Robert F. Young (1915-1986) was a prolific science-fiction writer whose 200-odd stories were published in all of the leading s-f magazines of his day as well as in Colliers, The Saturday Evening Post and Playboy. Although many of his stories were also published in book form, they are today almost all out of print.
This charming and very inventive tale first appeared as the cover story of the December 1964 issue of Worlds of IF magazine. It recounts with humour and brio the quite terrific (…)
Articles les plus récents
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"When Time Was New" (1964) by Robert F. Young
23 mai 2013, par Robert F. Young -
"The Awful German Language", by Mark Twain
1er mai 2013, par Mark TwainMark Twain concluded this very entertaining overview of the German language with the statement : "... a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years."
His reflections on the particularities of the language of Goethe, and his suggestions for reform – a most topical subject – make very good reading indeed.
Recommended for germanophiles and germanophobes alike ! An e-book is available for (…) -
"The Wishes We Make" (1943) by E. Mayne Hull
27 avril 2013, par E. Mayne HullA genie suddenly appears before a condemned man in his death cell and offers him not just one wish but six - what is the problem ? you might ask. Well, avoiding one’s destiny is not as easy as it sounds, as this quite brilliant and very amusing golden-age tale with the most sombre of overtones, first published in the June 1943 issue of Unknown Worlds, shows us.
(6,700 words)
Its author, Edna Mayne Hull was born and brought up in Manitoba, Canada, as was her husband, our favourite (…) -
The Funniest Science-Fiction Story : “MUGWUMP 4” (1959) by Robert Silverberg
12 avril 2013, par Robert SilverbergScience fiction is not a domain noted for its humour – adventure in far-off spaces, dramatic encounters with alien life forms and cosmic strife involving the fate of whole galaxies or at least that of mankind are more what come to mind when the term is evoked.
But a number of noteworthy efforts have regularly been made in a lighter vein, sometimes to spoof the whole genre, sometimes to hide a serious intent behind surface frivolity, and more often than not just to benefit from the idiom’s (…) -
INDEX OF THE 83 VAN VOGT STORIES ON THIS SITE, in alphabetical order
1er janvier 2013, par RayA CAN OF PAINT ABDICATION ASYLUM AUTOMATON BLACK DESTROYER CARTHING CENTAURUS II CO-OPERATE OR ELSE ! CONCEALMENT DEAR PEN PAL DEFENSE DISCORD IN SCARLET DORMANT ENCHANTED VILLAGE ENEMY OF THE SILKIES FAR CENTAURUS FEMWORLD FILM LIBRARY FINAL COMMAND FOOTPRINT FARM FULFILLMENT HAUNTED ATOMS HEIR APPARENT HUMANS GO HOME ! ITSELF ! JUGGERNAUT LIVING WITH JANE LOST : FIFTY SUNS M33 IN ANDROMEDA NOT ONLY DEAD MEN NOT THE FIRST PENDULUM PROCESS PROLOGUE TO FREEDOM RECRUITING STATION (…)
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Two "Sci-fi drink" stories by Kingsley Amis
21 novembre 2012, par Kingsley AmisThese two unusual and very original stories are examples of a rare genre invented by the brilliant author of Lucky Jim : "SF-drink".
They had me chuckling and even hooting, an enjoyable and all-too-rare experience indeed, and I dare say that they will have you doing the same ! 1. The 2003 Claret (1958) A scientific team in 1970 is anxiously awaiting the return of a member of their team who had been sent on man’s first exploratory mission into the future, to 2010 to report on the social and (…) -
Our selection of the world’s greatest novels
21 octobre 2009, par RayThere are no doubt some novels missing from this compendium, but there can be no doubt that these 97 masterpieces from Albania, Austria (3), China, Columbia, Czechia, Egypt (2), England (22), France (24), Germany (9), Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan (2), Norway, Peru (2), Poland, Portugal, Russia (11), Scotland, Spain, Sweden and the U.S.A. (8) have all scaled the very highest heights of literary achievement in the novel form.
A summary count by author can be seen below.
see (…) -
More of the world’s greatest novels
20 octobre 2009, par RayNone of these 92 novels — from Albania (2), Austria (3), Belgium (2), Canada, Egypt (4), England (21), Finland, France (18), Germany (4), Hungary, India, Ireland (2), Italy, Japan (9), Mexico (3), Peru (4), Portugal, Russia (3), Scotland, South Africa (2) and the U.S.A. (8) — were included in Our selection of the world’s greatest novels, although they are all worthy candidates for the distinction of appearing there in the august company of Don Quixote, Les Misérables, War and Peace, The (…)
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INDEX OF THE SCIENCE-FICTION STORIES AND NOVELS ON THIS SITE, by author
1er janvier 2007, par RayAUTHOR______________________ TITLE___________________________________________________ CATEGORY 1 Kingsley Amis The 2003 Claret short story 2 Kingsley Amis The Friends of Plonk short story 3 Harry Bates A Matter of Size novella 4 Harry Bates Farewell to the Master (The Day the Earth Stood Still) novelette 5 Frederick Brown Mitkey Rides Again novelette 6 Frederick Brown The Star Mouse novelette 7 John Campbell Who Goes There ? novella 8 Hal Clement Uncommon Sense short story 9 Henry (…)
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Interesting things read recently that I would like to share with you
25 mai 2006, par RayINDEX
Citations Moby Dick, by Herman Melville (1851) Barchester Towers, by Anthony Trollope (1857) Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens (1857) A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens (1859) Adam Bede, by George Eliot (1859) The Mill on The Floss, by George Eliot (1860) Silas Marner, by George Eliot (1861) Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens (1861) Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens (1865) The Last Chronicle of Barset, by Anthony Trollope (1867) The Mystery of Edwin Drood, by Charles (…)