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The Best of Planet Stories 1
Contents:
1 · Beyond Our Narrow Skies · Leigh Brackett · in
9 · Lorelei of the Red Mist · Leigh Brackett & Ray Bradbury · na Planet Stories Sum ’46
76 · The Star Mouse [Mitkey] · Fredric Brown · ss Planet Stories Spr ’42
100 · Return of a Legend · Raymond Z. Gallun · ss Planet Stories Mar ’52
117 · Quest of Thig [Thig] · Basil Wells · ss Planet Stories Fll ’42
131 · The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears · Keith Bennett · nv Planet Stories Spr ’50
175 · The Diversifal · Ross Rocklynne · ss Planet Stories Win ’45
193 · Duel on Syrtis · Poul Anderson · ss Planet Stories Mar ’51
1 · Beyond Our Narrow Skies · Leigh Brackett · in
9 · Lorelei of the Red Mist · Leigh Brackett & Ray Bradbury · na Planet Stories Sum ’46
76 · The Star Mouse [Mitkey] · Fredric Brown · ss Planet Stories Spr ’42
100 · Return of a Legend · Raymond Z. Gallun · ss Planet Stories Mar ’52
117 · Quest of Thig [Thig] · Basil Wells · ss Planet Stories Fll ’42
131 · The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears · Keith Bennett · nv Planet Stories Spr ’50
175 · The Diversifal · Ross Rocklynne · ss Planet Stories Win ’45
193 · Duel on Syrtis · Poul Anderson · ss Planet Stories Mar ’51
212 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 12, 1974
About the author
Leigh Brackett
417 books258 followersLeigh Brackett was born on December 7, 1915 in Los Angeles, and raised near Santa Monica. Having spent her youth as an athletic tom-boy - playing volleyball and reading stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H Rider Haggard - she began writing fantastic adventures of her own. Several of these early efforts were read by Henry Kuttner, who critiqued her stories and introduced her to the SF personalities then living in California, including Robert Heinlein, Julius Schwartz, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton - and another aspiring writer, Ray Bradbury.
In 1944, based on the hard-boiled dialogue in her first novel, No Good From a Corpse, producer/director Howard Hawks hired Brackett to collaborate with William Faulkner on the screenplay of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.
Brackett maintained an on-again/off-again relationship with Hollywood for the remainder of her life. Between writing screenplays for such films as Rio Bravo, El Dorado, Hatari!, and The Long Goodbye, she produced novels such as the classic The Long Tomorrow (1955) and the Spur Award-winning Western, Follow the Free Wind (1963).
Brackett married Edmond Hamilton on New Year's Eve in 1946, and the couple maintained homes in the high-desert of California and the rural farmland of Kinsman, Ohio.
Just weeks before her death on March 17, 1978, she turned in the first draft screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and the film was posthumously dedicated to her.
In 1944, based on the hard-boiled dialogue in her first novel, No Good From a Corpse, producer/director Howard Hawks hired Brackett to collaborate with William Faulkner on the screenplay of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.
Brackett maintained an on-again/off-again relationship with Hollywood for the remainder of her life. Between writing screenplays for such films as Rio Bravo, El Dorado, Hatari!, and The Long Goodbye, she produced novels such as the classic The Long Tomorrow (1955) and the Spur Award-winning Western, Follow the Free Wind (1963).
Brackett married Edmond Hamilton on New Year's Eve in 1946, and the couple maintained homes in the high-desert of California and the rural farmland of Kinsman, Ohio.
Just weeks before her death on March 17, 1978, she turned in the first draft screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and the film was posthumously dedicated to her.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 29, 2016
Beginning in 1937 and continuing on for a good dozen years, the pulp magazine "Astounding Science-Fiction," under the editorship of John W. Campbell, was the most dominant and influential publication in its field. But that is hardly to say that it didn't have competition for readers' attention (and their 20 cents) at the newsstands. "Planet Stories," which published its first issue in 1939 and folded in '55 after 71 issues, was one such, but whereas Campbell's magazine specialized in seemingly realistic tales with an emphasis on technology and hard science, "Planet Stories"'s main stock in trade was unabashed space opera; melodramatic adventure stories of lost civilizations, stalwart heroes, beautiful princesses and suchlike. Not for nothing does "The Science Fiction Encyclopedia" call the magazine "the epitome of pulp sf." In 1975, Leigh Brackett--whose career had been practically jump-started in the pages of "Planet Stories" beginning in 1940, and who would later be referred to as the "Queen of Space Opera"--was asked by the folks at Ballantine to edit a series of books that spotlighted this wonderful old pulp. Brackett would get to pick her favorite tales, with one proviso: that one of her own stories from the magazine would always be included. The result was "The Best of Planet Stories, #1," a terrific collection that gathers together seven splendid pieces, with an informative introduction by Brackett herself. Sadly, the book's title was something of a misnomer, as this was the sole "Planet Stories" collection to appear; Ballantine, for some strange reason, never chose to release a #2 (although it DID release "The Best of Leigh Brackett," and 20 other classic "Best of" volumes, a few years later). All the more reason to treasure this single representative of what seems a truly entertaining pulp magazine.
The collection kicks off in a very big way with "Lorelei of the Red Mist," a novella (a story of 17,500 to 40,000 words) that Brackett wrote in collaboration with a friend, some fella named Ray Bradbury, and which appeared in the Summer '46 issue. A great deal of confusion had apparently existed for years as to who wrote what in this longish tale, and Brackett clears up that confusion very neatly in her intro. It seems that she had written a little more than half of the story before getting called to Hollywood by director Howard Hawks, to write the screenplay for "The Big Sleep." She tells us that Bradbury jumped in and finished the story, and even tells us the sentence where Bradbury picked up, without which the reader would never know where one writer ends and the other begins, so perfectly does Bradbury mimic Brackett's florid, robust style. Brackett accepted her friend's finished work without changing a word. As for the story itself, it concerns a scrawny thief named Hugh Starke (a very different character than Brackett's most famous character, Eric John Stark, who would make his first appearance three years later), who, after a payroll robbery, crash-lands on Venus and is killed...but not before the green-haired, female ruler of Falga, Rann, transfers his spirit into the body of Conan, a mighty warrior of Falga's enemy state, Crom Dhu. (Brackett tells us in her intro that she later regretted these homages to author Robert E. Howard.) Rann is now able to control Conan as her cat’s-paw to do her evil bidding. Ultimately, Starke/Conan regains a measure of control and leads the beleaguered Crom Dhu, and its beautiful warrior leader Beudag, in battle against Rann and her armies. Not only does the tale give us a character named Starke, but the gaseous Red Sea of Venus is also prominently featured here, as it would be in the Eric John Stark adventure "Enchantress of Venus" in 1949. And "Lorelei" also features a diminutive harp player, bringing to mind the short-of-stature, harp-playing troubadour Ciaran, in Brackett's 1944 story "The Jewel of Bas." Bradbury's contribution to the tale pushes matters into the realm of the macabre, as a third group utilizes an energy source in the Red Sea to reanimate the dead bodies of both warring sides, and Brackett admits that Bradbury managed to wrap up her story better than she ever could have. In all, a wonderfully colorful, imaginative, fast-moving and, surprisingly, sexually frank piece of work from these two legendary writers, working together for the first and only time.
