Inside the Funhouse: 17 SF Stories About SF

by Mike Resnick (Editor)

A collection of seventeen tales of science fiction features works by Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Frederik Pohl, George Alec Effinger, Jane Yolen, Ian Watson, Barry N. Malzberg, Patricia Nurse, and others.

Science fiction / by Jane Yolen --
A galaxy called Rome / by Barry N. Malzberg --
Who's cribbing? / by Jack Lewis --
The merchant of Stratford / by Frank Ramirez --
One rejection too many / by Patricia Nurse --
The pinch hitters / by George Alec Effinger --
Mute inglorious Tam / by Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth --
The curse of Mhondoro Nkabele / by Eric Norden --
The pro / by Edmond Hamilton --
The reunion at the Mile-High / by Frederik Pohl --
The World Science Fiction Convention of 2080 / by Ian Watson --
His award-winning science fiction story / by Mike Resnick --
The monkey's finger / by Isaac Asimov --
Hapgood's hoax / by Allen Steele --
Waterspider / by Philip K. Dick --
Hark! was that the squeal of an angry thoat? / by Avram Davidson --
Corridors / by Barry N. Malzberg

Genres: Science Fiction

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Timo Pietilä · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Galaxy Called Rome • (1975) • novelette by Barry N. Malzberg
Comments about a science fiction story, and what kind of plot points would be possible. Ok, fairly nice, not necessarily in my taste. ***½
Who's Cribbing? • (1953) • shortstory by Jack Lewis
Every story an author is trying to submit turns out to be a copy of an older one. Not very original. ***-
The Merchant of Stratford • (1979) • shortstory by Frank Ramirez
A time traveler goes to meet Shakespeare. He is nothing like expected, of course. ****
One Rejection Too Many • (1978) • shortstory by Patricia Nurse
A time traveler tries to get a story published in IASFM. Without having too much of success. OK, average story. ***
The Pinch Hitters • (1979) • shortstory by George Alec Effinger
A few sf authors find themselves in the bodies of 50' baseball players. Ok, nothing really special. ***-
Mute Inglorious Tam • (1974) • shortstory by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth
A serf in early middle-ages dreams of some science-fictional stuff. Not much room for imagination at that era, however. ***?
The Curse of Mhondoro Nkabele • (1978) • novelette by Eric Norden
A native Senegalese read 30's and 40's pulp stories when he was growing up. When he moves to US, he writes more of that kind of stuff. First, he hasn't had too much success with editors, but he has some unusual means of persuasion...Very good story. ****-
The Pro • (1964) • shortstory by Edmond Hamilton
Science fiction author's son is on the first moon expedition. Melancholic, nice story. ***+
The Reunion at the Mile-High • (1989) • shortstory by Frederik Pohl
Alternative world where nuclear weapons were not developed at all, but biological research has advanced a lot, and science fiction authors are highly respected. Good one. ***½
The World Science Fiction Convention of 2080 • (1980) • shortstory by Ian Watson
SF-con in a postapocalyptic world. OK very short story, ***
His Award-Winning Science Fiction Story • (1988) • shortstory by Mike Resnick
Characters of a story comment on the quality and style of writing. Ok, nothing really special. ***-
The Monkey's Finger • (1953) • shortstory by Isaac Asimov
Science fiction author tries to prove he can write more creative stories than a monkey connected to a computer. Ok, average Asimov. ***+
Hapgood's Hoax • (1990) • shortstory by Allen Steele
Science fiction author sets up a ufology cult and gets rich. Very good story. ****
Waterspider • (1964) • novelette by Philip K. Dick
Timetravellers from the future kidnap Poul Anderson from a con in the '50s. Pretty good and fun story, probably the best in the collection. ****
Hark! Was That the Squeal of an Angry Thoat? • shortstory by Avram Davidson
I didn't get this one at all. Baffled. *
Corridors • (1982) • shortstory by Barry N. Malzberg
Malzberg whines about how horrible it is to write science fiction, why it ruins marriages and turns writers to alcoholism while they are attending conventions. A similar charade is presented in his book, Breakfast in the Ruins. Typical attitude for an alcoholic loser: the fault is always somewhere else. No one pours alcohol down from the author's throat, and I believe that few male authors have been raped at conventions by beautiful female fans. Pretty well-written piece, however. ***½

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a shame INSIDE THE FUNHOUSE: 17 SF STORIES ABOUT SF edited by Mike Resnick in 1992 is out-of-print. I highly recommend it to anyone who grew up reading science fiction in the mid-20th century, especially if they read the SF digests, SF fanzines, or SF attended conventions. These stories are called recursive science fiction because they're fiction about science fiction, science fiction writers, science fiction fans, and writing science fiction. If you've ever felt part of the science fiction community then these stories could resonate with you. Some of these stories made me laugh, some made me cry, and nearly all of them touched my core science fictional self in some way.

Go to ISFDB.org and look up where to find the individual stories in other anthologies or from the original magazines:

http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?1...

My favorites were:

"A Galaxy Called Rome" by Barry N. Malzberg (metafiction about writing SF)
"Who's Cribbing?" by Jack Lewis (quite amusing)
"The Curse of the Mhondoro Nkabele" by Eric Norden (hilarious!!!)
"The Pro" by Edmond Hamilton (very moving)
"The Monkey's Finger" by Isaac Asimov (one of his better stories)
"Hapgood's Hoax" by Allen Steele (the love of old SF)
"Waterspider" by Philip K. Dick (people from the future capture Poul Anderson)
"Corridors" by Barry N. Malzberg (existential crisis over being an SF writer)

[Mick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of Science Fiction stories about SF and SF authors. The Philip K. Dick story was probably my favorite. Many of the others were pretty forgettable.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good collection of stories about writing science fiction. Ranges from the brilliant-but-difficult "A Galaxy Called Rome" by Barry N. Malzberg to the cute but unchallenging "His Award Winning Science Fiction" story by editor Resnick to the amusing but too-long and kind of tedious "The Curse of Mhondoro Nkabele" by Eric Norden.

Standouts in addition to Malzberg's two stories include "Hapgood's Hoax" by Allen Steele, about a fictional LRHubbard-esque character, "The Monkey's Finger" by Isaac Asimov, "Who's Cribbing" by Jack Lewis, and the somewhat simplistic but oddly affecting & creepily apocalyptic "The World Science Fiction Convention of 2080."

My main complaint with the book is that too many of the stories follow the same basic format or theme -- letters that hint at a time slip affecting the authorship of stories or the editorship of magazines. I like those, but it felt a bit repetitive. Overall it's a bit lighter and more clever than I like my SF.

Nonetheless, while I wouldn't really recommend it to the casual reader, but for the SF-obsessed it's packed with in-jokes and general fun. It's a great quick fun read with some really amazing, brilliant stories and some interesting ones that aren't my thing, but that others will probably like. It'll actually make me seek out some of Resnick's other bazillion anthologies, as I enjoyed his editorial comments and overall the mix was pretty successful.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Resnick's more obscure anthologies, but I found it to be one of the most enjoyable. Long time fans will catch a lot of inside references to the field in many of the stories. Among my favorites were a classic from Pohl & (posthumously) Kornbluth, a pair of Malzbergs, a Sandor Courane tale from George Alec Effinger, and a terrific Allen Steele story. The cover is a very spooky thing by Tim O'Brien.