Something To Read by Ken Slater

From Faber & Faber comes BEST SF THREE, which I think can be fairly called a very good book in a welcome series. Edited and with an introduction by Edmund Crispin, the 224 pages of this work contain eleven stories. One of these show that Mr. Crispin is extending the field of his selection—he has time-jumped back to October, 1942, and picked Murray Leinster's THE WABBLER from Astounding Science Fiction (American edition). This story, only nine pages long, is a gem, cut and polished by a master-craftsman. Written without any human or even humanoid characters, it is the example of the possibilities and scope of science fiction writing. It is also a timeless story—I'd never realised that until now; when I originally read it, in a battered copy of the magazine which had finally caught up with me down on Salisbury Plain after it had taken a detour round the Shetland Isles and sundry other places, I instinctively made the "hero" of British design and the scene of action Germany—or German coastal waters, rather. But Leinster avoided such dating references and a modern reader might well fit entirely different people and places to the story. Good work, Mr. Crispin—I trust your exploration of the past of science fiction will uncover some equally timeless tales.

 

All of the other stories are worthwhile and, for fifteen shillings, this book is a very necessary addition to the "must keep" shelf, and of course an essential item for you to read, even if you only borrow a copy. Incidentally, I understand that a soft-cover edition of BEST SF ONE will be available shortly, at around six shillings. Watch out for it if you missed the first of this series.

 

Also from Faber & Faber (rapidly reaching the level of Britain's best and most persistent publisher of science fiction) is THE DOMES OF PICO by Hugh Walters (196 pp., 13/6), a sequel to BLAST OFF FROM WOOMERA which was published in 1957. Primarily a juvenile, it should not be overlooked by the adult reader. Mr. Walters has had much to contend with in writing a sequel to a story which was scened in the not-so-distant future, and which concerned Britain's first man-carrying rocket to go above the atmosphere. A string of assorted satellites and sputniki which didn't exist when he wrote the first book, for instance. Usually, efforts to write sequels to stories which history has by-passed are not too effective, but this time I think the author has managed extremely well, and the rather frantic and hectic re-writes which I am sure must have occurred are not obvious.

 

But despite that, some parts of the story I just can't swallow. In the first book, photos taken of the moon from above the atmosphere (Earth's) revealed the presence of some domes, almost certainly artificial. Now to these domes has been added a cone, and from this collection of constructions a neutron stream is emitted. A neutron stream of such intensity that all the atomic piles on earth run wild, apparently irrespective of location. The governments of the world decide that something must be done to put the domes out of action, and the British, American and Russian governments take the lead. The Woomera range is decided upon as the most suitable for the blastoff, while American rockets with Russian warheads are to be used to home on a pilot beacon which will have to be dropped on the site by a human-guided rocket. Chris Godfrey, a young hero of the first British rocket, is talked into the job of piloting the rocket. Unknown to him, and kept secret from the majority of the people of the world - including those working on the project - is the fact that not only is his survival unlikely - it is impossible!

 

To keep him alive close to the source of the neutron bombardment long enough to drop the beacon into position, the cabin of the rocket must be so heavily shielded with lead that insufficient fuel for return can be carried.

 

As others on the project are told of these facts, or as they become aware of them, the position becomes tense. Sir Leo Frayling, in command, the man who has always known that it will be necessary to sacrifice Chris, ploughs down all opposition, and carries the project through. And, in the end, by using the duplicate but unshielded rocket, manages to save Chris, although at great personal risk.

 

Having sunk my differences with Mr. Walters, I quite enjoyed the yarn. If those differences—or at least a couple of major ones —are not apparent to you from my comments above, you should enjoy it equally. If they are apparent, you can make your own mind up. A couple of things come to mind, here. Why is it that, in "close to here and now" stories even smallish stretches of the unlikely can spoil a yarn, but in "far from ..." tales the imaginative acceptance of less than-plausible distortion of the future is so much more elastic? And in view of the (at the time of writing) heralded imminent American rocket-to-the-moon, how Mr. Walters will manage to fit in the sequel to this book? For sequel there must be, the reason for the domes and cones of Pico has yet to be given us. Mr. Walters must either beat the rocket with his book, or else have another difficult revision session - I believe him capable of either, but I'll be waiting with most pleasure for the latter!

 

from Nebula No.33. August 1958

 

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