Up next we have what might be the cutest, most charming short story in all of sci-fi (as well as one of the funniest): Fredric Brown's "The Star-Mouse," from the Spring '42 issue. Here, an absentminded German scientist, Herr Oberburger, takes a mouse that he finds in his Connecticut home and shoots it into outer space aboard his new rocket prototype. Mitkey, as the little guy has been dubbed, never makes it to the rocket's programmed destination, the Moon, but is rather captured by the 1/2-inch-tall residents of the asteroid Prxl! Mitkey's intelligence is boosted by the tiny beings there and he is sent back to the professor, leading to Mitkey's dream of the world's mice taking over Australia and renaming it Moustralia, with its capital not Sidney, but rather Disney! Trust me, this is one of the sweetest little sci-fi tales imaginable. I first read this story in Ballantine's "The Best of Fredric Brown" almost 40 years ago and had never forgotten it.
Raymond Z. Gallun's "Return of a Legend" (March '52) is another story that I’d read around 40 years back, in Ballantine's "The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun," but I had no recollection of this one whatsoever. This tale gives us a glimpse at Frank Terry, his 7-year-old son Will, and the other assorted types who make up the Earth outpost Port Laribee on the dying world of Mars, and makes the reader ponder how long an Earthman (or -woman) can remain on the Red Planet without becoming a genuine Martian in fact. A beautifully written, most impressive piece of work.
In Basil Wells' "Quest of Thig" (Fall '42), the alien Thig, a "powerfully muscled" denizen of the hive-mind world of Ortha, arrives with two others to scout out Earth's possibilities as a planet for conquest. He abducts a Long Island writer named Lew Terry (another Terry?), who unfortunately dies during an operation in which his knowledge is placed into Thig's body; further plastic surgery enables the Orthan to take the place of the original. Thig lives with Terry's family and encounters, for the first time, warm and human emotions, which naturally cause the Orthan some internal conflict and jeopardize his mission. A winning tale, to be sure, from a writer who I'd not previously encountered.
Up next we have a novella with the memorable title "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" (Spring '50), written by Keith Bennett, an author who I know nothing about, and who is not even mentioned in "The Science Fiction Encyclopedia"; a pity, as "Rocketeers" is a marvelous piece of work, and one that fans of James Cameron's 1986 masterpiece "Aliens" should just eat up. Here, an expeditionary force of 32 assorted scientists and gunners crash-lands on Venus, 500 miles away from their base ship, and is forced to slog through the intervening rain forest to effect their return. The men encounter giant spiders, poisonous snakes, blowgun-wielding lizard men, a dinosaur, a giant beetle, monstrous storms, sentient vines, incessant heat and humidity, insect swarms, and the threat of madness as their march extends over many months. This is an exciting, gung-ho account of a group of very brave men, told in realistic fashion. Indeed, Hague, the young lieutenant who, by dint of constant attrition (the story has a VERY high body count), becomes the leader of the dwindling group, constantly worries about his ability to stay strong and hold things together. This story of the Rocketeers' Ground Expeditionary Patrol One would make for a terrific blockbuster film one day; it is the stuff of pulp heaven, and a perfect example of "military sci-fi," from an author who obviously did some kind of armed forces service himself.
Brackett's collection next offers up a tale by Ross Rocklynne, an author who managed to also place any number of stories in "Astounding Science-Fiction." Here, in "The Diversifal" (Winter '45), we are given a tale that might make some recall Cameron's 1984 masterpiece "The Terminator." In this one, Bryan Barrett is visited by a time traveler named Entore from the year 800,000 A.D. Barrett learns that he is a "diversifal"; a person whose actions will significantly affect the time flow of the future. Barrett agrees to abide by Entore's dictates for a 10-year period, so that he never encounters the woman he would one day marry and have a history-altering son with; a mutant whose own actions would eventually lead to mankind's downfall. Rocklynne's story, a bit confusing at first, ultimately leads to an ending of some considerable emotional weight.
Finally, to bring this collection to a close, we have the great Poul Anderson's "Duel on Syrtis" (March '51), in which big-game hunter Riordan sets out to bag another trophy for his rec room. Illegally, he sets out to shoot and stuff a desert-dwelling Martian named Kreega, and the battle of wits that transpires between these two desperate beings is a very tense and exciting one indeed. This short story contains quite a bit of gripping action, some sharp characterizations, nice Martian color, and a memorable ending...a very impressive display, from an author at the earliest stages of his career.
So there you have it...seven very satisfying stories from a pulp magazine whose 16-year history assuredly deserves to be brought back into the spotlight again for modern-day readers. Editors of the world, hear me: It is never to late to issue a much-belated "Best of Planet Stories, #2"!
(By the way, this review initially appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most excellent destination for all fans of Leigh Brackett....)
The collection kicks off in a very big way with "Lorelei of the Red Mist," a novella (a story of 17,500 to 40,000 words) that Brackett wrote in collaboration with a friend, some fella named Ray Bradbury, and which appeared in the Summer '46 issue. A great deal of confusion had apparently existed for years as to who wrote what in this longish tale, and Brackett clears up that confusion very neatly in her intro. It seems that she had written a little more than half of the story before getting called to Hollywood by director Howard Hawks, to write the screenplay for "The Big Sleep." She tells us that Bradbury jumped in and finished the story, and even tells us the sentence where Bradbury picked up, without which the reader would never know where one writer ends and the other begins, so perfectly does Bradbury mimic Brackett's florid, robust style. Brackett accepted her friend's finished work without changing a word. As for the story itself, it concerns a scrawny thief named Hugh Starke (a very different character than Brackett's most famous character, Eric John Stark, who would make his first appearance three years later), who, after a payroll robbery, crash-lands on Venus and is killed...but not before the green-haired, female ruler of Falga, Rann, transfers his spirit into the body of Conan, a mighty warrior of Falga's enemy state, Crom Dhu. (Brackett tells us in her intro that she later regretted these homages to author Robert E. Howard.) Rann is now able to control Conan as her cat’s-paw to do her evil bidding. Ultimately, Starke/Conan regains a measure of control and leads the beleaguered Crom Dhu, and its beautiful warrior leader Beudag, in battle against Rann and her armies. Not only does the tale give us a character named Starke, but the gaseous Red Sea of Venus is also prominently featured here, as it would be in the Eric John Stark adventure "Enchantress of Venus" in 1949. And "Lorelei" also features a diminutive harp player, bringing to mind the short-of-stature, harp-playing troubadour Ciaran, in Brackett's 1944 story "The Jewel of Bas." Bradbury's contribution to the tale pushes matters into the realm of the macabre, as a third group utilizes an energy source in the Red Sea to reanimate the dead bodies of both warring sides, and Brackett admits that Bradbury managed to wrap up her story better than she ever could have. In all, a wonderfully colorful, imaginative, fast-moving and, surprisingly, sexually frank piece of work from these two legendary writers, working together for the first and only time.
