czytelnik może uzyskać wiele interesujących ciekawostek o danym autorze zanim zapozna się z jego twórczością i co ważniejsze poczuciem humoru, które stanowi motyw przewodni tego zbioru.
March 25, 2020
This is an incredible omnibus of satiric fantasy and science fiction, full of great short stories. The iconic Terry Pratchett, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Douglas Adams and C.S. Lewis are some of the authors, whose works are included in the volume.
I recommend it for every fantasy or sci-fi nerd!
I recommend it for every fantasy or sci-fi nerd!
September 25, 2021
Excellent collection of comic tales of fantasy by such luminaries as Terry Pratchett, Ursula K Le Guin, Philip K Dick, Robert Bloch, Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, and Larry Niven, to name a few.
Highly entertaining.
Highly entertaining.
June 6, 2024
I've never really read a short story collection before so this was interesting. It was a bit hit or miss, but mostly hit. The Pratchett one was disappointing, but then the Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury and Douglas Adams ones were really good
July 30, 2024
Such a surreal set of stories some darker than others not many I found overly funny myself the Kurt Vonnegut Jr 2 b r o 2 b about the future and population control is scary in how true it could be too
May 11, 2017
A fun read.
December 28, 2017
Bit of a mixed bag but some very fun stories from an excellent range of authors.
August 13, 2018
Odd was right, enjoyable in the main
June 16, 2019
Fun but not my favorite. Some of the stories could be bland. I am not a huge short story fan to begin with so please take that into consideration.
July 5, 2019
2,5/5
November 6, 2019
A fun collection. My favorites were by Niven and Vonnegut.
January 31, 2020
Not all as hilarious as the editor thinks, but all are pretty good stories none the less.
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