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Wonder Effect
British paperback edition. Collection of stories by these masters of science fiction. Introduction by Pohl, and these Critical Mass (1962); A Gentle Dying (1961); Nightmare with Zeppelins (1958); Best Friend (1941); The World of Myrion Flowers (1961); Trouble in Time (1940); The Engineer (1956); Mars-Tube (1941); The Quaker Cannon (1961).
176 pages, paper
First published January 1, 1962
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About the author
Frederik Pohl
1,111 books1,047 followersFrederik George Pohl, Jr. was an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy magazine and its sister magazine IF winning the Hugo for IF three years in a row. His writing also won him three Hugos and multiple Nebula Awards. He became a Nebula Grand Master in 1993.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 4, 2017
-Algunos de los primeros trabajos del dúo, aquellos de los que Pohl se sentía menos avergonzado y se atrevió a volver a publicar con su verdadero nombre y el de su fallecido amigo.-
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro A través del tiempo (publicación original: The Wonder Effect, 1966) está compuesto por nueve relatos de ciencia ficción de la pareja de autores, escritos todos en su juventud antes de ambos tuviesen que servir en el ejército durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y publicados en diferentes revistas de género como Astonishing Stories y Super Science Stories siempre bajo seudónimo, y recopilados por Pohl años después de la prematura muerte de Kornbluth, con temáticas que nos llevarán de un Marte pulp casi weird a una Tierra bajo amenaza de guerra, pasando por un viaje en el tiempo bastante particular, entre otros temas.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Relatos.
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro A través del tiempo (publicación original: The Wonder Effect, 1966) está compuesto por nueve relatos de ciencia ficción de la pareja de autores, escritos todos en su juventud antes de ambos tuviesen que servir en el ejército durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y publicados en diferentes revistas de género como Astonishing Stories y Super Science Stories siempre bajo seudónimo, y recopilados por Pohl años después de la prematura muerte de Kornbluth, con temáticas que nos llevarán de un Marte pulp casi weird a una Tierra bajo amenaza de guerra, pasando por un viaje en el tiempo bastante particular, entre otros temas.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
February 24, 2019
Revisiting a classic collection of short stories by two greats of relatively early US science fiction, Pohl and Kornbluth (my copy dates to 1969, the collection to 1961). It's a short book with only 9 stories in it, which Fred Pohl in his introduction admits are a mix of relatively recent (1959-61) and somewhat ancient (early 1940s). Incidentally, that intro gives some interesting insights into how this duo worked together. Some of the early stories are quite weak, particularly the plodding adventure Mars-Tube, which has none of the edginess and wit of their later stories - and that's why I can only give the book three stars. But some of the other stories are top notch.
The opener, Critical Mass, is set 50 years into the Cold War - you really have to have been around during it to understand and really feel that sense of constant background fear and almost an acceptance that at some point the nuclear holocaust will come. There's a classic short twist-in-the-tail story in A Gentle Dying and a near-steampunk story putting nuclear weapons in the time of the First World War (Nightmare with Zeppelins), though the reality of what happens when you just shove a critical mass of uranium together is not accurately portrayed.
What's perhaps surprising is how little of it feels dated, with the except of the social niceties (and the use of wire recorders at one point, though it is an alien race doing it - so they could be excused). There's only one where there's a double anachronism blow. In The Engineer we have that inevitable blast from the past, the slide rule (it's odd that 1950s SF writers could envisage sophisticated computers and robots, but not a pocket calculator). And a deep ocean oil rig - great future idea for that period - oddly envisaged as having the living quarters down near the sea bed. (Not to mention having the management based there.) It's a shame, as the underlying message of the story has nothing to do with the mechanics, and is good, but it can be slightly lost in them.
Not the greatest SF stories ever, then, but some really interesting period material.
The opener, Critical Mass, is set 50 years into the Cold War - you really have to have been around during it to understand and really feel that sense of constant background fear and almost an acceptance that at some point the nuclear holocaust will come. There's a classic short twist-in-the-tail story in A Gentle Dying and a near-steampunk story putting nuclear weapons in the time of the First World War (Nightmare with Zeppelins), though the reality of what happens when you just shove a critical mass of uranium together is not accurately portrayed.
What's perhaps surprising is how little of it feels dated, with the except of the social niceties (and the use of wire recorders at one point, though it is an alien race doing it - so they could be excused). There's only one where there's a double anachronism blow. In The Engineer we have that inevitable blast from the past, the slide rule (it's odd that 1950s SF writers could envisage sophisticated computers and robots, but not a pocket calculator). And a deep ocean oil rig - great future idea for that period - oddly envisaged as having the living quarters down near the sea bed. (Not to mention having the management based there.) It's a shame, as the underlying message of the story has nothing to do with the mechanics, and is good, but it can be slightly lost in them.
Not the greatest SF stories ever, then, but some really interesting period material.
