The Calm Man

by Frank Belknap Long

Sally watched the molten gold glow in the sky. Then knew she would not see her son and her husband ever again on Earth. From "Fantastic Universe," May 1954.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1954

About the author

Aka Lyda Belknap Long.

Frank Belknap Long Jr. was a prolific American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including early contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos. During his life, Long received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (at the 1978 World Fantasy Convention), the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (in 1987, from the Horror Writers Association), and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1977).

Reviews

[Ralph McEwen]

A “man” marries a woman after just one dance. The ensuing life explains the quotes.

Audio Book MP3 downloaded from
http://librivox.org/short-science-fic...

Public Domain stories from Project Gutenberg, that are read by volunteers.
I listen to these short stories while walking to and from work.

Play Duration: 00:29:05
Read By: Gregg Margarite

[Luke]

The following excerpt tells you all you need to know about this short story:

"You must be brave and strong, my son. We are eagles, you and I. Your mother is a sparrow, gentle and dun-colored. You want to go with me, don't you?"

"Yes, father. Oh, yes!"

[Chris Aldridge]

From Short science fiction collection 016 - LibriVox . Oops I’ve Forgot it already , but gave it 4 stars, so it’s senility not the story. Sry. Now I recall - it’s a guy in a pickle, talks to his gal, a tad soppy.

[for-much-deliberation ...]

Emotionless, strange, unusual, Sally thought she met the man of her dreams, but there was something almost unearthly about him, and likewise, his son.....

[William]

Entertaining fantasy listening 🎶🔰

Another will written fantasy space Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Frank Belknap Long about 💘 marriage and a son which is all a lie. When the 🚹 and son leave for Mars. I would recommend this novella to readers of fantasy Sci-Fi novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of novels 🔰 and books 📚. 🏡🔰👒⏰ 2022

[Phil Giunta]

A young woman marries a man she hardly knows and becomes disturbed by his unearthly clinical demeanor when their son is born. He maintains his aloof and distant attitude right up until he reveals his true origins.

[Lew]

A typical 50's science fiction short story from Fantastic Universe Magazine.

[Akrabar]

audiobook

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z1mu...

[Denise]

Sally is swept off her feet by a man who seems to be the man of her dreams. Only, he seems... cold at odd times. Then Tommy comes along and he is all a mother could hope for, except at times he seems to be just like his father. One she knows they're both gone.

Please read the full review here.

[Angie]

Hmmm. Doesn't flow, not much character development. Goes from "Tommy's nothing like his father" to "they are so similar it's frightening" in the same sentence. Would not recommend to anyone, very glad I did not pay any money for this excerpt.

[Troy Dye]

The Calm Man by Frank Belknap Long

The Calm Man by Frank Belknap Long

A nice little short story in the style of Twilight zone about a time when we still thought that there was life on Mars.

[Michelle]

A very strange and sad story.