Up next we have what might be the cutest, most charming short story in all of sci-fi (as well as one of the funniest): Fredric Brown's "The Star-Mouse," from the Spring '42 issue. Here, an absentminded German scientist, Herr Oberburger, takes a mouse that he finds in his Connecticut home and shoots it into outer space aboard his new rocket prototype. Mitkey, as the little guy has been dubbed, never makes it to the rocket's programmed destination, the Moon, but is rather captured by the 1/2-inch-tall residents of the asteroid Prxl! Mitkey's intelligence is boosted by the tiny beings there and he is sent back to the professor, leading to Mitkey's dream of the world's mice taking over Australia and renaming it Moustralia, with its capital not Sidney, but rather Disney! Trust me, this is one of the sweetest little sci-fi tales imaginable. I first read this story in Ballantine's "The Best of Fredric Brown" almost 40 years ago and had never forgotten it.
Raymond Z. Gallun's "Return of a Legend" (March '52) is another story that I’d read around 40 years back, in Ballantine's "The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun," but I had no recollection of this one whatsoever. This tale gives us a glimpse at Frank Terry, his 7-year-old son Will, and the other assorted types who make up the Earth outpost Port Laribee on the dying world of Mars, and makes the reader ponder how long an Earthman (or -woman) can remain on the Red Planet without becoming a genuine Martian in fact. A beautifully written, most impressive piece of work.
In Basil Wells' "Quest of Thig" (Fall '42), the alien Thig, a "powerfully muscled" denizen of the hive-mind world of Ortha, arrives with two others to scout out Earth's possibilities as a planet for conquest. He abducts a Long Island writer named Lew Terry (another Terry?), who unfortunately dies during an operation in which his knowledge is placed into Thig's body; further plastic surgery enables the Orthan to take the place of the original. Thig lives with Terry's family and encounters, for the first time, warm and human emotions, which naturally cause the Orthan some internal conflict and jeopardize his mission. A winning tale, to be sure, from a writer who I'd not previously encountered.
Up next we have a novella with the memorable title "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" (Spring '50), written by Keith Bennett, an author who I know nothing about, and who is not even mentioned in "The Science Fiction Encyclopedia"; a pity, as "Rocketeers" is a marvelous piece of work, and one that fans of James Cameron's 1986 masterpiece "Aliens" should just eat up. Here, an expeditionary force of 32 assorted scientists and gunners crash-lands on Venus, 500 miles away from their base ship, and is forced to slog through the intervening rain forest to effect their return. The men encounter giant spiders, poisonous snakes, blowgun-wielding lizard men, a dinosaur, a giant beetle, monstrous storms, sentient vines, incessant heat and humidity, insect swarms, and the threat of madness as their march extends over many months. This is an exciting, gung-ho account of a group of very brave men, told in realistic fashion. Indeed, Hague, the young lieutenant who, by dint of constant attrition (the story has a VERY high body count), becomes the leader of the dwindling group, constantly worries about his ability to stay strong and hold things together. This story of the Rocketeers' Ground Expeditionary Patrol One would make for a terrific blockbuster film one day; it is the stuff of pulp heaven, and a perfect example of "military sci-fi," from an author who obviously did some kind of armed forces service himself.
Brackett's collection next offers up a tale by Ross Rocklynne, an author who managed to also place any number of stories in "Astounding Science-Fiction." Here, in "The Diversifal" (Winter '45), we are given a tale that might make some recall Cameron's 1984 masterpiece "The Terminator." In this one, Bryan Barrett is visited by a time traveler named Entore from the year 800,000 A.D. Barrett learns that he is a "diversifal"; a person whose actions will significantly affect the time flow of the future. Barrett agrees to abide by Entore's dictates for a 10-year period, so that he never encounters the woman he would one day marry and have a history-altering son with; a mutant whose own actions would eventually lead to mankind's downfall. Rocklynne's story, a bit confusing at first, ultimately leads to an ending of some considerable emotional weight.
Finally, to bring this collection to a close, we have the great Poul Anderson's "Duel on Syrtis" (March '51), in which big-game hunter Riordan sets out to bag another trophy for his rec room. Illegally, he sets out to shoot and stuff a desert-dwelling Martian named Kreega, and the battle of wits that transpires between these two desperate beings is a very tense and exciting one indeed. This short story contains quite a bit of gripping action, some sharp characterizations, nice Martian color, and a memorable ending...a very impressive display, from an author at the earliest stages of his career.
So there you have it...seven very satisfying stories from a pulp magazine whose 16-year history assuredly deserves to be brought back into the spotlight again for modern-day readers. Editors of the world, hear me: It is never to late to issue a much-belated "Best of Planet Stories, #2"!
(By the way, this review initially appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most excellent destination for all fans of Leigh Brackett....)
May 1, 2016
Beginning in 1937 and continuing on for a good dozen years, the pulp magazine Astounding Science-Fiction, under the editorship of John W. Campbell, was the most dominant and influential publication in its field. But that is hardly to say that it didn't have competition for readers' attention (and their 20 cents) at the newsstands. Planet Stories, which published its first issue in 1939 and folded in '55 after 71 issues, was one such, but whereas Campbell's magazine specialized in seemingly realistic tales with an emphasis on technology and hard science, Planet Stories' main stock in trade was unabashed space opera; melodramatic adventure stories of lost civilizations, stalwart heroes, beautiful princesses and suchlike. Not for nothing does The Science Fiction Encyclopedia... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
July 28, 2008
A collection of SF stories from the old pulp Planet Stories, edited by Leigh Brackett. The most notable stories are "Lorelei of the Red Mist," a collaboration between Brackett and Ray Bradbury that is very good. And, "Duel on Syrtis" by Poul Anderson.
Other authors in the collection include Frederic Brown, Basil Wells, Keith Bennett, Ross Rocklynne, and Raymond Z. Galhum.
Other authors in the collection include Frederic Brown, Basil Wells, Keith Bennett, Ross Rocklynne, and Raymond Z. Galhum.
March 29, 2018
Planet Stories was a pulp science fiction magazine that ran from 1939-1955. Its specialty was “space opera”, exciting tales of adventure set in the future and on other worlds, full of square-jawed heroes, scantily clad damsels and bug-eyed monsters. Not always the most intellectual stuff, but by no means junk either. As editor Leigh Brackett mentions in her introduction, there were some classic tales during the magazine’s decade and a half.
The first story (and Kelly Freas cover feature) is “Lorelei of the Red Mist” by Ms. Brackett and Ray Bradbury. It’s a planetary romance set on Venus, with a dying criminal’s mind being inserted into a mostly blank native’s brain. It seems that Conan (yes, really) had been mind-controlled into being Rann’s (the lorelei of the title) tool for betraying the land-dwellers to her amphibian people. His mind broke, so Rann thinks Starke will make a good substitute.
