Leo Margulies (1900–1975)

This collection of supernatural stories was first published in 1961. What caught my eye was that every one of the 11 stories was first published in the magazine "Weird Tales" between 1939 and 1951. The authors are almost all top notch talent with a couple obscure but excellent ones such as Margaret St. Clair. Overall this was a very good batch of tales. The stories are:

Introduction • (1961) • essay by Leo Margulies
The Professor's Teddy Bear • (1948) • shortstory by Theodore Sturgeon show more
Legal Rites • (1950) • novelette by Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl
The Strange Island of Dr. Nork • (1949) • novelette by Robert Bloch
Mrs. Hawk • (1950) • shortstory by Margaret St. Clair
The Handler • (1947) • shortstory by Ray Bradbury
The Automatic Pistol • (1940) • shortstory by Fritz Leiber
The Unwanted • (1951) • shortstory by Mary Elizabeth Counselman
The Valley Was Still • (1939) • shortstory by Manly Wade Wellman
The Scrawny One • (1949) • shortstory by Anthony Boucher
Come and Go Mad • (1949) • novelette by Fredric Brown
The Big Shot • (1949) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell

The blurbs on the cover and inside the book promise the unexpected. The stories are over 60 years old and they show their age in the way the stories are told and their settings, but otherwise hold up well to time. One thing they share is a propensity to drop really big and often rather obscure or uncommon words here and there. It must have been an art in it's day. "But this time something made him turn slowly from the window, almost as though he never again expected to see that chiaroscuro of an early afternoon." Ha! "I will give lectures to young things about human destiny and the metempsychosis of Plato."

I thought the first story by Sturgeon "The Professor's Teddy Bear" was genuinely creepy and got this collection off to a good start . Unfortunately the long short story that followed, "Legal Rites" seemed too drawn out and told unevenly as it plodded along to a clever ending. It sort of beat a clever idea to death. The remaining stories varied, with the creepy ones I think holding up the best. Block disappointed. "Mrs. Hawk" by St. Clair is a well done short but disturbing modern retelling of the Circe myth. Bradbury's creepy "The Handler" about a creepy little man who ran a mortuary might make your skin crawl but it suffered from a wonky ending. Leiber's "The Automatic Pistol" set in the days of Prohibition is a nice little piece about a gun having it's revenge. I was reminded of how much I enjoyed Leiber's stories earlier in my life. Of the remaining stories "The Unwanted" was one of my favorite stories in the collection, about a census taker in the Alabama hills. Touching in a nice way, and like most all of these stories, with a little spooky or creepy twist. I also liked Manly Wade Wellman's tale set during the Civil War. My favorite story in the collection was also the longest, "Come and Go Mad" by Fredric Brown. Can't describe it without giving too much away, but it starts with a reporter asked to consider a tough assignment that becomes very personal. show less

You won't likely find a copy of this outside of a used book store. Originally published in 1949, this unique anthology is comprised of stories a select group of science fiction authors selected as their own best stories at that time. Half of these luminaries you'll know, including Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, John W. Campbell, Jr., A. E. van Vogt, Manly Wade Wellman, and Jack Williamson. The other half are, today, less well-known (although possibly you're more familiar with them than I). But show more together the present an intriguing view of science fiction in the first half of the 20th century.

The stories are fun, but equally fun are the introductions by the authors explaining why they selected these tales as their best. Some are serious, others lighthearted. John Taine gets my vote for the best, unabashedly announcing that "The Ultimate Catalyst" is his best science fiction short story because it's the only science fiction short story he had written!

In any event, if you can find a copy of this book, you'll likely enjoy it. I sure did! show less

I've loved works by all three of these authors. Unfortunately if someone takes this an example of what they wrote, they'll be awfully disappointed, especially if all they know is the best of modern SF. The Sturgeon doesn't even feel like it's written by him, with no weirdness, no thoughfulness, none of his 'voice.' He started to try to do something with pacifism, but never got anywhere that makes sense... reads like a draft that escaped. The Simak's not bad, but long-winded and not too show more different from better explorations of a similar motif (it's a motif he comes back to often.) The Leinster, too, needs serious cutting, could have been told in about 3 pp.

Do learn what a community chest is, why a newspaperman would have to write articles about it for a small-city rag, and why he'd prefer not to.

I am reminded to make sure I have Leinster's [b:The Runaway Skyscraper|8112011|The Runaway Skyscraper|Murray Leinster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348910165l/8112011._SX50_.jpg|1818142] on my to-read list.

I did like this line from the Leinster: "[I]nvasion in force of a province emptied for its occupation had a flavor of the absurd which was not in the least amusing."
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Accidentally reread Jan 2021 - I did understand a bit more of the first story, and appreciated the others a bit more, so, um, 2.5 stars rounded down. show less

'There is No Defense' by Theodore Sturgeon was published in 'Astounding Science Fiction' in 1948. It starts with a meeting of the Joint Solar Military Council to deal with an invading spaceship from an unknown source. What is known is that it ignores any attempt to communicate with it and, so far, it's been pretty destructive to any human outpost or colony in our solar system that it has encountered. After a scene involving the council members watching gruesome footage of one military show more outpost and discussing what happened elsewhere, our protagonist, Belter, brings up 'The Death,' a weapon so deadly that it lead to the current pacifist attitude.

The Joint Solar Military Council has representatives from Earth, Mars, Phoebe-Titan Colonials, the Asteroid Belt, etc.; the non-human Jovians (who lost their war with humans), and the biggest name from Amalgamated Peace. The council is arguing about whether or not to use 'The Death' against the invaders. Hereford of Amalgamated Peace is against it. Belter, who heads the council, is a military man, and he believes that 'The Death' is warranted in this situation. Belter has to convince Hereford that the belief that there is never any excuse for resorting to violence is wrong.

This story is copyrighted 1948, only three years after World War II ended. If you think that Mr. Sturgeon was all gung ho about violence, no. A good clue to this is that the Martian colonists, who are the 'nuke them 'til they glow and shoot them in the dark' type, get no names. It's just 'the' or 'a' 'Martian'.

The invading ship is genuinely frightening, the attempts to save our solar system interesting, and the solution wasn't one I expected. I do appreciate the difference between Belter's and the Martians' attitudes. Four Stars. show less