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A Touch of Sturgeon
'Winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, Theodore Sturgeon has established his reputation as one of the most original and provocative of SF writers.
Here are nine masterpieces of imagination from the period of his finest creativity. Included are "The Pod in the Barrier", "The Other Celia", Affair with a Green Monkey", "The Touch of Your Hand", and more.
The name of Theodore Sturgeon is a magic word in the field of science fiction and fantasy - and A TOUCH OF STRANGE is one of his most unforgettable collections.'
Contents
Introduction / David Pringle
Killdozer! (1944)
The Sex Opposite (1952)
Mr. Costello, Hero (1953)
The Golden Helix (1954)
When You're Smiling (1955)
And Now the News ... (1956)
The Other Celia (1957)
Slow Sculpture (1970)
List of Sources (essay)
Here are nine masterpieces of imagination from the period of his finest creativity. Included are "The Pod in the Barrier", "The Other Celia", Affair with a Green Monkey", "The Touch of Your Hand", and more.
The name of Theodore Sturgeon is a magic word in the field of science fiction and fantasy - and A TOUCH OF STRANGE is one of his most unforgettable collections.'
Contents
Introduction / David Pringle
Killdozer! (1944)
The Sex Opposite (1952)
Mr. Costello, Hero (1953)
The Golden Helix (1954)
When You're Smiling (1955)
And Now the News ... (1956)
The Other Celia (1957)
Slow Sculpture (1970)
List of Sources (essay)
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1987
12 people want to read
About the author
Theodore Sturgeon
725 books775 followersTheodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is considered one of the godfathers of contemporary science fiction and dark fantasy. The author of numerous acclaimed short stories and novels, among them the classics More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and To Marry Medusa, Sturgeon also wrote for television and holds among his credits two episodes of the original 1960s Star Trek series, for which he created the Vulcan mating ritual and the expression "Live long and prosper." He is also credited as the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut's recurring fictional character Kilgore Trout.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 6, 2023
A fascinating retrospective exploring the mind of one of the more creative short story artists of the 20th century. This was my first foray into the author's short stories, and I was struck how much they reminded me of Philip K. Dick, but often with more real-life context and emotional depth.
The first story ("Killdozer"), frankly, was the biggest disappointment of the entire collection. Its length also contributes to the 4* review. It's basically like Christine, but with quite a bit more detail about how the big machines operate. The long scenes describing the minutiae of bulldozers were terrible. It's not a bad concept per se, and I recognise how groundbreaking this was at the time it was published, but to me it feels cheap, and, especially in light of the rest of the author's work, infantile.
The second story, "The Sex Opposite", is among the best in this collection. It's essentially about accepting the other and about different ways of showing love and exhibiting gender. Especially for the time of publication, and even now, it's quite thought provoking as it perhaps to gender identity and how most binary people perceive it.
The third story, "Mr Costello, Hero", is set in the far future, and describes the impact that highly charismatic men can have on unsuspecting masses, leading to dictatorship and de-facto mind control. While not deft, it conveys a clear message, and is quite neatly written, especially given the perspective of the unsuspecting (and rather obtuse) protagonist.
The fourth story, "The Golden Helix", is also set in the far future, and describes how a group of colonists on the way from Earth to a new colony get abducted by aliens and put on a virgin planet, where they gradually discover the motivation behind their abduction, and accept their fate. This one is quite thought provoking, but it's tough to explain without spoiling it. Suffice it to say that it reminded me of a lof of the more philosophical work by Arkady Strugatsky.
The fifth story, "When You're Smiling", is more of horror story, debating and exploring human depravity and the reaction to it. It's unsettling, and perfectly written - you never know what hits you until it does in the final few pages of the story.
The sixth story, "And Now the News...", explores the obsession society has with normalising anyone who strays even a bit away from the norm. It also touches upon the impact of psychiatry and psychiatric medication on elimination "abberation" from human behaviour. It's quite a morbid story, and has a clear and strong message. Very powerful, and not at all sci-fi. As relevant today as when it was written.
The seventh story, "The Other Celia", can be described as the author's take on Crime and Punishment. A young guy with not much to do decides to affect someone else's life for fun, without understanding and comprehending the full extent of his actions. Scary and unsettling. Perhaps the most "Twighlight Zone"-like of all the stories in this collection.
The eight and last story, "Slow Sculpture", is a mind-bending exploration of belief, alternative medicine, and the ability of shaping human behaviour through subtle manipulation. It's not super clear to me what the author is trying to say here, but if he indeed suggests that pruning and shaping humans is possible, similar to the way one would treat a bonsai tree, the result makes me uneasy.
Overall - and without reading any of the author's other short stories - I feel this provides a great introduction to the breadth of the his talent, and the spectrum of topics he covered. Truly recommend to anyone interested in speculative fiction and its origins, and some of the more socio-psychological works from the golden age of sci fi.
The first story ("Killdozer"), frankly, was the biggest disappointment of the entire collection. Its length also contributes to the 4* review. It's basically like Christine, but with quite a bit more detail about how the big machines operate. The long scenes describing the minutiae of bulldozers were terrible. It's not a bad concept per se, and I recognise how groundbreaking this was at the time it was published, but to me it feels cheap, and, especially in light of the rest of the author's work, infantile.
The second story, "The Sex Opposite", is among the best in this collection. It's essentially about accepting the other and about different ways of showing love and exhibiting gender. Especially for the time of publication, and even now, it's quite thought provoking as it perhaps to gender identity and how most binary people perceive it.
The third story, "Mr Costello, Hero", is set in the far future, and describes the impact that highly charismatic men can have on unsuspecting masses, leading to dictatorship and de-facto mind control. While not deft, it conveys a clear message, and is quite neatly written, especially given the perspective of the unsuspecting (and rather obtuse) protagonist.
The fourth story, "The Golden Helix", is also set in the far future, and describes how a group of colonists on the way from Earth to a new colony get abducted by aliens and put on a virgin planet, where they gradually discover the motivation behind their abduction, and accept their fate. This one is quite thought provoking, but it's tough to explain without spoiling it. Suffice it to say that it reminded me of a lof of the more philosophical work by Arkady Strugatsky.
The fifth story, "When You're Smiling", is more of horror story, debating and exploring human depravity and the reaction to it. It's unsettling, and perfectly written - you never know what hits you until it does in the final few pages of the story.
The sixth story, "And Now the News...", explores the obsession society has with normalising anyone who strays even a bit away from the norm. It also touches upon the impact of psychiatry and psychiatric medication on elimination "abberation" from human behaviour. It's quite a morbid story, and has a clear and strong message. Very powerful, and not at all sci-fi. As relevant today as when it was written.
The seventh story, "The Other Celia", can be described as the author's take on Crime and Punishment. A young guy with not much to do decides to affect someone else's life for fun, without understanding and comprehending the full extent of his actions. Scary and unsettling. Perhaps the most "Twighlight Zone"-like of all the stories in this collection.
The eight and last story, "Slow Sculpture", is a mind-bending exploration of belief, alternative medicine, and the ability of shaping human behaviour through subtle manipulation. It's not super clear to me what the author is trying to say here, but if he indeed suggests that pruning and shaping humans is possible, similar to the way one would treat a bonsai tree, the result makes me uneasy.
Overall - and without reading any of the author's other short stories - I feel this provides a great introduction to the breadth of the his talent, and the spectrum of topics he covered. Truly recommend to anyone interested in speculative fiction and its origins, and some of the more socio-psychological works from the golden age of sci fi.
Displaying 1 of 1 review