However, Starke is not quite so self-centered as Rann thinks, and has a stronger will than Conan did. The humans have no reason to trust him, but he’s the only one who can stop the invasion.
There’s some eerie images, especially the semi-sentient chained corpses herded through the sea. Leigh Brackett explains in the introduction that she’d got halfway through the story when a paying gig came up that had to be done first, so she turned it over to Ray Bradbury to finish. The swashbuckling stuff wasn’t Mr. Bradbury’s forte, but he was able to carry it off for this piece.
“The Star-Mouse” by Frederic Brown is the tale of the first mouse in space, Mitkey. More or less adopted by a rocket scientist working in secret, then placed on a tiny experimental space ship, Mitkey encounters aliens. These aliens uplift Mitkey to human intelligence, but the plans of mice and men gang aft agley. The scientist (and thus Mitkey) has a thick phonetic accent. Humorous, but the ending is a bit pat.
“Return of a Legend” by Raymond Z. Gallun is set on Mars. A man sets out exploring with his son. They don’t return, but eventually it is discovered that the son is still alive…somehow. When captured, the boy breaks free, and a small group of colonists try to track him. What they find at the end of the journey…are Martians.
“Quest of Thig” by Basil Wells has an alien scout take over a human body in preparation for invasion. This is a standard “alien goes native and decides to call off invasion” story, on the sentimental end.
“The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears” by Keith Bennett is not nearly as humorous as the title suggests. A scout ship of the young Rocket Corps crashes in the wilderness of Venus. This lost patrol must make its way back to base through unknown perils and its own psychological weaknesses. In particular, green Lieutenant Hague must rise from rookie to leader if they are to survive. This is good action stuff with rising tension as the party dwindles.
“The Diversifal” by Ross Rocklynne takes place on Earth. A newspaperman is confronted by a time traveler from the distant future. Bryan Barrett learns from Entoré that he is a key person in the direction humanity will take, a diversifal. There is also a woman who is a diversifal–if she and Bryan meet and have a child, that child will be a mutant, the first of a series of events that will result in global annihilation a thousand years hence.
The man from the future can’t kill Bryan or the woman, and apparently just having Bryan get a vasectomy either won’t work or just didn’t occur to either of them. Instead, Entoré’s plan is to convince Bryan to never take any of the actions that would allow him to meet his counterpart.
Unfortunately, in order to make sure the future is fixed, Bryan must sell out all of his principles in the present day, not exposing corruption, and in fact taking a lucrative job with a “fake news” organization that is actively making the world worse. Bryan becomes increasingly disenchanted with the prospect of saving humanity over the years, and it’s clear the time traveler hates him back after so much time together.
This is honestly one of the bleakest stories I have ever read.
Finally, we have “Duel on Syrtis” by Poul Anderson. It’s a variation on “The Most Dangerous Game” as a human trophy hunter stalks one of the last free Martians. The Earthling stacks the odds in his favor, but Kreega has lived long, and is native to this world. It’s a more even match than it might at first appear. It might be a formula story, but a great formula it is.
Overall, a strong collection of stories that gives a glimpse into the Golden Age of Science Fiction, and well worth investigating. Sadly, there does not appear to have been a second volume.
The first story (and Kelly Freas cover feature) is “Lorelei of the Red Mist” by Ms. Brackett and Ray Bradbury. It’s a planetary romance set on Venus, with a dying criminal’s mind being inserted into a mostly blank native’s brain. It seems that Conan (yes, really) had been mind-controlled into being Rann’s (the lorelei of the title) tool for betraying the land-dwellers to her amphibian people. His mind broke, so Rann thinks Starke will make a good substitute.
However, Starke is not quite so self-centered as Rann thinks, and has a stronger will than Conan did. The humans have no reason to trust him, but he’s the only one who can stop the invasion.
There’s some eerie images, especially the semi-sentient chained corpses herded through the sea. Leigh Brackett explains in the introduction that she’d got halfway through the story when a paying gig came up that had to be done first, so she turned it over to Ray Bradbury to finish. The swashbuckling stuff wasn’t Mr. Bradbury’s forte, but he was able to carry it off for this piece.
“The Star-Mouse” by Frederic Brown is the tale of the first mouse in space, Mitkey. More or less adopted by a rocket scientist working in secret, then placed on a tiny experimental space ship, Mitkey encounters aliens. These aliens uplift Mitkey to human intelligence, but the plans of mice and men gang aft agley. The scientist (and thus Mitkey) has a thick phonetic accent. Humorous, but the ending is a bit pat.
“Return of a Legend” by Raymond Z. Gallun is set on Mars. A man sets out exploring with his son. They don’t return, but eventually it is discovered that the son is still alive…somehow. When captured, the boy breaks free, and a small group of colonists try to track him. What they find at the end of the journey…are Martians.
“Quest of Thig” by Basil Wells has an alien scout take over a human body in preparation for invasion. This is a standard “alien goes native and decides to call off invasion” story, on the sentimental end.
“The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears” by Keith Bennett is not nearly as humorous as the title suggests. A scout ship of the young Rocket Corps crashes in the wilderness of Venus. This lost patrol must make its way back to base through unknown perils and its own psychological weaknesses. In particular, green Lieutenant Hague must rise from rookie to leader if they are to survive. This is good action stuff with rising tension as the party dwindles.
“The Diversifal” by Ross Rocklynne takes place on Earth. A newspaperman is confronted by a time traveler from the distant future. Bryan Barrett learns from Entoré that he is a key person in the direction humanity will take, a diversifal. There is also a woman who is a diversifal–if she and Bryan meet and have a child, that child will be a mutant, the first of a series of events that will result in global annihilation a thousand years hence.
The man from the future can’t kill Bryan or the woman, and apparently just having Bryan get a vasectomy either won’t work or just didn’t occur to either of them. Instead, Entoré’s plan is to convince Bryan to never take any of the actions that would allow him to meet his counterpart.
Unfortunately, in order to make sure the future is fixed, Bryan must sell out all of his principles in the present day, not exposing corruption, and in fact taking a lucrative job with a “fake news” organization that is actively making the world worse. Bryan becomes increasingly disenchanted with the prospect of saving humanity over the years, and it’s clear the time traveler hates him back after so much time together.
This is honestly one of the bleakest stories I have ever read.
Finally, we have “Duel on Syrtis” by Poul Anderson. It’s a variation on “The Most Dangerous Game” as a human trophy hunter stalks one of the last free Martians. The Earthling stacks the odds in his favor, but Kreega has lived long, and is native to this world. It’s a more even match than it might at first appear. It might be a formula story, but a great formula it is.
Overall, a strong collection of stories that gives a glimpse into the Golden Age of Science Fiction, and well worth investigating. Sadly, there does not appear to have been a second volume.
April 24, 2020
Another title acquired from someone on FB. Never seen this one in the wild. I mainly bought it because of the Leigh Brackett/Ray Bradbury story Lorelei of the Red Mist.
