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Jupiter Laughs and Other Stories
What happened on Judgement Day? Do we have Martian ancestors? Will we blow up the world? In this collection of his best SF stories, Edmund Cooper gives his own inimitably entertaining answers to these and other such intriguing questions. From The Death Watch to The Brain Child, Cooper 'considers possible scenarios'. Sometimes he is serious, sometimes satirical. Sometimes he is uncomfortably close to the truth.
220 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1979
About the author
Edmund Cooper
100 books44 followersExcerpted from wikipedia:
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).
In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 30, 2023
A great little collection of Edmund Cooper's short stories, including some of the best of his I've ever read. Dated, yes, but still relevant in terms of relating to the human condition in unusual circumstances. Wonderful.
July 6, 2022
“Jupiter Laughs” by Edmund Cooper (n/a)
Overall Rating 8/10 – Almost Godly
Plot
A collection of short stories. In fact, I didn’t realise this until I was around 5 chapters in. I had been struggling to work out where the story was going and, each time, gave myself the luxury of believing everything would become clear. It was only because I caught the header “Jupiter Laughs and other short stories” that I realised.
Writing Style
Easy to read and flowing style that is somewhere between High school essay writer and accomplished fiction writer. Nothing complex (like Dickens) and no excess use of names or words that bend the brain unnecessarily (Marion Zimmer Bradley). Pretty much “Tea Time” reading with a strong flavour of the 1970’s.
Point of View
Mostly written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention). Two stories in the 1st Person.
Critique
Very typical 1970’s science fiction adventures with fanciful plots, lack of details and cavalier storylines.
Some of the stories were set in “Space” while others were set in “Time”. Having read most of his full length novels, I could see many similar plots and lines that he had recycled. Per se, they are very good, if not simplistic. As a whole collection, one can become a little tired of reading about the “same sort of thing”. It was easy to guess where he was going.
However, my head was deeply burrowed within the book and I was finding reasons (in real life) to sit down and continue reading. Very compelling stuff.
Overall Rating 8/10 – Almost Godly
Plot
A collection of short stories. In fact, I didn’t realise this until I was around 5 chapters in. I had been struggling to work out where the story was going and, each time, gave myself the luxury of believing everything would become clear. It was only because I caught the header “Jupiter Laughs and other short stories” that I realised.
Writing Style
Easy to read and flowing style that is somewhere between High school essay writer and accomplished fiction writer. Nothing complex (like Dickens) and no excess use of names or words that bend the brain unnecessarily (Marion Zimmer Bradley). Pretty much “Tea Time” reading with a strong flavour of the 1970’s.
Point of View
Mostly written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention). Two stories in the 1st Person.
Critique
Very typical 1970’s science fiction adventures with fanciful plots, lack of details and cavalier storylines.
Some of the stories were set in “Space” while others were set in “Time”. Having read most of his full length novels, I could see many similar plots and lines that he had recycled. Per se, they are very good, if not simplistic. As a whole collection, one can become a little tired of reading about the “same sort of thing”. It was easy to guess where he was going.
However, my head was deeply burrowed within the book and I was finding reasons (in real life) to sit down and continue reading. Very compelling stuff.
April 20, 2018
A collection of classic Sci-Fi short stories with the typical range of very good to mediocre but overall a fun anthology to read.
September 17, 2025
I'm not a fan of short stories. But I enjoyed this collection. Cooper is always worth reading.
July 8, 2013
Was quite keen to try out some Edmund Cooper and 'Jupiter Laughs' didn't disappoint at all. A varied, eclectic collection of weird, sardonic sf-tinged amusements; with one especially entertaining yarn even straying into straight forward Gothic horror with remarkable ease and efficacy.
His prose is agile, easy to read, witty, and I found much to recommend in his breezy style.
I certainly hope his novel's live up to the heady promise of 'Jupiter Laughs', if so, I am clearly in for a treat.
'Judgement Day' is a genuinely disturbing precis of our living, verdant world destroyed by the folly of chemical warfare; and you can feel the writer's ire steeped through this grim, indignant tale of apocalyptic blood n' thunder.
His prose is agile, easy to read, witty, and I found much to recommend in his breezy style.
I certainly hope his novel's live up to the heady promise of 'Jupiter Laughs', if so, I am clearly in for a treat.
'Judgement Day' is a genuinely disturbing precis of our living, verdant world destroyed by the folly of chemical warfare; and you can feel the writer's ire steeped through this grim, indignant tale of apocalyptic blood n' thunder.
March 17, 2013
I always find short stories a little odd, like they're trying too hard to be surprising sometimes. Some of these, however, were very interesting. Some not so much!
January 27, 2016
Good short stories
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews