''Angels and Spaceships'' is a 1954 collection of
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
stories by American writer
Fredric Brown. It was initially published in hardcover by
E. P. Dutton
E. P. Dutton was an American Publishing, book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group.
Creator
Edward Payson Dutton ( ...
; a later
Bantam paperback edition was retitled ''Star Shine''.
Contents
*"Introduction" (original essay by author)
*"Pattern" (original)
*"Placet is a Crazy Place" (
''Astounding'' 1946)
*"Answer" (original)
*"Etaoin Shrdlu" (
''Unknown'' 1942)
*"Preposterous" (original)
*"Armageddon" ''Unknown'' 1941)
*"Politeness" (original)
*"
The Waveries" (''Astounding'' 1945)
*"Reconciliation" (original)
*"The Hat Trick" (''Unknown'' 1943)
*"Search" (original)
*"
Letter to a Phoenix
"Letter to a Phoenix" is a science fiction short story by American writer Fredric Brown, about immortality. It was first published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in August 1949.
Plot summary
A 180,000-year-old man writes a letter to humanity ...
" (''Astounding'' 1949)
*"Daisies" (original)
*"The Angelic Angleworm" (''Unknown'' 1943)
*"Sentence" (original)
*"The Yehudi Principle" (''Astounding'' 1944)
*"Solipsist" (original)
The original stories are generally very short vignettes.
Reception
Anthony Boucher found the collection "contains a little of everything, from screwball fantasy to sober science fiction" and praised Brown's "sparkling originality and delightfully crisp writing."
P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic.
Life
Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...
found the stories to be "good fun", though not so impressive as Brown's novel-length work.
["The Reference Library", '']Astounding Science Fiction
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'', February 1955, p.144-45 Groff Conklin called the book "perfectly delightful", with eight of Brown's "very best stories".
References
{{Fredric Brown
Science fiction short story collections
Fantasy short story collections
Short story collections by Fredric Brown
1954 short story collections