''The Terminal Beach'' 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 ...
short stories by British author
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...
, published in 1964.
Contents
British edition
* "The Terminal Beach": A man who does not come to terms with the premature death of his wife and son steals away onto an island of
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...
, once used for testing
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s. Between the decaying buildings on the island, the reader follows his mental and physical decline.
* "A Question of Re-entry": This story has some parallels to
Joseph Conrad's ''
Heart of Darkness'', with the protagonist traveling upriver in the Amazon rain forest, to meet a European who went native. The story evolves around the clash between civilization-based knowledge and native belief.
* "The Drowned Giant": A giant human(oid) body washes ashore. The initial wonder soon gives way to banality as people start to climb over the body and remove or vandalize parts of it until the body is completely dismembered. It is then widely believed that the giant never existed at all.
* "End-Game": A psychological match between a person on
death row, who lives with his
executioner
An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person.
Scope and job
The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or order ...
in a comfortable house, and does not know the time and day of his execution. To pass the time, they are playing
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
, while the condemned tries to win a game of persuasion.
* "The Illuminated Man": A precursor to the novel ''
The Crystal World''.
* "The Reptile Enclosure":
Infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
lights from a newly launched radio satellite trigger thousands of people on the beach to drown themselves.
* "The Delta at Sunset"
* "
Deep End"
* "The Volcano Dances"
* "
Billennium"
* "The Gioconda of the Twilight Noon"
* "The Lost Leonardo": A painting by
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
of the
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...
is stolen from the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
Museum. Two art directors, seeking the thief, examine several crucifixion paintings, each also previously stolen, and discern a hitherto-unnoticed man in each one. Not only is the face recognizably the same in each, no matter which artist, country, or century, the portraits of this man are also alterations of the original paintings. They determine he is the
Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century. In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion was then cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. Th ...
, and also the thief and forger.
US edition
* "End-Game"
* "The Subliminal Man"
* "The Last Word of Mr. Goddard"
* "The Time Bombs"
* "Now Wakes the Sea"
* "The Venus Hunters"
* "Minus One"
* "The Sudden Afternoon"
* "The Terminal Beach"
In popular culture
* A copy of the 1987 edition is briefly seen being read by a security guard played by
Ken Jeong
Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...
in the
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
superhero film
A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, advent ...
''
Avengers: Endgame'', which shares its subtitle with a story in the book.
* "The Drowned Giant" was adapted as part of the Netflix series
Love, Death %26 Robots
''Love, Death & Robots'' (stylized as ''LOVE DEATH + R⬮BOTS'', and represented in emoji form as ❤️❌🤖) is an adult animated anthology streaming television series created by Tim Miller and streaming on Netflix. Produced by Blur Studio ...
(2021).
Reception
Dave Pringle reviewed ''The Terminal Beach'' for ''
Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'' magazine, and stated that "perhaps the finest collection of a master short-story writer. What more can I say? - except that it is good to see it reprinted in this quality-paperback format. with an excellent cover painting by James Marsh."
Reviews
*Review by Michael Moorcock (1964) in ''
New Worlds SF'', #144 September–October 1964
*Review by Donald Malcolm (1964) in ''
Vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
'' 28
*Review by Phil Stephensen-Payne
s by Philip Stephensen-Payne(1978) in ''Paperback Parlour'', December 1978
*Review by John DiPrete (1978) in ''
Thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...
'', #10, Spring 1978
*Review by Bruce Gillespie (1989) in ''SF Commentary'', #67
*Review by L. J. Hurst (1998) in ''
Vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
'' 198
*Review by uncredited (2001) in ''
Vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
'' 217
*Review by Andy Sawyer (2001) in ''
Vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
'' 219
*Review
panishby Juan Manuel Santiago (2001) in ''Las 100 mejores novelas de ciencia ficción del siglo XX''
References
*
External links
The Terminal Collection: JG Ballard First Editions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terminal Beach, The
1964 short story collections
Short story collections by J. G. Ballard
Victor Gollancz Ltd books