What do you think?
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July 1956
CONTENTS: The Silk and the Song (Charles L. Fontenay);
The Dying Night (Isaac Asimov);
No Morning After (Arthur C. Clarke);
The Club Secretary (Lord Dunsany);
The Contract (Bryce Walton);
The Damnedest Thing (Garson Kanin);
Emily and the Bards Sublime (Robert F. Young);
Hour Without Glory (Robert Abernathy);
Martinis: 12 to 1 (Mack Reynolds);
White Goddess (Margaret St. Clair (as Idris Seabright)); The Waiting Room (R. V. Cassill)
The Dying Night (Isaac Asimov);
No Morning After (Arthur C. Clarke);
The Club Secretary (Lord Dunsany);
The Contract (Bryce Walton);
The Damnedest Thing (Garson Kanin);
Emily and the Bards Sublime (Robert F. Young);
Hour Without Glory (Robert Abernathy);
Martinis: 12 to 1 (Mack Reynolds);
White Goddess (Margaret St. Clair (as Idris Seabright)); The Waiting Room (R. V. Cassill)
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
132 pages
First published July 1, 1956
About the author
Anthony Boucher
685 books43 followersWilliam Anthony Parker White, better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher, was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dramas. Between 1942 and 1947, he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to "Anthony Boucher", White also employed the pseudonym "H. H. Holmes", which was the pseudonym of a late-19th-century American serial killer; Boucher would also write light verse and sign it " Herman W. Mudgett" (the murderer's real name).
In a 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel Nine Times Nine was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time.
In a 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel Nine Times Nine was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 7, 2018
3 • The Dying Night • 22 pages by Isaac Asimov
Good. Three astronomers come back for a conference on their tenth anniversary. Villiers, the genius among them, had a heart condition, didn't graduate with them, had to stay on Earth, and holds a big grudge against the three of them. He claims to have discovered matter transmission. He dies of a heart attack and Mandel, the man who witnessed matter transmission, thinks one of them is responsible. A whodunit solved by Wendell Urth. My own theory which would hold up until the confession, is that Villiers felt the heart attack coming, didn't want any record of his paper for humanity if he didn't get to enjoy it, with the added bonus that he could stage it to look like at least one of his classmates was responsible for either his death or stealing his paper. If he survived, hey, he already stated all of it was in his head.
25 • The Damnedest Thing • 7 pages by Garson Kanin
OK. An undertaker comes home from work. Takes an extra drink. Then tells his wife of the extraordinary thing that happened.
32 • Hour Without Glory • 8 pages by Robert Abernathy
Fair. A general is stuck in a ditch beneath an overturned jeep. He wants help but is unable to attract an attention. While stuck he mulls over this second civil war. No mention of the underlying causes of the war, just a speculation in his head of what escalation would mean. A long dry setup for a point that the author makes at the end.
40 • The Contract • 13 pages by Bryce Walton
OK. Hal Bain wakes up from a binge. He finds that he has no money even though he left instructions with his banker not to give him any money while he was drinking. His landlord who'd always been so lenient with the rent is having him evicted. His sales job that he could always count on is no longer there. On top of it his lawyer calls and says he signed a contract. Very TZ-ish.
53 • Martinis: 12 to 1 • 7 pages by Mack Reynolds
Good+. A deal with the devil story. Thirteen glasses, one is poisoned. If Alan drinks the wrong one he loses his soul and dies. Any of the others he'll get a hundred dollars. He can drink a second for 200, a third for 400, etc.
66 • White Goddess • 5 pages by Idris Seabright (Margaret St. Clair)
Good+. A petty thief tries to steal from an old woman. She recognizes right away things are missing and orders him to return her spoons, etc.
71 • Emily and the Bards Sublime • 11 pages by Robert F. Young
Good+. Emily tends the wing of the museum that hosts the poets. Androids in the shape of the poets and will quote their works. The public is apathetic. After years of little traffic in her area the board is putting the poets in storage, instead showing chrome plated cars. She is driven to tears.
82 • The Waiting Room • 9 pages by R. V. Cassill
OK+. When Mary bought her bus ticket it was supposed to be a ten minute wait at the junction. She sits next to a woman holding a child in the waiting room and it's creepy. She goes to the counter and they tell her the next bus is in two hours and no they don't have any magazines or books. It finally gets so creepy she decides to wait in the bathroom. I thought it was going to be like a TZ episode and she was really in purgatory, and they would tell her she was on a bus that crashed. Or maybe it has a different ending.
