Bad Patch

by A. Bertram Chandler

Short Story

A soft world of clouds and drizzles and weathered hills doesn't build a hard people. And soft people - well, they have quite different, quite potent means to their ends!

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1947

About the author

Arthur Bertram Chandler (28 March 1912–6 June 1984) was an Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Paul T. Sherman, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M.

He was born in Aldershot, England. He was a merchant marine officer, sailing the world in everything from tramp steamers to troopships. He emigrated to Australia in 1956 and became an Australian citizen. He commanded various ships in the Australian and New Zealand merchant navies, and was the last master of the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne as the law required that it have an officer on board while it was laid up waiting to be towed to China to be broken up.

Reviews

[Kevin Cannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

As short stories go this was not one of the best I've read. It was perhaps a little too short and I struggled with exactly what was happening near the end. The transition from fictional starship captain visiting an alien planet to a ships captain moored in Hawaii and the crossover of the alien from one world to another had me re-reading paragraphs again to see if i'd missed something. At least the story has closure and doesn't leave the reader wondering what happens next.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely worth the read, perfect length and total closure!