Beyond Our Narrow Skies is the title of Leigh Brackett’s introduction to the Best of Planet Stories #1. Within it Leigh explains some of the history of the magazine Planet Stories. She also explains how one of her stories found its way into this anthology she is editing. It's not for the same reason Lin Carter did it. Sadly she also talks about future issues that seem to have never come about.
Lorelei of the Red Mist by Leigh Brackett & Ray Bradbury - Ex-con Hugh Starke dies and finds himself in the body of a Venusian warrior. Stuck smack dab in the middle of a three sided conflict, Hugh must convince his captors that he is their ally. Awesome adventure story penned by two legends. Numerous typos.
The Star Mouse by Frederick Brown - The journey of one mouse to the stars. Encounters aliens and comes home with a gift he will not be able to keep.
Return of a Legend by Raymond Z Gallun - “Mars Fever”, people drawn to the red planet. When two boys disappear from the settlement, the searchers discover something within themselves seldom seen and never understood until now.
Quest of Thig by Basil Wells - The Orthans are set your conquer Earth. On his exploration of the planet, Thig becomes infected with something medicine cannot cure.
The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears by Keith Bennett - A crash on Venus leaves explorers to hoof it to the main compound through a dangerous steamy jungle. Slow attrition by way of local wildlife and fauna helped me to decide to make this story a DNF.
The Diversifal by Ross Rocklynne - Time travel and the attempt to change the future. Really left me kind of sad, all that wasted time...
Duel on Syrtis by Poul Anderson - A big game hunter wishes to bag a martian! Not my favorite Anderson piece but well worth reading.
So I purchased this anthology for one specific story, but ended up liking two. Another keeper.
Beyond Our Narrow Skies is the title of Leigh Brackett’s introduction to the Best of Planet Stories #1. Within it Leigh explains some of the history of the magazine Planet Stories. She also explains how one of her stories found its way into this anthology she is editing. It's not for the same reason Lin Carter did it. Sadly she also talks about future issues that seem to have never come about.
Lorelei of the Red Mist by Leigh Brackett & Ray Bradbury - Ex-con Hugh Starke dies and finds himself in the body of a Venusian warrior. Stuck smack dab in the middle of a three sided conflict, Hugh must convince his captors that he is their ally. Awesome adventure story penned by two legends. Numerous typos.
The Star Mouse by Frederick Brown - The journey of one mouse to the stars. Encounters aliens and comes home with a gift he will not be able to keep.
Return of a Legend by Raymond Z Gallun - “Mars Fever”, people drawn to the red planet. When two boys disappear from the settlement, the searchers discover something within themselves seldom seen and never understood until now.
Quest of Thig by Basil Wells - The Orthans are set your conquer Earth. On his exploration of the planet, Thig becomes infected with something medicine cannot cure.
The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears by Keith Bennett - A crash on Venus leaves explorers to hoof it to the main compound through a dangerous steamy jungle. Slow attrition by way of local wildlife and fauna helped me to decide to make this story a DNF.
The Diversifal by Ross Rocklynne - Time travel and the attempt to change the future. Really left me kind of sad, all that wasted time...
Duel on Syrtis by Poul Anderson - A big game hunter wishes to bag a martian! Not my favorite Anderson piece but well worth reading.
So I purchased this anthology for one specific story, but ended up liking two. Another keeper.
November 22, 2019
I stumbled upon this volume knowing nothing of the history behind it or the "Planet Stories" magazine from whence it originated -- it was part of a bundle of pulp paperbacks I picked up at a library book sale. Learning the story behind this volume has been fascinating, however -- it's apparently the only one of its kind, as "Planet Stories" folded after a little over fifty issues and, while this volume was intended to be the first in a series spotlighting the best tales out of said magazine, another was never published. Knowing this makes me appreciate this little volume more... though it's easy to appreciate it for what it is as well -- a collection of space-opera pulp science fiction, featuring stories not grounded in actual science but providing epic adventures on other worlds.
This volume features seven stories, with varying plots and settings. "Lorelei of the Red Mist" is a collaboration between editor Leigh Brackett and the esteemed Ray Bradbury, about a con artist on Venus who suffers a fatal accident and wakes up in a new body... but with a seductive and vengeful alien taking over his mind in order to further her own war. "The Star-Mouse" features an unlikely and adorable first-contact story between a race of diminutive aliens and a hapless mouse who finds himself a test subject for a rocket. "Return of a Legend" tells the story of a boy gone feral in the wilds of Mars, and the efforts of a few hardy colonists to find and rescue him. "Quest of Thig" centers on an alien going undercover on Earth to determine if the planet is ready for conquest... only to find himself falling in love. "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" tells the story of a crashed rocket crew, and their desperate search through hostile terrain to find their base. "The Diversifall" is a time-travel story about a man from the future determined to stop the birth of a mutant who could spell the end of humanity... and the father of said mutant who doesn't appreciate having his life meddled with. And finally, "Duel on Syrtis" is a "Deathwatch"-style story about a big-game hunter matching wits with what he sees as the ultimate quarry -- a Martian.
Just like with any anthology, these stories vary in quality. Of them, I liked "The Star-Mouse," "The Diversifall," and "Duel on Syrtis" best -- they're imaginative and vividly told stories that captivated me and kept a sense of humanity, for lack of a better word, about them, making me care about the characters and their fates. "Quest of Thig" and "Return of a Legend" were decent stories, if not as memorable, while "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" felt like a pointless slog to me. "Lorelei of the Red Mist" is a curious case, in that the first half was written by Brackett but the second half by Bradbury. Both halves are good, but it's quite obvious to me where one writer's contributions end and the other's begins. I know Brackett tells you right where she left off in the book's introduction, but there's still a distinctive difference in their writing styles, and it's a bit distracting.
"The Best of Planet Stories" is a curiosity and a bit of history for pulp science fiction buffs... but it's also a good collection of stories in its own right. If you're a fan of pulp sci-fi and space opera, give this a read. I'm sure you'll find at least one story, if not more, that you'll like...
This volume features seven stories, with varying plots and settings. "Lorelei of the Red Mist" is a collaboration between editor Leigh Brackett and the esteemed Ray Bradbury, about a con artist on Venus who suffers a fatal accident and wakes up in a new body... but with a seductive and vengeful alien taking over his mind in order to further her own war. "The Star-Mouse" features an unlikely and adorable first-contact story between a race of diminutive aliens and a hapless mouse who finds himself a test subject for a rocket. "Return of a Legend" tells the story of a boy gone feral in the wilds of Mars, and the efforts of a few hardy colonists to find and rescue him. "Quest of Thig" centers on an alien going undercover on Earth to determine if the planet is ready for conquest... only to find himself falling in love. "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" tells the story of a crashed rocket crew, and their desperate search through hostile terrain to find their base. "The Diversifall" is a time-travel story about a man from the future determined to stop the birth of a mutant who could spell the end of humanity... and the father of said mutant who doesn't appreciate having his life meddled with. And finally, "Duel on Syrtis" is a "Deathwatch"-style story about a big-game hunter matching wits with what he sees as the ultimate quarry -- a Martian.
Just like with any anthology, these stories vary in quality. Of them, I liked "The Star-Mouse," "The Diversifall," and "Duel on Syrtis" best -- they're imaginative and vividly told stories that captivated me and kept a sense of humanity, for lack of a better word, about them, making me care about the characters and their fates. "Quest of Thig" and "Return of a Legend" were decent stories, if not as memorable, while "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" felt like a pointless slog to me. "Lorelei of the Red Mist" is a curious case, in that the first half was written by Brackett but the second half by Bradbury. Both halves are good, but it's quite obvious to me where one writer's contributions end and the other's begins. I know Brackett tells you right where she left off in the book's introduction, but there's still a distinctive difference in their writing styles, and it's a bit distracting.
"The Best of Planet Stories" is a curiosity and a bit of history for pulp science fiction buffs... but it's also a good collection of stories in its own right. If you're a fan of pulp sci-fi and space opera, give this a read. I'm sure you'll find at least one story, if not more, that you'll like...
September 10, 2020
This collection leads off with a semi-collaboration between Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury, “Lorelei of the Red Mist”. Not surprisingly, this is the best story in the book. It’s a semi-collaboration, because, as she describes it, they didn’t so much work together as she wrote the first part, got called to Hollywood, and handed it to Bradbury to write the latter part. In this telling, she didn’t touch his part, and he didn’t touch her part.
Brackett describes this collection as a direct response to claims that space opera was dead.
Raymond Z. Gallun’s “Return of a Legend” is a great story about the very human urge to go beyond the frontiers of civilization, to explore it and to settle it. There’s a lonely output on Mars, and most people who go there and want to leave and return home to Earth. But a few want to leave and make a home on Mars.
Frederic Brown’s “The Star-Mouse” is also a lot of fun; I’ve read it in other collections as well.
Keith Bennett’s “The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears” is 1949 pre-replication of the D&D dungeon crawl, as lost soldiers in the jungles of Venus must survive the terrors of an alien world to return to base. It’s incredibly similar to later stories meant specifically to translate the Vietnam War into space; if I hadn’t seen the year in the front of the book I would have assumed this was written during or after Vietnam.
This is a really nice collection of mostly planetary romances; two take place on Mars, two on Venus, one has a space barbarian invading Earth and another involves both Earth and a rogue asteroid, and one involves time travel. The book is listed as Planet Stories #1, but as far as I can tell there is no #2, which is a shame.
Brackett describes this collection as a direct response to claims that space opera was dead.
Over the decades, brilliant and talented new writers appear, receiving great acclaim, and each and everyone of them can be expected to write at least one article stating flatly that the day of space opera is over and done, thank goodness, and that henceforth these crude tales of interplanetary nonsense will be replaced by whatever type of story that writer happens to favor—closet dramas, psychological dramas, sex dramas, etc., but by God important dramas, containing nothing but Big Thinks.
Ten years later, the writer in question may or may not still be around, but the space opera can be found right where it always was, sturdily driving its dark trade in heroes.
Raymond Z. Gallun’s “Return of a Legend” is a great story about the very human urge to go beyond the frontiers of civilization, to explore it and to settle it. There’s a lonely output on Mars, and most people who go there and want to leave and return home to Earth. But a few want to leave and make a home on Mars.
Frederic Brown’s “The Star-Mouse” is also a lot of fun; I’ve read it in other collections as well.
Keith Bennett’s “The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears” is 1949 pre-replication of the D&D dungeon crawl, as lost soldiers in the jungles of Venus must survive the terrors of an alien world to return to base. It’s incredibly similar to later stories meant specifically to translate the Vietnam War into space; if I hadn’t seen the year in the front of the book I would have assumed this was written during or after Vietnam.
This is a really nice collection of mostly planetary romances; two take place on Mars, two on Venus, one has a space barbarian invading Earth and another involves both Earth and a rogue asteroid, and one involves time travel. The book is listed as Planet Stories #1, but as far as I can tell there is no #2, which is a shame.
…if you are looking for the delights of cannibalism, incest, outré sex, or a general feeling of dismal gloom, you will not find them here.
November 8, 2018
It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it.
--Comedian Steven Wright
Prxl is a very small world - a small asteroid, in fact. But the inhabitants did paint it, with a black, light-absorbing pigment. Prxl is now not visible from any substantial distance, and can not be seen from Earth. So when the rocket sent out by Professor Oberburger, a scientist working alone, lands on Prxl, Oberburger knows only that it has disappeared from sight - the rocket and its passenger, a mouse that the Professor has named Mickey, which he pronounces as "Mitkey."
This is the beginning of "The Star-Mouse" by Fredric Brown. (Brown's first name is misspelled as "Frederic" throughout the book.) "The Star-Mouse" (from 1942) is the only comic story in the anthology The Best of Planet Stories #1, edited by Leigh Brackett. I believe that I first read the Brown story as a pre-teenager; I liked it then and I still do. It finished in fourth place for what is called a "Retro Hugo Award" for best science fiction novelette of 1942. Planet Stories published a sequel, "Mitkey Rides Again," in November, 1950.
Planet Stories was a science fiction magazine published from 1939-1955. It was known primarily for adventure stories; in fact, the magazine used the slogan "Strange Adventures on Other Worlds." Leigh Brackett, a frequent contributor to Planet Stories and editor of this anthology, tells much more about the magazine (and the stories in this anthology) in the opening "Introduction: Beyond Our Narrow Skies."
The "#1" in the title of the book implies that there would be other collections to follow. For whatever reason, that didn't happen.
I need to add that the publisher of Planet Stories was Love Romances Publishing Co., Inc.
The tale included here that I think is the most routine is "Quest of Thig" by Basil Wells (1942). Three aliens from Ortha, one of whom is named Thig, land on Earth. Thig's first task is to capture an Earth native, male or female, and bring the captive "intact if possible, back to the carefully buried space cruiser where his two fellows and himself would drain the creature's mentality of all its knowledge. In this way they could learn whether a planet was suitable for colonization by later swarms of Orthans."
The being Thig captures is a man named Lewis Terry, an author of Western stories. Amazingly, one of Thig's shipmates observes, "He resembles Thig. But for the strange covering he wears he might be Thig." And so, after all of Terry's knowledge is drained from Terry into Thig (a process resulting in Terry's death), it takes less than an hour of plastic surgery to turn Thig into a duplicate of Terry, one so perfect that no one ever suspects that Thig is not Terry.
The premise of an alien picking a random human and finding that they are almost doubles strikes me as ridiculous and makes it impossible for me to care about the rest of the story. However, I do enjoy the next-to-last paragraph, in which a new science fiction author comes into being.
"Return of a Legend" by Raymond Z. Gallun (1952) tells the tale of a few people on Mars who choose to live in the desert, under conditions that make existence itself near impossible. First a man and his child, then a second young boy, then a man and woman try to live under those conditions; not all of them succeed. But others also choose to face those seemingly overwhelming challenges.
"Duel on Syrtis" by Poul Anderson (1951) also takes place on Mars. Humans had at one time enslaved the "owlies," the indigenous Martians. Now the Martians are free, and may even get the right to vote. But one man from Earth, Riordan, is determined to hunt and kill a Martian as a trophy. He goes in pursuit of Kreega, a wily Martian with a vast knowledge of life - and death - on Mars. This is a fine adventure tale.
Not all these stories are adventures. Ross Rocklynne's "The Diversifal" (1945) takes place entirely on Earth and there are no extra-terrestrials in it. Entoré says he is a man from the distant future, who has traveled back in time to make sure that a present-day man and woman never meet and have a child, as that would have severe consequences for the world of 800,000 A.D. Bryan, the man living today, must rearrange his life, making choices he hates, to help the future world. Bryan is a diversifal, one of those whose lives shape everything to come.
This is a dark, complex story, not at all the kind of story I would think would appear in Planet Stories.
The longest story in the book, and the inspiration for Frank Kelly Freas's cover, is "Lorelei of the Red Mist," begun by Leigh Brackett and concluded by Ray Bradbury. Hugh Starke is a thief on the run on Venus, with a stolen fortune. His body is killed, but his mind is transferred into that of a man who had once been a great champion, whose own mind had snapped under terrible torture.
In the land in which Starke's mind has awakened, there are four races in competition. Two of them are human, one being the people of Crom Dhu, where Starke has awakened, who had come to the land as rovers. There are other humans, enslaved by a people who had once been amphibious but now live totally on land. The stock from which the slavers were descended still dwell in the sea. That race is ruled by Rann, the green-haired queen who had transferred the consciousness of Starke into his new body. Rann is the "lorelei" of the title - that is, a female water-dweller who leads men to their doom.
The best part of this story is the undead men, former foes of Rann's people, who now exist under the sea and do the bidding of Rann and her followers.
The one remaining story is the one that I think is the best, "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" by Keith Bennett (1949). From the title, I thought this would be a humorous story; it isn't.
Thirty-two members of a military group, the Rocketeers, were on a scouting mission on Venus when their ship crashed. They must walk five hundred miles back to their base, through unknown terrain. They will encounter horrors, some due to the terrain and the weather, some due to animals, and some due to indigenous people, primitive but terribly dangerous. There is considerable attrition as they go.
The main character is Hague, a young, untried lieutenant. Hague proves to be a fine officer; the other men are almost all just as good.
This might sound like a rather simple story and, in some ways, it is, but it is also what appears to be a realistic picture of the future military facing dangers staunchly.
David Drake, the renowned author of military science fiction, who served in Vietnam, wrote an article about this story. Part of what he says is:
I can only think of one exceptional Military SF story by a (probable) combat veteran before Joe Haldeman, Jerry Pournelle, and I started writing in the late ’60s. That story is Keith Bennett’s The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears, which I’m going to discuss in this essay.
And here is a link to Drake's article:
https://www.tor.com/2012/01/20/a-kind...
There are some very good stories in this book. I would especially recommend "The Star-Mouse," "The Diversifal," and "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears."
--Comedian Steven Wright
Prxl is a very small world - a small asteroid, in fact. But the inhabitants did paint it, with a black, light-absorbing pigment. Prxl is now not visible from any substantial distance, and can not be seen from Earth. So when the rocket sent out by Professor Oberburger, a scientist working alone, lands on Prxl, Oberburger knows only that it has disappeared from sight - the rocket and its passenger, a mouse that the Professor has named Mickey, which he pronounces as "Mitkey."
This is the beginning of "The Star-Mouse" by Fredric Brown. (Brown's first name is misspelled as "Frederic" throughout the book.) "The Star-Mouse" (from 1942) is the only comic story in the anthology The Best of Planet Stories #1, edited by Leigh Brackett. I believe that I first read the Brown story as a pre-teenager; I liked it then and I still do. It finished in fourth place for what is called a "Retro Hugo Award" for best science fiction novelette of 1942. Planet Stories published a sequel, "Mitkey Rides Again," in November, 1950.
Planet Stories was a science fiction magazine published from 1939-1955. It was known primarily for adventure stories; in fact, the magazine used the slogan "Strange Adventures on Other Worlds." Leigh Brackett, a frequent contributor to Planet Stories and editor of this anthology, tells much more about the magazine (and the stories in this anthology) in the opening "Introduction: Beyond Our Narrow Skies."
The "#1" in the title of the book implies that there would be other collections to follow. For whatever reason, that didn't happen.
I need to add that the publisher of Planet Stories was Love Romances Publishing Co., Inc.
The tale included here that I think is the most routine is "Quest of Thig" by Basil Wells (1942). Three aliens from Ortha, one of whom is named Thig, land on Earth. Thig's first task is to capture an Earth native, male or female, and bring the captive "intact if possible, back to the carefully buried space cruiser where his two fellows and himself would drain the creature's mentality of all its knowledge. In this way they could learn whether a planet was suitable for colonization by later swarms of Orthans."
The being Thig captures is a man named Lewis Terry, an author of Western stories. Amazingly, one of Thig's shipmates observes, "He resembles Thig. But for the strange covering he wears he might be Thig." And so, after all of Terry's knowledge is drained from Terry into Thig (a process resulting in Terry's death), it takes less than an hour of plastic surgery to turn Thig into a duplicate of Terry, one so perfect that no one ever suspects that Thig is not Terry.
The premise of an alien picking a random human and finding that they are almost doubles strikes me as ridiculous and makes it impossible for me to care about the rest of the story. However, I do enjoy the next-to-last paragraph, in which a new science fiction author comes into being.
"Return of a Legend" by Raymond Z. Gallun (1952) tells the tale of a few people on Mars who choose to live in the desert, under conditions that make existence itself near impossible. First a man and his child, then a second young boy, then a man and woman try to live under those conditions; not all of them succeed. But others also choose to face those seemingly overwhelming challenges.
"Duel on Syrtis" by Poul Anderson (1951) also takes place on Mars. Humans had at one time enslaved the "owlies," the indigenous Martians. Now the Martians are free, and may even get the right to vote. But one man from Earth, Riordan, is determined to hunt and kill a Martian as a trophy. He goes in pursuit of Kreega, a wily Martian with a vast knowledge of life - and death - on Mars. This is a fine adventure tale.
Not all these stories are adventures. Ross Rocklynne's "The Diversifal" (1945) takes place entirely on Earth and there are no extra-terrestrials in it. Entoré says he is a man from the distant future, who has traveled back in time to make sure that a present-day man and woman never meet and have a child, as that would have severe consequences for the world of 800,000 A.D. Bryan, the man living today, must rearrange his life, making choices he hates, to help the future world. Bryan is a diversifal, one of those whose lives shape everything to come.