95 • The Silk and the Song • 22 pages by Charles L. Fontenay
Very Good. The original crew of a human starship landed on the planet and were overwhelmed by the Hussir and taken to be their slave beasts. We pick up the story a thousand years later. Alan is Blik's pet human and they make their first trip to see the Star Tower. Three years later Blik gets ill and dies. Blik's older brother is a sadist and makes Alan's like unbearable. Finally Alan runs away to a colony of wild humans. When his initiation is up he has to state his idea on how to overcome the Hussir and free the slaves. The free humans had two plans they couldn't decide which one to use. Alan basically says we should vote on it, so the free humans finally put one of their plans into action. The story doesn't explain how the humans avoided inbreeding and kept their language alive or why the Hussir tech didn't was stuck at bow & arrow stage even after a thousand years of staring at what might be.
118 • The Club Secretary • 4 pages by Lord Dunsany
Fair. The club wants a story with sun and set in England. Jorkens tells of the time he walked into the country and found a club for poets. Then he dropped a bunch of names.
122 • No Morning after • 9 pages by Arthur C. Clarke
OK/fair. An alien race detects that in three days our sun is going to blow. They try their hardest but can only contact one man telepathically. They can set up bridges to another Earth-like planet.
Good. Three astronomers come back for a conference on their tenth anniversary. Villiers, the genius among them, had a heart condition, didn't graduate with them, had to stay on Earth, and holds a big grudge against the three of them. He claims to have discovered matter transmission. He dies of a heart attack and Mandel, the man who witnessed matter transmission, thinks one of them is responsible. A whodunit solved by Wendell Urth. My own theory which would hold up until the confession, is that Villiers felt the heart attack coming, didn't want any record of his paper for humanity if he didn't get to enjoy it, with the added bonus that he could stage it to look like at least one of his classmates was responsible for either his death or stealing his paper. If he survived, hey, he already stated all of it was in his head.
25 • The Damnedest Thing • 7 pages by Garson Kanin
OK. An undertaker comes home from work. Takes an extra drink. Then tells his wife of the extraordinary thing that happened.
32 • Hour Without Glory • 8 pages by Robert Abernathy
Fair. A general is stuck in a ditch beneath an overturned jeep. He wants help but is unable to attract an attention. While stuck he mulls over this second civil war. No mention of the underlying causes of the war, just a speculation in his head of what escalation would mean. A long dry setup for a point that the author makes at the end.
40 • The Contract • 13 pages by Bryce Walton
OK. Hal Bain wakes up from a binge. He finds that he has no money even though he left instructions with his banker not to give him any money while he was drinking. His landlord who'd always been so lenient with the rent is having him evicted. His sales job that he could always count on is no longer there. On top of it his lawyer calls and says he signed a contract. Very TZ-ish.
53 • Martinis: 12 to 1 • 7 pages by Mack Reynolds
Good+. A deal with the devil story. Thirteen glasses, one is poisoned. If Alan drinks the wrong one he loses his soul and dies. Any of the others he'll get a hundred dollars. He can drink a second for 200, a third for 400, etc.
66 • White Goddess • 5 pages by Idris Seabright (Margaret St. Clair)
Good+. A petty thief tries to steal from an old woman. She recognizes right away things are missing and orders him to return her spoons, etc.
71 • Emily and the Bards Sublime • 11 pages by Robert F. Young
Good+. Emily tends the wing of the museum that hosts the poets. Androids in the shape of the poets and will quote their works. The public is apathetic. After years of little traffic in her area the board is putting the poets in storage, instead showing chrome plated cars. She is driven to tears.
82 • The Waiting Room • 9 pages by R. V. Cassill
OK+. When Mary bought her bus ticket it was supposed to be a ten minute wait at the junction. She sits next to a woman holding a child in the waiting room and it's creepy. She goes to the counter and they tell her the next bus is in two hours and no they don't have any magazines or books. It finally gets so creepy she decides to wait in the bathroom. I thought it was going to be like a TZ episode and she was really in purgatory, and they would tell her she was on a bus that crashed. Or maybe it has a different ending.
95 • The Silk and the Song • 22 pages by Charles L. Fontenay
Very Good. The original crew of a human starship landed on the planet and were overwhelmed by the Hussir and taken to be their slave beasts. We pick up the story a thousand years later. Alan is Blik's pet human and they make their first trip to see the Star Tower. Three years later Blik gets ill and dies. Blik's older brother is a sadist and makes Alan's like unbearable. Finally Alan runs away to a colony of wild humans. When his initiation is up he has to state his idea on how to overcome the Hussir and free the slaves. The free humans had two plans they couldn't decide which one to use. Alan basically says we should vote on it, so the free humans finally put one of their plans into action. The story doesn't explain how the humans avoided inbreeding and kept their language alive or why the Hussir tech didn't was stuck at bow & arrow stage even after a thousand years of staring at what might be.
