Monitor Found in Orbit

by Michael G. Coney, Frank Kelly Freas (Cover Artist)

Cover Artist: Kelly Freas

Contents:
7 Introduction
9 The True Worth of Ruth Villiers (1970)
28 The Manya (1973)
44 Hold My Hand, My Love! (1971)
63 Beneath Still Waters (1971)
83 The Unsavory Episode of Mrs. Hector Powell-Challenger
96 Monitor Found in Orbit (1971)
114 The Mind Prison (1971)
138 R26/5/PSY and I (1969)
154 Esmeralda (1972)

Genres: Science Fiction

172 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1974

About the author

Michael Greatrex Coney was born in Birmingham, England and educated at King Edward's School.

He started a career as a chartered accountant and went on to become a management Consultant. Then he went into the catering business, managing an inn in south Devon with his wife, Daphne for three years and a hotel in the West Indies for another three. He worked for Financial Services in the B.C. Forest Service for seventeen years before retiring .

He Passed away 4 November 2005. peacefully of Cancer (Mesothelioma). He was married with three children and lived on Vancouver Island.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

DAW Collectors #120

Cover Artist: Kelly Freas

Name: Coney, Michael Greatrex, Birthplace: Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, UK, (28 September 1932 - 4 November 2005).

Contents:

002 -  Monitor Found in Orbit (frontispiece) • interior artwork by Jack Gaughan
007 - Introduction (Monitor Found in Orbit) • essay by Michael G. Coney
009 - The True Worth of Ruth Villiers • (1970)
028 - The Manya • [Finistelle] • (1973)
044 - Hold My Hand, My Love! • (1971)
063 - Beneath Still Waters • (1971)
083 - The Unsavory Episode of Mrs. Hector Powell-Challenger
096 - Monitor Found in Orbit • (1971)
114 - The Mind Prison • (1971)
138 - R26/5/PSY and I • (1969)
154 - Esmeralda • (1972)

Skilled in the field of the short story, many of Coney's unusual tales have been reprinted in anthologies. In this book, Coney presents his own selection of his best to date. Of his work he stated: "I was aiming at a different type of SF, a type of story where science and characterization went together in such a way that the denouement was a result of the characters of the people concerned and their reaction to the scientific (generally sociological) premise rather than a gimmick ending based on the premise itself". Monitor in Orbit will prove to be a great and fine read for readers after good science fiction.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monitor Found in Orbit was Coney's first collection of short fiction. (Actually, I believe it was his only collection, which is kind of tragic.) It contains nine stories, one original to the book and the first appearances of the rest about equally divided between American and British genre digest magazines including New Writings in SF, New Worlds, Worlds of Tomorrow, Worlds of If, and Galaxy. (The title story, an aggressively New Wave exercise, is from Moorcock's New Worlds, unfortunately not the Damon Knight anthology series.) Coney was always best known for his novel length work, but here demonstrates that he was capable of producing good fiction at a shorter length. My favorites were The Manya and Esmerelda, but I don't recall disliking any of them. It has a very orange and striking Kelly Freas cover that reminded me of some of Paul Lehr's work.

[Snakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since reading Rax, and giving it 5 stars, I’ve been eager to read something else by Coney. But being a collection, and as with most collections, some of these stories were great, a couple were middling, and some weren’t too good at all. Just an average gathering of stories.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-read of a book I bought when it was new.

These are stories from the 70s, and with a 1971 publication several were probably written in the 60s. They fit within the scope of stories of that era - often a single idea developed with a bit of worldbuilding; sometimes a single ending idea with a story written to get us to it. It's essentially what a short story ought to be, and more recent ones are just trying to stretch the format a little.

As others have noted online, the writing is competent and the ideas entertaining, but it's all quite low-key and doesn't engage. And I say that with the same British blood that Coney had; I'm comfortable with low-key. But the stories just don't stick in the mind. Perhaps if you hated Harlan Ellison you'll love Coney - their styles are far apart.

[Fastidiously Facetious · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never heard of this author until I saw this paperback at Half Price Books. Intrigued by the cover art, I picked it up. This small compilation of futuristic stories ranges from psychological scenarios to dystopian tales.

The True Worth of Ruth Villiers - a severely utilitarian future where every person has a set number of funds that determine how valuable they are to society to save. (4 out of 5)

The Manya - a scientist goes much too far in the future and finds society has reverted to isolated tribes and finds himself made a god. (4 out of 5)

Hold My Hands, My Love! - I really enjoyed this one because it had you convinced the story was about one thing until the very end where the truth is shockingly revealed (5 out of 5)

Beneath Still Waters - a mildly interesting story about a yachtsman who befriends an amoral doctor with a disabled boy who is the only one able to draw any humanity out of the cynical doctor...until an alien offers the doctor an alternative. (3 out of 5)

The Unsavory Episode of Mrs. Hector Powell-Challenger - a boy visits his cultured aunt in the country and makes a shocking discovery about the true nature of the town's patron of the arts. (3 out of 5)

Monitor Found in Orbit - I couldn't finish this one because its New Wave writing style (stream of consciousness with little to no punctuation) was hard to follow and get into. (2 out of 5)

The Mind Prison - I love post-apocalyptic stories so I really enjoyed this one about a community living in a centuries-old fallout shelter they've expanded to accommodate their growing population...but without venturing into the world until an old man and a young woman challenge the community's thinking. (5 out of 5)

R26/5/PSY and I - an apathetic man is given a companion to help him see and savor life. I really enjoyed its tight story-telling that lets you in on the joke. (4 out of 5)

Esmeralda - in what's easily the bleakest of the stories in this collection, two elderly sisters who live alone along the sea shore are increasingly unsettled by their mental state as they approach their 65th birthday. (3 out of 5)

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"I’ve long enjoyed Michael G. Coney’s science fiction–check out Friends Come in Boxes (1973), Hello Summer, Goodbye (variant title: Rax) (1975), “Those Good Old Days of Liquid Fuel” (1977), and my recent rumination on “The Mind Prison” (1971) (which appears in this collection) for my Generation Ship Short Story Review series. Unfortunately, the majority of the stories in Monitor Found in Orbit (1974), his only published short story collection, are [...]"

[asunder_doom · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A few standout stories that were quite enjoyable. Overall a worthwhile read and good collection.

[Noah Rozov · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read "The Mind Prison" of 1971 from this storybook by Michael Coney and I didn't like it.