"Who Goes There?" (1938) - an iconic sci-fi story by John Campbell

A scientific expedition in Antarctica discovers the remnants of an alien spaceship that had crashed there millions of years ago, and decides – unwisely – to melt the frozen remnants of one of the forms found nearby. When the alien being revives and reveals incredible shape-changing abilities and other stupendous powers, the race is on not only to save themselves but also and especially to save the whole human race from destruction.

(22,500 words)

First published in the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, this 22,500-word novella — that became the basis of John Carpenter’s celebrated 1982 film The Thing — was written by the magazine’s recently-appointed editor, John Campbell [1], who had changed the name of the magazine that year and who piloted its evolution and that of the whole sci-fi genre to a more serious, thoughtful and literary basis.

Under his leadership Astounding became the leading science-fiction magazine in the late thirties, the forties and the early fifties, the golden age of science-fiction.

An e-book is available for downloading below.

Who Goes There? (e-book)