''Science Fiction Oddities'' is an
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
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 ...
short stories edited by
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvemen ...
. It was first published in paperback by
Berkley Medallion
Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group.
History
Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berkl ...
in November 1966. It was split into two volumes for its first British edition, issued in hardcover by Rapp & Whiting as ''Science Fiction Oddities'' and ''Science Fiction Oddities: Second Series'' in June 1969.
The book collects six novellas and novelettes by various science fiction authors, together with an introduction by the editor. The stories were previously published from 1952-1964 in various science fiction and other magazines.
Contents
*"Introduction" (
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvemen ...
)
*"People Soup" (
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...
)
*"
What Is This Thing Called Love?
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" is a 1929 popular song written by Cole Porter, for the musical '' Wake Up and Dream''. It was first performed by Elsie Carlisle in March 1929. The song has become a popular jazz standard and one of Porter's most o ...
" (
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
)
*"Callahan and the Wheelies" (
Stephen Barr
__NOTOC__
Stephen Matthew Barr (born November 28, 1953) is an American physicist who is a professor emeritus of physics at the University of Delaware. A member of its Bartol Research Institute, Barr does research in theoretical particle physics a ...
)
*"Mrs. Poppledore's Id" (
R. Bretnor)
*"The Teeth of Despair" (
Avram Davidson
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
and
Sidney Klein)
*"The Galactic Calabash" (
G. C. Edmondson
G. C. Edmondson was the working name of science fiction author Garry Edmonson (full name "José Mario Garry Ordoñez Edmondson y Cotton") (October 11, 1922 in Washington state – December 14, 1995 in San Diego, California). According to the obit ...
)
*"Space-Crime Continuum" (
H. F. Ellis Humphry Francis Ellis (17 July 1907 – 8 December 2000) was an English comic writer. He created A. J. Wentworth, the ineffectual schoolmaster whose fictional diaries were first published in the magazine ''Punch''.
Life
Humphry Francis Ellis was b ...
)
*"The Chessplayers" (
Charles L. Harness)
*"What's the Name of That Town?" (
R. A. Lafferty
Raphael Aloysius "R. A." Lafferty (November 7, 1914March 18, 2002) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, Lafferty also wrote a set of four autobiographical n ...
)
*"Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum-TAH-Tee" (
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...
)
*"Rundown" (
Robert Lory
Robert Lory (born December 29, 1936) is a US writer of speculative fiction, predominantly known for the ''Horrorscope'', ''Shamryke Odell'', ''Return of Dracula'', and ''Trovo'' fiction series. Also contributed to the ''John Eagle Expeditor'' se ...
)
*"The Trouble With H.A.R.R.I." (
Edward Mackin)
*"The Water Eater" (
Winston K. Marks)
*"A Pride of Carrots" (
Robert Nathan
Robert Gruntal Nathan (January 2, 1894 – May 25, 1985) was an American novelist and poet.
Biography
Nathan was born into a prominent New York Sephardic family. He was educated in the United States and Switzerland and attended Harvard Univ ...
)
*"The Terra-Venusian War of 1979" (
Gerard E. Neyroud)
*"The Coffin Cure" (
Alan E. Nourse
Alan Edward Nourse (August 11, 1928 – July 19, 1992) was an American science fiction writer and physician. He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science. His SF works sometimes focused ...
)
*"On Camera" (John Novotny)
*"See No Evil" (
John R. Pierce
John Robinson Pierce (March 27, 1910 – April 2, 2002), was an American engineer and author. He did extensive work concerning radio communication, microwave technology, computer music, psychoacoustics, and science fiction. Additionally to his ...
)
*"Punch" (
Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...
)
Notes
{{Authority control
1966 anthologies
Science fiction anthologies
Groff Conklin anthologies