118 • The Club Secretary • 4 pages by Lord Dunsany
Fair. The club wants a story with sun and set in England. Jorkens tells of the time he walked into the country and found a club for poets. Then he dropped a bunch of names.
122 • No Morning after • 9 pages by Arthur C. Clarke
OK/fair. An alien race detects that in three days our sun is going to blow. They try their hardest but can only contact one man telepathically. They can set up bridges to another Earth-like planet.
August 14, 2017
This issue is pretty good, with almost every story being a little bit better than average.
Isaac Asimov - The Dying Night - 4 stars
- A mystery story. A man is killed and his killer is deduced by considering which planet each of the suspects is from and, because of that, how he would react to a given situation.
Garson Kanin - The Damnest Thing - 4 stars
- A man dies but comes back just to deliver one final request. That doesn't mean that his request will be fulfilled.
Robert Abernathy - Hour Without Glory - 4 stars
- War in Oklahoma. It's the second civil war, but with much deadlier weapons available. Can their use be avoided?
Bryce Walton - The Contract - 3 stars
- A man signs a contract when he's drunk. He agrees to do something totally ridiculous, but all of his friends and acquaintances seem intent on making sure that he does it anyway. The story just doesn't quite work.
Mack Reynolds - Martinis: 12 to 1 - 4 stars
- You make a wager with the devil to gamble for your soul, and then you appear to always be winning the bets. But are you really?
J. Francis McComas - Insuring a Revolution - 4 stars
- A 1956 view on how insurance makes atomic power plants profitable.
Idris Seabright - White Goddess - 4 stars
- A young man tries to steal things from an elderly lady, but she turns out to be something more than he expected.
Robert F. Young - Emily and the Bards Sublime - 4 stars
- A museum of the future featuring android representations of famous poets. Nobody is interested in seeing them so they're all going to be junked, until the woman in charge of the display thinks up a unique, alternate use for them.
R. V. Cassill - The Waiting Room - 4 stars
- A mild horror story of a young woman traveling by bus who is seemingly trapped in an unusual waiting room between legs of her journey.
Charles L. Fontenay - The Silk and the Song - 3 stars
- Man lands on an alien planet and everyone on the spaceship become slaves of the native race. Finally, generations later, two of their descendants are able to use an ancient legend to escape.
Lord Dunsany - The Club Secretary - 4 stars
- An unusual club and an unusual secretary.
Arthur C. Clarke - No Morning After - 3 stars
- Aliens contact humans to warn them of their impending doom. Unfortunately, the only human that they can talk to doesn't care.
Isaac Asimov - The Dying Night - 4 stars
- A mystery story. A man is killed and his killer is deduced by considering which planet each of the suspects is from and, because of that, how he would react to a given situation.
Garson Kanin - The Damnest Thing - 4 stars
- A man dies but comes back just to deliver one final request. That doesn't mean that his request will be fulfilled.
Robert Abernathy - Hour Without Glory - 4 stars
- War in Oklahoma. It's the second civil war, but with much deadlier weapons available. Can their use be avoided?
Bryce Walton - The Contract - 3 stars
- A man signs a contract when he's drunk. He agrees to do something totally ridiculous, but all of his friends and acquaintances seem intent on making sure that he does it anyway. The story just doesn't quite work.
Mack Reynolds - Martinis: 12 to 1 - 4 stars
- You make a wager with the devil to gamble for your soul, and then you appear to always be winning the bets. But are you really?
J. Francis McComas - Insuring a Revolution - 4 stars
- A 1956 view on how insurance makes atomic power plants profitable.
Idris Seabright - White Goddess - 4 stars
- A young man tries to steal things from an elderly lady, but she turns out to be something more than he expected.
Robert F. Young - Emily and the Bards Sublime - 4 stars
- A museum of the future featuring android representations of famous poets. Nobody is interested in seeing them so they're all going to be junked, until the woman in charge of the display thinks up a unique, alternate use for them.
R. V. Cassill - The Waiting Room - 4 stars
- A mild horror story of a young woman traveling by bus who is seemingly trapped in an unusual waiting room between legs of her journey.
Charles L. Fontenay - The Silk and the Song - 3 stars
- Man lands on an alien planet and everyone on the spaceship become slaves of the native race. Finally, generations later, two of their descendants are able to use an ancient legend to escape.
Lord Dunsany - The Club Secretary - 4 stars
- An unusual club and an unusual secretary.
Arthur C. Clarke - No Morning After - 3 stars
- Aliens contact humans to warn them of their impending doom. Unfortunately, the only human that they can talk to doesn't care.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews