The Worlds of H. Beam Piper
by H. Beam Piper (Author), John J. McGuire (Author)
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Vintage 1950s SF short stories by one of the top writers of the day - H. Beam Piper.
Nothing in this collection is up to the standard of Piper’s Paratime stories; the writing style is similar, but the stories have less substance and seem more dated (published from 1947 to 1959).
‘Time and time again’ and ‘Dearest’ are simple wish-fulfillment fantasies of different kinds, but pleasantly told and upbeat. I’d give them three stars. The father and son main characters from ‘Time and time again’ are casually mentioned in several of the other stories, so they seem a permanent part of Piper’s future history.
The other stories are readable once, but entirely missable: I’d give them two stars. Thus, I’m rating the volume as a whole on the basis of the two stories I liked.
‘The mercenaries’ proposes the show more mildly interesting oddball idea of an international team of scientists operating as mercenaries: selling its services to any government that will pay. (I thought scientists did that anyway, though usually on an individual basis.)
‘Hunter patrol’ is one of those circular time-travel stories.
‘Genesis’ tells the story of the disastrous near-failure of the Martian attempt to colonize the Earth in the distant past: at least some of Piper’s other stories are based on the idea that we’re all descended from the Martian survivors of that expedition. But this story itself is mere filler and contributes nothing of interest.
‘The answer’ points out that a nuclear war could be started by misinterpretation of a natural event as a missile strike. True enough.
‘The day of the moron’ is a sermon against trade unions. It doesn’t offend me, I’m no trade unionist, but I find it rather tiresome to be preached at, whether I agree with the message or not. show less
‘Time and time again’ and ‘Dearest’ are simple wish-fulfillment fantasies of different kinds, but pleasantly told and upbeat. I’d give them three stars. The father and son main characters from ‘Time and time again’ are casually mentioned in several of the other stories, so they seem a permanent part of Piper’s future history.
The other stories are readable once, but entirely missable: I’d give them two stars. Thus, I’m rating the volume as a whole on the basis of the two stories I liked.
‘The mercenaries’ proposes the show more mildly interesting oddball idea of an international team of scientists operating as mercenaries: selling its services to any government that will pay. (I thought scientists did that anyway, though usually on an individual basis.)
‘Hunter patrol’ is one of those circular time-travel stories.
‘Genesis’ tells the story of the disastrous near-failure of the Martian attempt to colonize the Earth in the distant past: at least some of Piper’s other stories are based on the idea that we’re all descended from the Martian survivors of that expedition. But this story itself is mere filler and contributes nothing of interest.
‘The answer’ points out that a nuclear war could be started by misinterpretation of a natural event as a missile strike. True enough.
‘The day of the moron’ is a sermon against trade unions. It doesn’t offend me, I’m no trade unionist, but I find it rather tiresome to be preached at, whether I agree with the message or not. show less
Dec 17, 2024 (Edited)English (UK)
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1,630 works; 51 members
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- Original publication date
- 1983-02
- People/Characters
- Fred Benson (the Guide); Shere Ali Abdallah (Ameer of Afghanistan); Vladmir N. Dzhoubinsky (UEESR Foreign Minister); Ashley Hampton (Colonel, Slaughterhouse); Myra Hampton; Stephen Hampton (show all 26); Allan Hartley; Blake Hartley; Heym ben-Hillel (physicist); Karen Hilquist (metallurgist); Hradzka; Kalvar Dard; Farida Khouroglu; Sir Neville Lawton; Adam Lowiewski (mathematician); Duncan MacLeod (physicist); Suzanne Maillard (physicist); Scott Melroy; Daniel Nayland (General); Alexis Pitov; Lee Richardson; Doris Warren Rives; Kato Sugihara; Varnis; Rudolf von Heldenfeld; Wu Fung Tung (UPREA Foreign Minister)
- Important places
- Afghanistan; Argentina; Auburn, New York, USA; Kabul, Afghanistan; Missouri, USA; New York, USA (show all 10); New York, New York, USA; Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA
- First words
- Blinded by the bomb-flash and numbed by the narcotic injection, he could not estimate the extent of his injuries, but he knew that he was dying. ("Time and Time Again")
Duncan MacLeod hung up the suit he had taken off, and sealed his shirt, socks and underwear in a laundry envelope bearing his name and identity-number, tossing this into one of the wire baskets provided for this purpose. ("Th... (show all)e Mercenaries")
Colonel Ashley Hampton chewed his cigar and forced himself to relax, his glance slowly traveling the room, lingering on the mosaic of book-spines in the tall cases, the sunlight splashed on the faded pastel colors of the carp... (show all)et, the soft-tinted autumn landscape outside the French windows, the trophies of Indian and Filipino and German weapons on the walls. ("Dearest")
At the crest of the ridge, Benson stopped for an instant, glancing first at his wristwatch and then back over his shoulder. ("Hunter Patrol")
But yesterday, a whole planet had shouted: Hail Hradzka! Hail the Leader! ("Flight from Tomorrow")
Vladmir N. Dzhoubinsky, Foreign Minister, Union of East European Soviet Republics, to Wu Fung Tung, Foreign Minister, United People's Republics of East Asia: &... (show all)nbsp; 15 Jan., 1984
Honored Sir:
Pursuant to our well-known policy of exchanging military and scientific information with the Governments of friendly Powers, my Government takes great pleasure in announcing the completely successful final tests of our new nuclear-rocket guided missile Marxist Victory. ("Operation R.S.V.P.")
Aboard the ship, there was neither day nor night; the hours slipped gently by, as vistas of star-gemmed blackness slid across the visiscreens. ("Genesis")
For a moment, after the screen door snapped and awakened him, Lee Richardson sat breathless and motionless, his eyes still closed, trying desperately to cling to the dream and print it upon his conscious memory before it fade... (show all)d. ("The Answer")
I still have the dollar bill. ("Crossroads of Destiny")
There were still, in 1968, a few people who were afraid of the nuclear power plant. ("Day of the Moron") - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"All right, son; I'll do just what you tell me, and when you grow up, I'll be president...Let's go get supper, now." ("Time and Time again")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"In other words, it will be understood, from this time on, that the MacLeod Team is worthy of the status it enjoys and the responsibilities concomitant with it." ("The Mercenaries")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The laughter of Dearest tinkled inaudibly through the rumbling mirth of Colonel Hampton. ("Dearest")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Benson put away the notebook, picked up his carbine, and cuddled the stock to his cheek... ("Hunter Patrol")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"It is the tomb of Hradzka, and it has been the tomb of Hradzka for ten thousand years before Hradzka was born!" ("Flight from Tomorrow")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)From N. Y. Times, Oct. 30, 1984:
MOUZORGIN, SUNG LI-YIN,
FETED AT KABUL
Confer With Ameer;
Discuss Peace Plans
Surprise Developments Seen... ("Operation R.S.V.P.")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And we concoct elaborate jokes about the "Men From Mars" - ourselves. ("Genesis")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"If it had hit around Leningrad or Moscow or Kharkov, who would you have blamed it on?" (The Answer")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I folded the bill and put it away carefully among my identification cards, where it wouldn't a second time get mixed with the money I spent, and as I did, I wondered what sort of a President George Washington had made, and what part, in the history of that other United States, had been played by the man whose picture appears on our dollar bills - General and President Benedict Arnold. ("Crossroads of Destiny")
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)A city that had put all its eggs in one basket, and left the basket in the path of any blundering foot. ("Day of the Moron") - Publisher's editor
- Carr, John F.
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