The Man from Time by Frank Belknap Long

[Dan]

This month we had only two nominations, so both make it to group read without a vote. Our first read is The Man from Time by Frank Belknap Long. It was a short story first published in the March 1954 issue of Fantastic Universe, a quality science fiction magazine that deserves to be better known.

Synopsis: A telepathic time traveler develops a fear of time itself and panics, abandoning his time machine and stranding himself in 1930s Los Angeles. Speaking no English, the man wanders in silence from place to place, allaying the fears of others through his mere presence, including one F. Scott Fitzgerald.

This story is widely anthologized and thus widely available, including on Gutenberg, which means it should be free to download for eReaders. If you prefer, you can pull it up and read the story in its original setting here: https://www.luminist.org/archives/SF/.... Remember, it's the March 1954 issue.

[Rosemarie]

I've just finished this and enjoyed it. I read it on Project Gutenberg.
The scene with the writer was a nice touch.

[Dan]

I'm so late getting to this. I prefer to read these at the beginning of the month in order to encourage other members to participate in the group reads. It's what a good moderator does. But I have had such a busy month. I'm actually designing and selling stamp albums on eBay if you can believe that! Well, just two copies so far. But that has taken considerable time.

Anyway, I found a copy of this story for free on Amazon for download to my Kindle. I swear that at the beginning of July the story was costing 99 cents. Free now. Strange!

Hmm, Rosemarie gives it three stars. We usually match pretty well. I hope I can give this four.

[Rosemarie]

I hope you like it, Dan.

[Dave J.]

I almost forgot that I wanted to read this story, too. For me it was disappointing, as I expected something more adventurous or intriguing from Long. The ending is very convenient, too. I really liked Long's story in Dangerous Dimensions, but this one didn't really resonate with me.

[Dan]

This was so nothing of a story for me that I hardly remember any of it. I want to do a reread before I comment further, so that I can be sure I am being fair. I rounded up to three stars. A reread either keeps it there or moves it down to two for me.

I asked Google AI if F. Scott was ever in Los Angeles during the 1930s. Here is the reply:

Yes, F. Scott Fitzgerald was in Los Angeles during the 1930s, specifically from 1937 until his death in 1940. He moved there to work as a screenwriter, primarily for MGM, during the latter part of the decade.

Fitzgerald's time in Los Angeles was marked by both professional struggles and personal challenges, including his ongoing battle with alcoholism and the end of his marriage to Zelda Fitzgerald. He worked on various film projects, but his attempts to establish a successful screenwriting career were largely unsuccessful. Despite his frustrations with Hollywood, he did find some enjoyment in the city, including his relationship with columnist Sheilah Graham, and he did spend time at popular Los Angeles haunts like the Clover Club and the Trocadero. He also began work on his unfinished novel, The Last Tycoon, which was set in Hollywood.