''A Mile Beyond the Moon'' is a 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 uni ...
stories by American writer
C. M. Kornbluth
Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, W ...
, originally published as a
Doubleday hardcover in 1958, shortly after Kornbluth's death. A
Science Fiction Book Club
Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000.
Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizo ...
edition appeared in 1959, with an abridged
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...
edition following from
Macfadden Books in 1962. Macfadden reissued the collection in 1966 and, as Manor Books, in 1972 and 1976. A German translation (''Die Worte des Guru'') appeared in 1974, and an Italian translation (''Oltre la Luna'') in 1987. While no further editions of the collection were published, all the stories are contained in
NESFA's 1997 ''His Share of Glory: The Complete Short Science Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth''.
Contents
* "Make Mine Mars" (''
Science Fiction Adventures'' 1952)
* "The Meddlers"* (''Science Fiction Adventures'' 1953)
* "The Events Leading Down to the Tragedy" (''
F&SF
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...
'' 1958)
* "The Little Black Bag" (''
Astounding
''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 ...
'' 1950)
* "Everybody Knows Joe" (''
Fantastic Universe
''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishin ...
'' 1953)
* "Time Bum" (''
Fantastic
The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces.
Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, charac ...
'' 1953)
* "Passion Pills"* (original)
* "Virginia" (''
Venture
Venture may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
*The Ventures, an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958
*"A Venture", 1971 song by the band Yes
*''Venture'', a 2010 EP by AJR
Games
* ''Venture'' (video game), a 1981 arcade gam ...
'' 1958)
* "The Slave"* (''
Science Fiction Adventures'' 1957)
* "Kazam Collects" (''
Stirring Science Stories'' 1941)
* "The Last Man Left in the Bar" (''
Infinity'' 1947)
* "The Adventurer" (''
Space Science Fiction
Between 1952 and 1954, John Raymond published four digest-size science fiction and fantasy magazines. Raymond was an American publisher of men's magazines who knew little about science fiction, but the field's rapid growth and a distributo ...
'' 1953)
* "The Words of Guru" (''Stirring Science Stories'' 1941)
* "Shark Ship" (''Vanguard'' 1958)
* "Two Dooms"* (''Venture'' 1958)
"Kazam Collects" was originally published under the S. D. Gottesman byline. "The Words of Guru" was originally published as by Kenneth Falconer. "Shark Ship", which was first published as "Reap the Dark Tide", was nominated for the 1959
Hugo Award for Best Novelette
The Hugo Award for Best Novelette is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novelette award is available for works of fiction of ...
, one of three nominations Kornbluth's work received in the year after his death. Stories marked with an asterisk* were omitted from the paperback editions.
Reception
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...
described ''A Mile Beyond the Moon'' as "an uneven collection", noting that it "represents a dozen facets of Kornbluth's writing; there are potboilers and classics here, wryly irreverent and powerfully somber pieces, straightforward ones and involutely Joycean ones".
Hans Stefan Santesson
Hans Stefan Santesson (July 8, 1914, Paris – February 18, 1975, Edgewater, New Jersey)[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 ...]
called Kornbluth "one of our greatest talents in science fiction" and described the stories as "representative of his extremely varied talent -- not as memorable as his novels, but top stuff".
Frederik Pohl wrote that "What is most notable about a Kornbluth story is that his characters are always perfectly at ease in their surroundings."
["Worlds of If", '' If'', September 1959, p. 98]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mile Beyond The Moon
Science fiction short story collections
Short stories by Cyril M. Kornbluth
1958 short story collections