Tales of gooseflesh and laughter

A mixed-bag collection of short stories, but there are a few near-gems here.

Chinese Puzzle ** 1/2 - Tale of a couple who happen to have a dragon living with them, to the consternation of a certain neighbor, is just a little too cute and severely marred by the way Wyndham has his Welsh characters talk. Frankly, they sound more like Hobbits, or maybe Yoda.

Una **** - Two members of a society that investigates cruelty to animals take on a very unusual case, with unexpected results. This story is different, interesting, and amusing. Well done.

The Wheel **** - Short, powerful tale about the evils of orthodoxy and the sacrifices one generation must make for the next.

Jizzle **** 1/2 - If someone offers you an intelligent monkey at a bargain basement price, think twice! (Jizzle is the name of the monkey, and this story is a lot better than its title.)

Heaven Scent ** 1/2 - It is possible for a perfume to be a little overpowering. Only slightly amusing.

Compassion Circuit **1/2 - Sometimes a robot can be a little TOO helpful. It is pretty easy to see which direction this one is going.

More Spinned Against **** 1/2 - Memorable tale of a woman and a spider, with a great ending.

A Present from Brunswick ** - A woman receives an old recorder from her son serving in the American occupation of Germany, and it turns out to be much older than she thinks. When she starts to play it.... Wyndham needed to do a little more with this idea to really make it pay off.

Confidence Trick ** - Interesting, if somewhat typical premise, as a handful of passengers on the London Metro find themselves heading deep into the Earth's bowels--and we know what we'll find there, don't we? In the end, despite some cleverness, it just doesn't all hold together.

Opposite Number *** - Another frequent SciFi premise--moving between diverging branches of time--and more satisfactory than the previous story, but still not quite as clever as I'm sure the author intended.

Wild Flower *** 1/2 - And, to end the volume, a plea for peace in the form of a slightly awkward parable of a flower. Still, you can't argue with the sentiment.

In conclusion, Wyndham shows his versatility here, and he is never less than an agreeable companion. But his stories tend not to deliver the payload with as much impact or precision as those of, say, the brilliant John Collier. ( )

Science fiction is a genre in which the obscurities can be as much fun
as the classics. There has been a lot of science fiction written in the
past century, much of it crap but more than a handful of it worth
taking a glance at. As with all things, a book's classic status has as
much to do with its initial popularity as it does with its actually
quality. "Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter" is no classic, but it isn't
any worse than your average Harlan Ellison or Isaac Asimov collection
and probably deserves better than the out-of-print-and-long-forgotten
status that it now holds. Best known for his classic end-of-the-world
novel "Day of the Triffids," Wyndham here shows a talent for the
various types of science fiction stories, from the social satire of
"The Wheel" to more fantastic fair. While not an out and out success,
the collection contains enough of interest to be worth seeking out.

(This review originally appeared on zombieunderground.net) ( )