This is a dark, complex story, not at all the kind of story I would think would appear in Planet Stories.
The longest story in the book, and the inspiration for Frank Kelly Freas's cover, is "Lorelei of the Red Mist," begun by Leigh Brackett and concluded by Ray Bradbury. Hugh Starke is a thief on the run on Venus, with a stolen fortune. His body is killed, but his mind is transferred into that of a man who had once been a great champion, whose own mind had snapped under terrible torture.
In the land in which Starke's mind has awakened, there are four races in competition. Two of them are human, one being the people of Crom Dhu, where Starke has awakened, who had come to the land as rovers. There are other humans, enslaved by a people who had once been amphibious but now live totally on land. The stock from which the slavers were descended still dwell in the sea. That race is ruled by Rann, the green-haired queen who had transferred the consciousness of Starke into his new body. Rann is the "lorelei" of the title - that is, a female water-dweller who leads men to their doom.
The best part of this story is the undead men, former foes of Rann's people, who now exist under the sea and do the bidding of Rann and her followers.
The one remaining story is the one that I think is the best, "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears" by Keith Bennett (1949). From the title, I thought this would be a humorous story; it isn't.
Thirty-two members of a military group, the Rocketeers, were on a scouting mission on Venus when their ship crashed. They must walk five hundred miles back to their base, through unknown terrain. They will encounter horrors, some due to the terrain and the weather, some due to animals, and some due to indigenous people, primitive but terribly dangerous. There is considerable attrition as they go.
The main character is Hague, a young, untried lieutenant. Hague proves to be a fine officer; the other men are almost all just as good.
This might sound like a rather simple story and, in some ways, it is, but it is also what appears to be a realistic picture of the future military facing dangers staunchly.
David Drake, the renowned author of military science fiction, who served in Vietnam, wrote an article about this story. Part of what he says is:
I can only think of one exceptional Military SF story by a (probable) combat veteran before Joe Haldeman, Jerry Pournelle, and I started writing in the late ’60s. That story is Keith Bennett’s The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears, which I’m going to discuss in this essay.
And here is a link to Drake's article:
https://www.tor.com/2012/01/20/a-kind...
There are some very good stories in this book. I would especially recommend "The Star-Mouse," "The Diversifal," and "The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears."
January 10, 2022
I guess in the 50s they really thought martians were gonna be a big thing.
November 6, 2018
This is a pretty good collection of lesser known stories from the Golden Age of SF. I had expected more planetary romance, but only the collaboration between Brackett and Bradbury fits that description.
1. "Lorelei of the Red Mist" 4 stars. Bradbury did OK finishing the story by Brackett, but he seems a little uncomfortable with the genre. I think a version written only by Brackett would have been better, but then, would "The Big Sleep" been as good without Brackett--I think not.
2. "The Star Mouse" 4 stars. A classic humorous SF story. I've read it before, and it was not as much fun the second time.
3. "Return of a Legend" 4.5 stars. I think this is the best story in the book. A subtle story of how the environment can shape people--or a race.
4. "Quest of Thig" 3 stars. This one is barely entertaining. I question the inclusion.
5. "The Rocketeers have Shaggy Ears" 4 stars. A good military SF adventure set on a fanciful Venus, although not as fantastic as the Venus of Brackett.
6. "The Diversifal" 3.5 stars. An odd and bleak time travel story.
7. "Duel on Syrtis" 4 stars. A very good early story by Poul Anderson. His Mars is not as fanciful as that of Brackett and fairly similar in tone to #3. Fun.
A shame that there is only one volume of this series.
1. "Lorelei of the Red Mist" 4 stars. Bradbury did OK finishing the story by Brackett, but he seems a little uncomfortable with the genre. I think a version written only by Brackett would have been better, but then, would "The Big Sleep" been as good without Brackett--I think not.
2. "The Star Mouse" 4 stars. A classic humorous SF story. I've read it before, and it was not as much fun the second time.
3. "Return of a Legend" 4.5 stars. I think this is the best story in the book. A subtle story of how the environment can shape people--or a race.
4. "Quest of Thig" 3 stars. This one is barely entertaining. I question the inclusion.
5. "The Rocketeers have Shaggy Ears" 4 stars. A good military SF adventure set on a fanciful Venus, although not as fantastic as the Venus of Brackett.
6. "The Diversifal" 3.5 stars. An odd and bleak time travel story.
7. "Duel on Syrtis" 4 stars. A very good early story by Poul Anderson. His Mars is not as fanciful as that of Brackett and fairly similar in tone to #3. Fun.
A shame that there is only one volume of this series.
September 30, 2007
Note / Warning: I'm only reviewing the introduction and the story "Lorelei of the Red Mist", by Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury
Why I read this novella: I'd had it on my to-read list for decades, the title suggests a story set on Mars, and I was curious to read a Bradbury collaboration (he's written a lot of short fiction, but the ISFDB only lists about a half-dozen collaborations). The particular impetus, however, was that Baen released a collection of seven eBooks of Brackett stories set throughout the Solar System; when I saw "Lorelei" among them, I bought the collection and put the story on my iPhone, so I could dip into it from time to time.
It turns out that the story isn't set on Mars, but Venus (minor spoiler). Not only that, but it's (apparently) part of a long series of stories that
Why I read this novella: I'd had it on my to-read list for decades, the title suggests a story set on Mars, and I was curious to read a Bradbury collaboration (he's written a lot of short fiction, but the ISFDB only lists about a half-dozen collaborations). The particular impetus, however, was that Baen released a collection of seven eBooks of Brackett stories set throughout the Solar System; when I saw "Lorelei" among them, I bought the collection and put the story on my iPhone, so I could dip into it from time to time.
It turns out that the story isn't set on Mars, but Venus (minor spoiler). Not only that, but it's (apparently) part of a long series of stories that
April 28, 2016
Planet Stories was a pulp science fiction magazine that ran from 1939 through 1955. It was slanted much more towards space opera and adventure than Campbell's Astounding, but published some terrific stories nonetheless. Leigh Brackett, one of the best known of their contributors, edited this best-of volume several years before she wrote The Empire Strikes Back. Sadly, though it's labeled #1 prominently, this is the only volume that appeared. It contains two of my all-time favorites, The Star-Mouse by Fredric Brown and The Rocketeers Have Shaggy Ears by Keith Bennett, as well as nice stories from old masters such as Ross Rocklynne, Poul Anderson, and Raymond Z. Gallun. Surprisingly, my least favorite of the lot is by Brackett herself, a story written in collaboration with Ray Bradbury.
January 9, 2017
The novella "Lorelei of the Red Mist" is an interesting exercise in collaboration. Leigh Brackett wrote the first half, but was unable to complete it, due to other obligations. She handed it off to Ray Bradbury for completion. It's an enjoyable adventure story, but a weird hybrid because Bradbury didn't much try to match Brackett's style or voice. The writing style changes from a sort epic adventure mode, to Bradbury's a casual, informal voice. Not a bad story, just sort of odd.
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