''The Seeds of Time'' is a collection of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

stories (five short stories and five novelettes) by British writer

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...

, published in 1956 by Michael Joseph.

* A foreword by John Wyndham * "The Chronoclasm" (1953), novelette, variant of "Chronoclasm" * "Pillar to Post" (1951), novelette * "Dumb Martian" (1952), novelette * "Compassion Circuit" (1954) * "Survival" (1952), novelette * "Pawley's Peepholes" (1951) * "Opposite Number" (1954) * "Wild Flower" (1955) * "Time to Rest" (1949), as by John Beynon, ''Bert'' #1 series * "Meteor" (1941), novelette, as by John Beynon

Summaries

;"Chronoclasm" :a time-travelling romantic comedy. ;"Pillar to Post" :The central character is a paraplegic who was badly injured in a wartime attack. Frequently taking drugs to cope with the pain, he finds himself in a healthy body very far in the future. A complex plot of body-swapping and time travel ensues. It is considered by some people to be the best story in the collection. ;"Dumb Martian" :a satire on racism, featuring an Earthman who buys a Martian wife. ;"Compassion Circuit": :a horror story on the subject of robotics. ;"Survival" :set on a spacecraft marooned in orbit around Mars. ;"Pawley's Peepholes" :another time travel story, this time a comedy in which tourists projected from the future cause chaos in a present-day town. ;"Opposite Number" :which plays with the concept of parallel universes. ;"Wild Flower": :which explores the tension between nature and technology. ;"Time to Rest" :depicting the life on Mars of a human survivor of the destruction of Earth. A sequel "No Place Like Earth" appears in the collection ''

No Place Like Earth ''No Place Like Earth'' () is a collection of science fiction stories (ten short stories and six novelettes) by British writer John Wyndham, published in July 2003 by Darkside Press. Contents * "Derelict of Space" (1939), novelette, as by John ...

'' (2003), which contains both. ;"Meteor" :in which alien visitors to Earth find themselves on a very different scale to humans.

Adaptations

* "Dumb Martian" (1962), episode of the series ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

'' and '' Out of This World'', directed by

Charles Jarrott Charles Jarrott (16 June 19274 March 2011) was a British film and television director. He was best known for costume dramas he directed for producer Hal B. Wallis, among them '' Anne of the Thousand Days'', which earned him a Golden Globe for B ...

, based on novelette "Dumb Martian" * "No Place Like Earth" (1965), episode of the series ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction and horror anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were dramatisations of s ...

'', directed by Peter Potter, based on short story "Time to Rest" and novelette "No Place on Earth" * A

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

adaption of "Survival" was broadcast in 1989 with

Stephen Garlick Stephen Garlick (born 7 July 1959) is a British actor best known as the voice of Jen in '' Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal''. His career has centered on film, television and radio. At the age of five he attended the famous Corona Academy stage ...

Susan Sheridan Susan Haydn Thomas (18 March 1947 – 8 August 2015), better known as Susan Sheridan, was a British actress. Her roles included Noddy in '' Noddy's Toyland Adventures'', Princess Sylvia in '' Muzzy in Gondoland'', Trillian in the BBC radio se ...

, and

Nicholas Courtney William Nicholas Stone Courtney (16 December 1929 – 22 February 2011) was an Egyptian-born British actor. He was best known for his long-running role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. ...

. It was released as an

Audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

in 2007 with the 1981 version of ''

The Chrysalids ''The Chrysalids'' (United States title: ''Re-Birth'') is a science fiction novel by British writer John Wyndham, first published in 1955 by Michael Joseph. It is the least typical of Wyndham's major novels, but regarded by some as his best. A ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seeds Of Time, The 1956 short story collections Michael Joseph books Short story collections by John Wyndham Science fiction short story collections