April 11, 2020
Empecé a leer este libro porque a simple vista parecía interesante. Prometía varios relatos cortos de ciencia ficción antigua: rara pero sugerente. En verdad, solo acerté en lo de ciencia ficción rara; y tan rara era que no tiene sentido alguno. Únicamente dos relatos se salvan (con pinzas) y presentan ciertos futuros, a mi juicio, posibles. La gran mayoría están compuestos por sucesiones inverosímiles de datos y acciones totalmente desarraigadas las unas de las otras. Me resultó difícil seguir casi todas las historias porque intentaban acumular muchos datos, una gran sucesión de eventos y explicar cada uno de los futuros distópicos en pocas páginas y de forma muy rápida, con prisas y a lo loco. Definitivamente este libro no es para mí y ha sido una decepción en cuanto a mi primera inmersión en la ciencia ficción. Me mantendré alejada por un tiempo hasta que me vuelva a apetecer tirarme a la piscina con este género.
August 7, 2020
I'd have rated this 3.5 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars.
Fred Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth collaborated on several SF novels, most famously the classic The Space Merchants. But they also collaborated on a number of short stories before Kornbluth's untimely death in 1958. The Wonder Effect includes a handful of strong stories and few OK ones. It also features an introduction by Pohl, explaining how he and Kornbluth worked together.
"Critical Mass" is a somewhat satirical look at the cold war fascination with far out shelters, as well as the American obsession with sports news to oveshadadow more important things. It's a bit unfocused in parts, but overall effective.
"The World of Myrion Flowers" examines racism in late-fifties America, as a successful black man recieves a machine that allows him to read minds and he encounters the hate around him.
"The Engineer" is on the surface a story about a problem in a deep-sea oil rig, but really it's about how layered bureaucracies can fail badly.
The weakest story is also one of the two oldest -- a decade and a half earlier than the strongest stories in the book -- Mars-Tube. But even it is a bit different than the standard colonization story of the time. Earth has conquered Mars, wiping out the Martians, but the main character is disgusted that the war happened, and thinks the Earth was wrong not to find a peaceful solution. It also, like several other stories of the time also features a strong female as one of the main characters.
Overall, a good collection, despite a couple of week points.
Fred Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth collaborated on several SF novels, most famously the classic The Space Merchants. But they also collaborated on a number of short stories before Kornbluth's untimely death in 1958. The Wonder Effect includes a handful of strong stories and few OK ones. It also features an introduction by Pohl, explaining how he and Kornbluth worked together.
"Critical Mass" is a somewhat satirical look at the cold war fascination with far out shelters, as well as the American obsession with sports news to oveshadadow more important things. It's a bit unfocused in parts, but overall effective.
"The World of Myrion Flowers" examines racism in late-fifties America, as a successful black man recieves a machine that allows him to read minds and he encounters the hate around him.
"The Engineer" is on the surface a story about a problem in a deep-sea oil rig, but really it's about how layered bureaucracies can fail badly.
The weakest story is also one of the two oldest -- a decade and a half earlier than the strongest stories in the book -- Mars-Tube. But even it is a bit different than the standard colonization story of the time. Earth has conquered Mars, wiping out the Martians, but the main character is disgusted that the war happened, and thinks the Earth was wrong not to find a peaceful solution. It also, like several other stories of the time also features a strong female as one of the main characters.
Overall, a good collection, despite a couple of week points.
May 4, 2014
I marked this book with three stars, but I actually give it about two an a half.
This was an interesting series of twisted sci-fi tales. I picture a group of older gentlemen with great handlebar mustaches sitting among the old dusty tomes of the International Society of Adventurers and Explorers, brandy in one hand and cigars in the other, regaling each other with their best shaggy-dog tales. I also felt I needed an ivy-league degree from the Roosevelt Era to follow some of the story lines. Though they were well written, for the most part, They didn't stir the excitement of adventure that I would usually get, even with classic science fiction.
This was an interesting series of twisted sci-fi tales. I picture a group of older gentlemen with great handlebar mustaches sitting among the old dusty tomes of the International Society of Adventurers and Explorers, brandy in one hand and cigars in the other, regaling each other with their best shaggy-dog tales. I also felt I needed an ivy-league degree from the Roosevelt Era to follow some of the story lines. Though they were well written, for the most part, They didn't stir the excitement of adventure that I would usually get, even with classic science fiction.
October 5, 2016
There's some really good ideas and interesting premises in these stories, though I found the delivery slightly odd. This maybe in part to them being short stories, but the style was slightly dry, and the narratives truncated strangely. To contextualise this, I found myself reading through The World of Myrion Flowers and not overly enjoying it. Having finished it, it really stuck in my mind as a clever and thought provoking premise. Worth a read.
April 16, 2009
Nine fun stories from two great satirists. The stories hold up surprisingly well fifty-plus years later; Cold War allusions will get nods from all who lived through any of it, and representations of the dumbing-down of politics and media will bring groans from any who lived through the last administration. ("Nook-you-leer", anyone?)
September 11, 2011
Hmm. These are all pretty smart stories even if they are early work. Contains a disturbingly prophetic one, "The Engineer", about a deepwater oil drilling disaster and the hubris and regulatory failures leading to it. (Even if they thought companies would pay to put people miles underwater to oversee the work. It was the 50s, after all.)
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August 22, 2008Wonder Effect by Frederik Pohl (1969)
Read
February 21, 2017Frederik Pohl & C. M. Kornbluth
March 12, 2015
1981 grade C
with Kornbluth
with Kornbluth
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews